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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

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    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
    10/10
    Brilliant Gothic Horror
    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.
    helpful•44
    4
    • Gafke
    • Mar 31, 2004

    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

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 8 minutes
      • Black and White

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