Mad Love (1935)

In France, an insane surgeon's obsession with an actress from England leads him to replace her pianist husband's hands that got mangled in an accident with the hands of a late knife murderer which still have the urge to throw knives.

Director:

Karl Freund

Writers:

Maurice Renard (from the novel: "Les Mains D'Orlac"), Florence Crewe-Jones (translation and adaptation: novel "The Hands of Orlac")

Stars:

Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Lorre	...	Doctor Gogol
Frances Drake	...	Yvonne Orlac
Colin Clive	...	Stephen Orlac
Ted Healy	...	Reagan
Sara Haden	...	Marie (as Sarah Haden)
Edward Brophy	...	Rollo
Henry Kolker	...	Prefect Rosset
Keye Luke	...	Dr. Wong
May Beatty	...	Françoise
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George Davis	...	Chauffeur (scenes deleted)
Billy Dooley	...	Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)
Harold Huber	...	Thief (scenes deleted)
Isabel Jewell	...	Marianne (scenes deleted)
Leo White	...	Undetermined Role (scenes deleted)

Storyline

In Paris, the great surgeon Dr. Gogol falls madly in love with stage actress Yvonne Orlac, and his ardor disturbs her quite a bit when he discovers to his horror that she is married to concert pianist Stephen Orlac. Shortly thereafter, Stephen's hands are badly crushed in a train accident- beyond the power of standard medicine. Knowing that his hands are his life, Yvonne overcomes her fear and goes to Dr. Gogol, to beg him to help. Gogol decides to surgically graft the hands of executed murderer Rollo onto Stephen Orlac, the surgery is successful but has terrible side-effects...

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Plot Keywords:

hand | surgeon | actress | pianist | knife throwing | 

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Taglines:

Dead hands that live... and love... and kill!

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Genres:

Horror | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 July 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mad Doctor of Paris

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$257,502 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The following lines, quoted by Peter Lorre about halfway through the film, are taken from the first of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese: Guess now who holds thee? Death, I said, But, there, The silver answer rang, Not Death, but Love.

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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.

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Quotes

Reagan, the American Reporter: It's the old story. The old family doctor stuck on a girl and tries to plant a murder on her husband to get rid of him. He's been doing something mighty queer with Rollo's body.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the opening credits, the titles are painted on a glass window pane, which is broken when a fist punches through it.

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Connections

Referenced in Citizen Kane (1941)

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Soundtracks

Etude Opus 10, no.4
(1830) (uncredited)
Music by Frédéric Chopin

User Reviews

Well-Done 1930's Style Horror

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.