Shake Hands with the Devil (1959)

Written by CinemaSerf on May 4, 2024

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 does touch on the complications and perils faced by people on both sides of the argument well. Cagney is convincing, as - oddly enough, is Michael Redgrave as the "General" (AKA Michael Collins) - far removed from his Barnes Wallis patriot-style role. There is also decent support from Dana Wynter and the inimitable Dame Sybil Thorndike to broaden the range of the scenarios and demonstrate that this wasn't just a small scale, militaristic, uprising - but a general dissatisfaction amongst all strata of Irish society. Michael Anderson keeps the pace lively, and the dialogue does enough to make it's point without throttling us with it. He has captured some beautiful scenery too and it's well worth a watch.