The Crawling Hand * (1963, Peter Breck, Kent Taylor, Rod Lauren, Alan Hale Jr, Allison Hayes, Tristram Coffin) – Movie Review 8584

Director Herbert L Strock’s 1963 poverty row film The Crawling Hand is a stinker. The low budget of $100,000 does it in.

A space capsule is detonated in orbit and the astronaut inside blown up. But the wreckage lands on Earth and a naive young med student (Rod Lauren) finds a severed arm that returns to life to seek murderous revenge on the living and possesses the kid’s mind. The townsfolk are soon being found mysteriously strangled to death one by one.

[Spoiler alert] In a risibly hilarious outcome, a hungry cat saves the remaining townsfolk.

The Crawling Hand’s good cast (Peter Breck, Kent Taylor, Rod Lauren, Alan Hale Jr, Allison Hayes, Tristram Coffin, Sirry Steffen, Arline Judge, Richard Arlen, Ross Elliott, Stan Jones, Syd Saylor) are strung out to dry in this atrocious sci-fi horror movie, with no redeeming features.

The Crawling Hand runs 89 minutes, is written by Wm. [Bill] Idelson and Herbert L. Strock, produced by Joseph F Robertson, shot in black and white by Willard Van der Veer, and is made by Joseph F Robertson Productions and distributed by Donald J Hansen Enterprises (1963) (US) and Regal Films International (1963) (UK).

Rod Lauren and Sirry Steffen in The Crawling Hand (1963).

The film is said to be introducing Sirry Steffen as Marta Farnstrom. It turned out to be a full introduction, as, at least for foreign (ie non-American) markets, Steffen performed a nude scene.

The cast are Peter Breck as Steve Curan, Kent Taylor as Dr. Max Weitzberg, Rod Lauren as Paul Lawrence, Alan Hale Jr as Sheriff Townsend, Allison Hayes as Donna, Sirry Steffen as Marta Farnstrom, Arline Judge as Mrs Hotchkiss, Richard Arlen as Lee Barrenger, Tristam Coffin as Security Chief Meidel, Ross Elliott as Deputy Earl Harrison, G. Stanley Jones as Funeral Director, Jock Putnam as Ambulance Attendant, Andy Andrews as Ambulance Attendant, Syd Saylor as Soda Shop Owner, Ed Wermer as Professor Farnstrom, Beverly Lunsford as Patsy Townsend and Les Hoyle.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8584

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