Mad Love

Plot synopsis:
Tordesillas, 1554. Seventy four years old, Queen Joanna of Castile, called Juana La Loca (Joanna the Madwoman), is still mourning the loss of her husband who died a half century before. Joanna remembers with emotion the man she loved passionately, but who brought her ruin. She does not fear death, she says, because death would allow her to be reunited with her husband. Their story goes back almost 60 years.
In 1496, Joanna, the third child of the Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, is leaving Spain through the port of Laredo. She is headed to Flanders to marry the Archduke of Austria, Philip, nicknamed the Handsome, a man she has never laid eyes on. The marriage has been arranged for political purposes. Joanna's siblings and her mother, Queen Isabella, bid her farewell.
Once in Flanders, Joanna, young and inexperienced, is immediately smitten by her handsome fiancé. He is equally pleased with his beautiful bride and orders the marriage to take place at that very moment so they can consummate their marriage without any delay. Their union is initially a great success. The political alliance between their two countries has been consolidated and Joanna and Philip are very attracted to each other. With his good looks and bed manners, Philip completely captivates his wife. Their passionate love making soon produces results. Joanna has a daughter, followed shortly after by a son. She gives birth to her son in an emergency bathroom delivery without any assistance, cutting the umbilical cord afterwards with her teeth.
A combination of love, lust and emotional dependency make the passionate Joanna deeply attached to her husband. Her love becomes consuming, but the intensity of her passion turns Philip away. He is a restless man who finds entertainment in going hunting and in the arms of other women. The deaths of Joanna's brother, the stillbirth of her brother's daughter, her older sister's death and her sister's son's death unexpectedly make her heir of the Castilian and Aragones crowns. However, she is not interested in government. Obsessed with her husband, Joanna surprises him in bed with a lover, who Joanna later successfully identifies as Ines de Brabante, one of the court ladies. In a fit of jealousy, Joanna cuts the long red hair of her rival. While Joanna despairs at her husband’s unfaithfulness, she receives further bad news. Her mother has died. Joanna thus becomes Queen of Castile and has to return to her kingdom. Her tantrums over her husband’s infidelities have made her start to become known as Joanna the Mad.
At the Castilian court in Burgos, the Queen is happily greeted by her subjects, but her marital life is still in turmoil. Philip is soon bewitched by the charms and spells of Aixa, a Moorish prostitute who uses her sexual attraction and black magic to secure Philip's favor. With this new lover, the King becomes noticeably indifferent toward his wife, which adds to her increasingly insane jealousy.
Against the background of this troubled marriage, there are two opposed political parties at court, one Flemish, the other Castilian. The conspiring Flemish usurpers are headed by Señor de Veyre, Philip's right-hand man. Their objective is to have Joanna declared insane and for Philip to take power away from her. Joanna has her own set of supporters, the loyal Castilian royalists, headed by the Admiral of Castile. The Admiral and the Queen's friend and confidant, Elvira, try unsuccessfully to rescue Juana from her marital obsessions.
However, it is not the government that is on the Queen's mind; she is fixated on retaining her husband’s love. To avoid any temptations at court, she hires only ugly-looking maids of honor to serve her, but in fact Aixa has been brought to court by Philip, passing as one of the court ladies under the name of Beatriz de Bobadilla. Unaware of this, the Queen relies on Beatriz to find a spell to help her retain her husband's love. Joanna is equally misguided in her attempt to regain Philip's attention by simulating a love affair with Captain Álvaro de Estúñiga, a close friend from her childhood. The Queen’s lack of control permits the manipulation of her enemies to have her declared incompetent to rule. The King, encouraged by Señor de Veyre, resolves to take the rule of the kingdom for himself and shove Joanna out of the way. He finds an unlikely ally in Joanna's own father, king Fernando, who has remarried and has no further interest in either the fate of his daughter or in the kingdom of Castile.
While her fate is decided at a court assembly, Joanna is able to successfully make her case, counting on the unquestionable support of her subjects. However, her powerful speech coincides with Philip falling gravely ill. Although she devotedly takes care of her husband, the doctors are unable to do anything for him. On his death bed, Philip apologizes to his wife for his past excesses. After the death of her husband Joanna, heavily pregnant, takes on a long journey to the south of the country to bury her husband. She does not go far. Forced to stop to give birth to a daughter, Joanna never reaches her destination. Although she retains her title as queen, at the age of 28 she is locked as a madwoman in the castle of Tordesillas for the rest of her long life.
Philip's body was laid to rest in a nearby monastery, which Joanna was allowed to visit from time to time.

Tags: insanity, romantic, murder, sadist

Review:
The first one of the two (incidentally, his first work as a director in America), 1932's "The Mummy" is really the most popular, given that it is also one of the best performances by horror icon Boris Karloff; however, it is in the second one where Freund's talents really shine, making this last movie as a director his final masterpiece.Loosely based on Maurice Renard's novel, "Les Mains d'Orlac" (literally, "The Hands of Orlac"), "Mad Love" is the story of Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre), a brilliant surgeon deeply in love with a beautiful theater actress named Yvonne Orlac (Frances Drake).
Renard is often credited as being the "inventor" of the Mad Scientist archetype, and truly gives a great use to it in his novel; appropriately, "Mad Love" keeps this psychological drama between characters and brings it to life, spending considerable time detailing the characters and their relationships, building up the necessary tension for the grandiose finale.After directing several melodramas and comedies in a row, "Mad Love" allowed Freund to once again return to his expressionist roots and create a haunting tale of horror and madness in almost the same vein as his earlier classic, "The Mummy".
The story itself focuses a lot in psychological themes, ranging from neurosis and hysteria, to compulsive obsession and dangerous psychosis; Freund makes great use of this themes across the movie, although it is obvious that he prefers the character of Dr. Gogol to the other protagonists of the film.
Like Im-Ho-Tep the mummy, Dr. Gogol is driven by the mad love he feels for a woman, but unlike with the mummy, Freund makes sure to never fully transform Gogol into a monster, making him very human and frighteningly realist.Peter Lorre's acting is essential for this last element in Gogol's persona, and he delivers one of this most amazing performances in his career.
Colin Clive, who would become famous as Dr. Victor Frankenstein in James Whale's films, delivers a truly effective performance as Orlac, but I found that Freund seems definitely much more interested in Dr. Gogol and his antics than in the pianist's neurosis, leaving few space to Orlac's growing insanity.
Still, Clive does a very good performance despite the limited screen time his character receives when compared to Gogol.It is probably this last point what truly stops this movie from being a classic of horror, as with a runtime of barely 68 minutes, it feels too short and gives the feeling that something was missing (perhaps a few more scenes with Colin Clive) in this psychological thriller.
This beautiful black-and-white film by MGM rivals the classic monsters of Universal, and placed Peter Lorre alongside such horror movie icons as Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Vincent Price.
Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre) is a brilliant surgeon who is obsessed with actress Yvonne Orlac (Francis Drake).
German actor Peter Lorre made his American film debut in "Mad Love," which I believe was an MGM release and proved to be competition for some of the popular Universal Horror films of the time.
When Stephen is involved in an horrific train crash and has both his hands crushed beyond healing, Yvonne pleads with Gogol to help save his well being, he does, by amputating the crushed hands and grafting on the hands of a recently executed murderer, a murderer who's speciality was knives!Mad Love is one of those amazingly old classics that is a hybrid of genre staples, at times it's surrealist and at others its enjoying its Grand Guginol pulse, whilst knowingly it's lacing its story with an uneasy comedic beat.
Colin Clive as Stephen Orlac also puts in a performance of note, all twitchy nervousness and believable emotional torment, whilst Frances Drake more than adequately brings vulnerability to the centrifugal importance of Yvonne's emotional turmoil.Weird and gorgeous, and incredibly well written, Mad Love holds up incredibly well today as a horror/romance film of vast influential worth, see it in the dark and marvel at its various moments of excellence.
Ted Healy as an American newspaperman, Sara Haden as Yvonne's maid & May Beatty as Gogol's housekeeper, all offer much-needed comic relief.Film mavens should spot uncredited performances by Ian Wolfe as Orlac's stepfather; Clarence Wilson as a moneylender; and especially bubbly Billy Gilbert as the man on the train with the dog..
Brilliant surgeon Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre) is in love with actress Yvonne Orlac (Frances Drake).
Here he returns to the genre with another actor legend of his time (Peter Lorre) and his near-iconic horror persona (Dr. Gogol).The concept of the love-struck mad doctor is not a novelty but it is through Peter Lorre's unique physical presence that it's tranformed into a horror villain worthy of a spot in the all-time villain pantheon - when he poses as Rollo the murderer with his fake steel hands, fedora hat, black goggles and that weird neck contraption he's worthy of the iconic looks of even The Invisible Man himself.Ironically the parts I enjoyed most are the comedic bits, mostly coming from the old maid and the interactions of various people with the wax model of Yvonne Orlac, Dr. Gogol's object of desire.
The horror part of Mad Love is somewhat weak however, be it Stephen Orlac's unwilling urge to kill (which to return to the Universal comparison reminded me of Talbot's plight in The Wolf Man) that is delivered with Colin Clive's characteristic brand of hammy acting and Peter Lorre's mad doctor.
However Peter Lorre, although menacing in some scenes, has something pathetic and pittiful about him I don't really like.All in all Mad Love is a 30's horror movie that will appeal to fans of Universal's monster gallery but is not quite as good or classic..
But Gogol's plans for Yvonne backfire when Stephen's new hands prove to have a mind of their own.Overlooked for far too long (probably because it wasn't part of the Universal packages that so many television stations bought and aired), it's good to finally see Mad Love getting so much richly deserved praise.
However, Gogol being the great surgeon he is, finds a way to help the situation by replacing the pianist's with those of a dead knife thrower...Peter Lorre has a number of truly great performances to his name; and his role here is undoubtedly one of the best!
He did a magnificent job with The Mummy, where his lugubrious sensibility was perfectly suited to the material, which concerned the living dead, but here is is dealing with people who are very much alive, and sparks are definitely indicated, and yet never present.On the other hand, Peter Lorre is brilliant as the mad and wonderfully named Dr. Gogol, and he dominates the film with his usual schizophrenic authority, as he seems to hear voices and see images in the darnedest places.
From the year 1935 comes Mad Love, a first-rate horror film that's based upon the frequently adapted novel "The Hands of Orlac" and some 80 years later still stands as a brilliant adaption.Oddly, if you look at it a certain way, this film could qualify as a romantic comedy of sorts.....
The key plot elements of this delightfully devious and under-rated classic involve, obsession, deception, decapitation, hand transplants, wax statues, knife-throwing, murder and a nosy, fast-talking reporter from New York.Mad Love is set in 1930's Paris and because it's such a short film (too short), the number of settings is kept to a mere handful, the most important setting is the private medical clinic/residence of Dr. Gogol (brilliantly performed by Peter Lorre) where the meatiest parts of the movie occur.
Mad Love is a fun and mostly fast-paced film, that has a very off-beat sense of humor, a first rate-script of highly literate quality and a small, but stellar cast, that's comprised of a evenly balanced mix of American and European talent.Peter Lorre offers the best performance, as the demented and deceitful Dr. Gogol (surely one of his most colorful performances), also Colin Clive (one of his last film roles) of Frankenstein fame delivers with a characteristically moody and nervously, over-wrought performance.
Also there's Ted Healy as the slick-talking' reporter, whose nosiness eventually cracks the case wide open, and not to forget the movies gorgeous heroine, Frances Drake, whose simply terrific in her role as the stage actress Yvonne Orlac - Doctor Gogol had good taste.The film is replete with lots of great visuals and stylistic touches, such as fish-eye lenses, mirror tricks, tilted camera shots, etc.
The movies most exciting and deviously entertaining moments all have one thing in common, they all feature Dr. Gogol (Peter Lorre) in the role of a deceitful and delusional, hopeless romantic; who has only two things on his mind - getting rid of Mrs. Orlac's hubby and then taking her for himself.My favorite visual in the film is the interesting interplay between, Gogol and a wax statue (that's in the likeness of Mrs. Orlac) which plays prominently into the fabric of the story.
Mad Love is an absolute superb horror film from 1935 starring Peter Lorre as Dr Gogol.
The Costumes, Sets, and Cinematography are Amazing and set the Tone for the rest of this Horror Movie that stills lies on the Fringe, Overshadowed by other Movies from Another Studio (Universal) and Sequeled Monsters.This one is just as good as Any due to a Combination of Story (The Hands of Orlac), Director (Karl Freund), and Star (Peter Lorre) that all Deliver one of the most Offbeat, Stylish Thrillers of the Decade.
In Paris, creepy bald-headed Peter Lorre (as Doctor Gogol) visits the incredibly realistic wax museum figure of beautiful scream queen Frances Drake (as Yvonne).
Poor Clive loses his piano-playing ability, but gains other talents The whole "hand transplant" machinations never grabbed me or aided in my suspension of disbelief; but "Mad Love" is stylish, has Karl Freund directing, and Lorre is an amazing sight for sore eyes.
Also watch for the Yvonne's maid Sara Haden (as Marie), who can really hold her own.******* Mad Love (7/12/35) Karl Freund ~ Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, Colin Clive, Ted Healy.
(The real actress at the G-G was called "the most assassinated woman in the world" and was killed over 10,000 times in 60+ ways.) Gogol's obsession leads him to get involved in her private life, when her pianist husband loses his hands in a railway accident.Lorre is magnificent in this role.
When her husband can't play the piano but throws knives with deadly accuracy, she doesn't exactly come rushing into Gogols  arms......The praise: It's stylish,macabre and chilling , Peter Lorre giving off a really good performance as the obsessed Dr. Gogol , fascinated by the sadism and perversion of the horror theater .
A mad scientist named Dr Gogol is obsessively infatuated with the lead actress of a local grotesque play in Paris.Though she is madly in love with a popular pianist, who sends her messages via code, when he knows his performances are being broadcast live on the radio.They plan to move to England together; though, not if Gogol has any say in the matter...Not only does he publicly molest her; he buys the wax statue made in her image; and formulates a sinister plot to ensure the object of his affection will never leave his sight.Meanwhile, police are moving local thug and killer, Rollo- whose proficiencies involve knife throwing- to the place where he is to be executed.Unfortunately, the train that both he, and the pianist, are in crashes...leaving the pianist with such severe injuries to his hands, that it will require their amputation.Rollo is executed (after mentioning the "longest dam ever built in the world").While the young actress is left so desperate, after the accident- that she turns to Gogol, hoping he can use his surgery skills to help her beloved.But he plans to use this oppourtunity to his advantage.He asks for the dead body of Rollo; from which he will harvest the hands; and transplant them onto the pianist.After numerous forms of therapy, the operation finally takes...though, things aren't exactly the same......he can no longer play the piano, no matter how hard he practices.He can, however, throw a knife with mean accuracy all of a sudden...which leads to the untimely death of his father.Turns out that Gogol had also replaced Rollo's head using the same procedure...and he's still alive...just with fancy new metallic hands.So, either his transplant hands are starting to take over his mind; or Rollo is somehow able to control his actions through his hands.At least, that is what they are leading him to believe...though, things might not be exactly like they seem...While not as good as Eyes Without A Face or House Of Wax...it's still a classic.Even if the story is a bit implausible in retrospect.Lorre's portrayal of Gogol is genuinely creepy.6 out of 10..
"Mad Love" was the film that launched Peter Lorre on his Hollywood career and he is wonderfully over-the-top as indeed is the whole film, just one of a number of versions of that grand guignol classic "The Hands of Orlac".
Having earlier acquired the services of Universal's top horror stars as Boris Karloff for THE MASK OF FU- MANCHU (1932) and Bela Lugosi in MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (1935), MGM has outdone itself using Colin Clive, best known for his title character in both FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), and the European actor, Peter Lorre, in one of his first Hollywood movie roles.
Taken from the novel "The Hands of Orlac" by Maurice Resaba, that was earlier filmed in as a silent film (1927) starring Conrad Veidt, and remade years later with Mel Ferrar in 1960, many regard this version the best, especially when having Peter Lorre being the unbalanced doctor who performs miracles on disabled patients but is unable to conquer his mad love.The plot revolves around Yvonne (Frances Drake), an actress starring in a frightful play, "Torturee" for The Theater of Horrors.
****SPOILERS**** Peter Lorre as the brilliant but love-sick Dr.Gogol who goes mad, madly in love, with the object of his obsession the beautiful actress Yvonne, Frances Drake, that in the end lead to his death and the destruction of his life work as a world famous surgeon.Blinded by his love for Yvonne Dr. Gogol attended all her performances at the Theater of Horrors.
It's the kind of role that turned Lorre into the screen's foremost anti-hero of suspenseful horror classics.He's Dr. Gogol, a mad doctor so in love with an actress (FRANCES DRAKE) that when her musician husband (COLIN CLIVE) loses his hands in a train wreck, the doctor arranges to have the hands of an executed murderer attached to the pianist.
Interesting old horror movie starring Peter Lorre as a wacky doctor who, desperate to help the woman he loves, grafts the hands of a killer onto her pianist husband's mangled hands.
Mad Love was Peter Lorre's first American horror movie and also one of his best.Dr Gogol falls deeply in love with actress Yvonne Orlac and when her pianist husband looses his hands in a train crash, he puts him on a new pair.
The only annoying thing was the housekeeper's cockatiel flying around towards the end which was a little distracting from the main story.Joining Lorre in the cast are Francis Drake as Yvonne Orlac, Colin Clive (Frankenstein, Bride Of Frankenstein)as her husband and a good performance from May Beatty as the drunken housekeeper.I rather enjoyed watching Mad Love, despite it being a little weird at times.Rating: 3 stars out of 5..
Peter Lorre gives a stellar performance as the bizarre, bug-eyed Dr. Gogol, whose obsessive lust for the lovely Yvonne Orlac propels the movie.
Clive reprised his role as Stephen Orlac in 'Mad Love', in which the Werner Kraus role was taken over by Peter Lorre in his U.S. film debut.
Karl Freund directed this stylish and creepy film starring Peter Lorre(memorable in a star-making performance) as Doctor Gogol, a lonely surgeon madly in love with stage actress Yvonne Orlac, though his affection is sadly spurned because she is already married to a successful pianist(played by Colin Clive).
This one stars a baby faced/bald headed Peter Lorre, the quintessential creepy little mad man/killer, in the lead role.Dr. Gogol (Lorre) a famous and brilliant surgeon is enamored of Yvonne (Frances Drake) a performer in a show in the House of Horrors.
In his first American film, Peter Lorre plays Dr. Orlac, famous orthopedist who's madly in love with married stage actress, Yvonne, played by Frances Drake.
Peter Lorre is Dr. Gogol, a brilliant surgeon who has fallen in love with a concert singer Yvonne (Frances Drake).
"Mad Love" is a fascinating, breathtaking and incredibly creepy film that once again proves the brilliance of Karl Freund as a director, and even more so the brilliance of Peter Lorre as an actor.
While there are no fantastic monsters present (as in Universal's work of the time), there are certainly chills to mark this firmly in horror territory.The story strays from the plot of the earlier HANDS OF ORLAC by placing much more emphasis on the new character of Dr. Gogol, played by Lorre.
He directed Boris Karloff in 'The Mummy (1932)' and performed some uncredited work with Tod Browning for 'Dracula (1931).' 'Mad Love' combines Freund's sensibilities as a visual artist with strong acting and succinct storytelling, to produce what is certainly one of the finer horror films of the 1930s.Doctor Gogol (Lorre), a respected if unconventional surgeon working in Paris, visits nightly shows featuring his favourite actress, Yvonne Orlac (Frances Drake).
After all, you have Peter Lorre, severed hands, Colin Clive, Karl Freund...what's not to love, right?
Peter Lorre plays Dr. Gogol, a brilliant surgeon with an obsession with an actress, married to a pianist(played by Frankenstein's Colin Clive).
In this reasonably good 1935 film, Peter Lorre is Dr. Gogol, a genius at surgery who is driven irretrievably mad by his love for Frances Drake.