Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Mad Love

  • 19351935
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 8m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
5.5K
YOUR RATING
Peter Lorre and Frances Drake in Mad Love (1935)
Paris, France: a demented surgeon's obsession with a British actress leads him to secretly replace her concert pianist husband's train-wreck-mangled hands with those of a guillotined murderer. . . with a gift for knife-throwing.
Play trailer2:03
1 Video
29 Photos
HorrorRomanceSci-Fi
In Paris, a demented surgeon's obsession with a British actress leads him to secretly replace her concert pianist husband's mangled hands with those of a guillotined murderer with a gift for... Read allIn Paris, a demented surgeon's obsession with a British actress leads him to secretly replace her concert pianist husband's mangled hands with those of a guillotined murderer with a gift for knife-throwing.In Paris, a demented surgeon's obsession with a British actress leads him to secretly replace her concert pianist husband's mangled hands with those of a guillotined murderer with a gift for knife-throwing.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
5.5K
YOUR RATING
    • Karl Freund
  • Writers
    • Maurice Renard(from the novel: "Les Mains D'Orlac")
    • Florence Crewe-Jones(translation and adaptation: novel "The Hands of Orlac")
    • Guy Endore(adaptation)
  • Stars
    • Peter Lorre
    • Frances Drake
    • Colin Clive
    • Karl Freund
  • Writers
    • Maurice Renard(from the novel: "Les Mains D'Orlac")
    • Florence Crewe-Jones(translation and adaptation: novel "The Hands of Orlac")
    • Guy Endore(adaptation)
  • Stars
    • Peter Lorre
    • Frances Drake
    • Colin Clive
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 90User reviews
    • 52Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Theatrical Trailer
    Trailer 2:03
    Watch Theatrical Trailer

    Photos29

    Peter Lorre in Mad Love (1935)
    Peter Lorre and Frances Drake in Mad Love (1935)
    Peter Lorre "Mad Love" 1935 MGM
    Mad Love (1935)
    Mad Love (1935)
    Mad Love (1935)
    Mad Love (1935)
    Mad Love (1935)
    Mad Love (1935)
    Mad Love (1935)
    Peter Lorre in Mad Love (1935)
    Frances Drake in Mad Love (1935)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Peter Lorre
    Peter Lorre
    • Doctor Gogol
    Frances Drake
    Frances Drake
    • Yvonne Orlac
    Colin Clive
    Colin Clive
    • Stephen Orlac
    Ted Healy
    Ted Healy
    • Reagan
    Sara Haden
    Sara Haden
    • Marie
    • (as Sarah Haden)
    Edward Brophy
    Edward Brophy
    • Rollo
    Henry Kolker
    Henry Kolker
    • Prefect Rosset
    Keye Luke
    Keye Luke
    • Dr. Wong
    May Beatty
    May Beatty
    • Françoise
    George Davis
    George Davis
    • Chauffeur
    • (scenes deleted)
    Billy Dooley
    Billy Dooley
    • Undetermined Role
    • (scenes deleted)
    Harold Huber
    Harold Huber
    • Thief
    • (scenes deleted)
    Isabel Jewell
    Isabel Jewell
    • Marianne
    • (scenes deleted)
    Leo White
    Leo White
    • Undetermined Role
    • (scenes deleted)
    Sam Ash
    Sam Ash
    • Detective Arresting Stephen
    • (uncredited)
    Hooper Atchley
    Hooper Atchley
    • Train Conductor
    • (uncredited)
    Agostino Borgato
    Agostino Borgato
    • Stage Doorman
    • (uncredited)
    Maurice Brierre
    • Taxi Driver
    • (uncredited)
      • Karl Freund
    • Writers
      • Maurice Renard(from the novel: "Les Mains D'Orlac")
      • Florence Crewe-Jones(translation and adaptation: novel "The Hands of Orlac")
      • Guy Endore(adaptation)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Devil-Doll
    7.0
    The Devil-Doll
    Mark of the Vampire
    6.3
    Mark of the Vampire
    Doctor X
    6.4
    Doctor X
    The Beast with Five Fingers
    6.5
    The Beast with Five Fingers
    The Black Cat
    6.9
    The Black Cat
    Island of Lost Souls
    7.4
    Island of Lost Souls
    Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
    7.6
    Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
    The Hands of Orlac
    7.0
    The Hands of Orlac
    The Hands of Orlac
    5.6
    The Hands of Orlac
    The Raven
    6.8
    The Raven
    The Invisible Ray
    6.5
    The Invisible Ray
    Son of Frankenstein
    7.1
    Son of Frankenstein

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Charles Chaplin called Lorre the screen's best actor after seeing his performance in "Mad Love."
    • Goofs
      Throughout the picture, the wax figure moves slightly whenever Frances Drake is subbing for the actual statue. Most noticeable when the bird lands on her shoulder, making the "lifeless" statue sway.
    • Quotes

      Françoise, Gogol's Housekeeper: [referring to the wax figure of Yvonne] It went out for a little walk!

    • Crazy credits
      At the end of the opening credits, the titles are painted on a glass window pane that is broken by a fist punching through it.
    • Alternate versions
      Phil Hardy's The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction (p. 94) states that there is an 85-minute version of the film, although he provides no details about this.
    • Connections
      Edited into The History of the Hands (2016)
    • Soundtracks
      Etude Opus 10, no.4
      (1830) (uncredited)

      Music by Frédéric Chopin

    User reviews90

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Freund's directorial masterpiece
    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
    helpful•32
    1
    • jluis1984
    • Feb 23, 2007

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 12, 1935 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 8 minutes
      • Black and White

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Peter Lorre and Frances Drake in Mad Love (1935)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Mad Love (1935) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.