THE CRAWLING HAND (1963)
Director: Herbert L. Strock
Rhino

Directed by the man who gave us I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN and BLOOD OF DRACULA, this AIP sci-fi flick could've been titled "I Was A Teenage Zombie." An astronaut headed back to Earth is badly suffering and somehow living even after his oxygen supply has been cut off. On a monitor, he's viewed screaming with black rings under his eyes, and he begs the control station to terminate his ship. A special button is pushed and he and the ship are blown to bits. Apparently, his body was possessed by some kind of unknown alien force.

While fooling about on a California beach, teenage Paul (Rod Lauren) and his "stacked" Swedish exchange student girlfriend (Sirry Steffen) stumble upon the astronaut's severed arm. Later that night, Paul goes back to the beach and brings the arm home, but it's still animated and it strangles the woman that he boards with. Paul himself gets black rings under his eyes and begins to behave maniacal and tries to put his grip on everyone's neck.

A sort of "Jerry Warren Meets Quatermass," THE CRAWLING HAND also features a duo of semi-comical black-suited scientists (Al Adamson regular Kent Taylor and Peter Breck from TV's "The Big Valley") trying to track that damn arm down. Alan Hale Jr. plays the sheriff, but those expecting his funny Skipper mannerisms from "Gilligan's Island" will be disappointed: Hale plays it completely straight (there's only a morsel of the jolly Jonas Grumby). A more mature-looking Allison Hayes has a very small part. The film runs about 15 minutes more than it should, but it's still kinda fun on the trash level. One of the highlights is Paul's eerily lit attack on the grumpy malt shop owner, slamming him into a jukebox, jolting it to spin "The Bird Is The Word" by The Rivingtons!

Rhino has released THE CRAWLING HAND on DVD as part of a budget series of horror titles, retailing for around $10. The quality is very good, and the transfer resembles one of the better-looking "Wade Williams" titles from Image, which this is sure to remind you of. The picture is sharp, free of grain, and the blacks are surprisingly strong. The source print is in very good shape, and only lessens itself during occasional clips of stock footage. The mono sound is clear and free of excessive distortion, but once in a while dialog is low. No trailer or other extras, but Rhino's DVD presentation of this schlock title is exceptional and at an extremely low price, it's a no-brainer purchase for fans of this sort of stuff. (George R. Reis)

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