Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Sanjeev Waters A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Aspen Orson There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

classicsoncall Every year Turner Classics employs the weekends of October to prepare for the annual Halloween holiday. One of their themes this year was the appropriately named 'rogue body parts', kicked off by the airing of this Peter Lorre horror classic from 1935. I had to think about the rogue body parts business but it makes perfect sense if you think about it and how it relates to the story here.If you've never seen a bald Peter Lorre before you're in for a treat. The look adds to an already demented and creepy appearance usually augmented by those shifty eyes, and with director Karl Freund's effective use of shadow and light, there are times Dr. Gogol (Lorre) takes on an almost demonic appearance. At one point in the story, Gogol comes almost completely unglued as he removes an intricately devised harness from his neck and head that would have made Hannibal Lecter proud.As desperate as the circumstances are for Gogol's patient Steven Orlac (Colin Clive) and his wife Yvonne (Frances Drake), the picture manages to interject a fair amount of humor into the story. Gogol's housekeeper Marie (Sarah Haden) is an absolute trip with her pet cockatoo. In one particular scene the photographer captured a wonderful shadow of the bird on her shoulder affecting an over-sized headdress. Newspaperman Reagan (Ted Healy) played off the housekeeper in a couple of scenes that would have convinced you this was a comedy had the overall story not been so grim.Ultimately the film ends in tragedy for Gogol who goes mad in his obsession for the love of a woman he can never attain. The theme of 'each man kills the thing he loves' runs throughout the picture, though in Dr. Gogol's case, he is pre-empted by the accurate throw of a knife by the hand he grafted onto the arm of Orlac, an irony easily overlooked during the frantic finish of this off beat horror film.If the idea of crawling hands appeals to you, I would direct you to the 1960 film "Tormented", or better yet, have another go round with Peter Lorre in the 1946 film "The Beast With Five Fingers". That film followed "Mad Love" on this year's rogue body parts extravaganza on Turner Classics.

dougdoepke With his bald head, pudgy diminutive figure and buggy eyes, Lorre's Dr. Gogol resembles a troll from heck. So, with those looks, how does he think he's going to win the affection of the beauteous Yvonne (Drake). Besides he can't really decide whether it's the live Yvonne or her wax figure that attracts him most. After all the character's adapted from the Greek myth of a statue that springs to life because of a man's yearning. Here I've got to hand it to Drake who manages to stand stock still while impersonating the statue, no mean trick.Anyhow, Lorre manages to look scary, but still be sympathetic, since he devotes his physician's skills to healing injured kids just for the humanity of it. But he's got this weird obsession with Yvonne after seeing her in one of those old style gory stage shows. Besides she's already got a husband who plays beautiful music, unlike the poor ill-formed Gogol. Still that's no problem for a guy who can not only help kids, but also transplant heads and hands when needed. After all, this is Peter Lorre, not Robert Taylor. So watch out Mr. Yvonne (Clive), that obsession is all-consuming.Having seen the movie years ago with all its nightmarish light and shadow, I chuckle every time director Freund's name comes up as a regular crew member in the old slapstick series, I Love Lucy. It's hard to conceive of two more contrasting formats, yet he appeared to excel at both. Anyway, the movie's an effective horror piece thanks mainly to Lorre and Freund. My only reservations are Clive who looks too dissipated to be either a desirable husband or a concert pianist, while the knife-throwing gimmick seems too impersonal to be scary. I'd have preferred the hands of maybe a more "ripper" type psychopath. All in all, the movie's a Lorre showcase, proving you don't have to have glamour-boy type looks to carry a movie impressively.

wes-connors In Paris, creepy bald-headed Peter Lorre (as Doctor Gogol) visits the incredibly realistic wax museum figure of beautiful scream queen Frances Drake (as Yvonne). Later, Mr. Lorre is consumed with orgasmic desire as he watches the real Ms. Drake perform on stage as a tortured victim. Backstage, the actress is flattered by the renown surgeon's admiration. But, Lorre is devastated to learn Drake will be leaving for England with pianist husband Colin Clive (as Stephen Orlac).En route, Mr. Clive's hands are wounded in a train wreck. Called in to operate, Lorre decides to amputate Clive's hands and sew on the hands of a recently decapitated murderer. Poor Clive loses his piano-playing ability, but gains other talents… The whole "hand transplant" machinations never grabbed me or aided in my suspension of disbelief; but "Mad Love" is stylish, has Karl Freund directing, and Lorre is an amazing sight for sore eyes. Also watch for the Yvonne's maid Sara Haden (as Marie), who can really hold her own.******* Mad Love (7/12/35) Karl Freund ~ Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive, Ted Healy

gavin6942 Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre) becomes obsessed with Yvonne Orlac (Frances Drake), not realizing she is married. When her husband (Colin Clive) has his pianist hands crushed, Gogol must save him... but the new hands take on a life of their own! With all due respect to the other cast and crew, this is Peter Lorre's movie, through and through. He was great in "M", but really breaks through here. As Mike Mayo says, "nothing on screen tops Lorre's eggshell-smooth bald dome, and the makeup he wears toward the end." This was Lorre's first American film and he blends in flawlessly.The imagery is also great with its stark black and white, director Karl Freund's homage to German expressionism. Although also directing "The Mummy", Freund was better known as a cinematographer and occasional producer, not preferring to direct. (He was also a communist sympathizer in pre-Nazi Germany... his wife was exterminated.) The film is beautifully shot, mixing Freund's expressionism with cinematographer Gregg Toland's own skills. Toland, of course, went on to film "Citizen Kane", and many have seen the parallels between this film and that. Also, while multiple versions of this story ("The Hands of Orlac") have been filmed, both before and after "Mad Love", this is the superior film.Much has been written and much more ought to be written, but in short, "Mad Love" is the overlooked gem of 1930s horror and really deserves a wider audience with a better examination of it and those involved.