THE HIDDEN HAND (1942)

Willie Best

Another vintage old dark house mystery surfaces thanks to the kindness of friends. This one is pretty obscure - so much so that I couldn't find a still on Google. The film, directed by Ben Stoloff, certainly brings noting new to the genre. It has an escaped lunatic, a creepy old house, trap doors, secret passages, several murders, a Will and greedy relatives - all standard but enjoyable ingredients of this kind of film. Where it scores is in the more than competent cast. Headed by a very young Craig Stevens and featuring the ever excellent Willie Best but the real gem in the cast is Roland Drew as the wonderfully crazy Walter. THE HIDDEN HAND is nothing special but it wastes not one second of its 63 minutes. Rating **