Principal photography was initially slated to begin in Jan 1959 in Mexico City, Mexico, according to a 17 Dec 1958 Var item, which referred to the picture by its then title, Witchcraft. Edgar Ulmer was hired to direct, as announced in the 31 Dec 1958 DV, and plans for location filming were re-routed from Mexico City to New Orleans, LA. However, two weeks later, the 16 Jan 1959 DV reported that William J. Hole, Jr. would direct, and that shooting would begin the following Monday, 19 Jan 1959, at Carthay Studios in Los Angeles, CA.
       A real-life statue of lead actress Linda Christian was borrowed for filming. Referring to the sculpture as “Linda Christian’s famous nude statue,” the 21 Jan 1959 DV noted that filmmakers had taken it from the garden of actor Tyrone Power, Christian’s ex-husband. Soon after, a 3 Feb 1959 LAT brief announced a title change to The Naked Goddess.
       A day of shooting was added to the schedule for promotional trailers aimed at American and international audiences. The 22 Jan 1959 DV stated that Christian and her co-star, Robert Alda, would speak their dialogue “in French, German, Spanish, Italian and English” so that dubbing would be unnecessary.
       Producer Rex Carlton financed the film using “a new method,” as stated in a 21 Jan 1959 Var article. Carlton enticed private backers “on a loan basis,” offering to repay them an eight-percent annual interest on their contributions, in addition to a profit share of one-half percent for every $1,000 invested. On 24 Mar 1959, DV reported that a receiver had been assigned to take over the film in place of Rex Carlton Productions, after Carlton was accused of using “$20,000 from one backer to cover [a] withdrawal of a like sum from production funds contributed by another backer.” The aggrieved investor, associate producer Alvin K. Bubis, filed a lawsuit against Carlton, and also named as defendants actors Linda Christian and Robert Alda, associate producer Rickey Newberry (a.k.a. Rick Newberry), investor Leo Katz, Carthay Sound Stages, and Pathe Labs. Roy E. Allen was the receiver appointed in Carlton’s place. He eventually granted Bubis permission to change the film’s title to Devil’s Doll, according to the 27 Mar 1959 DV. Months later, Rex Carlton gave an interview in the 28 Oct 1959 Var, in which he claimed to have recently finished production on the film (referring to it as The Naked Goddess) and sold it for $350,000 to Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. He noted that the picture had had only two investors who had contributed a combined $55,000, for which they had since received a total return of $150,000. Neither Carlton nor Rex Carlton Productions received onscreen credit in the final film, while Bubis’s title was upgraded from associate producer to producer.
       The project languished for nearly two years after production ended. On 6 Apr 1961, DV announced that newly established independent distributor Crown International Pictures would release the film, now titled The Devil’s Hand. Months later, the 18 Oct 1961 Var noted a recent opening in Cincinnati, OH, where the picture played on a double bill with Crown International’s Bloodlust (1961, see entry). The 4 Jan 1962 DV later reported that The Devil’s Hand would be released by Favorite Films in Los Angeles, CA, on 10 Jan 1962. The 16 Jan 1962 DV cited a cumulative gross, to date, of $8,500 at Los Angeles’s State and Iris theaters.
       Mexican actress Ariadna Welter, the real-life sister of Linda Christian, was said to make her Hollywood feature film debut in The Devil’s Hand, according to the 19 Jan 1959 DV. A news brief in the 8 Jan 1959 DV noted that Rick Jason turned down a role, and the 21 Jan 1959 DV listed Ann Paige as a cast member. Carlton Johnson and Jeannie Thompson were named as choreographers in the 22 Jan 1959 Los Angeles Sentinel.
       Actress Jeanne Carmen’s name was misspelled in the credits as “Jeannie Carman,” and sound mixer Phillip Mitchell was incorrectly listed as “Phil Mitchel.”
       In addition to other working titles, the picture may have been briefly titled Live to Love.