Being Film #9 for Hooptober 2023
Every few years I come back to Mad Love, the creepy dream horror that landed Petter Lorre in front of the majority of US moviegoers and served as the final feature outing as a director for cinematic genius Karl Freund. The film holds a special place in my heart: my first exposure to it was on the big screen for a film class back in the 90s, and the way Freund plays with closeups and shadow made an indelible print in my mind. Watching it again 30 years on from that film class, I’m still captivated by Lorre’s performance, and the eerie way Freund, with cinematographer Gregg Toland captures so much of the drama.
THE QUICK SUMMARY: Every night the mysterious Dr. Gogol comes to the faux Grand Guignol theater to watch his crush Yvonne Orlac get tortured night after night. Finally revealing himself, he is crushed to learn that Yvonne is already married to Stephen Orlac, a brilliant pianist with whom she plans to retire in the countryside. Plans are derailed (literally) when the train carrying Stephen and convicted knife throwing murderer Rollo crashes, leaving Stephen’s hands horribly mangled. Yvonne convinces Orlac to help, and he does – by secretly grafting the hands of the now executed Rollo onto Stephen. Now Stephen’s hands itch to throw a knife, and Orlac spies an opportunity to rid himself of his rival and capture the heart of Yvonne in the most twisted way possible…
With so much emphasis on the Universal monster films, it’s easy to forget that plenty of great horror was coming out of other studios in the 30s. MGM not only grabbed Karl Freund (who directed Universal’s The Mummy) but nabbed Dr. Frankenstein himself, Colin Clive for the role of Stephen Orlac. But the star of the show (besides Freund’s camera) is Peter Lorre, who extends the creepiness in his breakout role in M to new levels, committed to both the simpering lovesickness around Yvonne and the maniacal maneuverings of his ploy to get rid of Stephen. I’m torn between his work here and his later juicy part in The Maltese Falcon for my favorite Lorre performance, but if I’m being honest the way Freud frames him here, particular in a great sequence where we see his face half hidden in shadow as he reaches, uh, let’s say ecstasy during Yvonne’s performance is one for the ages, and tips this film in the lead.
Sure, the plot is a little convoluted, and the comic relief of Gogol’s housekeeper is more than a little grinding, but Freund makes up for it in his framing. The sequence where Rollo is executed by the police is one of my favorite in all of cinema. The camera stays focused on Rollo’s face as he approaches the guillotine, hands appearing to light the cigarette he dangles precipitously from his lips. Instead of showing us the execution, the camera stays on a tight closeup of Gogol’s face, and its his eye we follow as he watches the blade slowly rise, then sharply fall to executes its singular function.
If you’re a fan of classic horror and haven’t yet seen Mad Love, rectify that. It may not have the presence of its more famous peers, but there’s a lot to glean from Lore’s performance and Fruend’s direction, and you get some genuine creepiness to boot.
Cinema Dual 