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LA MAIN DU DIABLE (1943) / WITCHES HAMMER (1969)

Maurice Tourneur, Pierre Fresnay, Josseline Gaël and Noël Roquevert

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LA MAIN DU DIABLE (1943 - Vichy France): A man arrives at an isolated mountain inn clutching a small box. The man is panic-struck when, during a sudden blackout, the box disappears. To the assembled guests at the inn he tells his tragic story. The man, Roland Brissot, was once a penniless artist who, one day, bought a talisman from the owner of a restaurant for one franc. The talisman, a severed hand in a box, immediately transformed Brissot's life and he became a hugely successful artist. Then, one day, he receives a visit from a small man in a suit who tells him that in buying the talisman, he has sold his soul to the Devil... One of the most chilling fantasy horror films made in France, La Main du diable is basically just an ingenious variation on the famous Faust legend. In this version, Faust is a struggling artist (Pierre Fresnay) who buys success at the expense of his soul, and the Devil is represented by an odious Vichy-style civil servant (Palau). Although the tale is familiar, the way in which it is filmed is strikingly original and the result is one of the most chilling and atmospheric French films of the 1940s. La Main du diable is one of around thirty films made in France at the time of the Nazi occupation for the Geman-run film company Continental. In spite of German censorship and limited resources, most of these films have an outstanding quality, with many being regarded as masterpieces. It is surprising that a film which is as dark and disturbing as La Main du diable could have been made at this time under such circumstances. (77 mins.)

WITCHES' HAMMER (1969 - Czechoslovakia): This disturbing film concerns the witch hunts and inquisition that sent many of the accused to their deaths in Moravia in the latter part of the 17th century. When a Catholic priest sees a woman hide a host, he speaks out against her. An inquisitor is coaxed out of retirement to investigate, and he seizes the opportunity for his own gain. Subsequent hordes of people from all walks of life are accused and their property is confiscated, making the greedy in quisitor rich. The accused naturally confess after being brutally tortured, and their forced "confession" leads to their horrible deaths. After hundreds are burned to death, the priest comes to regret his actions which set off the macabre chain of events. (102 mins).

DVD-R is in French / Czech with switchable English subtitles. Approx. 179 mins.

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