Jul 12, 2025
Mad Love was released in the US on 12 July 1935.
Based on Maurice Renard's 1920 novel, Les Mains d'Orlac (The Hands of Orlac), Guy Endore and director Karl Freund completed early drafts of the screenplay, while P.J. Wolfson contributed to a second draft, and John Balderston wrote the final script, writing dialogue especially for Peter Lorre, who was making his American film debut.
While Lorre's performance received rave reviews, the film received mostly poor treatment from critics and failed to find a large audience. Mad Love's reputation has improved over time, with some seeing a visual influence on Orson Welle's Citizen Kane (Gregg Toland was the cinematographer on both).
