Shake Hands with the Devil (1959)
Directed by Michael Anderson Jr.
Genres - Drama |
Sub-Genres - Political Drama |
Release Date - Jun 24, 1959 (USA - Unknown), Jun 24, 1959 (USA) |
Run Time - 111 min. |
Countries - United Kingdom, Ireland, United States |
MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson
Filmed on location, Shake Hands With the Devil is set in Ireland during the "troubles" of 1921. James Cagney plays a brilliant medical professor who doubles as head of the Irish Republican Army. Cagney convinces one of his more pacifistic students, Don Murray, to join the underground struggle against British rule. Murray suffers a crisis of conscience when his sweetheart Dana Wynter is taken hostage by the IRA and is slated for execution by the zealous Cagney. Several members of Dublin's Abbey Players appear in supporting roles in Shake Hands With Devil. Watch for Richard Harris in the small part of Terence O'Brien.
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Keywords
execution, hostage, Ireland, pacifism, political-tension, political-unrest, professor, rebel-leader