Classic, often retold story of a man who loses his hands in a freak accident and has new hands grafted on. When he learns the hands belonged to a murderer, it unleashes his own impulse to kill. The question is, are the hands to blame or are they just an excuse? The best version of this is 1935’s Mad Love, starring Peter Lorre, who is truly scary to watch but probably strays furtherest from the original text. Most versions like the fantasy of blaming hands the person cannot control, but this one gets into the psychology best. It helps that it’s from the director of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, so it looks great and stars Conrad Veidt (The Man Who Laughs) in another charismatic and gripping silent film performance. The story provides mystery while the lighting and sets provide a dark and sinister mood.
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