The Black Hand

The Black Hand

1906 · 11 min · ★ 6.2 · Drama, Crime

Two gang members send a threatening letter to a butcher, demanding money if he did not want his shop to be destroyed and his daughter Maria kidnapped. When he is unable to meet their request, they take Maria away. The Black Hand is the earliest surviving gangster film.

Directed by Wallace McCutcheon Sr.

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

1h 26m together

The Black Hand

Battleship Potemkin

A close match in mood and era.

More from Wallace McCutcheon Sr.See all →

He Loves Me, He Loves Me NotHe Loves Me, He Loves Me Not · 1903
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
9.01903
MovieRomanceDocumentary
A study in moods. A handsome girl is plucking the petals of a daisy, and repeating the well-known doggerel. The first daisy tells her that her lover loves her not, but she determines to try again, and the second flower is more favorable, much to her delight. Figure very large.
The NihilistThe Nihilist · 1905
The Nihilist
6.31905
MovieDramaCrime
A happy Russian family is broken up when their patriarch is arrested for treason. His distraught wife joins the secret society of nihilists and is assigned to commit an act of terror.
Three American BeautiesThree American Beauties · 1906
Three American Beauties
6.31906
MovieDocumentary
In this color-tinted short, we first see a close-up of a red rose, perfectly formed. Then, we see the rose held by a young woman who is wearing a bright yellow dress. She's the second beauty. Behind her is a slow dissolve to the US flag, tinted in red, white, and blue, blowing in the wind. Behind the flag is a star-lit sky.
The MoonshinerThe Moonshiner · 1904
The Moonshiner
5.81904
MovieDramaCrime
A mountaineer loads a shipment of moonshine whiskey onto his horse-cart, then goes to make a delivery. After he leaves, a revenue agent comes to the mountaineer's house to stake it out, and he soon observes some whiskey being traded for corn. The agent at once goes to alert other revenue officers, who arm themselves with rifles and then begin an immediate search for the moonshiner's still.
Discovery of BodiesDiscovery of Bodies · 1903
Discovery of Bodies
5.71903
MovieAdventure
In the next scene all that is left of the cabin is a smoldering ruin. A company of trappers come rapidly out of the forest and discover the bodies of the unfortunate man and woman. With bared heads, and in most impressive fashion they register an oath never to rest until they have wreaked vengeance on the Indian murderers and rescued the child.
The White CapsThe White Caps · 1905
The White Caps
5.61905
MovieDrama
Two members of a vigilante group known as 'The White Caps' post a warning sign on a man's home. When the man comes home, he tears down the sign, and then proceeds to abuse his wife both verbally and physically. As soon as she can get away from him, the wife leaves home with her child to find a place of refuge. When the vigilantes find out about this, they arm themselves with rifles and immediately go to confront the abusive husband.
Getting EvidenceGetting Evidence · 1906
Getting Evidence
5.51906
MovieComedy
A jealous husband arrives in the office of Hawkshaw, a private detective. The husband is certain that his wife is being unfaithful, and he wants the detective to produce photographic evidence. The detective tails the wife, and thinks he has caught her, but a sudden mishap prevents him from getting a photo. Despite this and further setbacks, the dedicated detective presses on, determined to fulfill his assignment.
From Leadville to Aspen: A Hold-Up in the RockiesFrom Leadville to Aspen: A Hold-Up in the Rockies · 1906
From Leadville to Aspen: A Hold-Up in the Rockies
5.41906
MovieCrimeWestern
A train traveling through the Rockies is held up and boarded by two thugs. They rob the wealthy occupants at gunpoint and then make their getaway by handcar. From there, they hijack a horsecart on a road running parallel to the tracks. Will justice prevail in the end?
A Winter Straw RideA Winter Straw Ride · 1906
A Winter Straw Ride
5.21906
MovieComedy
Two groups of young women get into a pair of horse-drawn carts, and go off for a straw ride through the snowy streets. As they pass by a group of children, the children throw snowballs at the riders, and they and other persons begin to join in the fun. Then one of the carts tips on its side, spilling some of its occupants into the snow. Everyone soon decides that they enjoy playing in the snow even more than riding.
The Invisible FluidThe Invisible Fluid · 1908
The Invisible Fluid
5.01908
MovieScience FictionComedy
Had the poor melancholy Dane, Hamlet, lived in this, the twentieth century, he would never have given voice to the remark, "Oh, that this too, too solid flesh would melt, thaw and resolve itself into a dew!" No indeed! He would have procured some of the mysterious fluid compounded by an erudite scientist by which things animate and inanimate were rendered non est, for ten minutes at least, by simply spraying them with it. In an atomizer, he sends a quantity, accompanied by a letter, to his brother. In the hope of his putting it on the market. The brother regards it as a joke, and, while toying with the atomizer, accidentally sprays himself. Presto! he is gone, to the amazement of the messenger boy who has carried the package thither. The boy reads the letter, and at once sees the amount of fun he can get out of it, so he nips it.
Grandpa's Reading GlassGrandpa's Reading Glass · 1902
Grandpa's Reading Glass
5.01902
MovieComedy
A very clever and interesting picture. A family group composed of grandpa, mamma and several children are seen about a library table. One of the little girls takes a large reading glass, and with the other children looks at various objects about the room. As each object is inspected, it appears on the screen in enlarged form, just as it might look when viewed through a large magnifying glass. Among the objects thus shown are: 1. Little girl playing with kitten; 2. Monkey eating banana; 3. Parrot; 4. Baby's face; 5. Page from comic paper; 6. Mamma's face; 7. Mamma's eye.
The Escaped LunaticThe Escaped Lunatic · 1904
The Escaped Lunatic
5.01904
MovieComedy
A deranged man who believes he is Napoleon escapes the asylum and leads his keepers on a wild chase.
PersonalPersonal · 1904
Personal
4.91904
MovieComedy
A man who has placed a personal advertisement for a prospective wife goes to wait at the meeting place that he designated. Soon a woman comes in response to the advertisement. Before the two have a chance to converse, several more women arrive on the scene. Now completely flustered, the man flees, initiating a lengthy chase.
Her First AdventureHer First Adventure · 1908
Her First Adventure
4.81908
MovieDrama
A father arrives home, greets his wife and daughter, and then goes inside with his wife. Though they are only inside for a brief time, their daughter wanders off, attracted by the music from a pair of gypsies performing in the street. When the gypsies move on, they take the young girl with her. As soon as the parents realize that their daughter is gone, they begin a frantic search, assisted by the family's loyal dog.
Tom, Tom, the Piper's SonTom, Tom, the Piper's Son · 1905
Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son
4.61905
MovieComedyAdventure
Based loosely on the once-popular nursery rhyme. A fair is in progress, with refreshments, entertainment, and other activities. As the rest of the crowd is watching one of the acts, the titular Tom steals a pig from another little boy and runs off. He tries to hide, but he is chased by the crowd. The pig also proves difficult to control. Tom, the little boy, and the crowd run from place to place.
The Sculptor's NightmareThe Sculptor's Nightmare · 1908
The Sculptor's Nightmare
4.31908
MovieComedyAnimation
At a political club, the members debate whose bust will replace that of Theodore Roosevelt. Unable to agree, each goes to a sculptor's studio and bribes him to sculpt a bust of the individual favorite. Instead, the sculptor spends their fees on a dinner with his model during which he becomes so inebriated that he is taken to jail. There he has a nightmare, wherein three busts are created and animated from clay (through stop-motion photography) in the likenesses of Democrat William Jennings Bryan and Republicans Charles W. Fairbanks and William Howard Taft. Finally an animated bust of Roosevelt appears.

More Like This

Final AnalysisFinal Analysis · 1992
Final Analysis
5.81992
MovieDramaThriller
A psychiatrist becomes romantically involved with the sister of one of his patients, but the influence of her controlling gangster husband threatens to destroy them both.
Layer CakeLayer Cake · 2004
Layer Cake
6.92004
MovieDramaThriller
When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...
DogvilleDogville · 2003
Dogville
7.72003
MovieCrimeDrama
A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town, she learns that their support has a price.
The Birth of a NationThe Birth of a Nation · 1915
The Birth of a Nation
5.91915
MovieDramaHistory
Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.
City of GodCity of God · 2002
City of God
8.42002
MovieDramaCrime
In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime.
Sunrise: A Song of Two HumansSunrise: A Song of Two Humans · 1927
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
7.81927
MovieDramaRomance
A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.
Lost HighwayLost Highway · 1997
Lost Highway
7.51997
MovieDramaThriller
A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.
Battleship PotemkinBattleship Potemkin · 1925
Battleship Potemkin
7.61925
MovieDramaHistory
A dramatized account of a great Russian naval mutiny and a resultant public demonstration, showing support, which brought on a police massacre.
Boyz n the HoodBoyz n the Hood · 1991
Boyz n the Hood
7.61991
MovieDramaCrime
Three friends growing up in South Central Los Angeles navigate a neighborhood plagued by violence, unemployment, and crime, each responding differently to the harsh realities of street life. As tragedy strikes close to home, their friendship, choices, and hopes for a better future are put to the ultimate test.
Pulp FictionPulp Fiction · 1994
Pulp Fiction
8.51994
MovieThrillerCrime
A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.
The Passion of Joan of ArcThe Passion of Joan of Arc · 1928
The Passion of Joan of Arc
8.01928
MovieDramaHistory
A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.
GoodFellasGoodFellas · 1990
GoodFellas
8.51990
MovieDramaCrime
The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.
October (Ten Days that Shook the World)October (Ten Days that Shook the World) · 1928
October (Ten Days that Shook the World)
6.91928
MovieDramaHistory
Sergei M. Eisenstein's docu-drama about the 1917 October Revolution in Russia. Made ten years after the events and edited in Eisenstein's 'Soviet Montage' style, it re-enacts in celebratory terms several key scenes from the revolution.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter