Hand of Death (1962 film)

Hand of Death (also known as Five Fingers of Death) is a 1962 American horror film starring John Agar and directed by Gene Nelson.[1] It was Nelson's directorial debut.[2]

Hand of Death
Directed byGene Nelson
Produced byEugene Ling
Written byEugene Ling
Based onStrange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886)
StarringJohn Agar
Production
company
Associated Producers Inc
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
March 28, 1962
Running time
60 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Summary

Dr. Alex Marsh (John Agar) is secretly conducting experiments with nerve gas, hoping to create a weapon for the government. He creates a dangerous compound that theoretically will only paralyze, and then leave the subjects in an extended hypnotic state. But a laboratory accident causes his body to absorb a deadly, gaseous version of the chemical, leaving him with an instantly lethal touch that causes human flesh to mummify into a blackened mass. His body quickly assumes the bloated, mummy appearance of his victims, and in his physical pain and mental fear & paranoia, he becomes a fugitive in the streets of Los Angeles leaving victims in his wake.

Cast

Production

Harry Spalding said the film started with an Eastern company that had a good association with 20th Century Fox. They passed the project on to Robert L. Lippert's Associated Productions, who made low budget movies for Fox. Eugene Ling wrote the script — Maury Dexter said Lippert "owed him a favor". According to Dexter, they could not find a director because the script was so bad. Gene Nelson had done some acting for Lippert and was keen to direct, so Lippert gave him the job of directing. Shooting took seven days.[3][4]

Filming took place in Malibu and Santa Monica in August 1962. Agar said he thought Nelson "did a very good job".[5] Paula Raymond was in a near-fatal accident after filming was completed.[6]

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References
  1. HAND OF DEATH. (1963, Monthly Film Bulletin, 30, 86. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1305832750
  2. Stanley, J. (1989, May 07). Dancer, actor, director / gene nelson still keeps on his toes. San Francisco Chronicle (Pre-1997 Fulltext) Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/302440423
  3. Weaver, Tom (19 February 2003). Double Feature Creature Attack: A Monster Merger of Two More Volumes of Classic Interviews. McFarland. p. 332. ISBN 9780786482153.
  4. Weaver, Tom (18 April 2014). I Talked with a Zombie: Interviews with 23 Veterans of Horror and Sci-Fi Films and Television. McFarland. p. 115. ISBN 9780786452682.
  5. Weaver, Tom (2000). Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Heroes: The Mutant Melding of Two Volumes of Classic Interviews. McFarland. p. 12. ISBN 9780786407552.
  6. Parla, Paul; Mitchell, Charles P. (2000). Screen Sirens Scream!: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Science Fiction, Horror, Film Noir, and Mystery Movies, 1930s to 1960s. McFarland. p. 208. ISBN 9780786407019.


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