This film is part of Free

Hand in Glove

To carry on his important work the ego-maniacal scientist Dr Kelly must obtain another hand … a hand which begins to take on a life of its own.

Amateur film 1976 12 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for East Anglian Film Archive

Overview

Written and directed by, and starring the filmmaker himself, Jon Coley was just 17 years of age when he made this film, the first in a series of short fiction films taking inspiration from the classic Universal horror movies of the 1920s, and influenced by the work of fantasy animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen. These 'Other Realms' episodes are atmospheric stories of strange happenings - a self-financed project, created as a pilot series intended to be screened on TV.

Coley’s interest in monsters and the movies was nurtured by his Grandmother who was a keen cinema-goer and Boris Karloff fan. The first full-length feature film Coley ever watched was with ‘Nana’, it was the Lon Chaney version of ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ (from 1923). Coley also had an early introduction to the work of Ray Harryhausen, when aged 3, he saw a TV excerpt from ‘The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms’. In fact, Coley eventually got to meet his hero, and the two became great friends, showcasing work to each other.