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65% Critic Match
Shake Hands with the Devil
“A story of love and hate...and the sudden sound of guns!”
6.5 / 10• 1959• 1h 51m•NR• English
ActionDramaWarHistory
Storyline
In 1921 Dublin, the IRA battles the "Black & Tans," special British forces given to harsh measures. Irish-American medical student Kerry O'Shea hopes to stay aloof, but saving a wounded friend gets him outlawed, and inexorably drawn into the rebel organization by his former professor Sean Lenihan, who has "shaken hands with the devil" and begun to think of fighting as an end in itself. Complications arise when Kerry falls for a beautiful English hostage, and the British offer a peace treaty that is not enough to satisfy Lenihan.
Cast & Crew
James Cagney
Sean Lenihan
Lead
Don Murray
Kerry O'Shea
Dana Wynter
Jennifer Curtis
Glynis Johns
Kitty Brady
Michael Redgrave
The General
Sybil Thorndike
Lady Fitzhugh
Cyril Cusack
Chris Noonan
Marianne Benet
Mary Madigan
What People Are Saying
4.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Michael Anderson's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
3.0
“Every frame feels alive. Shake Hands with the Devil is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
