The Hands of Orlac (1924)
"Orlacs Hände" (original title)

A world-famous pianist loses both hands in an accident. When new hands are grafted on, he doesn't know they once belonged to a murderer.

Director:

Robert Wiene

Writers:

Louis Nerz, Maurice Renard (novel)

Stars:

Conrad Veidt, Alexandra Sorina, Fritz Kortner

Cast

Credited cast:
Conrad Veidt	...	Orlac
Alexandra Sorina	...	Yvonne Orlac
Fritz Kortner	...	Nera
Carmen Cartellieri	...	Regine
Fritz Strassny	...	Vater Orlac
Paul Askonas	...	Diener
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Hans Homma	...	Dr. Serral

Storyline

Orlac, affermato pianista, perde le mani in un grave incidente. I medici decidono allora di trapiantargli le mani di un assassino condannato a morte. L'operazione riesce perfettamente, ma, da quel momento, una serie di strani omicidi, generalmente commessi a mezzo dello strangolamento delle vittime, vengono commessi e la polizia, che inizialmente brancola nel buio, comincia a sospettare del pianista. Alla fine si scopre che il colpevole era, invece, da tutt'altra parte.

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Plot Keywords:

hand | murderer | expressionist | dismemberment | expressionism | 

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

Germany Austria

Release Date:

4 June 1928 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Hands of Orlac

Filming Locations:

Listo-Atelier, Vienna, Austria

Company Credits

Production Co:

Berolina Film GmbH, Pan Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 113 min (restored DVD)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Commercially and critically successful upon release, the film continues to be considered one of the most critically-acclaimed Austrian produced films.

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Connections

Version of The Hands of Orlac (1960)

User Reviews

A dark and suspenseful chiller

One of the real classics of Expressionism -- even the Americans think so, to judge from the fact that they've remade it (badly) several times. To be sure, the premise won't stand examination (but then, it's horror), and a modern viewer may find it hard to adjust to the actors' Expressionist grimacing. However, the movie is consistently suspenseful due to its heavy dark atmosphere and communication of mental torment. The fear of one's own body is a dynamite theme if it's as well presented as it is here.