The Left Hand of God

The Left Hand of God (1955), starring Humphrey Bogart, Gene Tierney, Lee J. Cobb, Agnes Moorehead, E.G. Marshall

Synopsis of The Left Hand of God

In The Left Hand of God, at a Catholic mission in China, long-awaited “Father O’Shea” proves to be a tough guy, disturbingly attractive to mission nurse Anne.

Review

The Left Hand of God is an excellent movie. It begins with Father O’Shea making his way to a Catholic mission in China. Once he’s there, he’s a very different kind of priest. And a nurse at the mission finds herself conflicted, as she’s attracted to the priest. Frankly, saying anything more will spoil a significant part of the movie. Likewise, reading the Product Description below will also spoil it. I recommend that you watch the film – it’s very well done.

Cast

• Humphrey Bogart (Sabrina) … James ‘Jim’ Carmody
• Gene Tierney (Laura) … Anne ‘Scotty’ Scott
• Lee J. Cobb (12 Angry Men) … Mieh Yang
• Agnes Moorehead (Our Vines Have Tender Grapes) … Beryl Sigman
• E.G. Marshall (Tora! Tora! Tora!) … Dr. David Sigman
• Jean Porter (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood) … Mary Yin
• Carl Benton Reid (In a Lonely Place) … Father Cornelius
• Victor Sen Yung (Across the Pacific) … John Wong
• Philip Ahn … Jan Teng
• Benson Fong … Chun Tien

Product Description 

SYNOPSIS: Humphrey Bogart stars in this improbable tale that marked Gene Tierney’s return to the screen after battling mental illness for a number of years. Bogart plays Jim Carmody, an American soldier of fortune who, after crashing his plane in China, takes up with the Chinese warlord General Yang (Lee J. Cobb). Jim becomes Yang’s advisor, but after watching one of the General’s flunkies brutally kill a priest, Jim decides to leave. Unfortunately, Yang has declared that any deserter will be shot.

Disguising himself as the slain priest, Jim sneaks out of the General’s headquarters and makes his way to a mountain village where missionaries Beryl (Agnes Moorehead) and David (E.G. Marshall) take him in. Jim still is posing as the priest but his vows of celibacy are challenged when he falls in love with the attractive mission nurse Anne Scott (Gene Tierney). Anne feels ashamed because she is also attracted to him, but Jim writes to the bishop confessing that he is an impostor. At that moment, General Yang arrives, insisting that Jim rejoin his army or else he will burn down the village. …The Left Hand of God (1955)