You can always rely on William Cameron Menzies for striking visuals and tingling atmosphere. This fascinating little movie, "The Whip Hand", proves to be no exception -- even though the final revelation is actually rather disappointing.
Originally the film was made under the title The Man He Found, the "found man" being Adolf Hitler, not only living on but actually plotting postwar stratagems with the connivance of the citizenry of a small American town. But executive producer Howard Hughes thought that the Communists who were really active at the time not only presented a far greater menace than a vanquished Fascist, but would really intrigue American audiences. So the film was partly re-shot.
As it happened Hughes's hunch was wrong. The film lost money, even on its comparatively modest (at least for a competitive "A" feature) negative cost of only $376,000. It could even be argued that the climax is hardly worth all the build-up, but nonetheless, when the movie is directed and designed by the brilliant William Cameron Menzies, as far as I am concerned, it rates as a must-see item on any account.
Originally the film was made under the title The Man He Found, the "found man" being Adolf Hitler, not only living on but actually plotting postwar stratagems with the connivance of the citizenry of a small American town. But executive producer Howard Hughes thought that the Communists who were really active at the time not only presented a far greater menace than a vanquished Fascist, but would really intrigue American audiences. So the film was partly re-shot.
As it happened Hughes's hunch was wrong. The film lost money, even on its comparatively modest (at least for a competitive "A" feature) negative cost of only $376,000. It could even be argued that the climax is hardly worth all the build-up, but nonetheless, when the movie is directed and designed by the brilliant William Cameron Menzies, as far as I am concerned, it rates as a must-see item on any account.