The Case of the Velvet Claws (1936)

Perry and Della are finally married by his old friend, Judge Mary. They plan to go on a honeymoon, but before it can start, Perry is retained by a woman with a gun and $5000. She wants him ... See full summary »

Director:

William Clemens

Writers:

Tom Reed (screenplay), Erle Stanley Gardner (story),

Stars:

Warren William, Claire Dodd, Wini Shaw

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Warren William	...	Perry Mason
Claire Dodd	...	Della Street
Wini Shaw	...	Eva Belter (as Winifred Shaw)
Bill Elliott	...	Carl Griffin (as Gordon Elliott)
Joe King	...	George C. Belter (as Joseph King)
Addison Richards	...	Frank Locke
Eddie Acuff	...	Spudsy Drake
Olin Howland	...	Wilbur Strong
Dick Purcell	...	Crandal
Kenneth Harlan	...	Peter Milnor
Clara Blandick	...	Judge Mary F. O'Daugherty
Ruth Robinson	...	Mrs. Veite
Paula Stone	...	Norma Veite
Robert Middlemass	...	Police Sgt. Wilbur Hoffman
Stuart Holmes	...	Digley

Storyline

Perry and Della are finally married by his old friend, Judge Mary. They plan to go on a honeymoon, but before it can start, Perry is retained by a woman with a gun and $5000. She wants him to stop a story that is coming out in 'Spicy Bits' about Peter Milner. When Perry cannot talk the editor out of publishing the story, he finds the owner and also finds that the woman who hired him was Mrs. Belter. Soon afterwards, George Belter is dead, Eva shot him and blames Perry Mason for the murder.

---

Plot Keywords:

murder | honeymoon | judge | perry mason | sleeping pill | 

---

Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Drama

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Garras de Veludo

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

First National Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alma Lloyd in the role of Helen Berkely and William B. Davidson are in studio records/casting call lists as cast members, but neither appears in the movie.

---

Goofs

Bill Elliott's character name is spelled "Carl Griffin" in the credits, but a newspaper report spells it "Carl Griffen".

---

Quotes

Perry Mason: Tell me who's the real owner of this blackmail rag and maybe we can make a trade.
Frank Locke, an alias of Cecil Dawson: Do you smoke it or take it in the arm? I'm the owner!

---

Connections

Followed by A Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Lethal Lifestyle (1994)

---

Soundtracks

"You Left Me Everything But You"
(uncredited)
Written by Benee Russell

User Reviews

Perry Mason 4: Married, Sober, Sick & Suspected

After the disgraceful silliness of THE CASE OF THE LUCKY LEGS, Warren William's Perry Mason seems back on firm ground in a film that takes itself much more serious without forgetting to include healthy doses of character humor. What sets this one apart from the others is Perry & Della getting MARRIED (a development completely forgotten in the follow-up that starred Ricardo Cortez) and Perry being the #1 murder suspect, having been to see the victim moments before he was bumped-- a situation he has all too often had to get his clients out of-- including the woman's husband in this case. She had threatened both Perry and her husband with a gun, and would only NOT be a suspect to anyone watching this because it would just be "too obvious"!!

Of WW's 3 Dellas, my favorite, Claire Dodd returns after having been absent from the previous installment. All 3 Dellas in the first 4 pictures have something to recommend them, I just happen to think Dodd is the most attractive (though Genevieve Tobin's was without a doubt the FUNNIEST). Sadly, Allan Jenkins, who played in cop in ...THE HOWLING DOG and "Spudsy" Drake in eps. 2 & 3, is replaced here by Eddie Acuff, who just doesn't seem to "work". Very oddly, Olin Howard returns as Coroner Wilber Strong from ...THE CURIOUS BRIDE, after having played a different doctor in the previous film! (Did anyone at Warner Brothers care about "continuity" in this series??)

The standard routine of set-up, murder, investigation and courtroom expose so far is limited to ...THE HOWLING DOG. In WW's other 3 films, he solves the murders at a dinner party, in his office during a medical check-up, and at the hang-out of the killer before moving on to the street in front of a hotel. The only time we see the inside of a courtroom in this film is when Perry & Della get hitched-- and when she tries to have it annulled. CRAZY!!

The other point of interest for me was actress Carol Hughes (my favorite "Dale Arden" from 1940's FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE) who is almost completely unrecognizable in here due to bright blonde hair and a southern accent.

I love Warren William's Perry Mason-- I DO! And I wish he'd done a lot more of these. But I also wish he'd done more like the 1st one, where at least, despite the huge differences, I could actually recognize the format and the character of the "real" Perry Mason, instead of this rambling comedic chaos WB kept foisting on audiences!