User Reviews

Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre) is a brilliant surgeon who is obsessed with actress Yvonne Orlac (Francis Drake). She tells him she is leaving the stage to be a full time wife to her husband Stephen Orlac (Colin Clive), a concert pianist. Gogol is crushed. Stephen Orlac loses his hands in a train wreck.

At the request of Yvonne, Orlac grafts on a new pair of hands to Stephen. Unfortunately, they happen to be the hands of Rollo, an executed murderer who loved throwing knives. It seems the hands have a life of their own--Stephen can't play the piano anymore but can throw knives accurately and he has a desire to kill. He slowly starts to go crazy. Gogol again tells Yvonne that he loves her. She rejects him and Gogol cracks. He sets out to drive Stephen mad--and drive Yvonne into his arms.

The plot is silly but it still works. Anyways, the film isn't respected for its plot--it's because of Lorre and the sets. The sets in this film are huge, designed very strangely and add to the weirdness of the plot. They're all dimly lit giving the film a dark, depressing look. The acting is almost all good. Drake is just beautiful and perfect as the suffering wife. Clive is way too serious and looks horrible--sadly the man suffered from alcoholism...and it shows. Lorre is just superb as Gogol. He's very severe looking with his shaved head. You see him start out as kindly but obsessed and slowly slip into madness. Also there's a genuinely terrifying meeting Orlac has with Gogol (disguised as someone else) in a hotel. And director Karl Fruend throws in an amusing in joke--someone's repeats the "It went for a little walk" line from his "The Mummy" (1932)! The only real debit is the unnecessary "comic" relief from Ted Healy and an alcoholic landlady (sorry, but alcoholism isn't funny).

This is still mostly unknown more than 60 years after its release. Why? It bombed badly when it came out, was too grim for most people and it almost never pops up on TV. That's a shame--it's one of the best horror films to come out in the 1930s. See this if you get a chance--it's only 70 minutes and it's well worth it! One of Lorre's best performances.

Brilliant surgeon Dr. Gogol is infatuated with Horror Theatre star Yvonne Orlac. After meeting her in person and realising that she only has eyes for her husband, the renowned pianist Stephen Orlac, he buys a life size mannequin of her and dreams of doing what Pygmalion did with Galatea. When Stephen is involved in an horrific train crash and has both his hands crushed beyond healing, Yvonne pleads with Gogol to help save his well being, he does, by amputating the crushed hands and grafting on the hands of a recently executed murderer, a murderer whose speciality was knives!

Mad Love is one of those amazingly old classics that is a hybrid of genre staples. At times it's surrealist and at others it's operating via a Grand Guginol pulse, whilst knowingly it laces the story with an uneasy comedic bent. Boasting camera work from Gregg Toland and Chester Lyons and directed by the impressive Karl Freund, this adaptation of Maurice Renard's novel is a chillingly memorable piece of work. Working off a plot that sees the bad Doctor driven by lustations rather than out and out insanity, Freund revels in slowly winding the coil until the spring that is Peter Lorre (Gogol) explodes (implodes), cloaking various scenes in telling shadows that themselves become integral to the plot. Peter Lorre is of course in his element, demented yet sympathetic, it's real hard to take your eyes away from his magnetic weirdness. Colin Clive as Stephen Orlac also puts in a performance of note, all twitchy nervousness and believable emotional torment, whilst Frances Drake more than adequately brings vulnerability to the centrifugal importance of Yvonne's emotional turmoil.

Weird and gorgeous, and incredibly well written, Mad Love holds up very well today as a horror/romance film of vast influential worth. So see it in the dark and marvel at its various moments of cinematic excellence. 8.5/10

When acclaimed concert pianist Stephen Orlac (Colin Clive) is in a terrible accident, his hands are crushed and must be amputated. His wife Yvonne (Frances Drake) appeals to the brilliant Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre) to use his surgical genius to save Stephen's hands. Gogol accepts as he's madly in love with Yvonne, but instead of saving Stephen's hands, he replaces them with those from an executed murderer.

This was Lorre's first American film, and one of his very best performances ever. He's at once menacingly creepy and pathetically sympathetic, a brilliant mind trapped in an ugly body, deeply in love with someone he can never have. I also really like Drake as the object of affection, beautiful, classy and empathetic. Lorre's costume late in the film is a visual highlight of 1930's film, and the moody cinematography is excellent. Recommended.

German actor Peter Lorre made his American film debut in "Mad Love," which I believe was an MGM release and proved to be competition for some of the popular Universal Horror films of the time. Peter Lorre had made his epic debut with 1930's "M," in which Peter amazingly played a child-killer under director Fritz Lang. Peter is a demonic performer if their ever was one, and every memorable scene in this film has Peter's lonely mad doctor character at the helm. Peter is very much in love with a stage actress who is preparing to marry a popular pianist, and all of this gets in the way of Peter's fantasy to have the woman all for himself. A train accident occurs, which leaves the pianist with little hope, but it is Peter the doctor who goes about replacing the pianist's hands with those of a dead criminal, whom Peter himself had watched the beheading of a few days before the train accident. Things take a very silly turn, when the hands somehow take over the very personality of the pianist, and Peter's mad doctor plays the innocent with the pianist, while at the time, telling his actress girlfriend that he is simply mad and that she should stay far and away from him. I would rather not mention how the story unfolds, because that would ruin the good fun for those who have yet to watch this feature, but I must admit that the ending is very funny in a sad way, and there's so much going on with Peter's sanity throughout the film. Worth seeing for a variety of different reasons, so watch it.

In Paris, creepy bald-headed Peter Lorre (as Doctor Gogol) visits the incredibly realistic wax museum figure of beautiful scream queen Frances Drake (as Yvonne). Later, Mr. Lorre is consumed with orgasmic desire as he watches the real Ms. Drake perform on stage as a tortured victim. Backstage, the actress is flattered by the renown surgeon's admiration. But, Lorre is devastated to learn Drake will be leaving for England with pianist husband Colin Clive (as Stephen Orlac).

En route, Mr. Clive's hands are wounded in a train wreck. Called in to operate, Lorre decides to amputate Clive's hands and sew on the hands of a recently decapitated murderer. Poor Clive loses his piano-playing ability, but gains other talents… The whole "hand transplant" machinations never grabbed me or aided in my suspension of disbelief; but "Mad Love" is stylish, has Karl Freund directing, and Lorre is an amazing sight for sore eyes. Also watch for the Yvonne's maid Sara Haden (as Marie), who can really hold her own.

******* Mad Love (7/12/35) Karl Freund ~ Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive, Ted Healy

The legendary Karl Freund is definitely better known for his highly innovative work as director of photography, resulting in an extensive career (spanning across 5 decades) of beautiful and pioneering cinematography. With a body of work as impressive as his (ranging from Lang's "Metropolis" to TV's classic "I Love Lucy"), it is understandable that Freund's work as a director gets so easily forgotten. The fact that he only directed 10 films in his career also plays an important factor in this, however, at least 2 of his directorial efforts easily rank among the best horror movies ever made. The first one of the two (incidentally, his first work as a director in America), 1932's "The Mummy" is really the most popular, given that it is also one of the best performances by horror icon Boris Karloff; however, it is in the second one where Freund's talents really shine, making this last movie as a director his final masterpiece.

Loosely based on Maurice Renard's novel, "Les Mains d'Orlac" (literally, "The Hands of Orlac"), "Mad Love" is the story of Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre), a brilliant surgeon deeply in love with a beautiful theater actress named Yvonne Orlac (Frances Drake). When season ends, Yvonne announces her retirement, and this prompts Gogol to finally meeting her. Unfortunately for Gogol, Yvonne tells him that she is actually married to concert pianist Stephen Orlac (Colin Clive). Saddened, Gogol leaves, but a bizarre turn of events will make him meet Yvonne one more time: Stephen has lost his hands in a terrible train accident and only Gogol's expertise will be able to save him. While he saves Stephen's hands, the operation begins to have serious side-effects, not only in Orlac, but also in Gogol.

While the screenplay was written by P.J. Wolfson, John L. Balderston and the usual assortment of contributing writers, the movie is mostly the work of Guy Endore and Florence Crewe-Jones, who made the adaptation from the French novel. Endore was a regular writer for MGM at the time, and helped to write other MGM's horrors like "Mark of the Vampire", "The Raven" and "The Devil-Doll"; it is his style, mix of Gothic and pulp novel what flows through the movie, although he remains true to the essence of Renard's classic horror novel. Renard is often credited as being the "inventor" of the Mad Scientist archetype, and truly gives a great use to it in his novel; appropriately, "Mad Love" keeps this psychological drama between characters and brings it to life, spending considerable time detailing the characters and their relationships, building up the necessary tension for the grandiose finale.

After directing several melodramas and comedies in a row, "Mad Love" allowed Freund to once again return to his expressionist roots and create a haunting tale of horror and madness in almost the same vein as his earlier classic, "The Mummy". Unlike what would be expected of a cinematographer, Freund dedicates as much attention to the non-visual aspects of the film as he does for the visual imagery, playing with the many different elements that form the bizarre love triangle of the film. The story itself focuses a lot in psychological themes, ranging from neurosis and hysteria, to compulsive obsession and dangerous psychosis; Freund makes great use of this themes across the movie, although it is obvious that he prefers the character of Dr. Gogol to the other protagonists of the film. Like Im-Ho-Tep the mummy, Dr. Gogol is driven by the mad love he feels for a woman, but unlike with the mummy, Freund makes sure to never fully transform Gogol into a monster, making him very human and frighteningly realist.

Peter Lorre's acting is essential for this last element in Gogol's persona, and he delivers one of this most amazing performances in his career. While lesser known than his characters in "M" or in "The Maltese Falcon", Dr. Gogol is certainly an iconic Lorre character that truly showcases Lorre's versatile talent. Frances Drake is surprisingly great, showing great emotion and excellent domain of the scene, giving her best to avoid being overshadowed by Lorre in their scenes together. Colin Clive, who would become famous as Dr. Victor Frankenstein in James Whale's films, delivers a truly effective performance as Orlac, but I found that Freund seems definitely much more interested in Dr. Gogol and his antics than in the pianist's neurosis, leaving few space to Orlac's growing insanity. Still, Clive does a very good performance despite the limited screen time his character receives when compared to Gogol.

It is probably this last point what truly stops this movie from being a classic of horror, as with a runtime of barely 68 minutes, it feels too short and gives the feeling that something was missing (perhaps a few more scenes with Colin Clive) in this psychological thriller. It's not really a big flaw in the end, but I truly was expecting to see the wonderful story being explored a bit more, as personally I felt it somewhat incomplete. On a different business, and as expected in a film by Karl Freund, the cinematography is simply brilliant, Chester A. Lyons and Freund's protegé, Gregg Toland (who would become a legend on his own), are in charge of it and devise one of the most beautifully looking horror of the 30s, easily on par with Freund's job for Universal.

It's a shame that studios were more interested in Freund's work as a cinematographer, because "Mad Love" proves that there he truly had talent as a director too. Who knows what would Freund had directed after this movie, specially considering the great improvements in cinematography he went on devising through his long and successful career. As it is, "Mad Love" is the final statement of a master who simply wasn't allowed to make more films (although who knows, probably he wasn't interested in directing), but it is nice to see him retiring with a top notch masterpiece. 9/10

One thing about MGM even their B pictures looked like A products. No wonder it was called the Tiffany of studios. A modest programmer like Mad Love has a bit of elegance to it.

Peter Lorre all bug eyed when he's around Frances Drake stars in Mad Love. Basically he's as obsessed with her as the fans who killed Barbara Colby and Rebecca Schaefer. When actress Drake's concert pianist husband Colin Clive is injured necessitating amputation of his hands, the skill of Lorre with techniques way into the future attaches the hands of murderer Edward Brophy who had a nice skill of his own with throwing knives.

Is it the hands making Clive want to take up knife throwing? Lots of debate about that in the film and in the story, the Hands Of Orlac on which the film is based.

Lorre was always great at playing disturbed people starting right at the beginning of his career with Fritz Lang's M. Ted Healy is in this film as a rather bumptious American newspaperman. But this one is really Lorre's film as a cosmic joke of immense proportion is played on him.

Excellent, morbid story of a brilliant sureon's (Lorre) obsessive, fetishistic love for a Grand Guignol style actress. The early scenes are perhaps the best film evocative of actual Grand Guignol sadefests. Lorre manages to procure a perfect waxen statue of his love object, thus introducing doppleganger horror, a relatively rare treat in American horror. The main plot focuses on Lorre's attempt to implicate Drake's husband in a series of murders by convincing him that the hands he grafted for him are acting of their own will (as in "Hands of Orlac"). Many subtle moments (which critics have not credited the film for), some garishly out-of-place slapstick humor is the only negative aspect. Fantastic photography.

This is Lorre's entry into classic horror stardom: Karloff has his Frankenstein monster, Lugosi has Dracula (forever, folks), Chaney Jr. has the wolfman, and Lorre's got this lesser-known but equally classic film to recommend him as one of the major horror stars of the classic era. This film represents MGM's entry into the early 30s horror film sweepstakes as well, and they did well to associate themselves with solid hands like Freund's and Lorre's. Hands..... hmmmmm unintended pun. Anyway, if anyone out there is a fan of classic horror films and has not yet seen this one, put it at the top of your list.

Peter Lorre's bald, creepy looks as "Dr. Gogol" are memorable in this film. The story is fairly interesting with a few twists, although a bit far-fetched and a little corny in spots. Then again, it is 70 years old.

The black-and-white cinematography is very good in parts. I really liked the closeups on Lorre and the shadows in the hallway. Frances Drake is a pretty woman except for those weird eyebrows, the style of the day, unfortunately.

I saw this on a fair-to-poor quality tape. I imagine this looks pretty good on DVD and I'd like to see it again now that it's out on that format.

Apparently, Peter Lorre only agreed to do this film because he had been promised the lead in "Crime & Punishment" afterwards if he did it. I've seen both films, and though Lorre was magnificent in both, I prefer this one. I'm so glad he agreed to do it.

"Mad Love" is the story of Doctor Gogol, brilliant Parisian surgeon whose reputation for doing surgeries on desperate cases free of charge is well- renowned. But Doctor Gogol is a morbid man as well, gleefully attending public beheadings and taking orgasmic delight in the Grand Guignol Theatre de Horreur, which stages realistic horror plays. The star of the Theatre is Yvonne, and Doctor Gogol is madly in love with her, hence the title of our film. But Yvonne is already married to Stephen Orlac, a famous concert pianist. Doctor Gogol, with his bald head and buggy eyes, gives her the creeps and her distaste for him is clear. However, when her husbands train crashes and his million-dollar hands are destroyed, it is Doctor Gogol she turns to. Desperate to win the love of Yvonne, Gogol agrees to do the impossible. Stephen Orlac is saved...but only Gogol knows that his hands are no longer his own. They once belonged to a killer, and they want to kill again.

Lorre turns in yet another astonishing performance here; his Gogol is very convincing, quite capable of handling a few lines of cornball dialogue without seeming foolish in the least. And the sympathy he elicits is simply amazing; I found myself cheering for him the whole time instead of for Yvonne, who struck me as a cold, opportunistic gold digger, quite willing to use the Doctor if it served her purpose. I'm sure this was not the intent of the filmmakers, but Lorre emerges as the hero here, at least in my humble opinion. Toward the end of the film, he is completely unleashed, playing mad, wild music on the organ and donning a most hideous metal contraption which looks like something that H. R. Giger might have designed.

This beautiful black-and-white film by MGM rivals the classic monsters of Universal, and placed Peter Lorre alongside such horror movie icons as Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Vincent Price. Reportedly, Lorre detested these horror film roles that made him famous, but his resentment never shows through; he threw himself into this and every role with creativity and zeal. He is truly marvelous to watch. Mad Love should not be missed by fans of old, spooky Gothic tales. It is a masterpiece.

This is a forgotten film one doesn't see too often. TCM showed it recently as part of their Halloween programming and frankly, it shows clearly how Karl Freund was ahead of his times. Mr. Freund had a long career as a cinematographer; it helps he had an eye for atmosphere and detail, as proved in this film.

The sets and costumes reflect the genius of the team behind the camera, led by Karl Freund. The black and white photography greatly enhances the film. There's a scene at the beginning of the movie where one can see Dr. Gogol, played with immense panache by Peter Lorre, seated in one of the boxes in the theatre. We only see half of his face, because the other half hidden in shadows. We get a sense of evil with only a minimal of lighting and gesture in the sinister figure of Dr. Gogol.

The movie is a mystery suspense, not to be classified as a horror film because the gory details are kept at a minimum, but at the same time, we are shown brilliant frightening moments throughout the picture.

Peter Lorre shines in this film; he carries the movie. Mr. Lorre had excellent parts in other films that followed, but in this film, as well as in "M" he showed a talent and an understanding about the person he is supposed to be. In a way, not having the good looks to be cast in other roles, he became a secondary character actor in the succeeding years.

Frances Drake, as Yvonne Orlac, is awfully good. She's the object of Gogol's affections, but she loves the man that is transformed by the doctor, after a tragic accident. Colin Clive as Stephen Orlac, is quite effective as the pianist who knows a lot about knives. Ted Healy makes a funny appearance as Regan, the reporter in search of sensationalism. Sara Haden, as Marie, Dr Gogol's maid, is excellent as the maid from hell.

Of course, the movie is perhaps Karl Freund's best because in 69 minutes he achieves to do a movie that is fascinating to watch because of the superb acting of Mr. Lorre.

This is a great, little gem of a film that deserves a viewing from anyone interested in expressionist film. Director Karl Freund gives a wonderful sense of the macabre to the interior shots, and the delightfully morbid sense of humor used throughout the film is a constant delight. Peter Lorre gives a stellar performance as the bizarre, bug-eyed Dr. Gogol, whose obsessive lust for the lovely Yvonne Orlac propels the movie. Hoping to be close to her, he agrees to operate on her pianist husband after a train accident leaves his hands crushed. Unbeknownst to either Yvonne or her husband, Dr. Gogol has transplanted the hands of the recently guillotined knife-thrower murderer, Rollo, onto Mr. Orlac. Shortly after he is able to use the hands again, Mr. Orlac notices that they seem to have a mind of their own, and they want to kill! Peter Lorre's portrayal of Dr. Gogol's descent into total psychosis is masterfully done. Some of the humor in the film is played over the top, especially the constantly besotted maid whose performance just goes overboard, but otherwise there is a skillful mix of comedy and horror. All-in-all, a fine example of expressionist filmmaking, one that never fails to delight.

This adaptation of Renard's The Hands of Orlac is quite good, yet a bit on the stagy side. It is one of Peter Lorre's early films and his first for Hollywood. Lorre is quite good, and almost sympathetic in a way, as a surgeon who has hopelessly fallen in love with the wife of a great pianist. Colin Clive of Frankenstein fame plays the musician, and Frances Drake plays his rather annoying, overacting wife. The visuals of the film are first-rate, as it was directed by great cameraman Karl Freund. Ted Healy adds some unnecessary comic relief. What I liked best about the film was the staging of the story against some beautiful expressionistic sets and Freunds expressive camerawork.

This mid-thirties MGM exercise in horror is a visual treat, as directed by the great Karl Freund, who was better known as a cinematographer. The sets are gorgeous, the camera angles and compositions no less stunning, and on a purely technical and visual level the film is a tour de force, and in its way a masterpiece. Unfortunately the script gets a little, well, batty, and one can never get away from the improbability of the story, which concerns a concert pianist who loses his hands as the result of a train wreck, only to have them replaced with those of a murderer by an insane surgeon who's in love with his wife and keeps a wax statue of her in his house. This undoubtedly sounds more fun than it is, but the movie takes itself rather seriously, and is too slow-paced and sincere to be camp. Had it been directed by James Whale, who surely would have had Dwight Frye and Edward Van Sloan on hand to give it a little pizazz, it might have worked better. Freund's directorial style is languid, and he conspicuously lacks humor, which this sort of tale requires. He did a magnificent job with The Mummy, where his lugubrious sensibility was perfectly suited to the material, which concerned the living dead, but here is is dealing with people who are very much alive, and sparks are definitely indicated, and yet never present.

On the other hand, Peter Lorre is brilliant as the mad and wonderfully named Dr. Gogol, and he dominates the film with his usual schizophrenic authority, as he seems to hear voices and see images in the darnedest places. Frances Drake is stunning as the object of his affections, but is a rather colorless actress, and a tad matronly, suggesting a youthful and pretty Margaret Dumont, which is to say she's aristocratic type, lacking the coarse, magnetic beauty that would drive a man mad. Were I an earl I can well imagine wanting to make Miss Drake my wife, but for the life of me I can't imagine chasing her all over town, as Gogol does. Colin Clive is surprisingly uninteresting as the pianist who loses his hands, and gains another's. And he looks awful. A mere four years had passed since he had first played Dr. Frankenstein. It seems more like forty. The smaller roles are nicely limned by, among others, Billy Gilbert, as an autograph hound, Ed Brophy as Rollo, the knife thrower, and Ted Healy, former honcho of the Three Stooges, and now a solo act. Now if only Moe, Larry and Curly had showed up this movie might have been something.

I really enjoyed "Mad Love," it moves well and is a lot of fun to watch. It's certainly the most substantial role I've seen Colin Clive in other than his immortal portrayals of Dr. Frankenstein. Peter Lorre was such a great actor, he does scene after scene as the creepy Dr. Gogol with such natural ease, it doesn't seem like he's acting at all. Yet Dr. Gogol comes across as more pathetic than evil, which is crucial to this film, which has a very simple plot and a predictable ending.

Peter Lorre is great to watch! Even the most simple, corny line spoken by him rings with meaning and truthfulness, Lorre really knew how to play for/to the camera. This movie is only a little over an hour, highly recommended if you're going to do a double feature, and you're looking for a short feature as an appetizer.

Karl Freund directed this stylish and creepy film starring Peter Lorre(memorable in a star-making performance) as Doctor Gogol, a lonely surgeon madly in love with stage actress Yvonne Orlac, though his affection is sadly spurned because she is already married to a successful pianist(played by Colin Clive). When his hands are later damaged in a train accident, his only hope for recovery is...Dr. Gogol! Desperate, Yvonne begs him to help her husband, and he agrees, but uses the hands of recently executed murderer Rollo, who seems to pass on his strangling ways to the pianist. Can Yvonne save her husband, and stop Gogol? Effective horror film holds up well today, though Gogol may provoke laughter as much as fear...(Nothing wrong with that here though!)

Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre) becomes obsessed with Yvonne Orlac (Frances Drake), not realizing she is married. When her husband (Colin Clive) has his pianist hands crushed, Gogol must save him... but the new hands take on a life of their own!

With all due respect to the other cast and crew, this is Peter Lorre's movie, through and through. He was great in "M", but really breaks through here. As Mike Mayo says, "nothing on screen tops Lorre's eggshell-smooth bald dome, and the makeup he wears toward the end." This was Lorre's first American film and he blends in flawlessly.

The imagery is also great with its stark black and white, director Karl Freund's homage to German expressionism. Although also directing "The Mummy", Freund was better known as a cinematographer and occasional producer, not preferring to direct. (He was also a communist sympathizer in pre-Nazi Germany... his wife was exterminated.)

The film is beautifully shot, mixing Freund's expressionism with cinematographer Gregg Toland's own skills. Toland, of course, went on to film "Citizen Kane", and many have seen the parallels between this film and that. Also, while multiple versions of this story ("The Hands of Orlac") have been filmed, both before and after "Mad Love", this is the superior film.

Much has been written and much more ought to be written, but in short, "Mad Love" is the overlooked gem of 1930s horror and really deserves a wider audience with a better examination of it and those involved.

Directed by Karl Freund. Starring Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive, Ted Healy, Sara Haden, Henry Kolker, May Beatty, Keye Luke, Edward Brophy.

A doctor (Lorre) obsessed with stage actress Drake is called upon to save her husband (Clive), gravely injured in a train crash; he does so by amputating the patient's shattered hands and replacing them with the hands of an executed killer (Brophy). Chiller in the tradition of the Grand Guignol is, of course, forced into the sort of production code restraint that spoils the fun of that vivid style, but at least it looks great (some scenes were shot by legendary director of photography, Gregg Toland, and director Freund already knew a thing or two about capturing atmospheric shots from photographing movies like "Dracula" and "Metropolis"). Lorre is terrific as always--it's surprising he never gets around to singing "1979" considering how much he looks like Billy Corgan here--though most of the remaining cast flounders, especially the cloying reporter (Healy, creator of the Three Stooges). Based on the novel "The Hands of Orlac"; different versions of the same story filmed before and after this adaptation share that title.

63/100

The inimitable Peter Lorre plays Dr. Gogol, an incredibly gifted surgeon. He has a weakness, however. He has fallen for an actress whose being rules his life. When she tells him she is married he is crestfallen. Her husband is a renowned classical pianist. He is injured in a train wreck, his hands crushed. Lorre works to cure him, but until he transplants the hands of a murderer, a knife thrower, the man cannot be whole. Of course, he now has the hands of a murderer and they want to kill, using knives. He thinks he will get the girl, but he disgusts her. Her rejection sends him over the edge. Great vehicle for the wonderful Lorre as he expresses madness and pain. Very well done horror tale.

"Mad Love" was the film that launched Peter Lorre on his Hollywood career and he is wonderfully over-the-top as indeed is the whole film, just one of a number of versions of that grand guignol classic "The Hands of Orlac". Orlac is the concert pianist who loses his hands in an accident and then has the hands of a murderer grafted on by Lorre's mad surgical genius. Unfortunately Orlac is played by that most wooden and unlikely of thirties' stars, Colin Clive, whose alcoholism resulted in his early death at the age of 37 only two years after making this. Clive was a terrible actor and director Karl Freund surrounds him with a host of terrible actors which means this short film, (68 minutes), really does have a B-Movie feel to it but it is superbly photographed, (Gregg Toland was one of the two credited cinematographers), and Lorre gives an A-plus performance which more than redeems it.

A mad scientist named Dr Gogol is obsessively infatuated with the lead actress of a local grotesque play in Paris.

Though she is madly in love with a popular pianist, who sends her messages via code, when he knows his performances are being broadcast live on the radio.

They plan to move to England together; though, not if Gogol has any say in the matter...

Not only does he publicly molest her; he buys the wax statue made in her image; and formulates a sinister plot to ensure the object of his affection will never leave his sight.

Meanwhile, police are moving local thug and killer, Rollo- whose proficiencies involve knife throwing- to the place where he is to be executed.

Unfortunately, the train that both he, and the pianist, are in crashes...leaving the pianist with such severe injuries to his hands, that it will require their amputation.

Rollo is executed (after mentioning the "longest dam ever built in the world").

While the young actress is left so desperate, after the accident- that she turns to Gogol, hoping he can use his surgery skills to help her beloved.

But he plans to use this oppourtunity to his advantage.

He asks for the dead body of Rollo; from which he will harvest the hands; and transplant them onto the pianist.

After numerous forms of therapy, the operation finally takes...though, things aren't exactly the same...

...he can no longer play the piano, no matter how hard he practices.

He can, however, throw a knife with mean accuracy all of a sudden...which leads to the untimely death of his father.

Turns out that Gogol had also replaced Rollo's head using the same procedure...and he's still alive...just with fancy new metallic hands.

So, either his transplant hands are starting to take over his mind; or Rollo is somehow able to control his actions through his hands.

At least, that is what they are leading him to believe...though, things might not be exactly like they seem...

While not as good as Eyes Without A Face or House Of Wax...it's still a classic.

Even if the story is a bit implausible in retrospect.

Lorre's portrayal of Gogol is genuinely creepy.

6 out of 10.

"Mad Love" is not nearly as well known as other '30s horror classics, but certainly deserves to be! The director, Karl Freund, was one of early cinema's most innovative cinematographers, having worked with F. W. Murnau, James Whale, and others on such gems as "Frankenstein" and "The Last Laugh." The film presents Frances Drake as one of the most emotionally strong female characters to be featured in a '30s flick. Lorre gives one of his creepiest perfomances... it's great, high camp. Colin Clive (Dr. Henry Frankenstein himself!) lends strong support and the comic relief (annoying to some, not to me) is supplied by vaudeville great Ted Healy, the man who brought the Three Stooges together as his second bananas before they went solo. But the star of the show is Freund's direction - this is one of the most eerie, atmospheric films ever made. Sure, it's a bit over the top, but what '30s and '40s horror film isn't? A classic! Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Interesting old horror movie starring Peter Lorre as a wacky doctor who, desperate to help the woman he loves, grafts the hands of a killer onto her pianist husband's mangled hands. The poor husband gets suspicious when he has trouble playing the piano and would rather throw knives at people instead.

There was just no one like Peter Lorre when it comes to playing these obsessed roles. I just don't know why anyone ever came to him for surgical services. Unlike one of the posters, who found him sympathetic, he scared the hell out of me. And that housekeeper of his was terrifying in her own right.

Frances Drake is very good as the loving wife and object of Dr. Orlac's affections. The film is very well done and atmospheric. If you are a lover of this genre, this is a must see.