Shake Hands with the Devil

Shake Hands with the Devil

A story of love and hate...and the sudden sound of guns!

NR 1959 · 111 min · ★ 6.5 · Action, Drama, War, History

In 1921 Dublin, the IRA battles the "Black & Tans," special British forces given to harsh measures. Irish-American medical student Kerry O'Shea hopes to stay aloof, but saving a wounded friend gets him outlawed, and inexorably drawn into the rebel organization by his former professor Sean Lenihan, who has "shaken hands with the devil" and begun to think of fighting as an end in itself. Complications arise when Kerry falls for a beautiful English hostage, and the British offer a peace treaty that is not enough to satisfy Lenihan.

Directed by Michael Anderson · Written by Ben Roberts

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Rent or Buy

Cast

James Cagney Sean Lenihan
Don Murray Kerry O'Shea
Dana Wynter Jennifer Curtis
Glynis Johns Kitty Brady
Michael Redgrave The General
Sybil Thorndike Lady Fitzhugh
Cyril Cusack Chris Noonan
Marianne Benet Mary Madigan
John Breslin Timmy McGrath
Harry Brogan Tom Cassidy
Richard Harris Terence O'Brien
William Hartnell Sergeant Jenkins

Make it a double feature

3h 18m together

Shake Hands with the Devil

Chase a Crooked Shadow

Both from Michael Anderson.

More from Michael AndersonSee all →

Rugged Gold

Rugged Gold · 1994

MovieDramaFamily

A woman struggles to survive in the Alaskan frontier after separating from her family because of an earthquake.

Vice Versa

Vice Versa · 1948

Businessman Paul Bultitude is sending his son Dick to a boarding school. While holding a magic stone from India, he wishes that he could be young again. His wish is immediately fulfilled and the two change bodies with each other. Mr Bultitude becomes a school boy who smokes cigars and has a very conservative view on child upbringing, while his son Dick becomes a gentleman who spends his time drinking lemonade and arranging children's parties.

The Martian Chronicles

The Martian Chronicles · 1980

The Martian Chronicles

SeriesSci-Fi & FantasyDrama

The Martian Chronicles deals with the exploration of Mars and the inhabitants there.

Chase a Crooked Shadow

Chase a Crooked Shadow · 1958

Chase a Crooked Shadow

MovieThrillerMystery

A woman who lives in Spain has trouble convincing anybody that a complete stranger has taken her dead brother's identity.

The Dam Busters

The Dam Busters · 1955

The Dam Busters

MovieDramaHistory

The story of the conception of a new British weapon for smashing the German dams in the Ruhr industrial complex and the execution of the raid by 617 Squadron 'The Dam Busters'.

The Shoes of the Fisherman

The Shoes of the Fisherman · 1968

The Shoes of the Fisherman

Ukrainian bishop Kiril Lakota, a political prisoner in a Soviet gulag for twenty years, is unexpectedly released and sent to the Vatican, where, upon the sudden death of the Pope, leader of the Catholic Church, he must face a challenging destiny that will put the future of the entire world in his hands.

Operation Crossbow

Operation Crossbow · 1965

Operation Crossbow

Allied agents infiltrate the Nazi rocket complex at Peenemunde in order to obtain their secrets and sabotage the plant. The film alternates between German developments of the V-1 missile and V-2 rocket (with a German cast speaking their own language) and discovery by British Intelligence of the weapon.

Around the World in 80 Days

Around the World in 80 Days · 1956

Around the World in 80 Days

MovieAdventureComedy

Based on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the world. Which has to be completed within 80 days, a very short period for those days.

In Which We Serve

In Which We Serve · 1942

In Which We Serve

The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship’s first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him and the country, but—most importantly—to themselves.

Logan's Run

Logan's Run · 1976

MovieActionScience Fiction

In the 23rd century, inhabitants of a domed city freely experience all of life's pleasures — but no one is allowed to live past 30. Citizens can try for a chance at being "renewed" in a civic ceremony on their 30th birthday. Escape is the only other option.

Sword of Gideon

Sword of Gideon · 1986

Sword of Gideon

MovieActionDrama

Chronicles a Mossad team hand picked to hunt down the terrorists involved in the 1972 Munich Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes.

1984

MovieScience FictionDrama

In a totalitarian future society, a man whose daily work is rewriting history tries to rebel by falling in love.

The Wreck of the Mary Deare

The Wreck of the Mary Deare · 1959

The Wreck of the Mary Deare

MovieActionAdventure

A disgraced merchant marine officer elects to stay aboard his sinking cargo ship in order to prove the vessel was deliberately scuttled and, as a result, vindicate his good name.

The Naked Edge

The Naked Edge · 1961

MovieMysteryThriller

Five years after George Radcliffe was the chief witness in a high profile murder case, his wife receives a blackmailing letter accusing him of the crime.

The Sea Wolf

The Sea Wolf · 1993

MovieAdventureTV Movie

Jack London's brutal Wolf Larson brings a shipwrecked aristocrat and a con woman aboard his doomed ship, the Ghost.

Orca

MovieHorrorThriller

After witnessing the killing of his mate and offspring at the hands of a reckless Irish captain, a vengeful killer whale rampages through the fisherman's Newfoundland harbor. Under pressure from the villagers, the captain, a female marine biologist, and an Indigenous tribalist venture after the great beast, who will meet them on its own turf.

More Like This

The Tin Drum

The Tin Drum · 1979

MovieDramaHistory

In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.

Dune

MovieActionScience Fiction

In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.

Enemy at the Gates

Enemy at the Gates · 2001

Enemy at the Gates

MovieWarHistory

A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.

Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man · 2005

MovieRomanceDrama

The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, following his retirement in the 1930s, makes a surprise comeback in order to lift his family out of poverty.

GoodFellas

GoodFellas · 1990

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.

Sleepers

Sleepers · 1996

MovieCrimeDrama

Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.

The Last Emperor

The Last Emperor · 1987

The Last Emperor

MovieDramaHistory

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

The Mummy

The Mummy · 1999

MovieAdventureAction

Dashing legionnaire Rick O'Connell stumbles upon the hidden ruins of Hamunaptra while in the midst of a battle to claim the area in 1920s Egypt. It has been over three thousand years since former High Priest Imhotep suffered a fate worse than death as a punishment for a forbidden love—along with a curse that guarantees eternal doom upon the world if he is ever awoken.

God's Creatures

God's Creatures · 2022

God's Creatures

In a windswept fishing village, a mother is torn between protecting her beloved son and her own sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him rips apart their family and close-knit community.

The Baader Meinhof Complex

The Baader Meinhof Complex · 2008

The Baader Meinhof Complex

MovieActionCrime

When German police viciously quell a protest against the shah of Iran, popular journalist Ulrike Meinhof rebels against her dishonest marriage, walks away from her children and joins radical anarchist Andreas Baader. Together with Baader's girlfriend, Gudrun Ensslin, they form the violent Red Faction Army, and together perpetrate a slew of terrorist attacks as a way of disrupting the fabric of what they see as an increasingly fascist state.

Shooter

Shooter · 2007

MovieDramaAction

A top Marine sniper, Bob Lee Swagger, leaves the military after a mission goes horribly awry and disappears, living in seclusion. He is coaxed back into service after a high-profile government official convinces him to help thwart a plot to kill the President of the United States. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, Swagger becomes the target of a nationwide manhunt. He goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why, eventually seeking revenge against some of the most powerful and corrupt leaders in the free world.

In the Name of the Father

In the Name of the Father · 1993

In the Name of the Father

A small-time Belfast thief, Gerry Conlon, is wrongly convicted of an IRA bombing in London, along with his father and friends, and spends 15 years in prison fighting to prove his innocence.

Hard Eight

Hard Eight · 1997

MovieDramaCrime

A stranger mentors a young Reno gambler who weds a hooker and befriends a vulgar casino regular.

The Magdalene Sisters

The Magdalene Sisters · 2002

The Magdalene Sisters

MovieDramaHistory

Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.

Ronin

MovieActionThriller

A briefcase with undisclosed contents – sought by Irish terrorists and the Russian mob – makes its way into criminals' hands. An Irish liaison assembles a squad of mercenaries, or 'ronin', and gives them the thorny task of recovering the case.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter