Previous writers have covered the plot of this film pretty comprehensively. My copy is poor, visually, but has a score made up of preludes and fugues, trio sonatas and chorale preludes by J.S Bach played on the organ and including, in the confrontation between Orlac and "Vasser", the Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV565).This has no connection with the plot of the film, but makes for a decent recital in its own right. This copy, from English Language Video, is made up of the best bits of three prints from various sources with renewed intertitles. This means that the tale seems to lack logic and continuity, however, enough remains to hold the interest and to point up the films origins in the expressionist school. Veidt's portrayal of Orlac's descent into near insanity occasionally draws on Cesare,the somnambulist of "Dr. Caligari" but the story does not have the depth or psychology of the wider impressionist canon. In all, a curiosity but little else, even for fans of Conrad Veidt.
Review of The Hands of Orlac
