La main du diable (Carnival of Sinners)( The Devil's Hand) (1943)Director Jacques Tourneur needs no introduction to fans of Horror cinema, his collaborations with producer Val Lewton in the 40'son films like Cat People, and I Walked With A Zombie, are seen as high points of the genre. Less well know, are his father, Maurice Tourneur 's entry's. This Faustian story of a painter who sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for success is full of atmosphere, and allegorical underpinnings, not the least of which was the fact that it was made in occupied France under the watchful eye of the Nazis.
An unsuccessful painter buys a talisman in the form of a severed left hand, that brings him wealth and fame, but as is often the case, not happiness. One of the catches is that he must sell the hand at a loss before he dies, or the Devil gets his soul. The Devil, in the form of a nondescript little man regularly shows up to taunt him with this fact, as well to point out that selling it is easier said than done. This leads the unfortunate painter on a quest to discover the source of the severed hand, and some way out of the curse.
This is a beautifully made film. A very different kind of French Horror than the one I highlighted yesterday. In this case the story is a highly moral one, where the horror comes across through symbolism, and suggestion, rather than through explicit violence. Many people have commented that this film was a major influence on Jacques Tourneur's 1957 masterpiece Night Of The Demon. If you appreciate the genius of the son, you'll find much to like in the work of the father as well.
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