''The Stranger's Hand'' (Italian: ''La mano dello straniero'') is a 1954 British-Italian

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Mario Soldati Mario Soldati (17 November 1906 – 19 June 1999) was an cinema of Italy, Italian writer and film director. In 1954 he won the Strega Prize for ''Lettere da Capri.'' He directed several works adapted from novels, and worked with leading Ital ...

and starring Trevor Howard, Alida Valli and Richard Basehart. An international co-production, it is based on the draft novel with the same name written by

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

. The plot follows the son of a British MI5 agent kidnapped in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

by agents of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

as he searches for his father. The first two chapters of ''The Stranger's Hand'' had been entered by Greene anonymously under a pseudonym to a competition in the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' to write a book in the style of Graham Greene – a competition in which Greene was amused to win second prize. Soldati had seen the chapters and persuaded Greene to complete the novella to make the basis for a film. Greene expanded it to 30 pages of a "film story", on which

Giorgio Bassani Giorgio Bassani (4 March 1916 – 13 April 2000) was an Italian novelist, poet, essayist, editor, and international intellectual. Biography Bassani was born in Bologna into a prosperous Jewish family of Ferrara, where he spent his childhood wit ...

and

Guy Elmes Guy Elmes (22 July 1920- December 1998) was a British screenwriter. Select Filmography *''Behold the Man'' (1949) - TV movie *'' The Planter's Wife'' (1952) *'' Counterspy'' (1953) *''The Flanagan Boy'' (1953) *'' Wheel of Fate'' (1953) *'' The ...

completed the screenplay.

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

/ref>

Cast

* Trevor Howard as Major Roger Court * Alida Valli as Roberta Gleukovitch * Richard Basehart as Joe Hamstringer * Richard O'Sullivan as Roger Court * Eduardo Ciannelli as Dr. Vivaldi * Arnoldo Foà as Commissioner * Stephen Murray as British Consul in Venice * Guido Celano as Chief Constable * Nerio Bernardi as Vincenzo * Giorgio Costantini as Pescovitch * Angelo Cecchelin as Luza * Nino Vechina as First Killer * Armando Papette as Second Killer * Giovanni Karuz as Third Killer * Joan Butterfield as Mrs. Harrington * Alessandro Paulon as Morgan * Remington Olmsted as Ramondo

References

Bibliography

* Spicer, Andrew. ''Historical Dictionary of Film Noir''. Scarecrow Press, 2010.

External links

* . 1954 films 1950s thriller films Films directed by Mario Soldati Films scored by Nino Rota Films based on works by Graham Greene British thriller films Films produced by Angelo Rizzoli Novels by Graham Greene Films shot in Venice 1950 British novels Italian thriller films 1954 drama films Films scored by Alessandro Cicognini English-language Italian films 1950s Italian-language films British black-and-white films Italian black-and-white films British Lion Films films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films 1950s Italian films {{1950s-thriller-film-stub