Line #11 Film/TheBeastWithFiveFingers


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_beast_with_five_fingers_1946_poster.jpeg]]
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3	''The Beast with Five Fingers'' is a 1946 mystery horror film directed by Robert Florey from a screenplay by Curt Siodmak, loosely adapted from a short story of the same name written by W. F. Harvey and first published in 1919 in ''The New Decameron''. The film stars Creator/RobertAlda, Creator/PeterLorre, Victor Francen, Andrea King and J. Carrol Naish. The music score was composed by Max Steiner.
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5	Locals in an Italian village believe that evil has taken over the estate of a recently-deceased pianist where several murders have taken place. The alleged killer: the pianist's severed hand.
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8	!! Tropes in ''The Beast with Five Fingers'':
9	* BookcasePassage: There is a safe concealed behind a bookcase in the library.
10	* BreakingTheFourthWall: A minor example occurs at the end of the film. The Commissario makes a joke that must be directed at the audience because a) he is alone at the time, and b) the joke only works if you cannot see what is happening below the level of the camera.
11	* HelpingHands: The film revolves around a murderous hand that has detached itself from the corpse of a dead pianist and which attempts to kill the heirs to his will. Except the ending has some of the survivors suggest it was actually a plot by a greedy heir to kill off the others, only for that heir to end up killing himself after he went mad and began believing his own lie.
12	* ImpairmentShot: Just before Francis takes his fatal StaircaseTumble, his vision is shown blurring and swimming; meaning that he does not realize how close to the top of the stairs he is.
13	* ImpaledPalm: Hilary nails the hand to a block of wood in the library.
14	* InNameOnly: The film has little in common with W. F. Harvey's original story, save for the title and the notion of a murderous disembodied hand.
15	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Whether an actual disembodied hand is killing the heirs of its former owner or whether [[spoiler:Hilary]] staged the whole thing only to believe his own lie is up to the viewer. The ending suggests the latter but it can go either way.
16	* PassedOverInheritance: Francis Ingram changes his will and disinherits his only living relatives--his brother-in-law and nephew--and leaves his entire estate to his nurse Julie.
17	* ScoobyDooHoax: At the end of the film, it appears that [[spoiler:Hilary]] has staged the supernatural events to cover up his crimes, but his slipping sanity has led to him believing his own lies. But there is enough doubt for the viewer to decide for themselves.
18	* StaircaseTumble: Francis is killed when his wheelchair crashes down the stairs in his mansion.
19	* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: The [[HelpingHands disembodied hand]] is seen by, and attacks [[spoiler:Hilary]], who tries desperately to convince others of this. However, the end of the film suggests that [[spoiler:Hilary]] was using the severed hand to stage a ScoobyDooHoax, but his SanitySlippage caused him to believe that the hand was real and haunting him. Neither interpretation is confirmed.
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Context Film / TheBeastWithFiveFingers