THE DEVIL'S HAND (1961)

Or as I call it, “Gamba: The Hands of Fate.”

Rick Turner is an ordinary man who starts to have recurring dreams about a mysterious blonde. He finds himself drawn to a doll shop, where Rick sees one that looks just like the woman in his dreams. When he walks in, the proprietor calls him by name and insists that Turner had ordered the doll custom-made. He then produces the blonde woman's photograph, which Rick supposedly dropped off when he placed the order. Turner insists that he has never been in that shop before.

The blonde, Bianca, not only is real, she is the high priestess of a voodoo-styled religious cult that worships Gamba, “the Great Devil God.” (The doll-shop owner is the cult's leader.) Bianca seduces Rick into taking an oath to Gamba. He is happy for a time, but then the cult decides to offer his ex-girlfriend, Donna (Ariadna Welter), as a sacrifice. That's when it occurs to Rick that this whole cult thing ain't what it's cracked up to be.

I had a feeling I was in for something different as an instrumental surf rock song played over the opening credits. And I was right. This ended up being a lot better than a cheaply-made early '60s chiller deserved to be. The competent cast includes Roberta Alda in a low-key portrayal of Turner, the drop-dead gorgeous Linda Christian as the heinously seductive Bianca, and Neil Hamilton's highbrow take on the business-suit-wearing cult leader. Other highlights include the racially diverse cultists (who dress like they're going to the opera), the bongo-fueled dance routine that accompanies the ritual, the knife-adorned “wheel of death” that serves as a loyalty test, and the dream sequence in which Bianca first appears to Rick.

The entire thing has a low-budget look to it, including what obviously is a toy car during a scene in which a traitorous cult member dies in a voodoo-induced wreck. Also, the building on fire at the end is clearly not the doll shop.

Two more things: Donna's reaction to Rick's dream-and-doll story is oddly matter-of-fact, even when she finds out that there really is a Bianca. Also, in a scene set at a hospital (which the viewer can tell is not one), an E/R doctor is wearing a suit and tie. I've never seen a doctor report for hospital duty dressed that way! And the wall clock sports the Bulova logo.

OK, so The Devil's Hand is imperfect, but who cares? At a mere 71 minutes, it went by quickly and painlessly.