The Panther's Claw (1942)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

William Beaudine

Writers:

Fulton Oursler (story), Martin Mooney (screenplay)

Stars:

Sidney Blackmer, Rick Vallin, Byron Foulger

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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
Gerta Rozan	...	Nina Politza
Thornton Edwards	...	Enrico Lombardi (as Joaquin Edwards)
John Ince	...	Capt. Mike Flynn
Martin Ashe	...	Officer Murphy
Walter James	...	Capt. 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)

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

coroner | disguise | opera troupe | secretary | usa | 

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Taglines:

A Shriek Of Death - As The Sleek Nocturnal Prowler STRIKES Again!

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 May 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shake Hands with Murder

Company Credits

Production Co:

Motion Picture Associates

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

That's "Entertainment"

The war years saw a lot of "pretty good" movies, relatively innocuous stories, usually good entertainment, the sort one would rat 4-7, with a few poorly directed slow moving ones a little less.

And it's unfortunate that movie makers post 1965 sought to emulate the slow pace dull ones. It would take 30 years for film makers to learn their mistakes. Such was their incompetence. A man on the street could have done better than 98% of producers, directors, and writers from 1965-1995; it was truly the error of "rich kids and children with the silver spoon" at the reins.

But these war years were full of fairly safe vehicles. Some were smartly done, like this murder mystery.

We have a mystery here that begins with the comedy and affable personalities first, then goes into the plot, and that's what makes the atmosphere style murder mystery work.

This is expertly done, and could be used for a film class to show how to make a film. It is "Entertainment".