THE CRAWLING HAND Free on Plex, Tubi and YouTube

‘Suspense shocker of the year!’
The Crawling Hand is a 1963 sci-fi horror film about the hand of a dead astronaut that turns a male student into a killer.

Directed by Herbert L. Strock (How to Make a Monster; Blood of Dracula; I Was a Teenage Frankenstein; Gog) from a screenplay co-written with William Idelson, based on a story by Joseph Cranston (co-scripter of The Corpse Grinders), Malcolm Young and William Idelson.

The movie stars Peter Breck (The Unnamable II), Kent Taylor (The Phantom of Hollywood; Brain of Blood; Brides of Blood; The Mighty Gorga; Blood of Ghastly Horror; The Day Mars Invaded Earth; The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues), Rod Lauren (Black Zoo),  Alan Hale, Jr. (Bloody Night; The Giant Spider Invasion),  Allison Hayes (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman; The Disembodied; Zombies of Mora Tau; The Unearthly; The Undead) and Richard Arlen (The Human Duplicators; Island of Lost Souls).

Plot:
The hand of a dead astronaut washes up on the beach and possesses the college student who takes it home. The student is slowly transformed by the hand and begins killing people in a small town…

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“After a gorgeous title sequence, everything in this low budget teenybopper flick goes downhill. The titular hand makes a few early appearances but then vanishes for half the movie before returning at the conclusion. It was a true missed opportunity…” David Elroy Goldweber, Claws & Saucers book

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“The story, of course, defies any suggestion of logic, nor does some of the scientific jargon cut much ice, but the horrific value is there in a quite skillfully exploited “live” arm. This latter should certainly intrigue those less sophisticated patrons who accept their entertainment at its face value without question.” Kine Weekly

Trailer:

Free to watch on YouTube [1080p]:

Choice dialogue:
Marta Farnstrom: “How can I help myself? You know women can’t resist weak men.”

Technical specs:
1 hour 29 minutes
Black and white
Aspect ratio: 1.85: 1
Audio: Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Filming locations:
2215 W. 24th St, Los Angeles, California (murder victims house)
Computer Division Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

Cast and characters:
Peter Breck … Steve Curan; Kent Taylor … Doctor Max Weitzberg; Rod Lauren … Paul Lawrence; Alan Hale Jr. … Sheriff Townsend; Allison Hayes … Donna; Sirry Steffen … Marta Farnstrom; Arline Judge … Mrs Hotchkiss; Richard Arlen … Lee Barrenger; Tristram Coffin … Security Chief Meidel; Ross Elliott … Deputy Earl Harrison; Stan Jones … Funeral Director; Jock Putnam … Ambulance Attendant; Andy Andrews … Ambulance Attendant; Syd Saylor … Soda Shop Owner; Edward Wermel … Professor Farnstrom; Beverly Lunsford … Patsy Townsend; Les Hoyle … Man; Ashley Cowan … Captain Mel Lockhart; Joseph F. Robertson … The Crawling Hand

Film facts:
Actress Sirry Steffen was a former ‘Miss Iceland’. In some export versions of the movie she allegedly appears with no clothes in the beach scene (we have been unable to confirm this).

On some DVD releases, The Rivingtons’ classic rock song ‘The Bird is the Word’ – which plays on a jukebox in the soda shop – has been replaced by a generic instrumental surf rock track, presumably for copyright reasons.

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