Carnival of Sinners 1943

One evening, a stranger appears among the guests at a mountain hotel located near the Italian border. He carries a mysterious little chest with him, which he never lets out of his sight. Anxious and irritable, he asks where the cemetery is. It turns out that the hotel was built on top of it. Two police officers arrive, searching for a small, dark-skinned man who seems to know and fear the new guest. During dinner, the lights go out. The stranger is called to the phone. When he returns to his table, he sees that the small chest has disappeared. He is terribly upset by this loss and tells his story to the other diners. His name is Roland Brisseau. He is a down-on-his-luck Parisian artist in love with a saleswoman named Irina. After one dinner, when Irina had left him practically penniless, an acquaintance who was a restorer suggested he buy a talisman—a severed hand kept in a small chest that brings its owner happiness, fame, and love. But every owner of the hand must resell it before their death for less than what they paid for it, or face being cursed forever...