Shake Hands with the Devil (1959)

6.5/10 • 111 min • Action Drama War History

Overview

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

Sean Lenihan

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

John Breslin

Timmy McGrath

Harry Brogan

Tom Cassidy

Richard Harris

Terence O'Brien

William Hartnell

Sergeant Jenkins

John Le Mesurier

British General

Niall MacGinnis

Michael O'Leary

Ray McAnally

Paddy Nolan

Clive Morton

Sir Arnold Fielding

Noel Purcell

Liam O'Sullivan

Peter Reynolds

'Black & Tans' Captain

Walter Gotell

'Black & Tans' Sergeant

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