The Hidden Hand

1942
Approved
1h 3min

VALUTAZIONE IMDb

LA TUA VALUTAZIONE

Elisabeth Fraser, Craig Stevens, and Milton Parsons in The Hidden Hand (1942)

Aggiungi una trama nella tua linguaPeter Thorne (Craig Stevens)is a young attorney who works for an eccentric old woman, Lorinda Channing (Cecil Cunningham), who uses her insane brother, John Channing (Milton Parsons), to fri... Leggi tuttoPeter Thorne (Craig Stevens)is a young attorney who works for an eccentric old woman, Lorinda Channing (Cecil Cunningham), who uses her insane brother, John Channing (Milton Parsons), to frighten her other relatives because they are after her money. Further complications arrive w... Leggi tuttoPeter Thorne (Craig Stevens)is a young attorney who works for an eccentric old woman, Lorinda Channing (Cecil Cunningham), who uses her insane brother, John Channing (Milton Parsons), to frighten her other relatives because they are after her money. Further complications arrive when another murderer arrives on the scene and plants the blame on John Channing.

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VALUTAZIONE IMDb

6,1/10

706

LA TUA VALUTAZIONE

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Interpreti principali21

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Craig Stevens

Peter Thorne

Elisabeth Fraser

Mary Winfield

Julie Bishop

Rita Channing

Willie Best

Eustis the Chauffeur

Frank Wilcox

Dr. Lawrence Channing

Cecil Cunningham

Lorinda Channing

Ruth Ford

Estelle Channing

Milton Parsons

John Channing

Monte Blue

Matthews, the Undertaker
(non citato nei titoli originali)

Wade Boteler

Sheriff Selby
(non citato nei titoli originali)

Glen Cavender

Detective
(non citato nei titoli originali)

Roland Drew

Walter Channing
(non citato nei titoli originali)

Inez Gay

Hattie
(non citato nei titoli originali)

George Guhl

Deputy Sheriff Mike Mullins
(non citato nei titoli originali)

Creighton Hale

The Coroner
(non citato nei titoli originali)

Marian Hall

Nurse Eleanor Stevens
(non citato nei titoli originali)

Stuart Holmes

Butler
(non citato nei titoli originali)

Jack Mower

The Warden
(non citato nei titoli originali)

Regia
- Benjamin Stoloff
Sceneggiatura
Tutti gli interpreti e le troupe
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Recensioni degli utenti31

6,1706

Recensioni in evidenza

6russjones-80887

A little of this, a little of that

An escapee from an institution returns home to the house of his sister, who arranged his escape. Gathering her family together, she intends using her brother to kill them.

While this is a relatively entertaining B film, it is ultimately neither a comedy or a thriller although it has elements of both. Milton Parsons is sinister as the brother with the underused and underrated Willie Best supplying the comedy.

6judy_macd

Funny, not scary

This is no "Halloween", but I really enjoyed this movie..not for the scares, but for the laughs. It was a great way to pass a couple of hours on a lazy Sunday afternoon in the middle of winter. Willie Best was really entertaining. The other characters did just enough and although it was very campy by today's standards, I can't fault any of them. At the end when the policemen all left the house satisfied that they had solved the crime (but left all the bodies in the hidden basement well), I laughed right out loud. I found this movie on the Turner Classic movie channel, where I watch most of the black and white movies I enjoy. If you just look at it as pure entertainment, you'd be sure to enjoy it.

8clanciai

A rich family house haunted by psychopathic intrigue

The least you can say about this film is that it is original, but to a degree that makes it incomparable with any other film - the closest of kin that I can think of is "Arsenic and Old Lace". It's a criminal comedy, an absurd horror story going burlesque, a family drama and tragedy going over the top, and a technically advanced "Family Addams" tale with a very black sense of humour. Milton Parsons as John Channing leads the show together with Cecil Cunningham as Lorinda Channing his sister, and they at least have great fun. The others are just there to be fooled around with. It's a kind of freak show, anatomizing the essence of greed and its unpredictable self-destructive turns, while the leading comedian actually is Willie Best as the chauffeur, he is one of the few survivors, and he has a very last word.

7Hitchcoc

Better Than Most

This is an example of the Dark and Stormy Night motif. A maniac from an insane asylum escapes and makes his way to the house of his wealthy sister. Once there, she enlists him in playing a nasty prank on several heirs to her fortune. She uses a drug to make her look dead with the idea of being revived later. This will force the vultures to attack one another. Meanwhile, the nut case brother begins a little killing spree. The down side is the black servant who is treated like dirt. Of course, he is a mass of stereotypes, typical of the time period.

7MikeMagi

On the double bill

There was a time when every major studio turned out "B" movies, 60 minute quickies to fill a double bill. "The Hidden Hand," for example. It features a group of credible, little-known actors (aside from Craig Stevens who had not yet played Peter Gunn) and keeps the budget slim by using only one set, a mysterious mansion where members of a greedy family gather to be knocked off. Why are there a pair of homicidal hands behind the painting in the living room? How come the carpet nearby hides a quick dip in a watery grave?? And how did the mistress of the manor get out of the crypt in which she was interred to plot the demise of her house guests? At least, the cast includes Milton Parsons who is either the funniest or scariest butler to escape an insane asylum. In short, a surprisingly entertaining throwback.

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Trama

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Lo sapevi?

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Quiz
(1934). Stage Play: Invitation to a Murder. Mystery/melodrama. Written by Rufus King. Directed by A.H. Van Buren. Theatre Masque: 17 May 1934- Jul 1934 (closing date unknown/53 performances). Cast: Walter Abel (as "Dr. Linton"), Humphrey Bogart (as "Horatio Channing"), Edgar Charles, Sherling Oliver, Walter Plinge, Jane Seymour, James Shelburne, Gale Sondergaard (as "Lorinda Channing"), William Valentine, Juan Varro, Daphne Warren-Wilson. Produced by Ben Stein. Note: Filmed by Warner Bros. as The Hidden Hand (1942).

Citazioni
Detective: I almost remembered where I'd seen you before, and it wasn't London.
John Channing: Are you sure about that?
Detective: Well it might've been London, except I was never there.