Paula Hammond - Features EditorDirected by cinematic pioneer Maurice Tourneur (Cecile is Dead) and starring Pierre Fresnay (La Grande Illusion), The Devil’s Hand stands with Diabolique and Eyes Without a Face as one of the finest horror films ever produced in France.
Guests staying at an isolated mountain inn, cut off from the outside world by an avalanche, are astounded by the sudden arrival of Roland Brissot (Fresnay), a mysterious man with a prosthetic hand. He soon begins to regale the assembled patrons with his extraordinary story: once a struggling artist, his luck changed on the day that he bought an enchanted talisman in the shape of a hand, an artefact that supposedly bestows good fortune upon its owner. Overnight, he became talented, wealthy and contented – but he must sell the talisman at a loss before he dies, or else he will be damned to hell for all eternity…
A distinctly French twist on the likes of Faust and The Monkey’s Paw, The Devil’s Hand was from a short story by Gérard de Nerval and was produced under German occupation at the height of World War II.
With beautiful cinematography, compelling performances, and a wonderfully strange storyline, this new release must surely be an essential purchase for lovers of French fantastique cinema.
The Devil’s Hand comes to blu-ray in the UK for the first time as part of The Masters of Cinema Series, this month, in a strictly limited edition of 2,000 copies.
