The Avenging Hand: A Chicago Gangster Takes a London Vacation

Is it worth your time?

If you like old, dusty crime movies where the accents are thicker than the plot and the gangster is basically a caricature of every tough guy you've ever seen, then sure, go for it. People who need tight pacing or modern polish will probably turn this off after the first ten minutes. It is a bit of a mess, honestly, but it’s a charming one.

Sydney Benson plays this Chicago heavy who somehow ends up in London. Watching him interact with the local thugs is like watching a shark try to swim in a bathtub. It’s inherently funny without the movie actually trying to be a comedy.

The Match-Seller Moment

There is this one scene—the one with the match-seller—that really sets the tone. It’s brutal, quick, and almost feels out of place with how goofy the rest of the movie plays. One minute you’re watching a guy trying to act like a tough London street hood, and the next, something genuinely cold happens.

It’s the pivot point. The moment the movie stops being a weird fish-out-of-water story and tries to be a detective flick. The transition is about as smooth as a gravel road, but I didn't hate it.

Oddities and Observations

• The London fog looks like it was made of actual cotton candy in some shots.
• The dialogue sounds like it was written by someone who had only ever heard of Chicago gangsters through old radio plays.
• I’m still not sure what was in the package. Maybe it doesn't matter?
• There’s a background actor in the cafe scene who keeps looking directly into the lens. Every. Single. Time.

If you enjoy this kind of vintage low-stakes mystery, you might find some common ground with stuff like The Last Parade or even the moodier, more deliberate pacing you find in The Cheat. It’s not quite on that level, but it scratches that same itch for old-school, black-and-white grit.

The movie doesn't really try to be profound. It just wants to move the pieces around until the bad guys get caught. Sometimes it forgets to explain why things are happening, but you just sort of roll with it. 🕵️‍♂️

It’s not a masterpiece. It’s a rainy Tuesday night sort of movie. You know the kind.