31 Days of Horror Recommendations: Mad Love (1935)

 

Year: 1935

Country: U.S.

Subgenre: Mad Scientist/Surgeon 

Runtime: 68 minutes

Director: Karl Freund 

I am starting off my 31 days of recommended horror with a MGM classic from the mid-1930's: MAD LOVE. It stars Peter Lorre, who had recently arrived in the United States, having fled the U.K., escaping the Nazi expansion in Europe. Lorre, whose birth name László Lowenstein, was no stranger to dark film roles, despite that his film career was only about 5 years old. He was famously the child murderer in Fritz Lang's M (1930); and, after fleeing to the U.K. (via France), he appeared in Hitchcock's first version of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). Mad Love, directed by another recent emigre Karl Fruend was an adaptation of Maurice Renard's novel Les mans D'Orlac (The Hands of Orlac), in which Lorre plays the obsessed Dr. Gogol. His performance is both pathetic and terrifying--not an easy combination to effectively pull off! Frances Drake and Colin Clive round out the top of the cast as the Orlacs. The film is important in horror history because it is one of the first body horror films of the sound era, and it pulls no punches in that regard. It was also reportedly an influence on Citizen Kane. Even if you are not particularly a fan of old horror films--this one still comes HIGHLY recommended by me. Also, if you are a fan of films noir--this will surely not disappoint!