The Hidden Hand (1942)

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

****SPOILERS**** With the criminally insane John Channing, Milton Parson, escaping from the state mental asylum he makes it to his sister Lorinda's,Cecil Cunningham,family mansion where she's, who in fact planned John's escape, awaiting him. It's there that John is given the job of the family butler as Lorinda's mostly greedy and unscrupulous relatives are to arrive there to be read by family lawyer Peter Thorne, Craig Stevens,her last will & testament. Unknown to everyone involved -except Lorinda-she's got a number of surprises for them that in the end will give them exactly what's coming to them and it isn't her money as well as her stock and bond certificates. She leaves a number of clues for them to find her hidden fortune to trick them instead in doing doing themselves in.By tricking her family members into thinking that she suddenly died of heart failure Lorinda gets to know their true motives in being there and has them off themselves in their greed to screw each other out of their inheritance. Even the greedy and sleazy former Japanese butler, until John took his place, Mallo played by Chinese Kam Tong who ends up getting it up the creek, as a going away present, when he tried to jump the gun in getting the clue where Lorinda's hidden cash was located. In fact the only one who Lorinda planned to leave her fortune to was her good friend Mary Winfield, Elisabeth Fraser, actually didn't want a penny of it but was targeted by the rest of the family members to be murdered so that they instead could end up getting it.***SPOILERS**** As it turned out the sleaziest of the bunch was the one Lorinda entrusted to bring her back to life after her fake fatal heart attack Dr. Lawrence Channing, Frank Wilcox. It was Dr. Channing who let her die, or so he thought, by not administrating the antidote to bring Lorinda back to life. He ended up getting it the worst of all by having to face justice instead getting a quick exit like most of the other members of the cast or Channing family. As for Lorinda her plan soon backfired in trying to keep Mary from dropping down through the trap door she set for everyone else and instead unknowingly ended up taking her place. P.S Check out the hilariously funny Willie Best as the family chauffeur Eustace who unlike most of those in the film had something to hang on to when the trap door was sprung on him!

I think that in the past six months alone, I have watched at least 6 films and reviewed them that had the often told plot line of a family gathering where an aging relative expresses their displeasure over their family's greed and ends up being murdered for their honesty. In this film's storyline, there's a bit of an "Arsenic and Old Lace" twist with the presence of a crazy uncle (Milton Parsons) posing as the butler, never seen by his greedy nephews and their money-grubbing wives. Matriarch Cecil Cunningham (in one of her hammiest performances) plots to have herself put into a death-like trance to test them after she announces that her devoted secretary (Elizabeth Fraser) will inherit the majority of her estate. But a greedy doctor is ultimately tested and Cunningham is indeed buried alive inside the family crypt. Twists and turns in this plot line make it a fun programmer with a short running time and amusing dialog. Comical black actor Willie Best provides some of the film's funniest moments as a devoted servant, while psychotic Parsons' eyes alone also deliver both chills and chuckles. This may not be no "Old Dark House" in the realm of Hollywood classics, but for a plot that has been repeated probably 50-100 times, what results is a far cry better than most in this genre.

A somewhat warped old lady, played by Cecil Cunningham, yes that's the actress' name, has a will giving the bulk of her estate to her personal secretary, in order that her greedy and selfish family not get their grubby hands on her money. Her brother has just escaped from an insane asylum and heads for home. Such begins a creepy and very morbid film, as bodies start dropping like flies. Willie Best is on hand as the chauffeur who is giving his usual wide-eyed and jumpy performance at all things spooky. Future "Peter Gunn" star Craig Stevens costars and Milton Parsons gives a particularly chilling and unforgettable performance as the crazy escapee. With hidden money, trapdoors, crevices, and clues to find it all, this film has everything you'd want for a macabre night of thrills and chills. A very complicated and intricate plot keeps the viewer glued to their seat and holding on for dear life. This film delivers like none other for a dark, rainy night. Just turn a light on afterwards, and watch your back....

Possibly my comments won't fit with other viewers' comments as I saw this film in 1942 when it was issued, and I was 7 years old.As a 7 year old I found it scary, interesting, and sometimes comic.I realize 62 years later the film would probably not frighten me now in the least. I think the story was original. Milton Parsons I remember well. His funereal manner was fascinating and his appearance is vivid in my memory. I remember him as a good little cameo actor from the 1940s, as well as one unfortunate, Rondo Hatton, who was not an actor but appeared as a monster due to his acromegaly. Bring back the films of the 1940s and early 1950s!