The Devil's Hand (1961)

The Plot.Rick Turner is engaged of Donna Trent and is having nightmares with a beautiful blonde woman dancing in the sky. One night, he is mysteriously driven to a doll shop, and in the next morning he returns to the place with Donna. He finds a doll that resembles his fiancé, but the owner Francis Lamont delivers another doll to him, with the face of the woman of his dreams, Bianca Milan. Rick looks for Bianca and is seduced and convinced by her to join a sect that worships the diabolic Camba, while the health of Donna is threatened by Francis and Bianca.Odd small film with Alan Alda's father. Reminds me of something you'd see on Twilight Zone only longer. And it shows. It's rather slow with lots of unnecessary filler.

Rick Turner (Robert Alda) is an engaged man who begins having dreams about a very seductive blonde woman. He is mysteriously drawn to a doll shop where he finds not only a doll that looks like his fiancé, but another that is the spitting image of the woman in his dreams. He finds the woman, Bianca Milan (Linda Christian), and immediately falls under her spell. In no time at all, Rick has all but forgotten his fiancé, professed his undying love for Bianca, and joined a cult that worships Gamba, the Devil God of Evil. Wow, that was quick!I readily admit - I enjoy this movie way more than I should. The Devil's Hand isn't particularly good, but it is a blast. Why? The main reason is Neil Hamilton as the doll shop owner / cult leader Francis Lamont. Most people my age will immediately recognize Hamilton as Commissioner Gordon form the 1960s Batman TV program. He plays Lamont just like he did Commissioner Gordon - perfectly straight. And it's a blast to watch! He delivers some of the most ridiculous lines with an absolute straight face. I loved it. The rest of the movie is entertaining enough with a reasonably good plot, the stunning Linda Christian, and the wheel of death being highlights. If I have one complaint, it would be Robert Alda. Bland doesn't begin to describe him in The Devil's Hand. But I suppose that's the type of character who could so easily be seduced into joining a the cult of Gamba, the Devil God of Evil. (Is it necessary to add the "Evil" part at the end? He is a Devil God after all. "Evil" would seems a bit redundant.)

The Devil's Hand: Rick is your average guy with a nice, average fiancé except for one thing: he's having wildly lucid dreams about a sexy blonde. The dreams inexplicably bring him to a doll shop in the middle of the night, where he spots a doll resembling his dream woman in the window. Disturbed, he returns the next day during normal business hours with his fiancé and things get weirder as they stumble into a world of voodoo, devil worship, and more dolls! This film could have been subtitled "Deus ex machina," but it's mostly entertaining, and scores an extra point or two for having a totally retro-cool surf guitar opening credits tune.

Followers of my reviews do know that I have problems with science-fiction and horror made in the fifties and sixties. Mostly there's nothing going on, I admit, there are a few exceptions but still, most of them use cheap effects and are really outdated. A thing we can't say from for example the Universal Horrors. But sometimes I do come across horrors made in that era. The reason is simple, I collect also grindhouse and drive-in flicks and let this one be available in a grindhouse box. Although it doesn't contain any nudity and not a blink of blood I still enjoyed it. It's about a man Rick Turner (Robert Alda) who's engaged to Donna Trent(Ariadna Welter) but is seeing a beautiful woman Bianca Milan (Linda Christian) in his dreams. By mysterious encounters he's visiting a doll shop. A few strange things happen and without knowing he sees the doll that looks like his woman in his dream. He goes searching for her in real life finds her and is introduced to a cult.From there on you can easily know what will happen towards the end but by clocking in at 71 minutes it's over before you know it. The acting is sometimes a bit exaggerated, a thing so typical for films from that era. Linda Christian really looks gorgeous in her nightgown and they tried to add a bit of romantic pieces. It's also funny to see that smoking was a hot thing in bed and in fact everywhere. For such an old flick the sound was rather okay as did the editing and the way it was filmed. But it shows because the director William J. Hole Jr. did move on to Peyton Place (1968-1969)and The Bionic Women (1976) as director.Above average for a flick from that time and even as it isn't that wellknown it's worth picking up. And the last 10 seconds I had a big laugh, just see it...Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 0,5/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5