Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

mark.waltz Back in the 1970's, shortly after the blockbuster of "Jaws" was released, some music editor took the hit songs of the past and edited it into a conversation with the shark where one of the cracks was "Wouldn't you give your hand to a friend?". That tongue-in-cheek commentary goes perfect with this wonderfully dreadful science fiction/horror turkey that really goes arm in arm with some of the worst movies ever made. The surprising thing about the film is that as bad as it obviously is, it is totally entertaining! Rod Lauren is the hero, a young college student with ambitions of being a great scientist, is on the beach one day with his girlfriend (Sirry Steffen), frolicking a la Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee, and all of a sudden, her screams alert him to the presence of a disembodied hand. So like any good future mad scientist to be, what does he do? Go back later and collect it of course! An altercation with his landlady (Arline Judge, a forgotten "B" actress of the 30's) leads to the revelation that the arm has a mind of its own (or at least a brain in its pulse) and is not incapable of violent acts, including murder. Poor Lauren begins to physically change a la Jekyll and Hyde (basically he looks like he has a black eye) and begins to think he's the one committing all this violence. With the aid of NASA scientist Peter Breck and the local law (lead by Alan Hale, no less!), Lauren must prove his innocence which leads to a show-down in a junk yard of old cars and wild house cats.Totally fun with so many unnecessary plot elements (Steffen's professor father objecting to his daughter's romance with Laurence even though he's the professor's favorite student), a babbling old man who runs the soda shop spouting as if he was John Carradine, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die", etc.), the focus on the cult song "The Bird is the Word" by the Rivington's (not "Family Guy's" Peter Griffin who would constantly break into this forgotten ditty) and Steffen's Gidget like scenes with best pal Beverly Lunsford. Then, there's Allison Hayes whom I did not actually recall seeing in this movie until realizing that she had one scene at the very beginning and pretty much disappears. I researched her character and could not find any mention of her, making her participation in this totally forgettable. I guess with her large hand swooping down in "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman", she didn't want to upstage the crawling one here.And what about the two cats fighting over the crawling hand in the film's climactic scene? Would they find it purr-fect and give it two paws up, or would they hiss and scratch their way out of the litter box this seems to have crawled up from?

Woodyanders The severed hand of a dead astronaut comes back to dangerous life so it can embark on a murderous strangling spree. Moreover, said evil appendage causes med student Paul Lawrence (wild overplayed with pop-eyed zeal by the hunky Rod Lauren) to go violently around the bend after failing to kill him. Boy, does this notoriously atrocious clunker strike out something rotten in every possible way: The flat (non)direction by Herbert L. Strock, extremely variable acting, shoddy (far from) special effects, leaden pacing, talky script, meandering narrative, static cinematography, and a numbing surplus of tedious filler all confirm this honey's shabby status as a real four star stinkeroonie. Gut-busting kitschy highlights include two jerky paramedics stealing beer from a murder victim's kitchen, a positively nutty assault on a grumpy malt shop owner set to "The Bird's the Word" by The Rivingtons, a supposedly dead woman in an ambulance opening her eyes and blinking, the hand being viciously assaulted by stray cats in a scrap yard, and a simply priceless "it ain't over yet!" surprise ending. Alan Hale Jr. goes above and beyond the call of duty with his robust portrayal of the local sheriff while the always dependable Allison Hayes keeps her dignity intact as the concerned Donna. As a tasty extra bonus, gorgeously voluptuous brunette knockout Sirry Steffen shows off her hot body in a two piece bikini. A hilariously horrendous hoot and a half.

ferbs54 On the flip side of the Rhino DVD of the 1963 sci-fi film "The Crawling Hand," Joel Robinson and his two 'bot buddies, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot, skewer the movie in question in their typically merciless manner, and Lord knows the picture deserves such treatment! Cheaply made and cheezy as can be, featuring some pretty lousy thesping and a whackadoodle plot, the movie IS certainly ripe for the "MST3K" treatment. But is the picture also fun? Oh, yes! In it, Earth's second lunar astronaut is taken over by an alien life form during his return trip to Earth. His capsule is destroyed by Mission Control after his own pleadings, but unfortunately, the possessed, eponymous limb somehow makes it back to Earth intact, where it washes up on a California beach and is found by a hunky premed student. The student, Paul Lawrence (lamely portrayed by Rod Lauren), occasionally becomes possessed by the alien entity, too; we know when he is "under the influence" because he then develops heavy mascara smears around his eyes and turns decidedly anti-social! Anyway, a raft of "psychotronic" talent both in front of and behind the camera has conspired here to bring this loopy conceit to the screen. Director Herbert L. Strock (previously known for such enduring works as "Gog," "I Was a Teenage Frankenstein," "Blood of Dracula" and "How To Make a Monster") adds some interesting touches, and Allison Hayes (five years after "Attack of the 50 Foot Woman," and wasted here in a small, secretarial role), Peter Breck (he'd be infinitely more memorable that same year in Sam Fuller's cult film "Shock Corridor") and Alan Hale, Jr. (one year pre-"Gilligan") do their best to enliven their roles. The picture actually does feature two memorable sequences: that possessed astronaut pleading to be killed, and the possessed Paul attempting to strangle the local malt-shop owner, while lights flash stroboscopically and the jukebox blares out the Rivingtons' hit song "The Bird's the Word." Of course, the film is a sci-fi rehash of 1946's "The Beast With Five Fingers," but for what it is--a teenage rock 'n' roll sci-fi/horror flick--it remains reasonably goofy fun. Oh...the Rhino disc here looks just fine, but features some pretty lousy sound. Be prepared to turn your audio system ALL the way up...and to have a few cold ones HANDy....

bensonmum2 A space capsule is destroyed upon re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere sending a shower of wreckage across a Southern California beach. A teenager finds the astronaut's dismembered arm and (inexplicably) takes it home. How could he possibly know that the arm is possessed by a killer force or that he too will come under its influence? I've watched a lot of really bad movies lately, but The Crawling Hand is far from the worst. In fact, it's almost "good" in comparison with dreck like Monster A Go-Go and The Starfighters (yes, I've been on something of a MST3K binge lately). The movie has its share of problems (hit and miss acting, obvious budgetary constraints, a ridiculous premise, etc.), but there are some nice moments mixed in here and there. Chief among them is the scene in the malt shop when the owner is attacked. The action, lighting, sound, and cinematography found in this scene far exceed anything you might expect to see in a movie with the reputation of The Crawling Hand. The two biggest problems I have with the movie seem to rarely get mentioned – the shift from the hand of the movie's title to "teen angst" movie and the amount of padding used to extend the film's runtime. So while I may never think of The Crawling Hand as a masterpiece, I certainly see it in a better light than the majority of comments I've read.As The Crawling Hand is from the first season of MST3K, it suffers from the same lack of consistent riffing that plagues most of the early episodes. But in comparison with the other first season episodes I have seen, it's among the best. There is a bit involving a telephone that is very funny. Overall, I'll give this episode of MST3K a very generous 3/5 – a wishy-washy average rating.