Füge eine Handlung in deiner Sprache hinzuA concert pianist loses his hands in a car crash, but a surgeon gives him new ones. The experimental medical procedure goes awry when the new hands drive the pianist mad.A concert pianist loses his hands in a car crash, but a surgeon gives him new ones. The experimental medical procedure goes awry when the new hands drive the pianist mad.A concert pianist loses his hands in a car crash, but a surgeon gives him new ones. The experimental medical procedure goes awry when the new hands drive the pianist mad.
- Vernon Paris
- (as James Stapleton)
- Dr. Ross Compton
- (as Ted Otis)
- Police Lt. Syms
- (as Larry Haddon)
- Dr. Ken Fry
- (as Michael duPont)
- Nagging Wife
- (Nicht genannt)
- Concertgoer
- (Nicht genannt)
- Juggler
- (Nicht genannt)
- Henpecked Husband
- (Nicht genannt)
- Concertgoer
- (Nicht genannt)
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Hands of a Stranger is a little too talky for its own good. The story itself might be a well-worn one but there's no excuse for the serious lack of action here. An 'evil hands' film really needs to cut back on the chat and deliver more schlock. There are occasional memorable moments such as the scene where the pianist visits the home of the taxi driver responsible for the crash that maimed him but in the main such sequences are in short supply. The lead character Vernon is also a somewhat hard character to get behind. His ingratitude for the surgery that prevented him from being without hands marks him out as a somewhat arrogant and unsympathetic individual.
One reasonably interesting aspect of the film is that its quite ambiguous for a movie of this type, in that it is never really made certain that the hands are inherently evil or not. It seems to me that the surgery merely effects the natural dexterity that Vernon had, and as a result makes him unable to play piano, leading to psychological breakdown. In this sense Hands of a Stranger is quite interesting. But its poor pacing and lack of action mean that it is not enough to save it from being a bit of a clunker.
Nobody in the cast has any "name" value and I see that in many of these reviews people are confusing the leading male characters by crediting the wrong names of the actors.
For clarification, it's James Stapleton who plays the pianist with a sensitive but expressionless face. His looks are reminiscent of Hurd Hatfield's in "The Picture of Dorian Gray" who also kept a mask-like facial expression. The doctor is played with slightly more animation by Paul Lukather and has a more sympathetic role. The victimized Stapleton resents the doctor's surgery to the extent that he becomes arrogant and spiteful enough to emerge a killer.
Some of the B&W photography is in the film noir category but everyone is let down by an uninspired script and less than polished direction.
Poorly acted ,and with a dull script and harsh ,flat lighting that makes the whole thing look like a cheap TV show this is best forgotten.Track down the 1935 film with the great Peter Lorre ,or keep an eye out for the Mel Ferrer version of 1961 but trouble yourself not with this excresence.
Going home after his greatest performance, that he practiced for six months,the cab driver Tony Wilder, George Sawaya,loses control and smashes into the oncoming traffic blinding himself and causing Vernon to lose both his hands in the accident. At the hospital emergency ward Vernon's agent George Britton, Michael Ray, begs the presiding surgeon Dr. Gil Harding, Paul Lukather,to save his hands. The doctor is told that Vernon would be as good as dead without them. Dr. Harding using the hands of a corpse, suffering from gunshot wounds that he just operated on and graphs it's hands onto the stumps of Vernon. Later their accepted by his body making the operation an amazing success, a success until Vernon attempted to play his beloved piano. It turned out that the hands grafted on Vernon were that of an extremely strong person who also happened to be a brutal murder.
Not as bad as you would think with the acting and script far superior then most low-budget horror movies that were made back then in the early 1960's. Vernon even though he became an uncontrolled killer showed glimpses of his previous personally as a talented and sensitive artist. You could really feel for Vernon as you saw everything that he loved and cared for like his ability to play the piano and his girlfriend Elaine, Eileen Hunter, desert him at the time of his greatest need.
Vernon was a bad guy in the movie but you could well understand why he was that way and not be that critical of him. Vernon just couldn't control both his hands and emotions that made him do the terrible things that he did in the film. "Hands of a Strager" followed the usual scenario with Vernon destroying everything, and everyone, that he came in contact with. In the end he destroyed himself as he tried to murder Dr. Harding who he held responsible for his new found lot in life.
What really struck me about the film was the conduct of it's star Dr. Gil Harding who was anything but the mad doctor that you would have expected him to be. Concerned and understanding he didn't even want to operate on Vernon's hands at first. Dr. Harding had to be talked into it by his friend George who felt that without his hands Vernon would lose his will to live. Vernon's sister Dina, Joan Harvey, who sacrificed her personal live to care for and help Vernon become a success and was by far the most sympathetic person in the movie fell in love with Dr. Harding. Dina at first greatly disliked Dr. Harding for what he did to her brother not realizing that it wasn't his idea to operate. Which also showed that he was anything but the unstable and maniacal lunatic that's always portrayed in moves like "Hands of a Stranger".
Wusstest du schon
- WissenswertesCompleted in 1960, but not released until 1962.
- Patzer(at around 47 mins) The pianist hits the piano keys in frustration in the treble register. However, we hear the sound of the lower, bass, register instead.
- Zitate
[last lines]
Dr. Gil Harding: [after Vernon was gunned to death] Have you found out whose hands they are?
Police Lt. Syms: Not yet. Does it make any difference? I think you'll know we'll have to talk soon.
Dr. Gil Harding: And maybe you'll be able to tell me if we had the right to push ahead so fast--even when you believe.
Police Lt. Syms: For men like you who aren't afraid to grow, they'll always be the right.
[Syms leaves]
- Crazy Creditsand introducing BARRY GORDON as Skeet
- VerbindungenEdited into FrightMare Theater: Hands of a Stranger (2022)
- SoundtracksHow's Your Mother
Composed by John Mosher
Played by Red Norvo Quintet (as Red Norvo Quintette) (Red Norvo, Jerry Dodgion, Jimmy Wyble, John Markham, Red Wootten)
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Details
- Erscheinungsdatum
- Herkunftsland
- Sprache
- Auch bekannt als
- Руки незнакомца
- Drehorte
- Produktionsfirma
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- Laufzeit1 Stunde 25 Minuten
- Farbe
- Sound-Mix
- Seitenverhältnis
- 1.85 : 1