by Ted Davis

English Language Version: The Hands of Orlac

Also Known As: Hands of the Strangler

Directed by: Edmond T. Greville

This review contains a Kitty Carnage Warning!

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: After undergoing an emergency operation to save his severely burned hands, acclaimed classical pianist Stephen Orlac (Mel Ferrer) begins to doubt his sanity, and fears that a pair of murderer’s hands grafted to replace his own appendages are causing his violent urges. To make matters even worse, Orlac is being blackmailed by Nero (Christopher Lee), a sadistic and jealous second-rate magician.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Orlac and his soon-to-be bride Louise Cochrane (Lucile Saint-Simon) motor up to her mountain top villa where she introduces her fiancé to her sweet-natured tuxedo cat Michou, who is being held by the elderly estate caretaker Ange (Edouard Hemme).

The cat does not appreciate the meeting and hisses her disapproval, which is always a bad sign in a movie of this type. (There are a number of differences between the French and English language versions of this movie, and a different sequence of shots is used in the English version.)

Orlac gets up in the middle of the night to pace about on the terrace where Michou slinks by him, belly low to the balustrade. (This shot is not included in the English version.)

Kitty Carnage Warning! Inevitably, the strangled corpse of Michou is found the next morning outside of Orlac’s room.

During the first course of lovemaking between the couple, Orlac is distracted by a black cat figurine, which may remind him of Michou, and he starts to choke Louise, which is another bad sign.

Final Mewsings: Poor Michou was another offering to the pagan gods of movie clichés.

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