Starring Robert Alda, Andrea King, Peter Lorre, Victor Francen, J. Carrol Naish
Directed by Robert Florey
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After a great pianist dies in an accident, his hand disappears from his coffin, and its trail leads to a murdered man, causing a small Italian village to suspect it's returned to life for revenge.
This dark tale was scripted by Universal horror veteran Curt Siodmak and directed by Robert Florey, who helmed Bela Lugosi's Murders In The Rue Morgue, the two bringing an impressive horror pedigree to the picture. The special effects rendering the hand as it moves on its own are excellent, and there's fine performances from the entire cast. Peter Lorre is especially captured well by the cinematography of Wesley Anderson, with many eerie closeups of his eyes and face as the actor speaks to us through his expressions as well as his voice. An integral part of the film is the musical piece Francen's pianist and later his hand on its own performs, Chaconne in D minor BMW 1004 (per IMDB), which composer Max Steiner builds an excellent musical score around, incorporating its themes for dramatic effect throughout the story. Overall it's an excellent and entertaining film in my view, and despite the period and provincial setting, it holds up well as a horror film today.
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