Review – The Hands of Orlac (1924)

Here we have the great granddaddy of all the evil transplant movies. A pianist whose hands are ruined in a train accident ends up with the appendages of an executed murderer, and the whole body-parts-with-a-will-of-their-own drama ensues. The production suffers from some off-putting shortcomings of the silent era. In particular, actors convey strong emotion primarily through the convention of bugging their eyes. As a result, the whole cast appears to be constantly undergoing a prostate exam. The movie is also considerably too long. Even the unnecessary plot complications could have been worked into a shorter running time with more judicious editing. Still, it’s an important if not exactly crucial moment in the history of horror movies in the silent era. Mildly amusing