Main Cast: Robert Alda, Andrea King, Peter Lorre, Victor Francen, J. Carrol Naish
Release Year: 1946
Country: US
Run Time: 88 minutes
Plot
This movie is an early horror film classic and certainly one that a well-rounded horror movie aficionado should not miss. An invalid concert pianist dies, leaving a will that does not include his personal secretary Hilary Cummins (Peter Lorre) as a beneficiary. Furious, the left-out yes-man cuts off a hand from the corpse and plots revenge. Unfortunately for Hilary, the hand inherits a life of its own and relentlessly stalks the wild-eyed Lorre as he flees in vain. Special effects keep the audience jumping as they dread the next appearance of this gruesome walking hand. The film is directed by Robert Florey, who also directed Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932). ~ All Movie Guide
Review
This effectively eerie chiller about a vengeance-seeking, disembodied hand has been much-imitated over the years and has earned its reputation as one of the more original horror films of the 1940s. Showcasing another wild screenplay from horror master Curt Siodmak, The Beast with Five Fingers takes place almost entirely in the dark mansion of Francis Ingram, a wealthy recluse who lives in the village of San Stefano in early 20th century Italy. Peter Lorre gives his usual creepy performance, this time as Hilary Cummins, Ingram's loyal but unappreciated secretary. Not surprisingly, Lorre steals the show, but there are also some entertaining scenes for Charles Dingle as Ingram's ruthless, scheming brother-in-law. Director Robert Florey, whose unique output has earned him a solid cult following, employs interesting camera angles to heighten the oddity of the proceedings. He also expertly stages some memorably suspenseful scenes, including Lorre's battle with the hand in the library, Lorre's attack on leading lady Andrea King, and especially the elaborate finale. Of course, crucial to the film's success is the hand itself, which is achieved through some remarkable photographic effects that make the hand appear real, and make it difficult (and at times impossible) to figure out how the effects were achieved. The cast also includes Robert Alda and J. Carrol Naish, and while there may not be much substance to the story, it is still great fun. ~ Bob Mastrangelo, All Movie Guide
Stanley Fleischer - Art Director, Robert Florey - Director, Frank Magee - Editor, Max Steiner - Composer (Music Score), Wesley Anderson - Cinematographer, William Jacobs - Producer, Curt Siodmak - Screenwriter, William Fryer Harvey - Book Author, Harvey William Fryer - Short Story Author
The Beast with Five Fingers (1946) is a horror film directed by Robert Florey and with a screenplay by Curt Siodmak, based on a short story by W. F. Harvey first published in the New Decameron. The original music score was composed by Max Steiner. The film was marketed with the tagline "A sensation of screaming suspense!"
Peter Lorre stars in the film, his last with Warner Brothers. (In his 1982 autobiography My Last Sigh, Surrealist director Luis Buñuel wrote that while at Warner Brothers dubbing films into Spanish 1942-1946, he submitted a story about a murderous disembodied hand, then moved to Mexico and re-started his career as director.) The much-played piano piece is a transcription for left hand by Warner Bros. pianist Victor Aller of the chaconne from Johann Sebastian Bach's Violin Partita in D minor.
Evil is running amok in an Italian village, mostly in the estate of a deceased pianist where murders begin to take place. What is this supposed evil? The pianist's hand.
