Shake Hands with the Devil

"A story of love and hate...and the sudden sound of guns!"

Jun 24 1959 Approved 1h 51m
Action, Drama, History

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...under 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.

Plot

In 1921 Dublin, the I.R.A. battles the "Black & Tans", special British forces given to harsh measures. Irish-American medical student Kerry O'Shea (Don Murray) hopes to stay aloof, but saving a wounded friend gets him outlawed, and inexorably drawn into the rebel organization under his former professor Dr. Sean Lenihan (James Cagney), 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.

Written by

Rearden Conner, Marian Spitzer, Ivan Goff

Directed by

Michael Anderson

Cast

James Cagney, Don Murray, Dana Wynter

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United States of America, Ireland

Production Companies

Pennebaker Productions, Troy Films

Languages

English

Awards

N/A

Trailers
Shake Hands with the Devil (1959) Original Trailer [FHD]
Scores
# of Votes
1,723
Average Rating
7 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA