Movie: Horror: The Beast With Five Fingers
Movie: The Beast With Five Fingers
Year: 1946
Review: 8 out of 10.
Pop quiz, hotshot: How do you know Peter Lorre's the villain in the movie you're watching? Easy. The movie has Peter Lorre in it.
A semi-paralyzed pianist is going loudly insane in his Italian villa, with the help of his astrology-loving male secretary, a hot blonde nurse, a shifty lawyer, and the worst fake Italian accent I have ever heard. After he demands that everyone raise a toast to how sane he is and sign a mysterious new will, he of course, dies screaming in the night. After which his snotty British relatives arrive and start pricing the furniture, and his severed hand starts killing people.
The Good:
Severed hand! Peter Lorre! Haunted villa! Peter Lorre! Evil British people being snotty to the help! Squee!
Perhaps it's just me, but I do so love a good old-fashioned 40s ghost story. It speaks to me. It keeps me engaged and amused and light-hearted and gay. Especially if it has A SEVERED HAND.
The Bad:
The severed hand didn't get nearly enough screen time.
And the Meta:
Did you know that just the very thought of a SEVERED HAND can make you go mad? If you're, you know, high-strung and British.
What?