MAD LOVE (1935): Starring- Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive, Sara Haden, Edward Brophy, Henry Kolker, Key Luke, May Beatty, Ian Wolfe, and Ted Healy
Directed by Karl Freund
Welcome to the crypt, once again. I think I've been a little too 80s-heavy in my last couple reviews, so today, I'm going all the way back to 1935 with MAD LOVE. It's one of the odder 30's films I've seen. (Which is really saying something, by the way...) Let's begin.
The story centers on Dr. Gogol (Lorre, who's character is never given a first name, oddly enough.) Gogol is a brilliant surgeon, capable of working wonders on patients other doctors have given up on. His sole hobby is the theater, specifically a horror and torture themed theater, and its leading lady, Yvonne Orlac. (Drake) In the opening scene, we find Gogol admiring a wax statue of Yvonne which is placed in the lobby of the theater. After the performance, Gogol makes his way to Yvonne's dressing room, where he proclaims his love for her. Unfortunately, she tells him that she is married to a composer and piano player, Stephen Orlac (Clive), and what's more, she finds Gogol repulsive. Gogol flees the theater, distraught and humiliated.
The next day, Gogol buys the statue and places it in his home. He begins to show signs of madness, talking to the statue as if it were the real thing. Meanwhile, Stephen is on a train to Paris. Also on the train is Rollo (Brophy), a carnival knife thrower on his way to be executed for the murder of his father. Before the train can arrive, it is violently derailed. In the accident, Stephen's hands are mangled horribly. Rollo is unharmed, however, and meets the guillotine as scheduled.
Yvonne, seeing no alternative, takes Stephen to Gogol's clinic and begs the doctor to repair her husband's hands. Gogol is unenthusiastic at first, but soon sees this as an opportunity to become a hero in Yvonne's eyes. He performs the surgery and saves Stephen's hands.
Stephen is pleased at first, but begins to worry as soon as his hands heal. His hands no longer seem like his own. They can no longer play the piano, and they now have the ability to throw knives. Meanwhile, Gogol sinks deeper and deeper into insanity...
This film is great. It's one of the best of it's era and unfairly neglected and underrated by fans and critics alike. To start with, the cast is fantastic, and they all excel in their roles. Peter Lorre gives the best performance of his career as the crazed Dr. Gogol, first evoking sympathy, and then terror and disgust. It's his performance that carries the movie, and it's really fun watching him do so. (Interestingly enough, Charlie Chaplin, upon viewing this movie, called Lorre "the greatest living actor.") Frances Drake and Colin Clive give him excellent support as his intended victims. Drake is at first, very cold and selfish, but soon breaks through and delivers a very vulnerable, if melodramatic, performance. Clive, at first only a supporting character, almost steals the second half of the film in his distraught turn as Orlac. You really feel bad for this guy as he suffers. Another interesting castmember is comedian Ted Healy, most famous for discovering, then mistreating, and then losing the Three Stooges. He plays a nosy reporter, intent on finding out what goes on in Gogol's clinic. He's alright in the role, but he's there mostly for comic relief.
Another asset to this film is it's photography. It was directed by Karl Freund, who shot classics such as METROPOLIS (1927), DRACULA (1931), and also directed THE MUMMY (1932). It really shows that he directed this. The photography, which was groundbreaking in it's day, still looks beatiful and has been speculated as an influence on Orson Welles' CITIZEN KANE (1941). This movie should be shown in filmmaking classes just based on this aspect alone.
Sadly, the movie was largely unsuccessful at the box office, and has been mostly forgotten by audiences. It ended Freund's career as a director, though his career as a cinematographer would continue until his death in 1969. It's also been ingored by critics, but I think that should change. I think MAD LOVE deserves to stand alongside the likes FRANKENSTEIN, DRACULA, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY, and FREAKS as one of the great horror films of the 1930s. My advice to you is to track it down and see for yourself.
My rating- * * * * out of * * * *
