The Hands... of Orlac!
Injured concert pianist gets a killer's paws, then things get a little weird
Today we are watching a clip from the 1924 horror flic from Austria, “The Hands of Orlac.” Because it was produced in partnership with a German distribution company with a German director and German star, and because it premiered in Berlin, it often grouped as part of the German horror film tradition in the silent movie era along with other influential movies like “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” and “Nosferatu”. The movie was first shown in the US in 1928.
The lead role of Paul Orlac is played by Conrad Veidt. By the time he was cast in “Hands...” Veidt had already established international prowess as an expressive and talented horror star, having appeared in several challenging roles over the previous decade, including as Cesare the murdering sleepwalker in “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” directed by Robert Wiene. Wiene and Veidt again team up in this film.
Paul Orlac is a professional pianist whose hands are severed in a horrific train accident. His wife pleads with the surgeon to find a solution that would allow him to continue his livelihood, and so the doctor hits upon a novel idea, replacing the missing hands with another set. As luck would have it, a perfect pair is available; those of a recently-executed murderer. The surgery is a success, but when Orlac (who we note is an emotional, delicate, sensitive artist type) learns the source of his new appendages he’s horrified and becomes concerned that the hands might be imbued with a murderous intent capable of influencing his own thoughts and desires. This feeling of dread intensifies in the overwrought musician when he finds a knife of a set that once belonged to the murderer in his own house.
Unable to play piano with the new hands but still living a lavish lifestyle, Orlac and his wife spend all their savings. Thus he resolves to pay a visit to his estranged father in order to secure a loan. Hat-in-hand, he arrives at the father’s house, but before he is able to plead his case, he finds the man murdered, a knife in his back similar to the one which had so unsettled Orlac earlier. The police arrive at the scene and are befuddled to discover fingerprints that match those of the executed murderer. A horrified Orlac flees, concealing from the authorities that he is the one that now possesses those hands. And yet, Orlac has no memory of committing the crime. Did his new hands somehow overwhelm him in order to carry out the horrible deed? The question torments Orlac. It is not long after that he meets the man claiming to be the reincarnated killer, his punitively severed head having been reattached to his body. 1920’s German medical science was truly ahead (ha!) of its time.
I shall not reveal the ending, should you wish to view this one on your own (link below). Suffice to say that the acting really sells Orlac’s anguish and Veidt was up to the task. The pacing is a bit slow compared to the tempo we generally find in modern films, but the director was deliberate in layering on the tension as the lead character descents into madness and he does a fine job of creating a dark, oppressive atmosphere for this psychological thriller. It is worth a watch to appreciate an early and influential body horror film with a frequently revisited plot.
Internet Archive: The Hands of Orlac (1924)
Wikipedia: The Hands of Orlac (1924 film)
This is why you cut off your evil hand and replace it with a chainsaw.
I think there's a similar film from the 40s or 50s where a musician has murderous hands transplanted to replace the ones he lost in an accident: Hands Of A Stranger (https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0056056/).