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The Left Hand of God

April 25, 2024

For other uses, see Left Hand of God (disambiguation).

The Left Hand of God is a 1955 American drama film. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Buddy Adler, from a screenplay by Alfred Hayes, based on the novel The Left Hand of God, by William Edmund Barrett.

The Left Hand of God
Original film poster
Directed byEdward Dmytryk
Screenplay byAlfred Hayes
Based onThe Left Hand of God by
William Edmund Barrett
Produced byBuddy Adler
StarringHumphrey Bogart
Gene Tierney
Lee J. Cobb
CinematographyFranz Planer
Edited byDorothy Spencer
Music byVictor Young
Color processColor by DeLuxe
Production
company
20th Century Fox
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • September 2, 1955 (1955-09-02) (Los Angeles)[1]
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,785,000[2]
Box office$4 million (US)[3]

Set in a small American mission in China in 1947, at a time of civil war, it stars Humphrey Bogart as a hunted man masquerading as a Catholic priest and Gene Tierney in the role of a nurse, with a supporting cast including Lee J. Cobb, Agnes Moorehead, E. G. Marshall, and Carl Benton Reid.

While playing Anne Scott, Tierney became ill. Bogart had a personal experience as he was close to a sister who suffered from mental illness, and, during the production, he fed Tierney her lines and encouraged her to seek help.

Plot edit

In 1947 Catholic priest Father O'Shea makes his way to a remote mission in China to replace a priest who had been killed there. He meets Dr David Sigman, Sigman's wife Beryl, and nurse Anne Scott, the only other Western residents. They run a hospital for the surrounding villagers, at a time when competing warlords and communists are engaged in civil war.

O'Shea delivers his debut Sunday sermon, in both English and Chinese for appreciative parishioners. His work among them, and his observance of local customs, soon earn him their respect.

Anne becomes uncomfortable as she is romantically attracted to him. Beryl suggests to her husband that Anne be sent back to the United States, but he refuses to consider it, needing her at the hospital. Beryl suggests that O'Shea consult with Reverend Martin, a Protestant minister at another American mission, for advice. He agrees.

When O'Shea meets Martin, he makes a startling, unsolicited confession. He says he is not a Catholic priest, but Jim Carmody, an American pilot who had flown supplies over The Hump during World War II. He crashed during the war and was rescued by a local warlord, General Yang, becoming his trusted second-in-command ... and his prisoner. When one of Yang's soldiers killed Father O'Shea, Carmody deserted and decided to masquerade as the replacement priest. After recounting his story to Martin, Carmody writes a full account to the Catholic bishop.

General Yang tracks down Carmody, bringing an army and insisting that Carmody resume serving him. Carmody proposes they settle the matter with their customary game of dice, wagering five years' loyal service against his freedom and the safety of the local villagers. After Yang loses, he coerces Carmody into playing again, this time for the future of the Protestant mission. When he loses again, Yang resigns himself to perpetuating the myth of Father O'Shea, who is saintly enough to turn aside a powerful warlord.

Before Carmody leaves the mission, to the regret of all the villagers, he tells Anne the truth.

Cast edit

Reception edit

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times disliked the picture, writing, "Unfortunately, Mr. Hayes and Mr. Dmytryk have not assembled a drama that conveys either credibility of action or sincerity of mood," calling the flashback scenes "absurd, played in a style of heroics that you get in the silliest bandit films."[4] Variety praised the film's "top-budget values" and "authentic touch" of Chinese extras, but noted, "To sticklers of logic and realism, there are a number of scenes and incidents that strain the imagination. Particularly the tense sequence in which Bogart actually wins the village's freedom by casting dice with Cobb."[5] Harrison's Reports agreed that the dice game was "rather fanciful", but called the film's production values "first-rate" and thought that Bogart did "an outstanding job" in the lead role.[6] John McCarten of The New Yorker deemed the film "a fairly substantial item" in a positive review, with Bogart doing "a fine job" in his estimation though he found the plot to get "a bit shaky, and even outlandish."[7] Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post wrote that Bogart was "far more sure of the part than the writers, director and producer seem to be about the rest of the picture."[8] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Obscure character motivation and an unpleasant mock religiosity in the worst Hollywood tradition are the main drawbacks in this curious picture. One suspects that the original novel may have provided more detailed and logical characterisation than is apparent in the film's script—Carmody's allegiance to the Chinese warlord is never satisfactorily explained—and Bogart's tired and uneasy playing fails to suggest the character's dilemma."[9]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "The Left Hand of God -Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  2. ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p. 249
  3. ^ 'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1955', Variety Weekly, January 25, 1956
  4. ^ Crowther, Bosley (September 22, 1955). "Screen: Deep in China". The New York Times: 34.
  5. ^ "The Left Hand of God". Variety: 6. August 24, 1955.
  6. ^ "'The Left Hand of God' with Humphrey Bogart, Gene Tierney and Lee J. Cobb". August 27, 1955: 139. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ McCarten, John (October 1, 1955). "The Current Cinema". The New Yorker. p. 83.
  8. ^ Coe, Richard L. (September 23, 1955). "Writer Used Left Hand, Too". The Washington Post. p. 46.
  9. ^ "Left Hand of God". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 22 (262): 164. November 1955.

External links edit

April 25, 2024
left, hand, other, uses, left, hand, disambiguation, 1955, american, drama, film, directed, edward, dmytryk, produced, buddy, adler, from, screenplay, alfred, hayes, based, novel, william, edmund, barrett, original, film, posterdirected, byedward, dmytrykscree. For other uses see Left Hand of God disambiguation The Left Hand of God is a 1955 American drama film It was directed by Edward Dmytryk and produced by Buddy Adler from a screenplay by Alfred Hayes based on the novel The Left Hand of God by William Edmund Barrett The Left Hand of GodOriginal film posterDirected byEdward DmytrykScreenplay byAlfred HayesBased onThe Left Hand of God byWilliam Edmund BarrettProduced byBuddy AdlerStarringHumphrey BogartGene TierneyLee J CobbCinematographyFranz PlanerEdited byDorothy SpencerMusic byVictor YoungColor processColor by DeLuxeProductioncompany20th Century FoxDistributed by20th Century FoxRelease dateSeptember 2 1955 1955 09 02 Los Angeles 1 Running time87 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 1 785 000 2 Box office 4 million US 3 Set in a small American mission in China in 1947 at a time of civil war it stars Humphrey Bogart as a hunted man masquerading as a Catholic priest and Gene Tierney in the role of a nurse with a supporting cast including Lee J Cobb Agnes Moorehead E G Marshall and Carl Benton Reid While playing Anne Scott Tierney became ill Bogart had a personal experience as he was close to a sister who suffered from mental illness and during the production he fed Tierney her lines and encouraged her to seek help Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Reception 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksPlot editIn 1947 Catholic priest Father O Shea makes his way to a remote mission in China to replace a priest who had been killed there He meets Dr David Sigman Sigman s wife Beryl and nurse Anne Scott the only other Western residents They run a hospital for the surrounding villagers at a time when competing warlords and communists are engaged in civil war O Shea delivers his debut Sunday sermon in both English and Chinese for appreciative parishioners His work among them and his observance of local customs soon earn him their respect Anne becomes uncomfortable as she is romantically attracted to him Beryl suggests to her husband that Anne be sent back to the United States but he refuses to consider it needing her at the hospital Beryl suggests that O Shea consult with Reverend Martin a Protestant minister at another American mission for advice He agrees When O Shea meets Martin he makes a startling unsolicited confession He says he is not a Catholic priest but Jim Carmody an American pilot who had flown supplies over The Hump during World War II He crashed during the war and was rescued by a local warlord General Yang becoming his trusted second in command and his prisoner When one of Yang s soldiers killed Father O Shea Carmody deserted and decided to masquerade as the replacement priest After recounting his story to Martin Carmody writes a full account to the Catholic bishop General Yang tracks down Carmody bringing an army and insisting that Carmody resume serving him Carmody proposes they settle the matter with their customary game of dice wagering five years loyal service against his freedom and the safety of the local villagers After Yang loses he coerces Carmody into playing again this time for the future of the Protestant mission When he loses again Yang resigns himself to perpetuating the myth of Father O Shea who is saintly enough to turn aside a powerful warlord Before Carmody leaves the mission to the regret of all the villagers he tells Anne the truth Cast editHumphrey Bogart as James Carmody Gene Tierney as Anne Scott Lee J Cobb as Mieh Yang Agnes Moorehead as Beryl Sigman E G Marshall as Dr David Sigman Jean Porter as Mary Yin Carl Benton Reid as Father Cornelius Victor Sen Yung as John Wong Philip Ahn as Jan Teng Benson Fong as Chun TienReception editBosley Crowther of The New York Times disliked the picture writing Unfortunately Mr Hayes and Mr Dmytryk have not assembled a drama that conveys either credibility of action or sincerity of mood calling the flashback scenes absurd played in a style of heroics that you get in the silliest bandit films 4 Variety praised the film s top budget values and authentic touch of Chinese extras but noted To sticklers of logic and realism there are a number of scenes and incidents that strain the imagination Particularly the tense sequence in which Bogart actually wins the village s freedom by casting dice with Cobb 5 Harrison s Reports agreed that the dice game was rather fanciful but called the film s production values first rate and thought that Bogart did an outstanding job in the lead role 6 John McCarten of The New Yorker deemed the film a fairly substantial item in a positive review with Bogart doing a fine job in his estimation though he found the plot to get a bit shaky and even outlandish 7 Richard L Coe of The Washington Post wrote that Bogart was far more sure of the part than the writers director and producer seem to be about the rest of the picture 8 The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote Obscure character motivation and an unpleasant mock religiosity in the worst Hollywood tradition are the main drawbacks in this curious picture One suspects that the original novel may have provided more detailed and logical characterisation than is apparent in the film s script Carmody s allegiance to the Chinese warlord is never satisfactorily explained and Bogart s tired and uneasy playing fails to suggest the character s dilemma 9 See also editList of American films of 1955References edit The Left Hand of God Details AFI Catalog of Feature Films Retrieved June 23 2018 Solomon Aubrey Twentieth Century Fox A Corporate and Financial History The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series Lanham Maryland Scarecrow Press 1989 ISBN 978 0 8108 4244 1 p 249 The Top Box Office Hits of 1955 Variety Weekly January 25 1956 Crowther Bosley September 22 1955 Screen Deep in China The New York Times 34 The Left Hand of God Variety 6 August 24 1955 The Left Hand of God with Humphrey Bogart Gene Tierney and Lee J Cobb August 27 1955 139 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help McCarten John October 1 1955 The Current Cinema The New Yorker p 83 Coe Richard L September 23 1955 Writer Used Left Hand Too The Washington Post p 46 Left Hand of God The Monthly Film Bulletin 22 262 164 November 1955 External links editThe Left Hand of God at the American Film Institute Catalog The Left Hand of God at IMDb nbsp The Left Hand of God at the TCM Movie Database The Left Hand of God at AllMovie Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Left Hand of God amp oldid 1172248039, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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