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"The Devil's Hand" is a slick little B-film that moves at an amazingly fast clip. Don't look for deep characterizations, or explorations of motives, or anything else that would make the story stumble.

This flick takes itself seriously. It's established at the outset that the Gamba cult is real, and several scenes indicate that it has actual power. And there's never a nudge or wink from any of the characters to indicate otherwise.

The acting may not be top-notch, but it's credible enough. The opening theme is quite cool, too, and would be a good addition to a surf rock collection; unfortunately, it's never identified.

And the overall theme is still relevant today—how easy it can be to get sucked into a cult (religious, political, philosophical—take your pick) because of one's hopes of improving his lot. Look at the worshipers; by and large they look just like you'n'me. No wild-eyed zealots, no borderline personalities, just…ordinary people.

My only real quibble is the casting of Neil Hamilton as the villain. He seems to have been rather a one-note talent; his demeanor throughout the movie, whether fronting the doll shop or presiding over potential human sacrifice, is rather bland. Or maybe I just can't accept Commissioner Gordon being on the wrong side of the law!

An early effort from Crown International Pictures, The Devil's Hand stars Robert Alda (Alan's dad) as Rick Turner, who is visited nightly in his dreams by a beautiful blonde woman. After finding a doll in a shop window that is the exact likeness of the mysterious woman, Rick is able to track down his nocturnal visitor, Miss Bianca Milan (Linda Christian), but, hypnotised by her beauty, finds himself lured away from his longtime girlfriend Donna (Ariadne Welter) and into a devil worshipping cult run by sinister doll-maker Francis Lamont (played by Neil Hamilton, TV Batman's Commissioner Gordon).

A cheap and cheerful piece of '60s Satanic horror, The Devil's Hand is undemanding drive-in fodder that benefits from a brisk pace (and a not-too-long running time), reasonable performances, and a fun plot that includes voodoo, bongo drums, a traitor in the cult's midst, ritualistic gyrating, Russian roulette with swords, and a fiery demise for the baddies at the end. All this and a cool twangy surf guitar number during the opening credits make for a reasonably fun, if not all that memorable, time.

Favourite moment: when Rick sneaks into the doll shop, a front for the cult, and proceeds to make a total racket whilst bumbling around their place of worship. Way to go, twinkletoes!

I've seen 10-12 Crown International Pictures now and this is by far their most polished work. It plays like an episode of the Twilight Zone, and I would not be surprised if the writers pulled this story from a similar source as Mr Serling himself. It's very short, at just an hour and 10 minutes, and is definitely worth a watch for anyone looking into campy horror stories from the 50s (even though this was made in the 60s it doesn't have the free-love feel and was shot in black and white). Appropriate music, good acting, and surprisingly good cinematography all work in concert to make an enjoyable film.

As a side note, the DVD that Mill Creek put out has a cool feature where you can watch this in 'Drive Thru' mode and has everything from an animated short to a few commercials. Nice little bit of nostalgia!

Rating: 24/40

A happily engaged man becomes plagued by vivid dreams of a beautiful woman. He ultimately meets her face-to-face, finding that she is a member of a secretive, near-lost religion which enables its loyal followers to obtain their heart's desires. Bewitched by this seductress, he quickly casts aside his fiancée to become her lover and converts to said religion. Predictable but amusing turmoil ensues in this poverty row potboiler, one which some viewers may find surprisingly watchable despite its very evident financial privation.

Briskly paced cheap thrills with a deliciously tacky veneer distinct to early-60s low-budget cinema...this much-forgotten curiosity should please most undemanding genre fans and enthusiasts of vintage lower-berth film oddities.

5.5/10

"The Devil's Hand" is a truly bizarre little horror movie. It's very short and to the point… But what a point! Supernatural themes, romantic love triangles and voodoo! That's all pretty courageous and ambitious for a low-budget horror effort from that time. Too bad it eventually didn't turn out to be a very good movie… Rick Turner is an ordinary man, with loads of appeal to the ladies, whose dreams are disturbed by the reoccurring image of a beautiful blond girl. The odd thing is that his soon-to-be wife supports him without the slightest bit of jealousy. I wonder how my girlfriend would react when telling her I repeatedly dream of a hot blond calling out to me from the skies? Rick's uncomfortable situation grows even weirder when he's led to a toy store where they sell a doll with a face identical to the woman of his dreams. It all turns out to be a conspiracy of a satanic cult, ruled by the shop owner, and the blond uses voodoo and hypnosis to conquer Rick's heart. How's that for seduction techniques? Despite the silly and utterly implausible storyline, "The Devil's Hand" is occasionally atmospheric and several sequences are quite suspenseful, notably the ones set in the cult's headquarters where the members' loyalty to Gamba (the evil God) is tested. Still, there's way too much talking and confusion going on and only the climax contains horrific action. William Hole's directing is very neutral and the only real good performance is given by Neil "Commissioner Gordon" Hamilton. Linda Christian is a beauty, but her acting skills are rather forgettable. Worth a look if you run out of other options.

At least "The Devil's Hand" is short and to the point. Rick is having visions of a beautiful blond woman seducing him at night (I know, what's the problem?) when he tells his far too understanding fiancé Donna about it to which she merely shrugs it off. Yeah, lemme try that one on the wife and see how she reacts. The next day the couple come upon a doll store with one of the figures bearing a remarkable resemblance to the woman in Rick's dream. Turns out the place is run by Francis Lamont (Batman's Neil Hamilton) who tells Rick that he was the one who ordered the doll in the first place and that it's already been paid for him in advance. A confused Rick pleads to Donna that he has no recollection of ever ordering the doll when Donna spies another figure that resembles her perfectly. Turns out this was all planed in advance as the dolls are used for voodoo rituals with Francis the leader of a cult that worships an evil god named Gamba. The couple's fate is sealed as Donna gets bedridden in a hospital with a needle to the heart while Rick gets seduced by his nightly vision who turns out to be gorgeous Bianca Milan who had her sights set on Rick and gets what she wants thanks to her voodoo magick. Soon Rick ditches Donna, joins the cult, and falls head over heels in love with Bianca. Kinda hard to swallow that a looker like Bianca would need to resort to these tactics to get a man, but whatever! Rick becomes torn between his former lover Donna and his allegiance to the cult. It falls apart rather quickly.

I'll readily admit that I'm not exactly Rhodes Scholar material but "Devil's Hand" sent a lot of mixed signals that messed with the overall ending. It's been established that Francis clearly has some sort of supernatural power over his members when he maims Donna and kills an undercover reporter yet he has to use some lame wheel-of-swords type thing that he controls with pedals to dispatch others with. This makes no sense. Why not just use the doll? Another problem I had is trying to read Rick's true intentions. Was he there merely to infiltrate the cult or did he really become ensnared in Bianca's magick? And if so why did he care about Donna when it shows him crumbling up a note from her and tossing it? The conclusion is also perplexing as Rick doesn't want anything bad to happen to Donna but he clearly preaches his innocence to the cult. What would be the point if his intentions in the first place was to save Donna? Why explain anything? When the building went up in flames presumably burning the dolls wouldn't everyone die? Ughh, my head hurts! Linda Christian is quite the head turner as Bianca and Rick is Alan Alda's dad Robert. The film quality is awful as scenes jump quite frequently but then again what do you expect from these multi-movie packs. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to dress my Malibu Palin doll into her wolfskin bikini.

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.

Another amusingly simple thriller that won't thrill you at all. It's cheap, the story is ridiculous and can only bring a smile to your face. It's not totally unbearable; it's fun to spot all the mistakes and plot holes and laugh over them with your friends...

I saw this by chance as one of those DVD package deals(reasonably priced with cinema nuggets). This particular film grabbed from the outset with it's "graveyard twangy" credits theme. The story is part"I Walked with a Zombie", "Eraser Head",and a dab of "Rosemary's Baby". A sporty dressed Robert Alda goes through the film as if on tranquilizers adding to the black&white "dreamlike' quality of the movie.The actors should be credited for doing their best to sell this very kooky story with equally kooky dialog. There's a sexy " Siren Witch" and a sinister Warlock, who looks like a bank president.Considering the apparent woeful budget of this endeavor , I say kudos for trying and take a look- you've seen worse.

Rick Turner (Robert Alda) is engaged of Donna Trent (Ariadna Welter) 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 (Neil Hamilton) delivers another doll to him, with the face of the woman of his dreams, Bianca Milan (Linda Christian). Rick looks for Bianca and is seduced and convinced by her to join a sect that worships the diabolic Camba.

I believe that "The Devil's Hand" does not deserve a review, and the word awful would be enough to define this movie. Unfortunately, IMDb requires a minimum number of lines, so I need to write something about this crap. The story is ridiculous, with one of the worst direction I have ever seen. I felt sorrow for the acting, especially of the ham lead actor Rick Turner. Linda Christian is really beautiful and sexy and she is the best this film can offer. The quality of the DVD released in Brazil by Brazilian distributor London Films is suitable for such a bad movie, with completely damaged images. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "O Círculo do Diabo" ("The Circle of the Devil")

I was introduced to this film when I stumbled across a VHS copy at a well known video retail store. At the time I was buying up and devouring as many B-movies as I could find. I think that in the same trip I purchased The Wasp Women, and Catwomen of the Moon in 3D.

The first couple of times I watched this movie, I didn't feel it was that spectacular, but I did particularly like the opening sequence theme music, a definite nod to Dave Allen and the Arrows. I was however, not able to quite pin down the plot at first because, admittedly, I fell asleep the first few times I saw it.

After several more viewings though, the film began to take on a strange, almost psychedelic feel and I realized that all of the confusion really lends itself to the themes of hypnotism and mind control in cults, which is I think the heart of the film. Whether or not this effect was obtained on purpose by the director, I can't say. It doesn't really matter. I still enjoy watching this one years later.

I discovered this movie on a cheap horror movie box set and this is one of those movies that surprised me. It is definitely a cult type of movie and could become a "gulity pleasure". It is obviously dated and perhaps a little "goofy" in parts,being over 40 years old,but it is better than it has a right to be. The movie is aided immeasurably by the performance of Neil Hamilton as the leader of a cult of devil worshipers. He would later go on to be Commissioner Gordon on the Batman television series. It also has one of the catchiest instrumental theme songs I have heard from a movie of this type and era. If you are a fan of older movies and this genre,it is worth seeking out in my opinion. It can certainly be had cheaply enough.

Robert Alda plays a man haunted the vision of a beautiful blonde he sees in his dreams. He is restless and quits his job which put him in a bad way with his girlfriend. One night while out walking he finds a doll that is the image of the girl in his dreams. When he returns the next day with his girlfriend not only does the shop keeper (Neil "Commissioner Gordon" Hamilton) tell him he commissioned the doll, but he shows the couple one that looks like the girlfriend. It soon transpires that the dolls are voodoo dolls and Alda is in the clutches of a voodoo cult run by Hamilton.

Its weird seeing Commissioner Gordon from TV's Batman as an evil villain but here it is. The movie itself is an okay little film thriller. Clearly done on the cheap the film is fine on its own terms but isn't anything really special. Its not really scary but more creepy. Unfortunately it never adds up to much. Its like watching an extended episode of a horror anthology TV series. Actually the film reminded me of the erotic thrillers that populate some of the late night cable stations since its clear that the Alda and the blonde are sleeping together and she is always two steps from being undressed, it probably would have been better if there had been some sex.

Worth seeing if you run across it but not something to search out.

Rick Turner (Robert Alda), an ordinary man, becomes bewitched by Bianca Milan (Linda Christian), the beautiful high priestess of a voodoo cult; but when the cult kidnaps his fiancé, Donna Trent (Ariadna Welter), and prepares to offer her as human sacrifice, he engages in a battle with the all-powerful supernatural forces in a horrifying life-or-death struggle.

Ariadna Welter (best known for starring in Luis Buñuel's 1955 film "The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz") delivers her lines in a terrible monotone and with some unidentifiable accent (though she was a Mexican national, so that should narrow the oddness down). Interestingly, she was Linda Christian's real life sister.

This would make a good episode of "Twilight Zone" or "Outer Limits", sort of weak as its own film, though short enough that the movie held my attention surprisingly well. That is the film's downfall, though: it is a good film, but not enough meat to warrant ninety minutes, thus turning what could be memorable into something forgettable.

Milan is a witch for Gamba, "the devil god of evil" (which, as others have pointed out, is sort of redundant). It is interesting to see how easily good-natured people devote themselves to Gamba, who openly claims to be evil.

I enjoyed this film, and of the "gorehouse greats" that I have watched so far from Mill Creek, this is one of the better ones. For those who are curious, it is available for free download at the Internet Archive.

A man can't sleep because this woman keeps appearing in his dreams... one day he sees a doll that looks like her in a shop window, and from there is able to search the actual woman out. It turns out she's a witch and she gets him to randomly join a Satanic cult, despite the fact that he has a fiancé to take care of and he has no real reason to be intrigued by her except that she's young and blond.

Basically sounds like typical B-fare to me, though I warn you the tone is much like what I use above... willing to tell the story yet notably uninterested in parts.

It's an okay flick if you are the type to dig the genre, but it's definitely not for the easily bored or the too serious. More of that campy "laugh at it with drunken friends" fare.

--PolarisDiB

A man has strange visions of a mystery woman. One day he notices a doll in a shop window which exactly resembles the enigmatic lady who inhabits his dreams. He ventures in and is soon entwined in an underground voodoo cult.

The Devil's Hand in another low budget offering from Crown International Pictures, who were one of the main B-movie producers of their time. This one is on the whole fairly standard stuff with not a huge amount to differentiate it from the crowd. It focuses on occult practices, yet, aside from the dastardly leader, we never really see the cultists do much in the way of evil. We see their ceremonies in action though, which consisted of a revolving sword device that members of the cult spun like they were trying to win money on a game-show. Not only that but there was also a seemingly ever-present bongo player who ensured that a voodoo vibe was maintained at all times. The dolls themselves were quite a cute idea and certainly were the most memorable part of the cult's practices. The film itself has an early 60's charm about it that buys it some credit, while it is short and fast-paced enough to never outstay its welcome. It should please those with a taste for old school horror flicks, at least some extent.

Meandering and dumb. There's Alan Alda's dad, quite a handsome fellow with a nice voice (I always got him mixed up with Leslie Neilson). He has been having visions of a blonde girl beckoning him at night. Meanwhile, his fiancé is in the hospital after a pin has been thrust through her by the owner of a doll shop (has anyone seen Freud?). Anyway, Alda goes the whole route, being dragged into a Satanic cult that drops chandeliers full of spikes on people who aren't good (or bad, or whatever). The whole thing is lacking in decent motivation and goes nowhere. There are these scenes at these meetings which remind one of the voodoo rites in some of the old films. People rat on each other and get their pals killed. What's in it for them. Is it to be part of the club. I'm not sure why you'd wish to get involved in these meetings. Oh well. In the end we know that the threat is not over.

Devil's Hand, The (1962)

* (out of 4)

Rick Turner (Robert Alda) is your average man who starts having dreams about a beautiful blonde who is trying to communicate with him. These dreams keep occurring but Rick has no ideas what they are about until he enters a doll shop where he sees a doll that looks strikingly like the woman in his dreams. The shop owner gives him the doll's models name and Rick sets out to visit her. The woman turns out to be a member of a Satanic cult and before Rick can get her into bed, he must join the cult. Soon the cult starts to take over his life but will Rick be able to leave? This is the movie that asks the serious question: would you enter a Satanic cult to get to bang of hot blonde? Keep your answers to yourself but The Devil's Hand is about as silly as you can possibly get. The movie is apparently made on a shoestring budget and you can clearly see this during the opening minutes when a building catches on fire. There are several scenes that appear to have a match in front of the camera trying to capture the effect of a fire.

While the movie is incredibly bad on all levels it's thankfully enters Ed Wood territory of being so bad you might find yourself laughing. Just listen to the dialogue inside the Satanic church where their praise Satan. The words coming out of their mouths are among the funniest things you'll ever hear. Another funny thing is how Rick acts after joining the cult. His John Barrymore wannabe rich act brings even more laughs but I'm sure the actor wasn't meaning this.