Watchable thanks to the unique qualities of Peter Lorre. Was there ever an actor who could be so frightening, and yet so sympathetic at the same time?

An eccentric, powerful film, full of memorable images. This is one of Lorre's best roles.

Well, that was...er...overwrought. Extravagant even. Cool anyway to see Healy (without a Stooge in sight). All the goofy grotesqueries (the lady with the cockatoo, the fun-loving murderer guy, the silent-movie-style montages) may not have cohered as a film, but they did add up to some fun moments anyway.

Lorre is mostly great here. With better direction this could have been a classic.

85.625

Magnificent performance from Lorre and a creative, if somewhat predictable, story. Really though, it's Lorre's show every scene he's in is riveting and he makes madness both sympathetic and fearsome.

While I agree that Lorre gave a great performance, I just think the movie is a little silly. There are definitely good elements, and some great scenes, but -- even among the short running time -- I think those great scenes are too few. There are some funny parts and some parts of horror, however, so it's a good movie... just has a long way to go before being a classic.

a fairly well made proto-sci-fi movie that delivers a decent dose of entertainment without too much of a sting of silliness.

A great horror movie; the performances are wonderful, the plot eerie and creepy, the sets and costumes perfectly fitting.

A grand, over-the-top performance from Peter Lorre drives this well-made gothic melodrama. Colin Clive does his haunted, tortured thing that he does so well. Ted Healy is more than a little bit out of place, but Frances Drake well-cast as the obscure object of Dr. Golgol's desire. A fine addition to any Horror movie festival.

Over the top, yes, but so much fun.

Now this is what I call 'over-the-top'!

"I have conquered science! Why can't I conquer love?!" Peter Lorre steals every scene and every second of this Faustian-esque rewriting of Wiene's "Orlacs Hände", and is perhaps even better than the extraordinary Conrad Veidt. The running time of 68 minutes keeps everything moving at a nice speed.

This not only marked Lorre's American debut but prompted no less a luminary than Charlie Chaplin to dub him "the greatest living actor". Running an intense 68 minutes, it not only boasts a bravura turn by Lorre as the alternately abject and arrogant scientist ("I, a poor peasant, have conquered science!" he rages. "Why can't I conquer love?!") but fine supporting work by Drake, Clive, and Luke as Gogol's aboveboard medical assistant (a rare nonstereotypical role for an Asian-American actor).

Good variation on a classic theme