The Hands of Orlac

Released Jun 4, 1928

1h 32m

Crime

Drama

Horror

List

91%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

80%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

After losing his hands in an accident, a world-famous pianist receives transplanted hands that once belonged to a murderer.

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Tony Rayns

Time Out

Its most enduring quality is Veidt's tormented performance as Orlac.

Oct 17, 2016

Full Review

New York Times

Most of the plot is worked out adroitly, but there is one unnecessary mechanical twist, which is employed detract from part of the horror.

Oct 3, 2016

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Drab photography and over-footage devoted to long gloomy hallways make for repetition.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Jennie Kermode

Eye for Film

One of the most impressive horror films of the silent era.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 11, 2021

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Peter Lorre's auspicious first appearance in a Hollywood-made film.

Rated: B+

Jun 22, 2021

Full Review

Rob Aldam

Backseat Mafia

A classic psychological thriller which charts one man's slow descent into madness.

Jun 14, 2021

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Luca D

Don't expect cabinet of caligari. Yes there is a plot twist and no it's not as good. It's actually rather dull considering how much build up there is. Naturally the cinematography and set design are very good. Probably won't watch again.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Robert Wiene is best known for directing The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, but this is yet another masterwork. It's been remade four times, as Mad Love in 1935, The Hands of Orlac, Hands of a Stranger in 1962 and Body Parts in 1991. They all are versions of the 1920 novel Les Mains d'Orlac by French writer Maurice Renard. It also was kind of sort of remade as The Hand, The Beast With Five Fingers, The Crawling Hand, Les Mains de Roxana and segments in Dr. Terror's House of Horrors and Body Bags. Concert pianist Paul Orlac (Conrad Veidt) loses his hands in an accident only to receive a transplant of the hands from an executed murderer, a fact that begins to drive him insane. The surgeon tries to tell him that a person is not governed by hands, but by the head and heart. But Paul knows — he's now obsessed by the idea of killing someone. Now that he can no longer play piano, Orlac is destitute. He goes to ask his father for money, only to find him stabbed by the same knife the killer once used. It gets worse. He's unsure if he killed his father or not, so he goes to drink, and meets a man who claims to be the killer. Could the surgeon have transplanted a new body on the hands of the killer? Perhaps. But whomever the man is, he begins to blackmail Orlac. There's a twist which I won't give away — why spoil a movie that's 98 years old — but this movie is still a great watch so many years later.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Brilliant piano player; train crash; "Save his hands, his hands are his life!"Heavy B&W expressionism. Crowds like ants, Bright searchlights, shining across and straight at the camera; silhouettes across landscapes. Huge rooms and shadow. The hands are, of course, fucked. The moment Veidt realises is magnificent, - the stillness, that tortured eyes, the moth. The dream face foreshadowing what is to come. Madness and agony.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

After the masterpiece that was The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, I found The Hands of Orlac to be a bit of a disappointment. The glacial pace struck me as self-indulgent on the director's part. It lacked the pacing of Dr Caligari, which didn't overstay its welcome. The best parts of the film are its use of lighting to impart a creepy atmosphere which reflects the psychological state of the protagonist, whose hands have been replaced by those of a murderer after a disfiguring accident. I quite liked the highly dramatic and exaggerated stage-acting of the film's leading man, which is effective at making the viewer believe his fear of his own hands. This film is important for paving the way for future works of medical horror, such as Eyes Without a Face. Ultimately the film dragged on far too long and culminated with an ending that sent the supernatural edifice the film had spent 2 hours constructing crashing down. The silent german expressionist films work far better for me when they don't cleave too closely to reality and allow the shadows to envelop us.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A solo performance for the ages. Even his hands told their own story. A fun watch

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Classic treatment of a classic story

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

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Robert Wiene

Director

Conrad Veidt

Orlac

Fritz Kortner

Nera

Alexandra Sorina

Yvonne Orlac

Carmen Cartellieri

Regine

Fritz Strassny

Vater Orlac

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Synopsis

After losing his hands in an accident, a world-famous pianist receives transplanted hands that once belonged to a murderer.

Director: Robert Wiene
Screenwriter: Louis Nerz
Distributor: Aywon Film
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 4, 1928, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 8, 2017
Runtime: 1h 32m

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