The Left Hand of God (1955) **1/2

Release date: September 2, 1955

Running time: 87 minutes

Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Gene Tierney, Lee J. Cobb, Agnes Moorhead, E.G. Marshall

Directed by: Edward Dmytryk

In 1947, Father O’Shea (Humphrey Bogart) arrives at a remote mission in China, having lost all of his possessions in an accident while crossing a river during a rain storm. He is welcomed by the villagers who have been waiting patiently for the church to send a new priest after the last one was killed. Almost immediately he is butting heads with the local doctor, David Sigman (E. G. Marshall), who wants to close down the mission because of them many dangers posed by the terrain and the competing warlords. O’Shea insists the mission will stay open and that the church must feel the same as they sent him in the first place. Aside from the doctor there are only two other western residents, the doctor’s wife Beryl (Agnes Moorehead) and a widowed young nurse Anne (Gene Tierney). 

O’Shea manages to impress and delight the local Chinese people with his understanding of their customs and culture, even surprising them by delivering his first sermon to them in both English and their native tongue. His activities among them and respect earns theirs in turn and he is welcomed heartily by all of the parishioners. He also manages to gain the attention and attraction of Anne who finds him attractive but unsure how to react to that as he is a priest and unable to reciprocate. With no one she feels she can confess these feelings to, she is conflicted and confused. Seeing this, Beryl suggests to O’Shea that he take a short trip to a Presbyterian mission nearby and seek help and advice from the minister there who has a lot of years experience in the area. Upon meeting with this minister, O’Shea has a confession of his own. He isn’t really a priest, but an ex pilot who fled the servitude of one of the local warlords, Yang (Lee J. Cobb in yellow face), after Yang’s men killed the real O’Shea. His real name is James Carmody and Yang’s men have figured out where he is hiding and will soon threaten the mission to get him back.

One of the biggest hurtles The Left Hand of God must overcome is the logic behind the story. At no point are we told why Carmody chose to disguise himself as Father O’Shea. He could have more easily posed as one of many deposed Americans left over from WWII. Carmody shows disdain for the slaying of the real O’Shea but it plays more as an opportunity for him to escape the yoke of bondage Yang has on him. It doesn’t help that right from the start it is obvious something isn’t quite right with the new father. He is reluctant to bless his parishioners or to hold the first Sunday Mass. We suspect him almost from the first scene and when things are revealed barely halfway through the film all the energy from the film is let out leaving things to play out without any real excitement anymore. 

Bogart is game in this role but his performance is very reserved. We don’t get to know his character at all and that neuters any real dilemma we should be feeling about him preforming sacred duties of the cloth without the authority of the church. It’s a dilemma that is barely touched on even in the climax. More could have been done with this to better flesh out the drama and the conflict of the spiritual and the physical. The parishioners’ acceptance of Carmody seems to come to easily, too, which hurts the final moments of the film.

There are some strong performances in this film, most notably by E.G. Marshall and Agnes Moorehead. The put upon doctor often clashes with Carmody but is won over in the end. Less easily swayed is Beryl who suspects something isn’t quite right with “Father O’Shea,” only to also suddenly by in his corner in the end. Gene Tierney doesn’t fare as well. Some of this may be from personal issues she was going through at the time. Bogart, having seen similar issues in his own family life, helped her with her performance and pushed her to seek emotional help. She is fine here but underdeveloped.

The concept of God’s help through unlikely hands was not a new one in 1955. It wasn’t even the first time Bogart tackled this concept. His previous picture, We’re No Angels, saw him portraying an escaped convict who helps a struggling family against the tyranny of rich relatives. Here, he saves the faith of a whole village, all while lying about being a man of the cloth. The biggest difference between the two films is that while We’re No Angels was handled tongue-in-cheek, The Left Hand of God plays everything seriously and forgets to have a little fun with the formula. It doesn’t overstay it’s welcome but it’s not much fun to watch either.