Wednesday 21 June 2017

211 Hands of A Stranger ( 1962 )

This  is  another  adaptation  of  The  Hands  of  Orlac.  Unfortunately  it's  the  worst  ( or  at  least  I  hope  it  is ) Despite  a  couple  of  genuinely  horrific  scenes , it's  generally  a  talky  bore  with  a  deeply  unsympathetic  central  character.

Dr  Gil Harding  ( Paul  Lukather )  and  his  team   fail  to  save  a  John  Doe, the  victim  of  a  drive-by  shooting  but  notice  the  man's  strong  pair  of  hands. A  couple  of  hours  later  renowned  young  concert  pianist  Vernon  Paris ( James  Stapleton )  is  involved  in  a  road  accident  and  his  hands  are  irreversibly  damaged  in  the  wreck. Dr  Harding  decides  to  do  a  transplant  but  Vernon  is  not  too  happy  when  he  wakes  up.

Joan  Harvey  ( as  Dina  Paris )

Sex : No

Death :Survives


Joan  is  sometimes  confused  with  the  actress  Joan  Perry  who  was  married  to  Laurence  Harvey  for  a  time. Joan's  acting  career  was  brief  but  she  resurfaced  as  a  documentary  maker  in  the  early  eighties  and  she  also  worked  as  props  mistress  on  the 1981 horror film  Fear  No  Evil.

Elaine  Martone  ( as  Eileen  Hunter )

Sex :  She  doesn't  wear  a  bra

Death : Her  dress  catches  fire  when  she  backs  away  from  Paris  and  she  burns  to  death


Elaine  was  a  bit  part  player  in  mostly  uncredited  roles. She  disappears  in  the  mid-sixties.


Irish  Macalla  ( as  Holly )

Sex : No

Death : Survives


This  was  the  last  movie   of  a  short  career  in  B-pictures  for  the  former  model  on  the  back  of  her  TV  success  in  the  titular  role  of  Sheena  ; Queen  of  the  Jungle.  She  retired  on  marriage  in  1964  and  took  up  painting . She  had  a  long  struggle  with  a  brain  tumour  which  finally  got  her  in  2002. She  was  72.

Sally  Kellerman  ( as  Sue )

Sex : No

Death : Throttled  ( offscreen )  by  Paris


This   was   Sally's  second  film   and  she  would  toil  for  a  few  more  years  in small  roles  before  hitting  the  big  time  in  M.A.S.H. Sally  is  still    hard  working  comic  actress  despite  turning  80  a  few  weeks  ago.

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