THE HANDS OF ORLAC (1960) On Blu-ray From Severin

 

Severin's THE EUROCRYPT OF CHRISTOPHER LEE COLLECTION 3 Blu-ray set includes THE HANDS OF ORLAC, an English-French co-production that was the third movie adaptation of Maurice Renard's novel concerning a concert pianist who receives a new pair of hands after a near-fatal accident. 

This THE HANDS OF ORLAC, made in 1960, actually has two different versions--one in French, and one in English. The French version runs about ten minutes longer, and in my opinion it is a better film than the English version. The thing is, each version contains scenes, dialogue, and actors that the other version doesn't have....which means that for one to get a full appreciation of the entire production, one needs to see both versions. Thankfully, Severin has included both cuts on this Blu-ray, with English subtitles available for the French version. The storyline is basically the same in both cuts, but there are some important differences. 

Mel Ferrer plays the title role of Stephen Orlac, with French actress Lucile Saint-Simon as his wife Louise. Both performers are somewhat stiff and detached in the English version, but they have a bit more vitality in the French cut. Christopher Lee plays Nero, a shifty stage magician who finds out about Orlac's situation and attempts to use this info for blackmail. Nero becomes more and more bonkers as the movie goes along, and Lee plays him to the hilt (this is one of the few characters in Lee's movie career that was truly nuts). Lee, along with Dany Carrel (who plays Nero's sexy assistant), totally overwhelms Ferrer and Saint-Simon. 

Edmond T. Greville, who co-wrote and directed the film, tries to give this version of ORLAC a more realistic feel, with black & white photography and several scenes set in the south of France, but the movie doesn't really come alive until Lee shows up. This ORLAC does have plenty of British character actors familiar to movie geeks, such as Felix Aylmer, Donald Wolfit, and Donald Pleasence. David Peel, who starred in THE BRIDES OF DRACULA, is onscreen for literally only seconds, and Janina Faye (who played the child in HORROR OF DRACULA) also appears. The strange thing about Faye's scene is it does not make the English cut, even though her name is in the opening credits, but it is in the French cut, where her name is not in the credits! 

As stated before, both versions of THE HANDS OF ORLAC are included on this Region Free disc. Both versions are uncut, and they both have excellent black & white visual quality (I would say the French cut looks a bit better overall). 

The extras include an original trailer, and a short featurette which presents how some of the French locations used in the movie look today. (The hotel that Ferrer's and Lee's characters stayed in is still around, and it is still in operation.) A program which runs about a half-hour has a Frenchwoman named Fleur Hopkins-Loferon discussing the life and work of Maurice Renard. 

The main extra is a new audio commentary with Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons. The duo are always worth listening to, and they discuss (or more accurately try to understand) the differences between the English and French cuts. They also go into Christopher Lee's performance, and they bring up the other versions of the Orlac story. 

Some have complained that most of the films included in Severin's Christopher Lee Eurocrypt sets have the actor in supporting roles. This is true, but the 1960 THE HANDS OF ORLAC has one of Lee's most outlandish characterizations--this certainly isn't one of his intimidating upper class types. (Lee gets more dialogue in this film than he does in a lot of his other performances put together.). Lee also performs in English and French (as does Mel Ferrer), showing his versatility with language and infection. 

The 1960 THE HANDS OF ORLAC isn't as good as the silent version starring Conrad Veidt, or the 1935 MGM version titled MAD LOVE, which truly is a mad movie. It does give Christopher Lee a chance to stretch his talents, and it does have a fine supporting cast. What makes this release stand out is that Severin has provided both the English and the French versions of the film.