Summary
An insane surgeon's obsession with an actress leads him to replace her wounded pianist husband's hands with the hands of a knife murderer--hands which still have the urge to throw knives.
Cast
Peter Lorre
Doctor Gogol
Frances Drake
Yvonne Orlac
Colin Clive
Stephen Orlac
Ted Healy
Reagan
Sara Haden
Marie
Edward Brophy
Rollo
Henry Kolker
Prefect Rosset
Keye Luke
Dr. Wong
May Beatty
Françoise
Ian Wolfe
Henry Orlac, Stephen Orlac's Stepfather (Uncredited)
Edward Lippy
Pierre, Henry Orlac's Clerk (Uncredited)
Frank Darien
Lavin, Waxwork Proprietor (Uncredited)
Murray Kinnell
Charles, Theatre Official (Uncredited)
Rollo Lloyd
Varsac, Fingerprint Expert (Uncredited)
Charles Trowbridge
Dr. Marbeau (Uncredited)
Nell Craig
Suzanne (Uncredited)
Robert Emmett Keane
Raoul (Uncredited)
Agostino Borgato
Stage Doorman (Uncredited)
Billy Gilbert
Autograph Seeker on Train (Uncredited)
Hooper Atchley
Train Conductor (Uncredited)
Maurice Brierre
Taxi Driver (Uncredited)
Julie Carter
Nurse (Uncredited)
Harvey Clark
Station Master (Uncredited)
Michael Mark
Execution Official (Uncredited)
Alphonse Ethier
Assistant Prefect (Uncredited)
Matty Roubert
Newsboy (Uncredited)
Otto Hoffman
Blind Man (Uncredited)
Cora Sue Collins
Crippled Girl (Uncredited)
Sarah Padden
Crippled Girl's Mother (Uncredited)
Mike Cantwell
Man (Uncredited)
Bernard Siegel
Man (Uncredited)
Kay English
Woman (Uncredited)
Edward Norris
Man Outside Theatre of Horror (Uncredited)
Mary Jo Mathews
Woman Outside Theatre of Horror (Uncredited)
Russ Powell
Gendarme (Uncredited)
Rolfe Sedan
Gendarme (Uncredited)
Sam Ash
Detective Arresting Stephen (Uncredited)
Roger Gray
Detective Arresting Stephen (Uncredited)
Christian J. Frank
Detective Escorting Rollo on Train (Uncredited)
Robert Graves
Detective Escorting Rollo on Train (Uncredited)
Earl Pingree
Detective Interviewing Henry Orlac's Clerk (Uncredited)
Theodore Lorch
Actor at Party (Uncredited)
Carl Stockdale
Actor as 'The Rotary' (Uncredited)
Ramsay Hill
Actor as 'Duke' (Uncredited)
Marc Loebell
Actor as 'Prince' (Uncredited)
Jacques Vanaire
Police Broadcaster (Uncredited)
Monte Vandergrift
Audience Member (Uncredited)
Clarence Wilson
Piano Creditor (Uncredited)
Crew
Director
Karl Freund
Adaptation
Florence Crewe-Jones
Novel
Maurice Renard
Screenplay
John L. Balderston
Screenplay
P.J. Wolfson
Reviews
John Chard
March 17, 2019
9
Chilling.
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
Media
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00
