Die 1000 Glotzböbbel vom Dr. Mabuse (4½ Stars)

The film takes place in 1960 in Stuttgart and the neighbouring town of Leimerstetten. The dialogue is in the South German dialect known as Swabian. Inspector Krass is puzzled by a series of murders. The clues point to Dr. Mabuse, but he can't possibly be the killer, because he died 30 years ago. He gets closer to the case when a woman called Sabine Hirrlinger attempts to kill herself by jumping from the window of the Hotel "Zum güldenen Grasdackel". She's a model for the advertisements of a radical new invention, the Internet.

The killer is trying to gain control of the Internet for his own nefarious plans. Various millionaires gather in the hotel, attracted by the Internet's potential to change Swabian life.

This is a film for anyone who says that Germans don't have a sense of humour. The film is thin on action, but there's humour from beginning to end.

Inspector Krass is distracted from the case by having to read about the Kehrwoche. It's a typical German custom that in an apartment building the residents have to take turns in cleaning the staircases and the area in front of the building. It's done throughout Germany, but nobody takes it as seriously as the Swabians.

Normally I don't like seeing people smoke in films, but this scene in the police headquarters is hilarious. Everyone at the table is smoking. I'm surprised there was any oxygen left in the room.