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The Monkey's Paw

  • 19331933
  • PassedPassed
  • 58m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
101
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
87,797
6,744
The Monkey's Paw (1933)
Horror
A mother wishes for the return of her dead son--a wish that is granted by the severed paw of a dead monkey.A mother wishes for the return of her dead son--a wish that is granted by the severed paw of a dead monkey.A mother wishes for the return of her dead son--a wish that is granted by the severed paw of a dead monkey.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
101
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
87,797
6,744
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Directors
      • Wesley Ruggles
      • Ernest B. Schoedsack(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • W.W. Jacobs(story)
      • Graham John
      • Louis N. Parker(play)
    • Stars
      • Ivan F. Simpson
      • Louise Carter
      • C. Aubrey Smith
    Top credits
    • Directors
      • Wesley Ruggles
      • Ernest B. Schoedsack(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • W.W. Jacobs(story)
      • Graham John
      • Louis N. Parker(play)
    • Stars
      • Ivan F. Simpson
      • Louise Carter
      • C. Aubrey Smith
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 3User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos

    Nina Quartero and Nick Shaid in The Monkey's Paw (1933)
    Nina Quartero in The Monkey's Paw (1933)
    The Monkey's Paw (1933)
    The Monkey's Paw (1933)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ivan F. Simpson
    Ivan F. Simpson
    • Mr. White
    Louise Carter
    Louise Carter
    • Mrs. White
    C. Aubrey Smith
    C. Aubrey Smith
    • Sgt. Maj. Morris
    Bramwell Fletcher
    Bramwell Fletcher
    • Herbert White
    Betty Lawford
    Betty Lawford
    • Rose
    Winter Hall
    Winter Hall
    • Mr. Hartigan
    Herbert Bunston
    Herbert Bunston
    • Sampson
    Nina Quartero
    Nina Quartero
    • Nura
    Harry Allen
    • Commissioner
    • (uncredited)
    James Bell
    James Bell
    • Flute Player
    • (uncredited)
    Sidney Bracey
    Sidney Bracey
    • Pensioner
    • (uncredited)
    Leo Britt
    • Lance Corporal
    • (uncredited)
    Louise Carver
    Louise Carver
    • Bit Role
    • (uncredited)
    Angus Darrock
    • Sergeant
    • (uncredited)
    Nigel De Brulier
    Nigel De Brulier
    • Hindu Fakir in Prologue
    • (uncredited)
    George Edwards
    • Juggler
    • (uncredited)
    Harry Forsman
    Harry Forsman
    • Undetermined Secondary Role
    • (uncredited)
    John George
    John George
    • Hindu
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Wesley Ruggles
      • Ernest B. Schoedsack(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • W.W. Jacobs(story)
      • Graham John
      • Louis N. Parker(play)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Often considered a lost (and much sought-after) film, a French copy is known to survive and screenshots from it have been posted on the internet.
    • Connections
      Version of The Monkey's Paw (1915)

    User reviews3

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    A very scary movie, and not just because I was only 9 when I saw it!
    I remember this movie from seeing it on a kids' matinée at Peoples, a neighborhood theater in Dayton, Ohio, in 1933 or '34, when I was 9 years old. It was so scary that the memory has stuck with me for some 71 years.

    I could not summarize the plot in any great detail; nor would I want to, since it would be a forbidden spoiler in case the film should ever turn up on the cable or elsewhere.

    The story is set in a small European village -- in Transylvania, or some such place. It seems that it was always raining, with lightning and thunder, and people coming in wet and cold, and that most of the action took place at night -- a real film noir!

    Mr. and Mrs. White somehow acquired a mummified hand or paw of a small monkey, perhaps from a stranger who came in from the cold. The paw was said to have magical or supernatural powers, endowing the owners with the privilege of making THREE wishes. (It's always three, isn't it?)

    After a little discussion, Mrs. White convinced her husband to wish for a great deal of money, since the Whites were of modest means. White nervously held the paw in his hand and spoke the wish for money. At that instant, naturally, there was a blinding flash of lightning close by with an immediate crash of thunder! The dead hand of the monkey contracted into a fist momentarily, then returned to its curved-fingers relaxed position. I saw this clearly on the screen, but I'm not sure the characters in the movie saw it. In any case, nothing happened, and the Whites, and the others who were in the house laughed it off.

    In a day or so, however, the Whites received word that they were to receive a large sum of money from an insurance settlement. That was the good news. The trouble was the event that caused the big payoff ... . You didn't think they'd get money for free, did you?

    Well, as it turned out -- and as you'd no doubt guess -- the other two wishes were used up in a desperate attempt to recover from the disaster produced by the first. It was all tied up with ghostly illusions and thunder and lightning and rain and floods, and all kinds of troubles that scared the socks off the kids in the movie house. At least it did me.

    After all these years, I have a very warm feeling about this movie. I believe it was a first rate horror film, though definitely a low budget, "B-movie" filler to kill time before they showed the cowboy movie that we had really paid our dime to see. I feel that my recollections of it are vivid enough and accurate enough to justify my entering a favorable vote for it in the Data Base. I wish a print of it were available somewhere so the cable people could show it to us.
    helpful•44
    1
    • Dick-42
    • Dec 30, 2000

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 13, 1933 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • La main de singe
    • Filming locations
      • RKO Studios - 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • RKO Radio Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      58 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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