The Hands of Orlac (1960 film)
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Donald Taylor
John V. Baines
- John Baines
- Edmond T. Gréville[1]
by Maurice Renard
| The Hands of Orlac | |
|---|---|
 British quad poster | |
| Directed by | Edmond T. Gréville |
| Written by | Edmond T. Gréville Donald Taylor John V. Baines |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | Les Mains d'Orlac by Maurice Renard |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Desmond Dickinson[1] |
| Edited by | Oswald Hafenrichter[1] |
| Music by | Claude Bolling[1] |
| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
| Countries |
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The Hands of Orlac (also known as Les Mains D'orlac) is a 1960 horror film directed by Edmond T. Gréville, starring Mel Ferrer, Christopher Lee and Dany Carrel.[2] It was written by Gréville, John V. Baines with additional dialogue by Donald Taylor.[1] It was based on the 1920 novel Les Mains d'Orlac by Maurice Renard, which had previously adapted into silent film and as a Hollywood film production.
Gréville shot the film in both English and French-language versions during production.
The renowned pianist Stephen Orlac is injured in an aeroplane crash, and he believes his badly damaged hands have been replaced with those of a strangler.
Cast
- Mel Ferrer as Stephen Orlac
- Christopher Lee as Nero (French version: Néron)
- Dany Carrel as Li-Lang
- Lucile Saint-Simon as Louise Orlac
- Felix Aylmer as Dr. Francis Cochrane
- Peter Reynolds as Felix[3]
- Basil Sydney as Maurice Seidelman
- Campbell Singer as Inspector Henderson
- Donald Wolfit as Professor Volcheff
- Donald Pleasence as Graham Coates
- Yanilou as Émilie (Louise's maid)
- Peter Bennett as first member
- George Merritt as second member
- Arnold Diamond as dresser
- Janina Faye as child
- Gertan Klauber as fairground attendant
- Mireille Perrey as Mme Aliberti
- David Peel as pilot
- Walter Randall as waiter
- Anita Sharp-Bolster as Volcheff's assistant
Production
The Hands of Orlac was based on the science fiction novel Les Mains d'Orlac by French author Maurice Renard which was published in France in 1920.[4] The novel is one of Renard's most popular, and was previously adapted into films The Hands of Orlac (1924) and the Hollywood production Mad Love (1935).[5][6]
Gréville had dual French and British citizenship and directed four British film productions before World War II.[7] Following working on Raoul Walsh's Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951), he began making more commercially-oriented cinema, stating he saw low budget films as "a challenge, that should inspire a director to higher things."[8] The Hands of Orlac was his last British production.[9] Gréville used two film production crews: a French one for the scenes on the French Riviera and a British one for the London backdrops.[9] When filming at the studio, after each scene had been shot in English, a cry of "version française" would be sounded, and the film would be shot again in French.[9]