Orlacs Hände (The Hands of Orlac) poster & wallpaper
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Conrad Veidt, Carmen Cartellieri, Fritz Kortner, Paul Adkonas

In this classic horror film, based on a novel by Maurice Renard and filmed by Robert Wiene (of Dr. Caligari fame), a world-famous pianist burns his hands in an airplane crash. A mysterious doctor offe... read more read more...rs to do a transplant and the pianist, his career on the verge of ruin, accepts. After a series of mysterious strangulations occur around him, the pianist beings to suspect the culprit might be his new pair of hands. His search for the donor is impeded as his new appendages slowly drive him insane. This film has been remade countless times, the most successful being the 1954 Mad Love version with Peter Lorre in the lead. ~ Brian Whitener, Rovi

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80% liked it

281 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Robert Wiene

Release Date: September 24, 1924

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DVD Release Date: February 19, 2008

Stats: 42 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (42)

  • rubystevens
    August 24, 2011
    rubystevens
    a lot of fun. veidt's anguished performance here may only be matched by peter lorre's maniacal doctor in the 1935 remake 'mad love'.
  • DrBenway
    October 28, 2009
    DrBenway
    It's that often told story of a musician who loses his hands and gets a new set transplanted from a murderer. Does the man control the hands, or will the hands lead him on a rampage to express his own guilty desires? This low-budget Austrian production reunites actor Conrad Vei... read moredt with director Robert Wiene (The Cabinet of Caligari). Although the pacing is a bit off at times, this is a very entertaining late-nighter for those interested in German Expressionism.

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  • fb1142797643
    October 18, 2009
    fb1142797643
    A tasty curiosity for those interested in Chris Kattan's pre-SNL work.

    Seriously, I was a bit disappointed with this film. Good beginning, good ending, dull middle. The acting is of that outdated school of bulging eyeballs and staggering around at quarter speed to look "tormente... read mored," and the slow pace - - even crossing a room sometimes seems to take forever -- really takes a bite out of the story's appeal. And unlike with some similar films of the period, the sets are not eye-catching enough to compensate.

    I much preferred the Peter Lorre remake, "Mad Love."
  • capkronos
    April 17, 2008
    capkronos
    Interesting and well made German silent version of Maurice Renard's novel "Les Mains d'Orlac" from the same folks behind the expressionist classic THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. Conrad Veidt gives an outstanding, creepy and memorable dramatic performance as the tormented Orlac, a f... read moreamous pianist whose hands are replaced by those of an executed thief and murderer after a train accident. He soon begins to think he's not only received a maniac's hands, but also his desire to commit crimes. The cavernous and sparsely decorated interiors as well as the typically exaggerated performances often give this the feel of a theatrical production, and the movie is a little overlong (nearly 2 hours) and slow-going but worthwhile for Veidt's amazing performance, some nice visuals and a surprise twist ending. The same tale would later be the basis for 1935's MAD LOVE (starring Peter Lorre) and 1960's THE HANDS OF ORLAC (starring Mel Ferrer and also with Christopher Lee and Donald Pleasence).

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Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy
July 6, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Classic of German Expressionism Full Review

Mark R. Leeper
September 28, 2008
Mark R. Leeper, rec.arts.movies.reviews

This original version runs a little slowly by modern standards, but it has one of the great performances by the under-appreciated Conrad Veidt.

Fernando F. Croce
February 18, 2008
Fernando F. Croce, Slant Magazine

Like his more famous The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Robert Wiene's The Hands of Orlac is ponderous but indelible. Full Review

March 26, 2009
Variety

Click to read the article Full Review

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