Die Teufelshand

How many movies feature a character who sells his soul to the devil?Since "Faust",a lot!From "la beauté du diable" (René Clair,1949) to "Rosemary's baby"(Polanski,1968),from "Angel Heart" (Alan Parker,1987)to "the devil's advocate"(1997) and "the seventh gate" (Polanski again,1999).And it's far from being over..

"La main du diable " is one of the best.Maurice Tourneur constantly creates strange atmospheres:first,in an isolated inn,where,during the dinner,the lights go out.Then the hero ,Roland (Pierre Fresnay) begins to tell his tale during a very long flashback:he was a poor artist whose paintings did not sell,and one day he bought a mysterious hand ,a talisman:it's an overnight triumph.But who is this little man,always harassing him?Did Roland gain the world and lose his soul?

To reveal more would be a spoiler:I want to point out a marvelous scene,one of the strongest of the fantastic cinema:he invokes all the former owners of the hand.They all appear together,masked,in front of a long table.They are a very long chain in space and in time:this innovative sequence might have influenced Mickael Powell and Eric Pressburger for "a matter of life and death"(stairway to heaven)(1946)

Like father,like son:Maurice's son Jacques (Jack) will be also a master of fear,as "cat people" (1942,avoid the remake!)testifies.

A few years ago I was attracted to the work of French filmmaker Maurice Tourneur, after reading his IMDb profile. I already knew that his film «La Main du Diable» had a cult following, and that he was the father of Jacques Tourneur, the famous director of «Cat People», «I Walked with a Zombie», and «Out of the Past», but I had no idea of his own prestige and importance in the history of cinema.

During the silent film period, Maurice Tourneur was as popular as David W. Griffith and Thomas Harper Ince, and his movies had a strong influence due to their visual design refinement. I am yet to see his version of James Fenimore Cooper's «Last of the Mohicans» (1920), selected to the National Film Registry by the US Congress, but I have already seen his adaptations of Maurice Maeterlinck's «The Blue Bird» (1918, also selected to the National Film Registry), and Joseph Conrad's «Victory» (1919).

I have just finished watching «La Main du Diable», a French production made during the last stage of his career, when he returned to France, tired of the commercialism of the Hollywood films. Connections are often made between Nazi occupation in France and certain films that are or seem to be allegories of this state of things, as Carné's «Les Visiteurs du Soir», or Clouzot's «Le Corbeau», so I would not be surprised if there are analysis linking «La Main du Diable» to Nazi presence in French territory.

If it's true that this reading is possible and plausible, that is fine, but the film is fascinating as it is, a moral tale with elements of fantasy and subtle horror: in an Alpine hotel, the boring confinement of a group of travelers trapped by an avalanche, brightens up with the sudden arrival of a nervous man, with a stump and a small box under his arm. After the box is stolen during a blackout, the travelers become a captive audience (as we, the spectators), listening to the man as he tell his story, from being a luckless painter, to buying a sinister talisman that brought him fame, love and fortune, and being cheated by the Devil.

The story of course is similar to other cinematic pacts with the Devil, as those made by Faust, the Prague student, Jabez Stone in «The Devil and Daniel Webster», the phantom of the Paradise theater, the investigator in «Angel Heart», or the young lawyer in «The Devil's Advocate», among others. But Tourneur, as Murnau in his «Faust», fascinates us with his visual reading of Gérard de Nerval's novel, and creates a glowing monochromatic world of oblique lines, shadows, masks, and an affable little Devil, played by a smiling old man who, behind the appearance of a helpless civil servant, hides his treacherous essence.

The film is a well-mounted clockwork that reaches its expected conclusion with the same punctuality the Devil demands of his creditors. If by chance it crosses your path, don't miss «La Main du Diable», a work that only asks for 78 minutes of your time.

A hotel in the Alps is filled with guests after an avalanche left them stranded. Roland Brissot walks out of the snow with a fake left hand and a box. The police comes looking for someone fitting his description. The lights go out and Roland's box goes missing. The other guests are suspicious of him. He recounts his story starting from a year ago. He's a failing painter with girl trouble. He's offered a talisman which would fulfill his gift.

This is a French horror film titled La main du diable. It's basically the monkey paw horror story. Losing a hand is interesting. I like the general concept and its history. I don't really like paying back the money which seems to require some math work. I still like passing it from one person to the next. It's an interesting spin on this horror story.

Carnival of Sinners (1943)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Excellent French horror film from director Maurice Tourneur about a talentless painter (Pierre Fresnay) who is given the opportunity to buy a mysterious chest and with it a certain power that will bring greatness and fame. It doesn't take long for the painter to realize that he's actually sold his soul to the Devil and he must try and find a way to get it back. I had never heard of this film until it recently was shown on Turner Classic Movies and afterwards I really couldn't wait to tell others about it. It's really hard to believe that this movie isn't better known because it's certainly one of the best horror films from this period that manages to hold up extremely well and it remains quite creepy. The story of one's soul being sold isn't exactly original but director Tourneur does a masterful job at showing how one could go crazy trying to figure out a way to gain his soul back. I really loved the way the film drew you into the greatness that would come with fame and riches and it also did a great job at showing how difficult it would be to give this stuff up. The film is quite thoughtful in the way it shows the highs and lows of this mysterious box and the finale is just downright chilling to watch. Fresnay is terrific in his role, which requires him to act out various emotions throughout the picture. I thought the actor did a fantastic job and especially during the scenes where he begins to realize the mistake he's made. The supporting cast is equally strong as well. The film has some wonderful cinematography and the use of shadows is quite impressive. CARNIVAL OF SINNERS shows what a talented director can do to a familiar story and in the end this here is certainly one of the better films of the genre and deserves much more attention.

A well done, very imaginative story, variations of which have been done many times, but not with the style and touch of a Tourneur. Both father and son had made quality pictures enriching the lives of moviegoers for decades, and here is another. Jumping ahead a few years for a comparison, "Carnival Of Sinners" is like a feature-length 'Twilight Zone' TV show, but you would have to see this picture to appreciate how far superior it is.

Brissot(Pierre Fresnay) is a painter unsuccessful in most everything he attempts - until he buys a 'talisman', a hand in a box from someone glad to get rid of it. Of course, the hand is cursed. The film starts at the end as he is relating his tale to a group at a mountain resort, and from thereon the story is as gripping as it is bizarre, and there is no letup. I don't summarize movie plots in reviews (I leave that to all other contributors), but this picture is an edge-of-your-seat story throughout its 78 minutes, which fly by.

Very surprising to think that there are only 5 other reviews and only 394 ratings for such a terrific picture. Congratulations to TCM for dusting this one off. I am always delighted when I can see a great movie I hadn't seen before - and done with such style and competence. But with the Tourneur name on it I should have expected same.