The Hands of Orlac

The pianist Paul Orlac (Conrad Veidt) is on tour and his wife Yvonne Orlac (Alexandra Sorina) anxiously waits for his return. While traveling back home, there is a train wreck at Montgeron and Orlac is very injured in both hands in the accident.

Yvonne begs to Dr. Serral (Hans Homma) to save his hands that are his life. Meanwhile, the robber and murderer Vasseur that claims that is innocent is sentenced to death since the police investigator had found his fingerprints everywhere near the victim. Dr. Serral transplants Vasseur's hands in Orlac and when he recovers, he feels that there is something wrong with his hands.

Orlac asks the surgeon about the hands and learns that he belonged to a criminal, and Orlac decides to never touch Yvonne again with those hands. His family becomes poor since he is not working anymore and Yvonne pays a visit to her father-in-law (Fritz Strassny) to ask for help. However, Orlac's father is a cruel man and does not help her. When Orlac returns home, Yvonne asks him to visit his father and when he arrives at his house, he finds his father dead. They call the police and they find Vasseur's fingerprint everywhere. Orlac is the only heir of his father fortune but sooner he is followed by a stranger named Nera (Fritz Kortner) that blackmails him and demands a small fortune. Orlac is not sure that he had killed his father and goes with Yvonne to the police. Sooner they discover a secret about Vasseur.

"Orlacs Hände" is a Gothic and dark German Expressionist film with an unbelievable plot (but who matters?) but wonderful theatrical performances like in most silent classics and perfect use of shadows in a gloomy atmosphere. The music score fits perfectly to the film and this is the first time that I watch this little masterpiece. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "As Mãos de Orlac" ("The Hands of Orlac")