The Beast With Five Fingers

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dave s @RT68722908 10/29/2022 When the will of a wealthy concert pianist is contested, it isn't long before mayhem and murder become the focus of the local constabulary. However, when it is discovered that a hand of the deceased is missing, those concerned can only jump to one logical conclusion: there is a murderous appendage running amok. Sure, the premise is absurd, but as things turn out, The Beast with Five Fingers is actually more of a murder mystery than it is a horror film. The acting is solid (Peter Lorre is always fun to watch), the camerawork and lighting establish an effectively eerie atmosphere, the effects are respectable, and the story manages to keep your interest, but it's all a bit silly in retrospect. See more 05/12/2021 My first movie in 1946. Frightening for a youngster. Peter Lorre marvelous. Excellent for a movie of psychological terror for its time. See more deke p @RT96675217 01/10/2021 One thumb up for the hand! 1946! I've seen parts of it before and again tonight January 2021 on the SVENGHOOLIE TV show. It was seriously acted and of course a preposterous Idea. Peter Lorre! Got incredibly high reviews I'm rotten tomatoes from both critics and audiences See more 05/09/2020 When I first saw this movie in 1946, I was 12 years old and was scared witless, having been brought up on black and white Frankenstein movies. Not only was this film of that ilk, it was a psychological thriller and Peter Lorre's histrionics, frightening then, are fun to watch today. Good cast, good actors, and a dark mood throughout. Can't expect a scare like a preteen but a nice way to spend your time. One of the first of the many disembodied hand movies See more 05/09/2020 Entertaining postwar horror film with impressive SFX for the time. See more 10/10/2018 This film has two good things going for it - a few scenes with a disembodied hand scrambling about on its own, which is creepy especially for 1946, and of course, Peter Lorre. Unfortunately, they're not enough to overcome poor storytelling and a very weak script. The pace of this film is tedious for about the first hour, and it's padded with filler and a silly romance. Other than Lorre, the rest of the cast is mediocre. The tone of the film is off as well, with cheesy superfluous things tossed in like howling outside in the night and a silly epilogue going for B-movie camp value, but taking away from what would have been better darker. The special effects are excellent and how the film resolves itself with Lorre is interesting, so it's a shame the film wasn't in better hands. A better one with both Lorre and murderous, severed hands from a pianist, though with a different premise, is 'Mad Love' (1935). See more Read all reviews

The Beast With Five Fingers

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