Don Barton asked [070126 MMDigest]:

> For some reason I remember a movie I saw many years ago as a teenager
> (long time ago) which featured someone's severed hand that was kept
> in a box.  The hand would periodically venture out of the box and
> play the piano; must have been some variety of reproducing piano.
> Can anyone help me out on this one or other movie ideas?

That was "The Beast with Five Fingers" (1949).  There is no player
piano, but we _do_ see a disembodied hand playing the piano.  (There's
also a brief view of an Edison Standard phonograph playing.)

The piano music (a one-handed transcription of the Bach "Chaccone for
Violin") was performed by a very interesting pianist, Ervin Nyiregyhazi,
pronounced something like "Neer A Chasy".  He'd been a pianist in the
1920s and made some Ampico rolls, but dropped completely off the map
working mostly as a utility pianist in Hollywood.  In the 1970's he
suddenly was rediscovered and several recordings were issued.  He had
incredible technique and power, but could be eccentric to the point of
being bizarre.  At http://www.michaelsayers.com/ervinnyiregyhazi.html
is a good page about him which even has a picture of one of his Ampico
rolls.

Eric Stott
Albany, New York