Shake Hands with the Devil

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

James Cagney

as Sean Lenihan

Don Murray

as Kerry O'Shea

Dana Wynter

as Jennifer Curtis

Glynis Johns

as Kitty Brady

Michael Redgrave

as The General

Sybil Thorndike

as Lady Fitzhugh

Cyril Cusack

as Chris Noonan

Marianne Benet

as Mary Madigan

John Breslin

as Timmy McGrath

Harry Brogan

as Tom Cassidy

Reviews

John Chard

Loaded Weapon. Shake Hands with the Devil is directed by Michael Anderson and adapted to screenplay by Marian Spitzer from the novel written by Rearden Conner. It stars James Cagney, Don Murray, Dana Wynter, Glynis Johns, Michael Redgrave and Sybil Thorndike. Music is by William Alywyn and cinema...

CinemaSerf

I wonder whether an appreciation of this film depends on whether you are British or Irish? What it depicts, for me anyway, is the old adage that "one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" and James Cagney ("Lenihan") manages to encapsulate that succinctly. His character, a respected prof...

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