Shake Hands with the Devil [Blu-ray]

Director: Michael Anderson Michael Anderson

Overview

Sean Lenihan (James Cagney) is a medical professor at the University of Dublin and a secret commander in the Irish underground. Kerry O'Shea (Don Murray) is the student and World War I veteran whose father was a companion of Lehihan's before being killed in the struggle for Irish independence in 1921. The two combine forces as academia takes a back seat to brutal terrorism. Based on a novel by Rearden Conner.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/04/2022
UPC:	0738329257330
Original Release:	1959
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:51:00
Sales rank:	22,899

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

James Cagney	Sean Lenihan
Don Murray	Kerry O'Shea
Glynis Johns	Kitty Brady
Dana Wynter	Jennifer Curtis
Sybil Thorndike	Lady Fitzhugh
Michael Redgrave	The General
Cyril Cusack	Chris Noonan
Marianne Benet	Mary Madigan
John Breslin	McGrath
Harry Brogan	Cassidy
Robert Brown	Sergeant
Lewis Casson	the Judge
John Cairney	Mike O'Callaghan
Harry H. Corbett	Clancy
Eileen Crowe	Mrs. Madigan
Allan Cuthbertson	Captain
Donal Donnelly	Willie Cafferty
Wilfred Downing	Tommy Connor
Eithne Dunne	Eileen O'Leary
Paul Farrell	Doyle
Richard Harris	Terence O'Brien
William Hartnell	Sgt. Jenkins
John Le Mesurier	British General
Niall MacGinnis	Michael O'Leary
Patrick McAlinney	Donovan
Ray McAnally	Paddy Nolan
Clive Morton	Sir Arnold Fielding
Noel Purcell	Liam O'Sullivan
Peter Reynolds	Captain
Christopher Rhodes	Col. Smithson
Ronald Walsh	Sergeant
Alan White	Capt. Fleming
William Alwyn	Composer

Technical Credits

Ben Roberts

Marian Thompson

Ivan Goff

George Glass	Executive Producer
Walter Seltzer	Executive Producer
Michael Anderson Jr.	Producer,Director
Ben Roberts	Screenwriter
Marian Thompson	Screenwriter
Ivan Goff	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

For the time in which it was made, Shake Hands with the Devil packed quite a punch. If time has made the extremities of Devil's plot and characterizations seem dated, and if it is not quite accurate as history, it still is an involving look at the horrible conflict that has bedeviled Ireland for so many years. Devil's biggest problem is the naïve look it takes at the complicated Irish-English conflict -- but that won't bother many audiences, who will enjoy the heightened melodrama that this creates. The character if Sean Lenihan is also problematic. He's intended to represent the dangerous, vengeful aspect of the IRA, someone who is blindly zealous and whose deep rooted anger keeps him from seeing the larger vision. And James Cagney plays him with all the fiery brilliance that the part requires. And yet, because Cagney is Cagney, the audience disproportionately likes him -- even as he becomes increasingly mad. It's not Cagney's fault -- his work is top notch. The part is a tricky one to write, and the team of writers couldn't get it quite right. Cagney is joined by a superb cast that includes excellent work from the gorgeous Dana Wynter, Glynis Johns and Michael Redgrave. Only Don Murray is a letdown, giving a by-the-numbers performance that is indicated rather than true and committed.