I saw a movie in the 1950's which I want to identify and determine
whether it is available on VHS.  The story involves a man holding a
family hostage after a robbery, I believe.  The man of the house is a
psychiatrist.  The robber has a clawed hand and has a recurring dream
about rain or its raining blood or something like that.  The
psychiatrist interprets the dream for the robber; it has something to
do with the death of the robber's father.  The robber's hand returns
to normal and he surrenders.  That's all I remember.

Hi herberq,

I am confident the movie you remember is called "The Dark Past".


The Dark Past (1949)
Directed by Rudolph Mate 
Starring: William Holden, Lee J. Cobb, Nina Foch, Adele Jergens, Stephen Dunne  

SYNOPSIS: 
A psychopathic killer opens the wrong door when he takes a cool-headed
psychiatrist and his family hostage. They engage in a mental duel for
survival that becomes a compelling "battle of the psyches." An
overlooked thriller with an unforgettable climax.



"Collins was a psychology professor in a small-town university near
the Canadian border and he was entertaining guests in his isolated
lakeside cabin retreat with his wife Ruth (Maxwell), while their young
son Bobby (Hyatt) was asleep in his room. The guests are stockbroker
Frank Stevens (Graff) and his wife Laura (Jergens) and her male
companion, a writer named Owen (Dunne). They hear on the radio about
the jail escape of the dangerous hood Walker, who in his escape kills
two guards and the warden."
(...)
"Taking the Collins' and their friends and their two servants hostage,
Holden snarls and Cobb intently stares at him as they curiously
confront each other."
(...)
"Walker is impressed with the shrink's cool behavior and the two start
talking in earnest when Betty tells the shrink about the recurrent
dream that Walker is having, one that frightens him and causes him
trouble sleeping. The shrink says he might be able to help, if Walker
is honest with him about the dream. The shrink figures that the dream
holds the key to what motivates Walker's criminal behavior. It's all
pop psychology, but the actors are so serious about it that it's
amusing to hear them say their lines with a straight face. The symbols
of the dream are translated to mean that Walker had his abusive father
killed when he was a young boy by betraying him to the police and that
everyone he now kills, is his father again..."

Ozus' World: Movie reviews - The Dark Past
http://www.sover.net/~ozus/darkpast.htm


This movie is available on VHS and can be purchased at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/630282480X/


 Search criteria:
1940s OR 1950s movie robbery family hostage psychiatrist 
movie robber hostage clawed psychiatrist
movie "clawed hand" dream rain hostage
movie "clawed hand" rain hostage blood
movie rain "family hostage" blood 
"The Dark Past" 1949 VHS


I hope the information provided is helpful. If you have any questions
regarding my answer, or believe this is not the movie you are looking
for, please don?t hesitate to ask for further assistance before
rating.

Best regards,
Rainbow-ga