- 6/30/2025
Set nearly a hundred years ago, this story is about a prosthetic surgeon who transplants the hand of a prodigious musician to his competitor, with disastrous repercussions.
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00:00Come in, welcome, I'm E.G. Marshall, welcome to the terrifying world of your imagination.
00:26What would you say is the one single feature that distinguishes man from all his fellow creatures?
00:35His brain? Speech? His ability to walk erect?
00:40The fact that he's the only living thing that kills for any other reason than self-defense or food?
00:46None of them.
00:48Something much more simple.
00:50A phenomenon shared only by our cousins, the apes.
00:54The human hand.
00:56This is a gripping, eerie story of a pair of...
01:00How best to describe them?
01:03Superhuman? Unique?
01:06No, perhaps best.
01:09A pair of immortal hands.
01:12Our mystery drama, Death by Whose Hand,
01:15was written especially for the Mystery Theater by Ian Martin,
01:19and stars Stefan Schnabel and Robert Drivis.
01:21In the beginning of the 19th century,
01:35no city in Europe shone more brightly or boasted a more resplendent culture than Vienna.
01:43City of dreams, of glittering balls, of royalty and nobility and beautiful women.
01:50But most of all, of music.
01:53Music to the Viennese was and is a religion, a faith, a passion.
02:01And passion is an insidious, destructive emotion which can lead to sinister and deadly results.
02:08You are listening at the moment to the hands of Rudi Baum on the piano in Vienna's great concert hall.
02:15David and Brice
02:20Mousy, you are magnificent.
02:36I'm too far, too far.
02:38Listen, they're calling for you.
02:39No, no more, Uncle.
02:41I have nothing left.
02:42My hands are too tired.
02:43Quite right, my boy.
02:45You must not train them at any cost.
02:47Let's go to my dressing room.
02:48Judy Papan, I wanted to take you straight home to stop them.
02:51I must go to my room with the university and change first.
02:54I am ringing wet.
02:56Oh, the touch of your hands.
02:59From the whisper of Mozart to the thunder of Beethoven.
03:03Oh, we must protect those hands.
03:06As a doctor and your future father-in-law,
03:08I will make that my business.
03:11Well, I intend to be a little part of that legend, you see.
03:16Magnificent, Rudy.
03:17You are perfectly splendid.
03:20Yes, you were at your best, my friend.
03:22It was a remarkable debut.
03:24Remarkable?
03:25Well, it was a successful, beyond our wildest dreams.
03:29Beyond mine, I must admit.
03:30Rudy, I'll drive you back to the university.
03:32No, we can drive Rudy.
03:34Mr. Papan, I won't be with the pride in the carriage.
03:37Well, you and I, Telgar, Rudy and Franz.
03:41You are coming to our little supper and celebration, aren't you, Franz?
03:44I wasn't sure I was invited.
03:45Rudy, best friend and fellow pianist.
03:48But a flow of...
03:50Well, I accept.
03:51I'll go and fetch my hat in case.
03:52There is an admirable with you.
03:54There will be important people coming backstage.
03:57Oh, you won't mind waiting a while, huh?
03:59Hell, don't you, Franz?
04:00Naturally, please.
04:01We'll try not to be too long.
04:03You didn't answer the head, Dr. Franz.
04:08Did I have any other choice than to remain and cool my heels?
04:12I think, my friend, tonight your nose is a little out of joint.
04:17Why do you say that?
04:19Listen to them.
04:22Can you hope to match it at your debut?
04:25That remains to be seen.
04:27I think I'll wait outside.
04:28It's uncomfortably hot in here.
04:32Well, it's only for us at the end of the trade, Franz Langerman.
04:47It's a big night for you, Rudy.
04:49No, it's only the beginning.
04:50I'm sure of that.
04:51Oh, but you're right.
04:53It is a big night.
04:54It's the start of everything I've worked and slaved for all my life.
04:59You wouldn't understand.
05:00Why not?
05:02Haven't I done the same?
05:03You!
05:05How could you know what I've suffered?
05:09You started with everything.
05:11I was nothing.
05:12I'm poor.
05:13I'm sure.
05:15I'm not downright ugly.
05:16At least I'm no tall, handsome, elegant, dandy like you.
05:20But I've got it all in these hands of mine now.
05:25I've got the girl.
05:27I've got her father as patron.
05:29And soon I'll have all the rest.
05:30The money.
05:31The fame.
05:32The clothes.
05:34I've beaten you, Franz.
05:35I've beaten you.
05:36And I did it all with my talent.
05:38With ease.
05:39All right, Rudy.
05:41All right.
05:42You've had a great success, but don't let it go to your head.
05:45You're not the only pianist in Vienna.
05:47Oh, yes, I am now.
05:48Well, some of your classmates still have to make their debut.
05:52Who?
05:53Gelbach?
05:54No technique.
05:56Struck?
05:57His ear.
05:58Made of tin.
06:00Brungel?
06:00He's all thumbs.
06:03And me?
06:03You.
06:05You are nothing.
06:07There's no tone.
06:08You're wooden.
06:08You're stiff.
06:09You play like a music box.
06:11I ought to stop this carriage right now and throw you out.
06:13Go ahead.
06:14We're almost there.
06:14No, I'll do you this one last favor.
06:16We'll get there as fast as I can so I can get rid of you for good.
06:19Yeah.
06:21Hey, look how fine the streets are, I see.
06:23It's your big night.
06:24I'm only giving you something else to thrill about.
06:26There's a curve ahead.
06:28That wagon has stopped blocking the roads.
06:31Friends, look out.
06:32Look out.
06:33Listen.
06:34I can't wait.
06:34I can't wait.
06:35I can't wait.
06:39I've got my hands.
06:43What on earth do you suppose is keeping Rudy so late?
06:55So impatient to announce the engagement, huh?
06:58Well, of course.
06:59Why not?
07:00It's not easy to be the wife of a man who belongs to the public.
07:04Oh, but I can't wait to be married to Rudy.
07:06To travel with him everywhere, to be feted by the great, to have kings and queens lavish
07:13praise and honor on us.
07:16There isn't much warmth in the light from reflected glory.
07:20What warms a woman is love.
07:23Oh, really, Papa?
07:25I'm getting exactly what I want.
07:28But I do wish...
07:29What is it, Helga?
07:32What is it?
07:33Peter, Herr Doctor, may I see you alone?
07:35No.
07:36I want to hear also.
07:37There is an inspector of police downstairs.
07:41Police?
07:42There's been an accident.
07:43We are both needed at the infirmary.
07:45An accident?
07:46To whom?
07:47I don't know how.
07:48But speak up, speak up.
07:49If it concerns Helga, she'll have to know sooner or later.
07:52Herr Langemann's light carriage collided with a heavy wagon.
07:56France has been badly hurt.
07:58And Rudy?
07:59Were his hands injured?
08:00No.
08:01He...
08:02He has a concussion only.
08:04But we'll go immediately.
08:05Is he conscious?
08:06No.
08:07Oh, I...
08:07Patrick, Helga.
08:08No.
08:09I'm...
08:10Oh, all right.
08:11I'm not going to faint.
08:12I'm going with you to the infirmary.
08:19The hemorrhage is so massive.
08:23Brain destruction is irreversible.
08:25I'm surprised the root is still breathing.
08:28Oh, the music these hands made less than three hours ago.
08:32The music they could have continued to make.
08:36All vanished.
08:38Oh, what a loss.
08:39What an irreparable loss to the world.
08:42And to your daughter.
08:43Oh, yes.
08:44You, sir.
08:45I cannot face her now, Helga.
08:48Will you, old friend?
08:49Trust me.
08:49I'll take her home and sedate her.
08:51No, no, no.
08:52Give her something here before she leaves.
08:54The inspector can see her home.
08:57I, uh...
08:58I need you here as you wish.
09:01But she'll want to see you, Rudy.
09:04What do I tell her?
09:05Tell her, tell her, tell her.
09:06She must wait.
09:08Don't hold out any hope.
09:10And France?
09:12Well, I'm going to see him now.
09:13Tell Ilze he had some hand injuries.
09:17Say he's under sedation.
09:19And be sure that policeman takes Ilze home.
09:22He's asked all he needs to know.
09:29It's all right here, doctor.
09:31I'm awake.
09:33Yes, I see.
09:34How is Rudy?
09:36Rudy is, uh...
09:38asleep.
09:39Are you in pain?
09:40No, the morphine does that.
09:43I...
09:43I deserve it anyway.
09:46Why?
09:46It was my fault.
09:50He was so swelled with his success,
09:52he blurted out the truth.
09:54He's been using all of us.
09:56Me, you, Ilze.
09:58He informed me he had no use for me anymore.
10:02Of course, he still needs you and Ilze.
10:05Oh, I...
10:06I don't know why I'm even saying this, my dear.
10:10Rudy has no need of any of us anymore.
10:14You said he was a...
10:16He's dead.
10:19He might as well be.
10:22And what does that mean?
10:25His skull was fractured.
10:27He has had massive intracranial bleeding.
10:30His brain is damaged beyond repair.
10:34In a sense, he's still alive.
10:36Medically, he's dead.
10:37It's only a matter of time till...
10:39the rest of him dies, too.
10:42And I am the one to live.
10:44Yes.
10:47You will live.
10:51My hands...
10:53How bad are they?
10:55When the wagon ran over them,
10:56the right one was severed,
10:59was moribund,
11:01devoid of all life by the time you were brought here.
11:05And the other?
11:07Crushed beyond hope.
11:08If it can be saved from amputation,
11:12at best it will be a...
11:13withered, motionless claw.
11:17Why wasn't I the one to die?
11:21I...
11:21I can never play the piano again.
11:24There is...
11:26one way you could.
11:29How?
11:29If I gave you...
11:33Rudy Baum's hands.
11:43In stunned, incredulous shock,
11:47France stares up at the usually kind and humorous face
11:50of the Herr Dr. Herschel.
11:53Now it is stern and drained,
11:55the eyes boring down at the young man,
11:59gleaming with a strange fanaticism.
12:02What he is proposing is beyond belief,
12:05beyond possibility,
12:07beyond the laws of man and God.
12:09The year is 1804.
12:22Vaccination has been discovered eight years before,
12:25but anesthesia will not even be conceived of till 1842.
12:31The only antidotes against pain are alcohol,
12:34opium,
12:36and a man's determination.
12:37And France Langemann lies in a bed
12:40in Dr. Herschel's private infirmary
12:42facing a transplant
12:44infinitely more complicated
12:46than anything medicine has dreamed of today.
12:49Rudy's hands.
12:51But he's still not dead.
12:53The moment his heart stops to beat,
12:55we can take them,
12:57still alive and pulsing.
12:59Could it work?
13:01Could I use them as hands?
13:04I don't know, France.
13:05I know only you have nothing to lose.
13:08If the transplant fails,
13:09you will be no worse off than you are now.
13:13And if it succeeds?
13:15If it succeeds,
13:18you're a musician.
13:20What better tools could you have
13:22to create beauty in music
13:23than the fingers and the hands of Rudy Baum?
13:26Very well.
13:30If Rudy is gone,
13:32I agree.
13:46Johan,
13:46put the horses away.
13:48I sleep till mid-afternoon.
13:50I will need you before then.
13:59Papa!
14:00Oh, is there?
14:02What are you doing up so early?
14:03Early?
14:05It's almost nine o'clock.
14:07How is Rudy?
14:08Oh, what can I say, Liebchen?
14:11To make it easy for you.
14:14He's...
14:15dead.
14:17I knew it.
14:19He's dead.
14:21Yes.
14:23Ilja, I...
14:24It's all right, Papa.
14:25When you were so long,
14:27I...
14:28knew.
14:30And France?
14:31France is, uh...
14:34He will live.
14:34He's fine.
14:36What about his hands?
14:37That's what, uh...
14:39What kept me so long.
14:41Helga and I were, uh...
14:42were operating on them.
14:43Well, will he have the use of them again?
14:45I hope a great deal more than that.
14:49He might even be able to play again?
14:51It's too soon to know anything.
14:53It'll...
14:53It'll take months.
14:55Oh, what's the difference?
14:56It won't be Rudy.
14:58Nobody ever will play like Rudy Baum again.
15:01Not in your lifetime, Papa.
15:04Or in mine.
15:05It would seem too much to hope for,
15:07would it not, meine Tochter?
15:09And yet...
15:11I am going to dare to hope.
15:15A week now, and no sign of gangrene?
15:25Yes.
15:26Yes, there seems to be circulation in all the fingers.
15:30But no, uh...
15:31sensation yet.
15:32The nerves need time to regenerate.
15:34So, now, France, we are taking off some of the bandages
15:44to...
15:44to free the fingers.
15:46Yes, doctor.
15:48Now, France, uh...
15:49which hand am I touching?
15:53I...
15:53I don't know.
15:57I don't know.
15:58I...
15:58I have no hands.
16:01It isn't working.
16:03Patience.
16:04Patience.
16:06Now, we try something else.
16:08Move your right thumb.
16:12I...
16:13I can't.
16:17All right.
16:18I'll try the left.
16:19It moved.
16:24It moved.
16:25Oh.
16:26We make a beginning.
16:28Now, we try the other fingers one by one.
16:34And as you see, today we...
16:37take all the bandages off for good.
16:41These...
16:41terrible scars.
16:43No, no, not terrible.
16:45Beautiful.
16:46Well, you will see within a year
16:48there will be thin white lines
16:49you can hardly detect.
16:51Besides, I made the grafts far enough back
16:53so that your linen will cover them at all times.
16:57Even when you play.
17:00You really expect that I will ever play the piano again?
17:04I hope.
17:05I hope with all my heart.
17:08Now, we try the exercises again.
17:10Here, pick up the pencil.
17:13I can't.
17:14I can't feel the damn thing.
17:17A feeling will come.
17:19No, never.
17:21They work.
17:22They move.
17:22But they have no feeling.
17:24I tell you, it's all been for nothing.
17:26I'm wearing a dead man's hands.
17:36Guten Morgen, Franz.
17:38Morgen, liebe Herr Doktor.
17:40How do you feel today?
17:42Oh, I haven't had any pain in them
17:44for the last two or three days.
17:46Well, the first part is over.
17:50We are going home.
17:52Home.
17:54I will not go back to the Schloss.
17:56It is too big, and with my family gone...
17:59Of course, of course you don't return to the castle.
18:01Oh, you're coming home with us.
18:04Oh, no, my dear.
18:05I cannot impose on your hospital.
18:06I insist.
18:08You are my patient, you are my protégé, and my prodigy.
18:14Besides, you still need care and supervision for your exercises.
18:19Yes, at home we will have a new teacher for you.
18:22Who?
18:24Ilze.
18:25Helga has been training her to assist with your rehabilitation.
18:30Does...
18:30Does Ilze know about...
18:32About the hands?
18:34No.
18:34No one knows that secret.
18:37Save you and I and Helga.
18:40No one does ever know.
18:42As far as the world is concerned...
18:45And you, Franz.
18:47These are your hands.
18:51You must think of them from now on.
18:53Every moment, waking or sleeping, is...
18:55As your hands.
18:59Yours.
19:02But they are not.
19:04They are Rudy Balm's.
19:05Rudy Balm is dead.
19:09Come, let us go home.
19:11I have some special bandages that you will wear always.
19:15Now, come.
19:16Ilze is waiting to see you eagerly.
19:19Ilze?
19:21To see me?
19:22Well, I will tell you a secret, and...
19:24Then we shall never mention it again.
19:26I believe sincerely that it was not Rudy my daughter loved.
19:31She was just blinded and bewitched by his talent.
19:36I can be truthful when I say she mourns him no longer.
19:40Well, aren't you anxious to see her?
19:42Ilze?
19:44Yeah.
19:45Let's go home.
19:46Guten Tag, Franz.
19:56Ilze?
19:56I didn't hear you come in.
19:58Guten Tag.
19:59Where is Papa?
20:00He went back to the infirmary after lunch.
20:03Oh, I thought you and he were together.
20:06And now that I'm here, I must take up my duties.
20:08Will you come to the table?
20:10Are we to eat again?
20:11No.
20:12We're going to start your exercises.
20:16Oh.
20:18Your poor hands.
20:21To sink.
20:22That night, Papa never told me how badly they were injured.
20:28There's not a sign of a scar.
20:31Your father is a magician.
20:33No.
20:33I know he's prouder of his success with you than anything he's ever done.
20:38Do they still hurt?
20:41No.
20:43Even when I hold them?
20:46My hands are not what you heard, Ilze.
20:49It was my heart that was in your hands.
20:51Oh, that was a long time ago, Franz.
20:54It's over.
20:55Shall we start again, then?
20:57Us?
20:59Again?
21:01No, I meant the exercises.
21:03Oh, I'm good, Franz.
21:13What are you doing here in the music room?
21:15Ilze, suddenly...
21:17Suddenly, suddenly, yes.
21:19I feel that my hands may be ready to try again.
21:23Try it.
21:24You say...
21:24Forgive me.
21:26I know you will understand.
21:27I...
21:27I...
21:28I want to be alone in the house.
21:30I...
21:30I want no one to hear me.
21:32Until I'm ready.
21:35If that is what you wish, Liebling.
21:39Liebling?
21:40Oh, that...
21:41That was a slip of the tongue.
21:43I'll take it as that.
21:47For now.
21:49But if...
21:51Ilze, will you help me in a plan I have?
21:55Ask me.
21:56Well, your father's birthday is two months away.
21:58I...
21:59I want to repay him for all he's done for me in a way beyond money.
22:02Let me...
22:02Let me have four hours a day.
22:06Alone.
22:07Here.
22:09No one but the servants in the house and swear them to silence.
22:12Let the hair doctor think I'm taking my regular exercises to strengthen my hands.
22:17Instead, let me exercise them where they belong.
22:21On the keyboard.
22:23Oh, that's marvelous.
22:25If only...
22:25Only what?
22:27Oh, if...
22:27If only I could share it with you.
22:30No one can share this private agony.
22:33Liebschen, yes, I...
22:34I will call you that and I hope that I have the right to.
22:37But I won't know for at least two months.
22:42Help me.
22:43In everything.
22:44Always.
22:46Ilze.
22:49Oh, darling.
22:51Darling.
22:53And that was not a slip of the tongue.
22:57I'll be out of the house in ten minutes and you can start to build your triumph alone.
23:07A dinner fit for a king and a birthday cake made for an emperor.
23:18I had forgotten it was my birthday, but then that's...
23:21That's easy to do at my age.
23:24We'll have a port and brandy and coffee in the music room.
23:28Music room?
23:28Why then?
23:29Now, don't ask questions, Papa.
23:31On a birthday, there are many surprises.
23:33There's one very special gift you haven't received yet.
23:36from France.
23:38Oh, I don't need any...
23:39any gift.
23:40This one, permit me to offer you.
23:44Ilze.
23:45Thank you, France.
23:47Lieber doctor.
23:48Danke schön.
23:50Now sit with me, Papa.
23:52Here on the sofa.
23:53This is all so...
23:54so mysterious.
23:56What are you up to?
23:58Listen.
23:59Lieber Herr Dr. Herschel.
24:01Und mein Liebchen, Ilze.
24:03This is a moment of terrifying truth.
24:05I am Lazarus.
24:08But am I surely risen from the dead?
24:11For all of us,
24:13music is a way of life.
24:16If it is still mine,
24:18then this is the best birthday gift I can offer either of you,
24:22in return for all you've done for me.
24:26Here it is.
24:26Ah, superb, superb.
24:50Franz, it was magnificent.
24:51I've never heard it played better.
24:53To live.
24:55To live for moments like these.
24:58Oh, Franz, Franz.
25:00How can I thank you?
25:02But this is not just for me.
25:04You will concertize.
25:05Oh, of course.
25:06He's going to set the world on fire.
25:08And that's the other birthday present we have for you, Papa.
25:11What?
25:11More?
25:12More?
25:12Franz is not only your prodigy.
25:14He's going to be your son.
25:17We're going to be married.
25:19Oh, at last.
25:20At last.
25:22Well, this is not my birthday.
25:24It's...
25:24It's the beginning of the world.
25:26Good night, Elson.
25:35Must you go?
25:37Time enough for us.
25:39This is his celebration.
25:41Let us wait for ours.
25:43If I must.
25:46Don't tempt me.
25:47You were so wonderful tonight.
25:51The tone.
25:52Your hands.
25:53All of me is yours.
25:57Then come.
26:00Come to bed.
26:07Elson.
26:09Oh, how sweet you sleep.
26:13Your hand and mine.
26:15Where
26:16are
26:18my
26:20hands?
26:23What?
26:25Who
26:26stole
26:28my
26:31hands?
26:33Rudy.
26:35You,
26:37Franz.
26:39You stole them.
26:41No.
26:42No, Rudy.
26:44No.
26:44Try to use them,
26:46Franz.
26:48Try
26:49to borrow my talent.
26:51Try
26:53to win the world
26:55and grasp it
26:57in your hands.
27:00Only you won't.
27:03Never.
27:05Never.
27:07Never.
27:10You are nothing
27:11except for my hands.
27:15and they will
27:17never belong
27:19to you.
27:26Ilza,
27:26so sure
27:27of her future
27:28at last,
27:29turns lazily
27:30in her sleep.
27:32She has no
27:32intimation
27:33of the restless
27:34dreams that are
27:35torturing her
27:36intended husband.
27:38And neither
27:39of them
27:39is aware
27:40of the nervous,
27:41tensing,
27:41and extension
27:42of the hands
27:43that once
27:44were Rudy
27:44bounds.
27:46Hands joined
27:47to the body
27:48of Franz
27:49Langerman.
27:59The debut
28:00that fall
28:01of Franz Langerman
28:02was sensational.
28:05The public
28:05took him
28:06to their hearts
28:06and the critics
28:08were unanimous
28:09in praise,
28:10projecting for him
28:11the brilliant future
28:12that had been
28:13denied Rudy Baum
28:14by his untimely death.
28:17So bright,
28:17indeed,
28:18were all
28:18Franz Langerman's
28:19prospects
28:19that he seemed
28:21to have banished
28:21the tortured dreams
28:23that haunted his sleep.
28:25Till the morning
28:25of his wedding day,
28:28he was standing
28:28before the pier glass,
28:30adjusting his
28:30white cravat,
28:31when...
28:33Rudy?
28:35No.
28:37Don't turn
28:38around,
28:38Franz.
28:40You won't
28:41find me
28:41in the room.
28:43Here.
28:45In the mirror.
28:47Why are you
28:48here?
28:49What is it
28:50you want?
28:51Everything
28:51that was mine.
28:54Ilsa.
28:56My career.
28:58My hands.
29:00I cannot
29:01give any
29:02of it back.
29:03You will
29:03give me
29:04all of it
29:04back,
29:05Franz.
29:07All that
29:08is mine.
29:11Look how
29:12they buried
29:12me.
29:14Two bleeding
29:15wrists.
29:17My hands
29:18torn from
29:18my arms.
29:20You might
29:21as well
29:21have opened
29:22my chest
29:22and ripped
29:23my heart
29:24from its
29:25mooring.
29:25but I
29:27will have
29:27my revenge.
29:29You're
29:29dead.
29:30Not till
29:30I am
29:31whole.
29:32I can
29:33never
29:34rest
29:34until
29:35I am
29:36whole.
29:36Stay back!
29:37Stay back!
29:39God help me!
29:41Franz?
29:42Franz, are you
29:43all right?
29:44Franz, what
29:45happened?
29:45I seem to have
29:47smashed the
29:48beer glass with
29:48a chair.
29:49But why?
29:50Doctor, I
29:51cannot marry
29:53you, sir.
29:53We will
29:54have to
29:54call the
29:54wedding off.
29:57Guests are
29:57already
29:58arriving.
29:59Is this
29:59dressed in
30:00her bridal
30:00gown?
30:01What's the
30:02matter, boy?
30:02Are you
30:03mad?
30:04More than
30:04a little, I'm
30:05afraid.
30:06I can
30:07guess perhaps
30:08what troubles
30:09you.
30:11Let us sit
30:11down together
30:12then and
30:12talk this
30:14over.
30:21So, Rudy
30:22has been
30:23haunting your
30:24dreams and
30:25now today
30:26his specter
30:28appeared in
30:28the mirror?
30:30Yes.
30:31And you
30:32feel that
30:32his uneasy
30:33spirit is
30:34doomed to
30:35haunt you,
30:36that his
30:36ghost will
30:37forever dog
30:38your footsteps?
30:40Yes.
30:41Certainly if I
30:42marry you,
30:43sir.
30:44And I
30:44love her
30:45too much
30:45to put her
30:46through that
30:46too.
30:47Franz,
30:48you are
30:49an exceptionally
30:49kind and
30:51sensitive man.
30:53You have
30:53been through
30:54an agonizing
30:55and traumatic
30:56experience.
30:58You have
30:58been driving
30:58yourself
30:59practicing
31:00long hours
31:00for your
31:01concert debut.
31:02You are
31:03exhausted
31:04physically
31:05and emotionally.
31:07The mind
31:08is simply
31:08playing you
31:09tricks.
31:11No,
31:12you don't
31:13understand.
31:15Rudy Baum
31:16was no
31:16friend of
31:17mine.
31:18You
31:18remember?
31:19I tried
31:20to tell
31:20you that
31:21night,
31:21the night
31:21of the
31:21accident.
31:22Oh,
31:22yeah,
31:22yeah,
31:23so you
31:23did,
31:23I
31:23recall.
31:24Rudy was
31:24my
31:24enemy.
31:25He
31:25resented
31:26me,
31:26hated me.
31:27The night
31:28of his
31:28triumph,
31:29when he
31:29had everything,
31:30he gloated
31:31over it,
31:31he threw
31:32it in my
31:32teeth.
31:33Well,
31:33then,
31:33that is
31:34it,
31:34Franz.
31:35Why
31:36should you
31:36have any
31:36remorse?
31:37You
31:37think it
31:38is only
31:38remorse
31:38that conjures
31:39up these
31:40visions?
31:40Of course,
31:41that and
31:41your
31:42oversensitive
31:43nature.
31:44And I
31:45can help
31:45there.
31:49if you
31:52need it.
31:53I
31:53should
31:54think
31:54Ilse
31:55would be
31:55better than
31:56all my
31:57pills for
31:57that.
31:59What you
31:59need is
32:00her to
32:00take care
32:01of you.
32:11Ilse,
32:12Franz,
32:12welcome home.
32:13Oh,
32:13Papa,
32:14it's good
32:14to be
32:14back.
32:15It's good
32:16to see you
32:16here,
32:16doctor.
32:17So,
32:18now,
32:18tell me
32:18all about
32:19the tour.
32:19It was
32:20brilliant,
32:20marvelous,
32:21unbelievable,
32:22standing
32:22ovations
32:23everywhere.
32:24Franz was
32:25the lion
32:26of the
32:26hour.
32:27He
32:28looks like
32:28a rather
32:28tired
32:29lion.
32:30Oh,
32:30just need
32:30a couple
32:31of days
32:31rest.
32:32I
32:32must look
32:33a fright
32:33after that
32:34long carriage
32:34ride.
32:35You'll
32:35excuse me
32:36while I
32:36change.
32:38Oh,
32:39I
32:39forgot.
32:40We
32:41ought to
32:41give a
32:41special
32:42concert
32:42recital
32:42for the
32:43emperor
32:43at
32:44Schoenbrun.
32:45Imagine
32:46our own
32:47emperor.
32:47She
32:50is
32:50wildly
32:50happy.
32:51Yes,
32:52Ilse
32:52thrives
32:53on all
32:53the
32:53social
32:54life.
32:55You
32:55don't
32:55seem
32:56to
32:56share
32:56her
32:57enthusiasm.
32:58Oh,
32:59my
32:59God,
32:59how can
33:00I?
33:00Oh,
33:00come on,
33:01France.
33:02Not so
33:02bad to be
33:03wined and
33:04dined.
33:04The
33:05important
33:05thing is
33:05to remember
33:06it's a
33:07tribute to
33:07your
33:07genius.
33:09My
33:09genius.
33:11Do you
33:11really think
33:11it is
33:12I they
33:12applaud?
33:13Who
33:13else?
33:14These,
33:15these,
33:16that's what
33:16they come
33:16to worship.
33:17And who
33:18makes them
33:18work?
33:19Not I.
33:20I tell you
33:21they have a
33:21life of
33:21their own.
33:23Do you
33:23think I
33:23could attack
33:24the Beethoven
33:25emperor as
33:25though notes
33:26exploded from
33:26one of
33:27Napoleon's
33:27canons?
33:29I tell you
33:29they are
33:29beyond my
33:30control and
33:31it is
33:31driving me
33:32mad.
33:34I want
33:34to play
33:34my own
33:35music,
33:35be my
33:35own
33:36man.
33:37These
33:37may be
33:38the hands
33:38of a
33:38genius,
33:39but Lord
33:40help me,
33:40they are
33:41not mine.
33:42I never
33:42want to
33:43play
33:43the
33:43piano
33:43again.
33:51Fran?
33:53Yes,
33:54yes,
33:54sir?
33:55What are
33:55you doing
33:56out of
33:56bed?
33:57Thinking.
33:59Well,
33:59must you
34:00sit by
34:00the window,
34:01come back
34:02to bed,
34:02and think
34:03with me?
34:05I'm
34:05afraid in
34:06bed with
34:06you,
34:06you will,
34:06sir.
34:07I don't
34:08think very
34:08clearly.
34:10It's
34:10better when
34:11you don't
34:11think at
34:12all.
34:13That used
34:13to be
34:13a way
34:14out,
34:14and no
34:15longer.
34:16What do
34:17you mean?
34:19Ilse,
34:21listen to
34:22me.
34:24I don't
34:25want to
34:25play
34:26again.
34:27Are you
34:27out of
34:28your mind?
34:29The
34:30king,
34:30the
34:30queen,
34:32Napoleon,
34:32and the
34:33Empress
34:33Josephine.
34:34Are they
34:34so important
34:35to you?
34:36What are
34:36you trying
34:37to say?
34:37Are they
34:38more important
34:39to you
34:39than my
34:39peace of
34:40soul?
34:40No,
34:41really,
34:41friends.
34:42You
34:43should
34:43live to
34:45play.
34:46Why?
34:47Because
34:48it's
34:48expected
34:49of you.
34:49By
34:49whom?
34:50Well,
34:51by the
34:52nobility,
34:53royalty,
34:53everyone who
34:54hears your
34:54music.
34:55And you?
34:55Yes,
34:56and my
34:56father.
34:57Oh,
34:57no,
34:57your father
34:58understands,
34:59and for the
34:59rest,
35:00there's always
35:00a new
35:01artist,
35:01a new
35:02interest.
35:03The truth
35:03is,
35:03isn't it,
35:04that I
35:05must keep
35:05on playing
35:06for you.
35:06Well,
35:07that isn't
35:07true.
35:08Then,
35:08if you
35:09love me,
35:10agree that
35:10my career
35:11is over,
35:12would you
35:12love me
35:13still,
35:13just as
35:14Franz Langemann?
35:16You're
35:16being foolish,
35:17Liebling.
35:18This is
35:19just another
35:19temperamental
35:20display.
35:21Why should
35:22you stop
35:22playing?
35:23I won't
35:23allow you
35:24to.
35:24Won't you,
35:24Ilse?
35:26I think
35:26it's time
35:27we put
35:27things to
35:28a test.
35:29What are
35:30you doing?
35:31I want
35:32to show
35:32you something.
35:33I don't
35:34think I
35:35want to
35:35see it.
35:36At last
35:37you must.
35:38You see
35:38my arms?
35:40Why do
35:40you think
35:40I wear
35:40these bandages
35:41above my
35:42wrists?
35:42Well,
35:43you always
35:44said the
35:44scars were
35:45ugly,
35:46and that
35:46ugly.
35:47Let me
35:48show you
35:48the truth.
35:50Look
35:50at both
35:51arms.
35:53What?
35:55There's
35:56nothing there
35:57but a
35:59thin
35:59white
36:00line.
36:01On
36:01each
36:02arm.
36:03All
36:03the
36:03way
36:03around.
36:05See?
36:06Yes,
36:06but I
36:07thought...
36:08In the
36:08accident,
36:09Rudy's
36:10brain was
36:10injured
36:10fatally,
36:11but the
36:12rest of
36:12them was
36:12untouched.
36:13All
36:14of me
36:14was
36:14untouched
36:15except
36:15my hands.
36:17They
36:17were
36:17completely
36:18destroyed.
36:19But if
36:19they
36:19were...
36:21If
36:21they
36:21were...
36:22Oh,
36:23no.
36:24Yes,
36:24it was.
36:24Oh,
36:24no.
36:25Yes,
36:25yes,
36:26these are
36:26Rudy's
36:27hands,
36:27grafted to
36:28me miraculously
36:29by your
36:29surgeon
36:30father.
36:30No.
36:31These
36:31are what
36:31you love,
36:32aren't they?
36:32Not
36:32me.
36:33I...
36:34I...
36:34even when
36:35they were
36:35still Rudy's.
36:36It was
36:37these hands
36:38and the
36:38fame and
36:39the notoriety
36:39and the
36:40acclaim that
36:40could win
36:41and really
36:42claim your
36:42love.
36:43The man
36:44behind them
36:44meant little
36:45except a
36:45means to
36:46an end.
36:47Right.
36:47No,
36:48I...
36:48I...
36:49Fronda...
36:49No.
36:50I give you
36:51one last
36:51choice,
36:51Ilse.
36:52Rudy can
36:53never play
36:53again and
36:55promise you
36:55I never
36:56will.
36:57But you
36:58stay with
36:59me as my
36:59wife and
37:00care for
37:01me and
37:02nourish me.
37:03Now I know
37:03you're mad
37:04and I'll
37:05not waste
37:05my life
37:06on you.
37:07I forced
37:08myself to
37:09endure Rudy
37:10because I
37:11knew he
37:11could carry
37:12me with
37:12him to
37:12the top.
37:13I found
37:14you more
37:14endurable if
37:15you could give
37:16me the
37:16same.
37:17But if you
37:18turn your
37:18back on
37:19success and
37:20glory,
37:21don't ask
37:22me to do
37:23the same.
37:24You cannot
37:25love me for
37:25myself,
37:26only for
37:27these.
37:27with those
37:28hands,
37:29no matter
37:30whose,
37:31you can
37:32rule the
37:33world.
37:33Even though
37:34they destroy
37:34me.
37:35Oh, I
37:35don't know
37:35why I wasted
37:36my time on
37:37such a fool.
37:38Those hands
37:39are not for
37:39destruction.
37:40Even about
37:41your throat,
37:43say you
37:43love me.
37:44Oh, stop
37:44being a
37:45child,
37:45son.
37:45Say you
37:46love me.
37:46At this
37:46moment, I
37:47despise you.
37:48Now, watch
37:48what?
37:49What?
37:50With a new
37:50pier glass I
37:51brought today,
37:51you're going
37:51to knock it
37:52over.
37:53She fooled
37:54us both,
37:55Fran.
37:57Kill her.
37:58There, my
37:59hand.
38:01What are
38:01you looking
38:02at?
38:03Can't
38:03you see
38:04him?
38:05Rudy, in
38:06the mirror.
38:08You're
38:09mad.
38:10Fran, no.
38:12No.
38:12You have
38:13to use
38:14them.
38:14Rudy, they're
38:16not mine.
38:17Not
38:18mine.
38:19Yes.
38:19Yes.
38:20Yes.
38:20Yes.
38:20Yes.
38:21Yes.
38:21Yes.
38:21Yes.
38:22Yes.
38:22Yes.
38:22Yes.
38:23Yes.
38:23Yes.
38:23Yes.
38:24Yes.
38:24Yes.
38:24Yes.
38:25Yes.
38:25Yes.
38:26Yes.
38:26Yes.
38:26Yes.
38:27Yes.
38:27Yes.
38:27Oh, now what is
38:30there to do?
38:33Police will come,
38:34France.
38:35You will be
38:36hanged.
38:38What does it
38:39matter?
38:41Well, nothing can
38:42bring Rudy or
38:43my daughter back.
38:47But I was as
38:47guilty as anyone
38:48in this.
38:50I wanted to save
38:51a rare musical
38:53gift for the
38:54world.
38:54and I was
38:56tempted in the
38:57operation to
38:58play God.
39:02And now there's
39:03only one thing
39:03to do.
39:04What?
39:06Poor Ilza
39:07must have
39:07fought.
39:09Your face
39:10is damaged.
39:12Now we must
39:13ransack the
39:14apartment.
39:15Well, I will
39:16take enough
39:16valuables away
39:17with me.
39:17Then I will
39:19say I came
39:20to visit you
39:21and that I
39:21found my
39:22daughter in you
39:23and then
39:24that I rushed
39:24out for the
39:26police.
39:34France.
39:36France.
39:38What is it?
39:40Look in the
39:42glass.
39:45Rudy.
39:46Did you
39:47really think
39:48I'd let you
39:49escape?
39:51Do you
39:52really think
39:52I care
39:53anymore?
39:55Take my
39:56hand
39:56and put
39:58them
39:59around your
40:00throat.
40:02That's it.
40:06Now,
40:08let me
40:10do the
40:11rest.
40:12I came
40:21to visit
40:21my daughter
40:22and her
40:22husband
40:22and found
40:24them,
40:24as you
40:24see.
40:25My daughter
40:26is dead.
40:26My son-in-law
40:27merely renders
40:29unconscious.
40:30I placed him
40:31on the bed,
40:31as you see,
40:32and came for
40:33you,
40:34Inspector.
40:34Murder and
40:35robbery,
40:36obviously.
40:38I don't know
40:38how much is
40:39missing.
40:40Certainly,
40:40my daughter's
40:41jewels,
40:41some ivory
40:42pieces.
40:42I gave
40:43them as a
40:43wedding present.
40:44Your daughter
40:45is quite dead,
40:46strangled.
40:47How is the
40:47young man?
40:48Awesome.
40:49Facial wounds,
40:50possible concussion,
40:51and, uh...
40:52What is it here,
40:54Doctor?
40:54France!
40:56France!
40:57He has been
40:57strangled, too!
40:59Tongue protruding,
41:01face livid,
41:02marks on throat,
41:03not much doubt.
41:05Some kind of
41:05maniac,
41:06it looks.
41:07Huh?
41:08Go to
41:09me,
41:09Colonel.
41:10What is it?
41:11A maniac,
41:12all right,
41:12look.
41:13Cut right off
41:14above the wrist.
41:16He has no
41:17hands.
41:26Now I wonder
41:28if anyone
41:28stopped to
41:29exhume Rudy
41:30Baum from
41:30his solitary
41:31grave.
41:33Would he
41:33prove to
41:34have hands
41:34or not?
41:37As it
41:37happened,
41:38no one
41:38did.
41:39And since
41:40here Dr.
41:40Herschel
41:41died quite
41:41suddenly from
41:42a heart
41:42attack during
41:43the solemn
41:44requiem mass
41:45for his
41:45daughter and
41:45his son-in-law,
41:47why should
41:47it have
41:48occurred to
41:48anyone to
41:49question this
41:50extraordinary
41:50tale further?
41:52One comment
41:53in closing.
41:54Man proposes,
41:56God disposes.
41:58There is never
41:59a time when
42:00man can take
42:01his work
42:02into his
42:03hand.
42:03No truer
42:05words have
42:05been spoken
42:06than in
42:06the Bible,
42:07Hosea 8,
42:08chapter 7.
42:10They have
42:11sown the
42:11wind,
42:13and they
42:13shall reap
42:14the whirlwind.
42:16Our cast
42:17included Robert
42:18Drivas,
42:18Stefan Schnabel,
42:19Marion Seldes,
42:20Ira Lewis,
42:21and Roger
42:21Decovan.
42:23The entire
42:23production was
42:24under the
42:24direction of
42:25Hyman Brown.
42:26This is E.G.
42:27Marshall inviting
42:28you to return
42:29to our mystery
42:29theater for
42:30another adventure
42:31in the macabre.
42:33Until next time,
42:36pleasant dreams.
Recommended
28:25
0:38
0:58