Saturday, October 08, 2022

FILM REVIEW: The Devil's Hand


 

The Devil's Hand aka Carnival of Sinners aka La Main du Diable (1943), directed by Maurice Tourneur.

Charming fantasy about a bohemian artist who buys a "Monkey's Paw" totem and makes a Faustian bargain for fame, love, and riches. The hero is pursued by a cute little devil who dresses and thinks like an accountant (or an SS agent), and there are some impressive spooky-looking shots and sequences. A cute satire on bourgeois art and commerce, directed by Jacques Tourneur's father! Made under German occupation, it's very French, very modern, and I've read it characterized as an anti-Nazi Resistance allegory.

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