Shake Hands with the Devil (1959)

NR06/24/1959Action, Drama1h 51m
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A story of love and hate...and the sudden sound of guns!

Overview

In 1921 Dublin, the IRA battles the "Black & Tans," special British forces given to harsh measures. Irish-American medical student Kerry O'Shea hopes to stay aloof, but saving a wounded friend gets him outlawed, and inexorably drawn into the rebel organization...under his former professor Sean Lenihan, who has "shaken hands with the devil" and begun to think of fighting as an end in itself. Complications arise when Kerry falls for a beautiful English hostage, and the British offer a peace treaty that is not enough to satisfy Lenihan.

Top Billed Cast

  1. Cast 1

    James Cagney

    Sean Lenihan

  2. Cast 1

    Don Murray

    Kerry O'Shea

  3. Cast 1

    Dana Wynter

    Jennifer Curtis

  4. Cast 1

    Glynis Johns

    Kitty Brady

  5. Cast 1

    Michael Redgrave

    The General

  6. Cast 1

    Sybil Thorndike

    Lady Fitzhugh

  7. Cast 1

    Cyril Cusack

    Chris Noonan

  8. Cast 1

    Marianne Benet

    Mary Madigan

  9. Cast 1

    John Breslin

    Timmy McGrath

I wonder whether an appreciation of this film depends on whether you are British or Irish? What it depicts, for me anyway, is the old adage that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" and James Cagney ("Lenihan") manages to encapsulate that succinctly. His character, a respected professor with republican leanings, recruits "O'Shea" (Don Murray) after one of his friends is shot by one of the infamous "Black 'n Tans" and the film tracks his ensuing involvement with the 1921 revolution. The story follows a simplified line as regards to the actual nature of historical fact, but it ...

Status Released

Original LanguageEnglish 

Budget-

Revenue -

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