"Shake Hands with the Devil" takes place in 1920s Ireland, where the IRA is doing battle with the British Black and Tans. A handsome young Irish-American surgery student, Kerry O'Shea (Don Murray) doesn't want to get involved, preferring to remain apolitical, but his stance changes when his good friend Paddy Nolan (Ray McAnally) is gunned down in the street. He joins the forces being commandeered by his surgery professor Sean Lenihan (James Cagney), a passionate individual if ever there was one, who simply lives for conflict. Trouble brews for Kerry when he falls in love with Jennifer Curtis (Dana Wynter), the daughter of an important British official. Jennifer has been kidnapped to serve as a hostage until British forces release leading revolutionary Lady Fitzhugh (Sybil Thorndike) from imprisonment.
"Shake Hands with the Devil" may be a fictionalized account of turbulent times, but it's still pretty powerful stuff. Much credit should go to producer & director Michael Anderson, working in collaboration with cinematographer Erwin Hillier, because they give this a very stark look. The high contrast lighting gives the film a LOT of atmosphere. The storytelling is riveting, and the intelligent script (screenplay by Ivan Goff & Ben Roberts, and adaptation by Marian Spitzer, based on the novel by Rearden Conner) gives the audience some things to think about. Characters debate ideology, and, not unexpectedly, our young hero is a man who believes that a war can be fought with honour and compassion.
Murray and Wynter are very appealing, and the cast is full of some recognizable and excellent actors. Cagney once again is absolutely magnetic, playing a character who always commands your attention. Glynis Johns, Michael Redgrave, Cyril Cusack, Richard Harris (as a swaggering braggart), John Le Mesurier, Niall MacGinnis, and Christopher Rhodes all leave a vivid impression in their time on screen.
Extremely well done, from start to finish, with an especially potent finale.
Nine out of 10.
"Shake Hands with the Devil" may be a fictionalized account of turbulent times, but it's still pretty powerful stuff. Much credit should go to producer & director Michael Anderson, working in collaboration with cinematographer Erwin Hillier, because they give this a very stark look. The high contrast lighting gives the film a LOT of atmosphere. The storytelling is riveting, and the intelligent script (screenplay by Ivan Goff & Ben Roberts, and adaptation by Marian Spitzer, based on the novel by Rearden Conner) gives the audience some things to think about. Characters debate ideology, and, not unexpectedly, our young hero is a man who believes that a war can be fought with honour and compassion.
Murray and Wynter are very appealing, and the cast is full of some recognizable and excellent actors. Cagney once again is absolutely magnetic, playing a character who always commands your attention. Glynis Johns, Michael Redgrave, Cyril Cusack, Richard Harris (as a swaggering braggart), John Le Mesurier, Niall MacGinnis, and Christopher Rhodes all leave a vivid impression in their time on screen.
Extremely well done, from start to finish, with an especially potent finale.
Nine out of 10.