The Hands of Orlac

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Cast & Crew

Conrad Veidt
Orlac

Fritz Kortner
Nera

Alexandra Sorina
Yvonne Orlac

Carmen Cartellieri
Regine

Fritz Strassny
Vater Orlac

Paul Askonas
Diener

Hans Homma
Dr. Serral

Robert Wiene
Director

Louis Nerz
Screenwriter

Hans Androschin
Cinematographer

Günther Krampf
Cinematographer

Hans Rouc
Art Director

Stefan Wessely
Art Director

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Audience Reviews for The Hands of Orlac

• Oct 28, 2009

  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 Veidt 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. <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=vlcsnap-6758077.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/vlcsnap-6758077.png" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/?action=view¤t=thehandsofcountorlac.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj203/goji9000/thehandsofcountorlac.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
  El Hombre I Super Reviewer
• Oct 18, 2009

  David Lynch must of gotten a huge amount of inspiration from this film. Director Robert Weine, is a visionary with the camera. You have to respect his experiments with the films of the time. This is one of the most artistic and expressionistic films i have ever seen. It took me a while to watch this film, not because of the movie itself but i kept getting interrupted. I really enjoyed seeing my old friend Conrad Veight (Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) starring in this as Paul Orlac, a pianist who loses his hands in a accident. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite character actors. I definitely want to get into the talkies. The silents are getting tedious, i really want to hear someone talk. But there are saving points for this movie that keep my interest. Like I said above, the art is one of the huge points of interest in this movie. The plot is kinda funny, unfortunately this movie seems more like a crime drama then a Horror movie. It still has creepiness hanging around on the set though. Paul Orlac loses his hands and goes through a experimental procedure to get new hands grafted on his stumps. Bad for Orlac though, as the hands that he has grafted on are those of murderer. He begins to go insane as he is accused of various murders through out the film. Based on the book Les mains d'orlac by Maurice Renard, the film shows a great deal of tension and mystery. So far from the other movies that i watched i would have to say that this is one of my favorites but it doesn't really rank very high on the scareometer. I am going to have to give this silent a 6/10. The movie is about as scary as Eraserhead or Lost Highway. Its more weird then scary. Idle Hands Sid
  Brandon S Super Reviewer
• Aug 12, 2009

  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 "tormented," 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."
  

  Super Reviewer
• Aug 06, 2008

  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'.
  Stella D Super Reviewer