''Hands of a Stranger'' is a 1962 American
horror film directed by Newt Arnold and is unofficially the fourth film adaptation of ''
The Hands of Orlac''.
Plot
When the hands of pianist Vernon Paris are destroyed in a taxicab accident, he receives a double hand transplant from a recent murder victim. Although lead surgeon Dr. Harding declares the operation a success, Vernon is visibly distressed and seems unable to accept his new hands. Meanwhile, the doctor is questioned by Lieutenant Syms of the police department about the recent murder victim and the apparent secrecy surrounding his operating room.
Feeling sullen and still unable to deal with having someone else's hands, Vernon seeks comfort from his girlfriend, Eileen, but she is unsympathetic. As he reaches out to her, she becomes repelled by his scarred hands, knocking over a candle and setting her dress on fire. As she burns to death, Vernon becomes frozen and does nothing to save her life.
Afterwards, Vernon starts to become even more unstable and goes on a violent rampage. He visits the home of the taxi driver who caused the accident, and after being unable to play the piano for the driver's son, he knocks over and kills the young boy. Next, while at a local fair, Vernon is tortured by images of
player pianos
A player piano (also known as a pianola) is a self-playing piano containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism, that operates the piano action via programmed music recorded on perforated paper or metallic rolls, with more modern im ...
and
bumper cars, and nearly strangles to death a carnival barker. He then becomes more focused on vengeance, and murders one of the doctors who assisted in the surgery, along with his fiancée.
Finally, after killing another doctor, Vernon retreats to an empty concert hall where his sister and Dr. Harding arrive shortly thereafter. He reveals his latest victim, then begins to manically pound on the piano keys, proving that he will never be able to play the instrument again. He then grabs Dr. Harding and tries to strangle him to death, but is shot and killed by Lt. Syms who arrives at the last minute.
Cast
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Paul Lukather
Paul Lukather (August 24, 1926 – October 9, 2014) was a veteran actor known for his vast array of work across stage, television and voice-over work.
Lukather graduated from Drake University and Yale University. He won the Barter Award, which wa ...
as Dr. Gil Harding
* Joan Harvey as Dina Paris
* James Stapleton as Vernon Paris
*
Ted Otis as Dr. Ross Compton
*
Michael Rye
Michael Rye (born John Michael Riorden Billsbury; March 2, 1918 – September 20, 2012) was an American actor. His decades-long career spanned radio, television, animated cartoons and video games. Aside from his voice over work, Rye also acted in ...
as George Britton
*
Laurence Haddon
Laurence Haddon (1922 – May 10, 2013) was an American actor, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Haddon appeared as a prolific actor in television, movies, and on the stage. He attended Friends' Central School and Syracuse University. He served ...
as Lt. Syms
*
Elaine Martone as Eileen Hunter
*
George Sawaya as Tony Wilder, the cab driver
*
Michael Du Pont as Dr. Ken Fry
*
Sally Kellerman
Sally Clare Kellerman (June 2, 1937 – February 24, 2022) was an American actress and singer whose acting career spanned 60 years. Her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in Robert Altman's film '' M*A*S*H'' (1970) earned her an Oscar n ...
as Sue
* David Kramer as Carnival Barker
*
Irish McCalla as Holly
*
Barry Gordon as "Skeet" Wilder
References
External links
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1962 films
1962 horror films
1960s horror thriller films
Allied Artists films
American black-and-white films
Films based on French novels
Films about pianos and pianists
Films about organ transplantation
1962 directorial debut films
American horror thriller films
Films directed by Newt Arnold
Films scored by Richard LaSalle
1960s English-language films
1960s American films
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