The Beast With Five Fingers Blu-ray Review
“The Beast With Five Fingers” lacks suspense.
Based on the short story by William Fryer Harvey and written for the screen by Curt Siodmak, 1946’s “The Beast With Five Fingers” is a horror-mystery tale set in an Italian village called San Stefano. The story is sort of an ensemble piece that revolves around Francis (a disabled pianist in a large mansion), Julie (a nurse who takes care of Francis), Hilary (an astrologist who also serves as the secretary of Francis), Bruce (a con artist who is in love with Julie), an Inspector (Ovidio), and Donald and Raymond (relatives of Francis). Francis is rather controlling towards Julie because he loves her. In fact, he has changed his will to leave everything to her. After Francis dies in an apparent accident, Julie does indeed get everything according to the will. Donald and Raymond were expecting to get everything and vow to overturn the will. Likewise, Hilary is upset that he has been cut out. This is when sinister things begin to happen including murder, something potentially supernatural, and a missing hand.
Directed by Robert Florey, one might think “The Beast With Five Fingers” is a creature feature judging by the title. It’s not. It’s more of a psychological mystery drama with horror elements. On paper, the film has the recipe for success but it never quite comes together. It’s sadly a bit of a snooze unless you like films riddled with estate squabbles and “Julie!” being screamed ad nauseam. The problem here is that there is no suspense. You know who the killer is. When you cast Peter Lorre in a movie you expect him to be the bad guy. Sure, there’s a little bit of intrigue with the character of Hilary in terms of his guilt, hallucinations and mental illness, but not even he and a key subplot involving disembodied hand with ahead of their time special effects can salvage this bore. You’re left wanting far more from this mystery than what you get.
Speaking of Peter Lorre, he’s easily the best thing about this movie. His unsettling character makes the generally dry tale watchable. Robert Alda (Bruce), Andrea King (Julie), and Charles Dingle (Raymond) also impress in their respective roles. It’s certainly not the cast’s fault that ‘Beast’ falls flat.
Video/Audio:
Presentation:1.37:1 1080p. How does it look? Expect another stunning B&W print from Warner Archive
Audio Track: 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? A crisp audio track. Max Steiner’s score sounds especially noteworthy here.
Extras include original theatrical trailer, 2 cartoons titled “The Foxy Duckling” and “The Gay Anties” and a commentary by author/film historian Dr. Steve Haberman and filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr.
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