Shake Hands With The Devil (1959) [DVD]

You like nostalgic gangster buy it.

James Cagney,one of the most beloved and versatile actors ever is brilliant in this story of Ireland's rebellion of British rule in 1920. filmed on location in ireland the movie is fast paced and at all times gripping. Cagney is a surgeon and professor at a Dublin medical college by day and an IRA commander by night. Cagney,is a walking contradiction and is compelling in every scene.teaching his students to perserve life as future doctors but a pitiless warrior at odds even with his own allies. Don Murray plays an American born student who accidentally gets caught up in the rebellion and is torn himself by joining the rebels but also abhorrent of the violence he soon becomes an agent in. Much of the supporting cast are from the British Isles and the acting is superb. although mainly about the IRA vs the British black and tans,the roles played by the 3 female co-stars is nonetheless an important part of the film. Sybil Thorndike as a matronly Irish patriot,Glynis Johns as a mistrusted friend of Cagney's men and Dana Wynter as the daughter of a British officer who is held hostage by the squad. while it's almost impossible to single out Cagney's best performances,this effort stands out. although 60 when this was made in 1959, he is just as energetic and even more imposing than many of his 'tough-guy' roles of his youth. a thoughtful film about a subject that is not dealt with very often in Hollywood,it wont disappoint.

This is an excellent film all around. Good acting, good script and great cinematography. It also treats all sides fairly and accurately reflects the complexity of the human situation. Riveting film.

This fast paced movie provides a good yarn but is bad history. James Cagney seems out of place here trying to re-role his old gangster parts in the IRA. He gives a convincing portrait of the many fanatics who have run the IRA over the years, but he seems out of place. Richard Harris is young here and is your happy go lucky two-fisted Irish type. The British are all portrayed as Nazi's pretty much. This seems the beginning of Hollywood's negative pattern of depicting all British officers as ego-maniac Nazi's. This trend has continued up to the present with Mel Gibson and some of his biased anti-British films. The Black and Tans who are highlighted in this movie get especially bad treatment. Legend has made this para-military force composed of many ex-servicemen from the Great War as Churchill's equivilent to Hitler's Black shirts! The reality was somewhat different. The Black and Tans were brought in to deal with a difficult situation in Ireland where the IRA was busy shooting up whoever they felt like. Granted they responded in kind in what became a nasty war of murder, and counter murder. Buy this movie if you like the Clancy Brothers and Irish rebel drinking songs and don't care too much about the real history because you just want to see the Brits get shot up! Otherwise, a good book on the History of Ireland during those troubled years might serve one better. Its entertainment, but not history.

I like it very much

The battle for Irish independence in 1921was a very harsh and demanding time. "Shake Hands With the Devil" focuses on the idea that the passion and commitment of a revolutionary can sometimes lead to an obsession that can turns man in to a devil. James Cagney's character shows the schizophrenia that grips a surgeon and turns him to evil.While the action is dark, the acting alone is superb and makes the film a classic and a must see.

A drama based on the Irish War of Independence. I had seen it years ago but it was interesting to see how it had stood the test of time, Surprisingly good in fact. I felt that James Cagney was miscast but overall a good production for the time it was made.

Entertaining, but treats Irish Civil War as a gangster movie. Anti-Treaty forces unfairly portrayed.

In the Dublin of 1921, an American medical student (Don Murray) with Irish roots is drawn into the battle between the "black and tans" (British soldiers) and the Irish Republican Army. A violent and gritty film based on the novel by Reardon Connor, the director Michael Anderson (AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS) takes us right into the heart of the turbulent struggle of the Irish rebels against the repressive British forces. Playing no favorites, he eschews sentiment and the brutality is very much in our faces. James Cagney, even more cold and hateful than his Cody Jarrett of WHITE HEAT, gives one of his very best performances as an IRA leader whose taste for killing has made him forget why he's fighting. Erwin Hillier is responsible for the stark images shot on location in Ireland and William Alwyn did the busy underscore. With Glynis Johns, who gives a wonderful performance as a promiscuous barmaid. Also Dana Wynter, Michael Redgrave, Dame Sybil Thorndike, Cyril Cusack, Allan Cuthbertson, Niall MacGinnis, Ray McAnally and Richard Harris, still early in his career but already overacting.The Metrodome DVD is a striking B&W 1.33 transfer. The original aspect ratio is 1.66 so we're not missing much.

We have "no censorship" in the UK, but this film shows how censorship operates behind the scenes, as its only been available in a European format since 2012 and never shown in N Ireland. A stunning performance from Cagney as the IRA man and a great supporting cast. The film is not pro-IRA, but treats them sympathetically, exploring the dilemmas of violent struggle and political compromise against a background of extreme poverty. Many say this is Cagney's finest performance, and I have to agree. I first saw it as a child (not sure I was old enough but got into the cinema anyway!) and am so pleased to have seen it again. Not to be missed.

A terrific movie with the cast made up of many Abbey Theatre players.Richard Harris is a bit over the top in this,his first movie,but all in all,a much underrated film.

Brilliant movie

A very good picture quality of an old classic favourite of mine. Bought it to replace a shaky VHS copy which I had. No comparison in quality. First class!