The Avenging Hand (1936) Online

THE AVENGING HAND might sound like a creepy, creaky old horror movie from the 1930s, but instead it's a creaky old crime film from that era. Clocking in at just over an hour long, this tells the sinister tale of a gang of robbers hiding out at a plush hotel, the murder they commit, and the men who track them down and bring them to justice.

As you'd guess from the single setting (much of the story takes place in just two or three rooms), this is a low budget effort that nonetheless tries hard with the resources it has. And it does quite well for its part: the plotting is nothing to write home about, but the script is pretty funny, with lots of humour and quick-fire dialogue from the central characters. It certainly makes the whole thing easier to sit through.

By far the most interesting thing about THE AVENGING HAND is the lead, a bullish Chicago gangster played by American star Noah Beery. Beery's portly detective is one of the most unorthodox investigators put on screen, but he brings a lot of drive and vitality to the production, enhancing the entertainment factor no end. Without him, this would have been a real bore.

Don't let the misleading title fool you into thinking this is a horror movie or even in an old-dark-house mystery - it's actually a rather light-hearted whodunnit in a hotel. On New Year's Eve, a guest who has recently come into money is murdered (initially diagnosed as suicide) and a vacationing American gangster (Noah Beery) turns detective to solve the case.

The murder comes well over the halfway mark but there's plenty of interesting characters and American-style fast-talk humour to keep you entertained before then. Surprisingly pacey for a 1930s British film and quite entertaining, even if it's far from ground-breaking. It's available for download for free at the Internet Movie Archive.

Noah Beery was the less famous brother of Wallace Beery. During his career, Noah mostly played supporting roles...so "The Avenging Hand" was an unusual opportunity for him to star in this British B-movie.

Lee Barwell (Beery) is an American gangster who is vacationing in Britain. He's amazed how lax everything is here and his criminal inclination thinks he's in a place ripe for fleecing. However, he is on vacation and instead goes to hang out at a swanky hotel. There he meets an odd man...a match-seller who has inexplicably come upon some money under unusual circumstances. However, some time later the poor guy is murdered and the killer stuffs a gun in his hand to make it look like a suicide. Barwell realizes it's a murder as he could smell some sort of cologne lingering from the assailant and spends the rest of the film acting like a detective investigating the crime.

The amateur detective investigating a murder is a common American genre of the 1930s....but putting the story in Britain and having a criminal doing the investigating...well that IS unique. Very watchable...mostly because I found Beery's performance enjoyable.

This is a rather enjoyable whodunit, the story is a clever one, very much of the time, it's essentially a gangster whodunit, set in Britain, but very much American inspired. It is wonderfully dated, made back in 1936, and still has a lot to offer, it has a definite charm. It's very light hearted, nothing too serious or heavy, Noah Beery is wonderfully charismatic and entertaining, you could argue he's not taking it seriously, but that's just how it was. Low budget, but looks good, the hotel scenes are nice.

The gregarious Noah Beery is thrilled to find that there's as tough an underworld in London as there is in his home town of Chicago. Adding comic elements to this otherwise dull take of theft and murder, he brings the only life to a war of class distinction and bad manners disguised as bombastic behavior. The only memorable scene is lavish New Year's Eve party complete with tons of streamers, balloons, horns and waddling drunks. Sagging anytime that Beery is off screen, this was very difficult to hold my attention. Beery manages to maintain his own among the more suave Britishers who don't expect am American mug to break the case. Best known to me as a western villain and for humorous support in several Wheeler and Woolsey films, I truly enjoyed his performance here. Wish I could say the same for the rest of the film.

This film only lasts 64 minutes but there are so many holes in the continuity that it would seem as if at least 10 minutes had been taken out of it.Beery plays a gangster in London on holiday.He tries to book into a room in a hotel on New Years Eve which does nt have any free rooms.In one of the rooms a murder is committed.A verdict of suicide is brought in at an inquest,this despite the fact that the victim was shot from about 3 yards away!Beery who had previously befriended the victim decides to solve the murder.the fact that virtually all the action takes place within the hotel is a large clue to the poverty of the production.It is the sort of film that gave quota quickies a bad name.