Ep 128 - MAD LOVE (1935) at 90 | Peter Lorre, Colin Clive, Frances Drake | (Film Discussion)

MAD LOVE (1935) d. Karl Freund (USA) Based on Maurice Renard's 1920 French serialized novel The Hands of Orlac, in which the hands of a murderer are transplanted onto an injured concert pianist, Mad Love is remembered above all for Peter Lorre's stunning performance as Dr. Gogol, a brilliant surgeon driven mad by obsessive love. Lorre, fresh from his success in Fritz Lang's M (1931), delivers one of the genre's's most unsettling portrayals of pathological fixation. He is incredibly well-supported by Frances Drake as Yvonne Orlac, star of the Grand Guignol, and Dr. Frankenstein himself Colin Clive, as her tormented husband Stephen Orlac. The film was directed by Karl Freund (The Mummy, 1932, a central figure in the development of horror cinema. Having begun his career as a renowned cinematographer, Freund brought with him the visual sensibility of German Expressionism, shaped by his earlier work on films such as Metropolis, Der Golem, and The Last Laugh. Aiding Freund in the visual look of Mad Love was none other than Gregg Toland, whose highly controlled and deeply shadowed lighting and camera compositions anticipate the technical mastery he would display in Citizen Kane. Further heightening the film's atmosphere is the eerie, restrained score by Dmitri Tiomkin, another legend in the making with credits for everyone from Capra to Hitchcock to Hawks, and everything from sci-fi, westerns, war films, and comedies to his Oscar-winning name. Join AC and his awesome panel of guests (Nile Arena, Gavin Schmitt, Michael Weber, Bobby Zier) as we celebrate 90 years of Mad Love, an enduring horror classic and an early example of what would eventually come to be known as body horror! ------------------------------------------------------ NILE ARENA has created cinema collectives, worked the film festival circuit, and lent his voice to podcasts dedicated to the silver screen. His literary/weird fiction journal, Success Stories, is available now at some of the places books are sold. GAVIN SCHMITT is Wisconsin's criminal historian and the author of several books. He's also a degenerate cinephile and has written on film topics, particularly cinematographer Karl Freund. He's been half naked with Norman Reedus, shared breakfast with Tiffany Shepis, and helped David Arquette find cocaine in Chicago.  MICHAEL WEBER is an actor, director, and currently the Artistic Director of Porchlight Music Theatre. A Chicago native, his fascination with classic horror began with WGN's legendary Creature Features and The Son of Svengoolie. He is an avid fan of the Golden Age of Radio and the author of the play, WAR of the WELLeS (about Orson Welles' infamous radio broadcast.)  BOBBY ZIER has a passion for Dracula and runs a TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube channel called Lugosi Theatre. He recently received the "Monster Kid of the Year" Rondo Award for his efforts in keeping classic horror alive and well. ------------------------------------------------------------- Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!