The Devil's Hand

This French horror from 1943 is one of the finest examples of its genre, focusing on an artist down on his luck who strikes a bargain he had better steered clear of! Although it would be easy to add the film to the ‘Faustian pact’ staple, THE DEVIL’S HAND (French title: LA MAIN DU DIABLE) displays enough originality to stand as a work of its own.

It all starts with an isolated alpine hotel which has been cut off by an avalanche, with the guests stuck inside the hotel attempting to make the best of the situation and wait for help. Suddenly, a mysterious and not overtly friendly man enters. His name is Roland Brissot (Pierre Fresnay) and apart from being obviously nervous about something, the innkeepers as well as the intrigued guests notice that his left hand is missing and that he carries a small casket. Just as Brissot asks the baffled innkeeper whether there’s a cemetery next to a nearby abbey, only to be told there isn’t, two shots can be heard and a few minutes later, two policemen enter and ask whether anyone has seen a little man dressed in black carrying a… coffin! Although Brissot hasn’t seen such a man either, the fact that the police are after the phantom man completely unnerves him. Arranging a room for the night, the phone rings and to his surprise, the call is for him though who should know that he’s in a hotel which has been cut off? Just as he is about to answer the call, a blackout occurs and the line goes dead, though a short time later, the power comes back on again. But now Brisson has bigger worries than finding out who called him earlier on as during the brief blackout, his casket has been stolen! The accused hotel guests swear that they aren’t behind the theft, firstly, because none of them had a clue what was in the casket anyway and secondly, they too were unable to see anything during the blackout, let alone the corner in which Brissot had placed his casket while walking to the phone. Realising that there is nothing he could do, he decides to tell his story to the hotel guests and the film goes into flashback, where Brissot’s actual story starts…

A couple of years ago, he lived in Paris where he tried, unsuccessfully, to carve out a living as a painter but never had much success, just as he never had success with women either. We then find out how he fell for Irene (Josseline Gael), a salesgirl working in a glove shop. When he asks her out, he initially has some success so far that she accepts to meet him for lunch, but is quickly put off by his weak and indecisive demeanour and his obvious lack of money. Ridiculing him, she breaks out into a tirade and lets him know that nothing will ever become of him before storming out of the bistro. The bistro’s chef, Mélisse (Noel Roquevert) overhears the argument and walks over to Brissot’s table, making him a rather strange offer: if he buys a certain talisman for the price of a penny, his dreams will come true. Another man standing by the staircase, Ange (Pierre Lacquay), tried to persuade Brissot against purchasing the talisman, which turns out to be a severed left hand in a small casket! Not only that, but the hand seems animated. Mélisse makes a strange revelation, namely that he must sell the disturbing artefact before he dies or he will roast in hell for all eternity. From that moment, we, the viewer, have already guessed that this is not a straightforward sale and why did Ange (the French word for Angel) try to stop Brissot from purchasing the severed hand? Alas, needs must when the devil drives and besides, our impoverished artist doesn’t believe in the supernatural. He only believes that said talisman will either bring him luck or it won’t. And so he purchases the small casket with the severed hand inside, and as soon as Mélisse is one penny richer, he loses his left hand!

One year has passed since the fateful bargain and well well well! Brissot has since become a hugely successful painter sought after by the most prestigious galleries in Paris, where his paintings go for a lot of money. Strangely enough, since Brissot purchased the talisman he happens to paint with his left hand (which he never did before) and signs his paintings with ‘Maximus Leo’ - also without knowing why. On the private front things have improved as well, because Brissot is now happily married to Irene, the former salesgirl, who now manages his business affairs. And so they could have lived happily ever after but then it wouldn’t be a horror film. Things take a considerably more sinister turn when a strange little man (Palau) dressed in black wearing a bowler hat enters the artist’s orbit… Did Brisson spot him somewhere before? Running after him, he loses sight of the little man but instead spots a florist shop which has a peculiar wreath with a sash displayed in the shop window. On the sash, the words ‘In Memoriam Maximus Leo’ are printed… As if this wouldn’t be enough to send shivers down Brisson’s spine, the mysterious little man in black drops by in his office the next day and casually tells Brissot that “he has the Devil to pay…”

To give any more away would be spoiling the broth big time, but rest assured things not only get increasingly sinister from the moment the little man makes his entrance but we firmly enter the realm of the fantastical, with a twist ending. It’s a clever little number atmospherically photographed by Armand Thirard. The film, based on the 1927 novel of the same name by Gérard de Nerval, is all the more remarkable as it was made during the German occupation in France and there are subtle hints of resistance which obviously escaped the Nazi censors. Pierre Fresnay is captivating as the doomed artist and effortlessly glides between victim and someone whose ambitions come with a hefty price.

THE DEVIL’S HAND has just been released in a wonderful restoration in Blu-ray format and as ever with Eureka, in a strictly limited edition (2,000 copies) - presented in an O-card slipcase and with collector’s booklet. Additional bonus material includes various audio options, audio commentary, video essay, archival documentary and optional English subtitles.