The Panther's Claw
A Shriek Of Death - As The Sleek Nocturnal Prowler STRIKES Again!
1942 | 70m | English
Popularity: 1 (history)
| Director: | William Beaudine |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Martin Mooney, Fulton Oursler |
| Staring: |
| The police arrest a man climbing over the wall of a cemetery after midnight. He claims that he is being blackmailed and is following instructions he received by mail to leave $1000 on a certain grave. It turns out that he's not the only one who got a blackmail letter from the same person--calling himself "The Black Panther"--and it also turns out that all the recipients are connected to an opera company. | |
| Release Date: | Mar 03, 1942 |
|---|---|
| Director: | William Beaudine |
| Writer: | Martin Mooney, Fulton Oursler |
| Genres: | Crime, Mystery, Thriller |
| Keywords | cemetery, blackmail, murder |
| Production Companies | Motion Picture Associates, PRC |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 04, 2024 (Update) Entered: Apr 30, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Sidney Blackmer | Police Commissioner Thatcher Colt |
| Rick Vallin | Anthony 'Tony' Abbot (as Ricki Vallin) |
| Byron Foulger | Everett P. Digberry |
| Herbert Rawlinson | District Attorney Bill Dougherty |
| Lynn Starr | Miss Spencer |
| Barry Bernard | Capt. Edgar Walters / Frank Galloway |
| Trude Rosen | Nina Politza |
| Thornton Edwards | Enrico Lombardi |
| John Ince | Police Captain Mike Flynn |
| Martin Ashe | Officer Murphy |
| Walter James | Police Captain Tom Henry |
| Frank Darien | Samuel Wilkins |
| Joseph DeVillard | Antonio Spogucci (as Joseph M. De Villard) |
| Jacques Vanaire | Guiseppe Bartarelli (as Jack Vanaire) |
| Willy Castello | John Martin George (as William Castello) |
| Harry Clark | Officer Lou Levinsky (as Harry Clarke) |
| Lew Leroy | Apartment Manager (as Lou LeRoy) |
| Billy Mitchell | Nicodemus J. Brown |
| Florence O'Brien | Petunia |
| Harte Wayne | Coroner |
| Pat McKee | Joe Morgan |
| Casey MacGregor | Police Sergeant Flanagan (as Casey McGregor) |
| Billy Snyder | Hotel Manager Stevens |
| Sam Lufkin | Lombardi's Police Escort (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| William Beaudine | Director |
| Eugene Joseff | Costume Design |
| Lee Zahler | Music |
| Marcel Le Picard | Cinematography |
| Fred Bain | Editor |
| George R. Batcheller Jr. | Executive In Charge Of Production |
| Chris Beute | Production Manager |
| Ben Winkler | Sound Engineer |
| Edward Kaye | Dialogue |
| Martin Mooney | Screenplay |
| Fulton Oursler | Story |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Lester Cutler | Producer |
| T.R. Williams | Associate Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
| 2024 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| 2024 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| 2024 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 9 | 3 | 11 | 1 |
| 2024 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 1 |
| 2024 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Trending Position
As cheap and cheerful B-features go, this is actually quite quickly paced and entertaining. It all centres around wig-maker "Digberry" (Byron Foulger) who is apprehended up to no good in a cemetery after hours. His explanation makes little sense to the police officer - he is being blackmailed by the ... mysterious "Panther" into leaving $1000 on the graveyard of one of his aunts. Turns out that he is not the only recipient of such a letter - many of his friends have also, and this leaves Police Commissioner "Thatch" (Sidney Blackmer), and his sidekick "Abbott" (Rick Vallin) to try to get to the bottom of things. The story is a bit far-fetched, but Foulger is on quite good form as the plot offers intrigues from the operatic to a bit of skull-wiggery, and it passes 70 minutes effortlessly. The ending is a bit obvious, but still - it shows what can be done with a tiny budget if the story is decent and the performances are too.