Director: Karl Freund

Writers: Florence Crewe-Jones; Guy Endore; P. J. Wolfson; John L. Balderston

From novel: Les Mains d'Orlac by Maurice Renard

Musical Score by: Dimitri Tiomkin

Producer: John W. Considine, Jr.

Keywords: Horror

Name	Occupation	Birth	Death	Known for
Edward Brophy	Actor	27-Feb-1895	27-May-1960	The Last Hurrah
Colin Clive	Actor	20-Jan-1900	25-Jun-1937	Frankenstein
Frances Drake	Actor	22-Oct-1912	18-Jan-2000	WWII pinup girl, also actress
Sara Haden	Actor	17-Nov-1899	15-Sep-1981	The Shop Around the Corner
Ted Healy	Actor	1-Oct-1896	21-Dec-1937	Creator of The Three Stooges
Henry Kolker	Actor	13-Nov-1870	15-Jul-1947	Romeo and Juliet
Peter Lorre	Actor	26-Jun-1904	23-Mar-1964	The Maltese Falcon
Keye Luke	Actor	18-Jun-1904	12-Jan-1991	Charlie Chan's No. 1 Son, Lee

CAST

Peter Lorre	...   Dr. Gogol
With
Frances Drake	...   Yvonne Orlac
Colin Clive	...   Stephen Orlac
Ted Healy	...   Reagan (reporter)
Sara Haden	...   Marie (maid)
Edward Brophy	...   Rollo (knife thrower)
Henry Kolker	...   Prefect Rosset
Keye Luke	...   Dr. Wong (Gogol's assistant)
May Beatty	...   Françoise (housekeeper)

REVIEWS

Review by anonymous (posted on 6-Oct-2006)

This is a remarkable ,little-seen horror classic that features a truly amazing performance from Peter Lorre as the deranged surgeon in love with another man's wife. For those viewers who have only seen Lorre in self-spoofing roles, this serious portrayal is a revelation. He makes Gogol an unnervingly believable character whose hopeless love for Yvonne Orlac is compelling and strangely sympathetic. He is a sad, lonely figure whose isolation and alienation seem almost tragic when he describes himself to Yvonne as a man who has never known the love of a woman. Frances Drake is perfect as the lovely Yvonne. The scene in which he pleads for her love and she responds that even if she didn't love her husband Orlac, there is something about Gogol that ...'' Repulses you?'' , he almost whispers. '' That frightens me", she responds and Lorre appears to be almost in physical agony at her words. Lorre is so genuinely convincing as a man completely obsessed that the possible temptation to laugh at some of the more outre scenes and dialogue never arises. There is also an unexpected black comedy quality to the film that is quite deliberate, as when Gogol's drunken housekeeper believes that the wax figure of Yvonne has come to life; or has a boozy conversation with an American reporter in which she believes he is talking about the wax statue, while he is referring to the body of the executed murderer Rollo. The result is a film not like anything else from this period of the classic horror film; almost an in-joke at times, but ultimately a truly macabre and fascinating movie.

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