Magical Thinking and Its Killing Stephen Orlac is an outstanding concert pianist. He's happy with his fiancée Louise. But one day he gets into a disaster and loses his hands. A doctor transplants the hands of a criminal executed on the same day. Orlak initially lives as if nothing had happened - gives concerts, spends time with Louise. But then he begins to feel that something is wrong with him. His hands keep him busy. Knowing they belong to the killer, he feels he wants to kill himself. It is becoming increasingly difficult for him to control his hands. He leaves Louise for a while and connects with the girl Lee Lang, giving performances in the cabaret. Her partner, after overhearing Orlak’s story, begins to blackmail the pianist, trying to extract money from him. Then the story develops in a dramatic way, but there is no doubt that Orlak will find freedom from his hands.
“The Hands of Orlac” contains a pleasant touch of old-fashioned mysticism, however, without revelation. Introducing a supernatural force at first, the creators of this picture themselves destroy its charms at the end, revealing the purely informational nature of what today is called mania, phobia, etc. As with many older films, the characters are extremely polarized and act according to their strictly prescribed roles. Orlak is an exceptionally positive man of art, a victim of a disaster – material and psychological. His wife Louise is a luminous young creature, also positive through and through. Cabaret actress Lee Lang also cannot go against her conscience, although at first she is forced to play to the tune of her companion. And only Nero, her companion, is the embodiment of envy.
Of course, the story of the impact of transplanted hands on humans today is not as striking as it was 90 years ago when the original version of the film was released. This film falls into the category of films about “curious cases” rather than in the category of “psychological cinema”. Not the least role here is played by the principled refusal to retain the power of magical thinking over Orlak. This thinking is eventually killed in a very primitive way. Orlak does not do any work on himself, he temporarily turns into almost obsessed, however, easily ceases to be one when he learns about his hands some new information. In general, “Orlak’s Hands” is a high-quality old movie with bright actors of the time, but it hardly claims to reveal human existence in conditions of psychological influence.
8 out of 10