Shake Hands With The Devil [1959] [DVD]

A distinguished cast of British and Irish actors, plus American Don Murray, bolster James Cagney in this somewhat grim and melodramatic but well-made mix of politics, romance, and violence. Cagney is a professor of medicine in 1921 Dublin, whose respectability is a cover for his IRA activities.

When his student Murray, an Irish-American, is beaten up by British officers, a vengeful Cagney abducts the daughter (Dana Wynter) of a British functionary, paving the way for romance between her and his protégé. Meanwhile the political bloodshed continues to rage. Good locations and a provocative, if undeveloped proposition.