Mad Love (1935)

Summary: In Paris, Dr. Gogol is infatuated with theater actress Yvonne Orlac who is married, however, to concert pianist Stephen Orlac. When Stephen's hands are crushed in a train wreck, Yvonne asks for Dr. Gogol's help by operating to save them. Despite the fact she knows he’s obsessed with her, he’s her only hope to save her husband. Although the doctor can't save Stephen's hands, he will do anything to help Yvonne. His solution is to replace Stephen’s hands with those of an recently executed knife-throwing murderer. Gogol's obsession with her grows while Stephen discovers that he has acquired an odd need to throw things. Gogol realizes that to get to Yvonne, he needs to try and drive Stephan insane!           Overall: Basically this is the first film based on the story by Maurice Renard's novel “Les Mains d'Orlac.” This film was then remade as Hands of a Stranger.” The film by itself is just ok, hell the story may have been better in the above remake. However, Peter Lorre was outstanding as the doctor. That’s some awesome acting folks and the number one reason to watch this film. If you haven’t been taking in many black and white films and wanted to know who to watch, this film with peter Lorre’s performance is a must see for sure. Great stuff here.           Comparison: Hands of a Stranger meets The Tell-Tale Heart (1960)

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