La Main du diable

La Main du diable ("The Devil's Hand"), also known as Carnival of Sinners, is a 1943 French horror film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Pierre Fresnay as a struggling artist who acquires a supernatural talisman. Eventually, however, there is a price to be paid. Plot The guests at an isolated hotel cut off by an avalanche are surprised when Roland Brissot, a man missing his left hand, shows up, carrying only a small casket. He asks the innkeeper if there is a cemetery adjoining the ruins of a nearby abbey and is disappointed when the answer is no. Then two shots ring out. The police arrive, looking for a little man carrying a coffin. The news frightens Brissot. While he is called to the telephone, his casket is stolen during a temporary blackout. Disconsolate, he gives in to the curiosity of the other guests and tells his story. A flashback ensues. Brissot is a struggling, untalented painter in Paris. He persuades Irène, an attractive glove shop saleswoman, to pose for him. One night, frustrated with his lack of drive, she breaks up with him at a cafe. Mélisse, the chef, comes over and offers him a solution for all his woes: a talisman that will give him everything he wants, for the price of one sou (penny). Ange (Angel) warns him not to buy it, and the chef reveals that he must sell it at a loss before he dies or he will be condemned to Hell forever. The talisman turns out to be a severed left hand, which amazingly obeys the chef's commands. Despite all this, Brissot does not believe the supernatural aspects and buys it. As soon as the bargain is concluded, the chef loses his left hand. The talisman works. Exactly one year later, Brissot has a wildly successful exhibition at Galerie Gabelin and is married to Irène. For some reason he himself does not understand, he paints with his left hand only and signs his works "Maximus Leo". At the exhibition, he spots a little man he has seen before. He chases after him, but then notices in a florist shop window a wreath with the sash that says "In Memoriam Maximus Leo". Inside, he learns that a little man ordered it. Later the little man comes to his office and admits Brissot has "the Devil to pay". Even though Brissot cannot sell the hand at a loss, the little man offers to buy it back for a sou. Brissot accepts, but then takes it back after Irène is cold to him. The little man tells him that his offer still holds, but the price doubles every day.