Hands of a Stranger * (1962, Paul Lukather, Joan Harvey, James Noah, Ted Otis) – Classic Movie Review 3112

THEY GAVE HIM THE HANDS OF A KILLER!

Writer-director Newton (Newt) Arnold’s 1962 macabre horror movie is a largely flat and floundering fourth film of the renowned Maurice Renard novel The Hands of Orlac, though there’s a little bit of fun to be had here.

It was previously better filmed in Germany as Orlacs Haende in 1924 with Conrad Veidt as Orlac and America in 1934 as Mad Love with Colin Clive as Orlac and Peter Lorre and in 1960 as The Hands of Orlac, with Mel Ferrer as Orlac and Christopher Lee.

This time James Noah (aka James Stapleton) stars as Vernon Paris, the concert pianist who loses his hands in a plane crash and on to whom mad surgeon Dr Gil Harding (Paul Lukather) grafts a murderous new pair, which happened to belong to an executed strangler. His new hands of course drive the pianist mad as the experimental operation goes wrong.

Also in the cast are Joan Harvey as Dina Paris, Ted Otis as Dr Ross Compton, Michael du Pont, Irish McCalla, Sally Kellerman, Barry Gordon, Michael Rye, Laurence Haddon, Elaine Martone, George Sawara, David Kramer and Red Norvo.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 3112

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