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Shake Hands with the Devil (1959)

Shake Hands with the Devil (1959)

Action Drama History War

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

Release Date: 1959, June 24
Directors: Michael Anderson
Countries: Ireland, United States of America
Production: Troy Films, Pennebaker Productions
Cast: Richard Harris, Robert Brown, John Le Mesurier, Donal Donnelly, Paul Farrell, Godfrey Quigley, Walter Gotell, Glynis Johns, Cyril Cusack, Clive Morton, Patrick McAlinney, Ray McAnally

Overview:

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.

Keywords:

rebellion irish-american 1920s fugitive suspect bombing dublin, ireland ira (irish republican army) ireland irish hostage-taking medical student irish history irish resistance british crimes new recruit liberation of hostage freedom fighters political violence symbolic violence irish republican irish war of independence (1919-22) undercover mission black and tan