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The Crawling Hand

 The Crawling Hand
type
TVTItem
 The Crawling Hand
label
The Crawling Hand
 The Crawling Hand
page
TheCrawlingHand
 The Crawling Hand
comment
A 1963 low budget Sci-Fi Horror film directed and co-written by Herbert L. Strock, starring Peter Breck, Kent Taylor, and Rod Lauren.Astronauts keep going crazy and blowing up on their way back to the ground, and scientists can't figure out why. The latest astronaut to fall to this mysterious syndrome manages to contact his scientist superiors just before doing himself in; he alternates between pleas to "push the red" Self-Destruct Mechanism and violent urges to "Kill! Kill!" Finally the "red" is pushed, the astronaut is blown to shards and the scientists are still stumped.Meanwhile, in California, young med student Paul Lawrence is frolicking on the beach with his girlfriend when they happen upon the severed arm of the dead astronaut. Against his girl's wishes, Paul returns to the beach and takes the arm home with him (for what reason, we're not told). Soon, it becomes apparent to everyone (in the audience, at least) that whatever malediction had possessed the unfortunate astronaut still possesses the arm, which promptly goes on a killing spree (said spree resulting in a grand total of ONE death). Paul himself is a prime suspect in the murder, but the two scientists arrive with their own theories. Then the mysterious murderous force begins to infect Paul as well, and he attacks a Malt Shop owner and his own girlfriend. After realizing what he's doing, Paul takes the hand out to a junkyard with the intent of destroying it, and between a fever of over 100 and some hungry cats, the evil is defeated... er, handily.For the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode see here.
 The Crawling Hand
fetched
2023-11-18T01:30:31Z
 The Crawling Hand
parsed
2023-11-18T01:30:31Z
 The Crawling Hand
processingComment
Dropped link to Batman1966: Not a Feature - ITEM
 The Crawling Hand
processingComment
Dropped link to Troll: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 The Crawling Hand
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Crawling Hand / int_173909
type
Brainwashed and Crazy
 The Crawling Hand / int_173909
comment
Brainwashed and Crazy: Well, not exactly brainwashed, but similar. Definitely crazy though.
 The Crawling Hand / int_173909
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_173909
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 The Crawling Hand
hasFeature
The Crawling Hand / int_173909
 The Crawling Hand / int_1c79ae8c
type
Those Two Guys
 The Crawling Hand / int_1c79ae8c
comment
Those Two Guys: The bumbling ambulance drivers. Also the two scientists, Peter Breck and Faux-Gordon.
 The Crawling Hand / int_1c79ae8c
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_1c79ae8c
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 The Crawling Hand
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The Crawling Hand / int_1c79ae8c
 The Crawling Hand / int_646b9cc8
type
Organ Autonomy
 The Crawling Hand / int_646b9cc8
comment
Organ Autonomy / Evil Hand: The astronaut's severed arm, still possessed by the Eldritch Abomination, is capable of independent perambulation and attack.
 The Crawling Hand / int_646b9cc8
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_646b9cc8
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand
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The Crawling Hand / int_646b9cc8
 The Crawling Hand / int_6e0a57d6
type
Like an Old Married Couple
 The Crawling Hand / int_6e0a57d6
comment
Like an Old Married Couple: At one point Paul and his girl argue over whether she should have brought her swimsuit on their date; their friend suggests their love is indeed true; "You two sound like a married couple already!"
 The Crawling Hand / int_6e0a57d6
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_6e0a57d6
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 The Crawling Hand
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The Crawling Hand / int_6e0a57d6
 The Crawling Hand / int_786afb29
type
Looks Like Cesare
 The Crawling Hand / int_786afb29
comment
Looks Like Cesare: Paul has the messy dark hair and Creepy Shadowed Undereyes of this trope after being possessed by the hand, which helps underscore how he's not in his right mind.
 The Crawling Hand / int_786afb29
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_786afb29
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 The Crawling Hand
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The Crawling Hand / int_786afb29
 The Crawling Hand / int_83445b04
type
Pun
 The Crawling Hand / int_83445b04
comment
And why, pray tell, is Paul so dead-set on bringing that severed arm home with him? For Science!?
 The Crawling Hand / int_83445b04
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_83445b04
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 The Crawling Hand
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The Crawling Hand / int_83445b04
 The Crawling Hand / int_8774fb47
type
Eldritch Abomination
 The Crawling Hand / int_8774fb47
comment
Eldritch Abomination: Only implied; apparently it's some evil alien spirit or similar that takes over astronauts and turns them into krazy killers. It's also contagious.
 The Crawling Hand / int_8774fb47
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_8774fb47
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 The Crawling Hand
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The Crawling Hand / int_8774fb47
 The Crawling Hand / int_9521acf7
type
The Scourge of God
 The Crawling Hand / int_9521acf7
comment
The Scourge of God: The only victim of the killer hand (or any of its People Puppets) to actually die is the booze-and-pill-fueled landlady.
 The Crawling Hand / int_9521acf7
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 The Crawling Hand / int_9521acf7
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 The Crawling Hand
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The Crawling Hand / int_9521acf7
 The Crawling Hand / int_9e86e227
type
The End... Or Is It?
 The Crawling Hand / int_9e86e227
comment
Also the bumbling ambulance drivers (see The End... Or Is It?). Whilst transporting the boxed-up arm away, the one chides his buddy for having "no curiosity" and eventually goads him into opening up the box, which would have freed the Evil Hand... had it not somehow already escaped.
 The Crawling Hand / int_9e86e227
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 The Crawling Hand / int_9e86e227
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 The Crawling Hand
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The Crawling Hand / int_9e86e227
 The Crawling Hand / int_abad35b4
type
Soundtrack Dissonance
 The Crawling Hand / int_abad35b4
comment
Soundtrack Dissonance: Paul fights the old Malt Shop owner, they crash into the jukebox... Cue "The Bird's The Word" by The Rivingtons.
 The Crawling Hand / int_abad35b4
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_abad35b4
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 The Crawling Hand
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The Crawling Hand / int_abad35b4
 The Crawling Hand / int_b58b4e3c
type
Too Dumb to Live
 The Crawling Hand / int_b58b4e3c
comment
Too Dumb to Live: And why, pray tell, is Paul so dead-set on bringing that severed arm home with him? For Science!? Also the bumbling ambulance drivers (see The End... Or Is It?). Whilst transporting the boxed-up arm away, the one chides his buddy for having "no curiosity" and eventually goads him into opening up the box, which would have freed the Evil Hand... had it not somehow already escaped.
 The Crawling Hand / int_b58b4e3c
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_b58b4e3c
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 The Crawling Hand
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The Crawling Hand / int_b58b4e3c
 The Crawling Hand / int_b5fb096b
type
People Puppets
 The Crawling Hand / int_b5fb096b
comment
People Puppets: The astronaut in the first scene and, later, Paul.
 The Crawling Hand / int_b5fb096b
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_b5fb096b
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand
hasFeature
The Crawling Hand / int_b5fb096b
 The Crawling Hand / int_b731fa6e
type
I Cannot Self-Terminate
 The Crawling Hand / int_b731fa6e
comment
I Cannot Self-Terminate: Because my body is being controlled by an alien energy being. Push the red!
 The Crawling Hand / int_b731fa6e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_b731fa6e
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 The Crawling Hand
hasFeature
The Crawling Hand / int_b731fa6e
 The Crawling Hand / int_bc3cb7ff
type
Clear My Name
 The Crawling Hand / int_bc3cb7ff
comment
Clear My Name: While Paul does attack a couple of people during his "infection", he is not responsible for the single successful on-screen murder.
 The Crawling Hand / int_bc3cb7ff
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_bc3cb7ff
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 The Crawling Hand
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The Crawling Hand / int_bc3cb7ff
 The Crawling Hand / int_bc70cbfe
type
Creepy Shadowed Undereyes
 The Crawling Hand / int_bc70cbfe
comment
Creepy Shadowed Undereyes: The alien horror produces this effect in its hosts when it infects them.
 The Crawling Hand / int_bc70cbfe
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_bc70cbfe
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand
hasFeature
The Crawling Hand / int_bc70cbfe
 The Crawling Hand / int_c2676b00
type
Jurisdiction Friction
 The Crawling Hand / int_c2676b00
comment
Jurisdiction Friction: Invoked by the sheriff, but all the scientists want is the severed hand. And a little cooperation from the long arm of the law.
 The Crawling Hand / int_c2676b00
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_c2676b00
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand
hasFeature
The Crawling Hand / int_c2676b00
 The Crawling Hand / int_dca70c44
type
Reasonable Authority Figure
 The Crawling Hand / int_dca70c44
comment
Reasonable Authority Figure: The sheriff is hesitant to arrest Paul until he can find some decisive evidence as he knows being arrested for murder, even if he's eventually acquitted, can tarnish his personal reputation for the rest of his life.
 The Crawling Hand / int_dca70c44
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1.0
 The Crawling Hand / int_dca70c44
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 The Crawling Hand
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The Crawling Hand / int_dca70c44
 The Crawling Hand / int_name
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 The Crawling Hand / int_name
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The Crawling Hand / int_name
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The Crawling Hand

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Crawling Hand
hasFeature
Big Red Button / int_c00a71c1
 The Crawling Hand
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Monster Misogyny / int_c00a71c1
 The Crawling Hand
hasFeature
Sci-Fi Horror / int_c00a71c1
 The Crawling Hand
seeAlso
The Crawling Hand