The Monkey's Paw | |
---|---|
Directed by | Norman Lee |
Screenplay by | Norman Lee |
Based on | The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs |
Produced by | Ernest G. Roy |
Starring | Milton Rosmer Michael Martin Harvey Joan Seton Megs Jenkins |
Cinematography | Bryan Langley |
Edited by | Inman Hunter |
Music by | Stanley Black |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Butcher's Film Service |
Release date |
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Running time | 64 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Monkey's Paw is a 1948 British second feature ('B') [1] horror film directed by Norman Lee and starring Milton Rosmer, Michael Martin Harvey, Joan Seton and Megs Jenkins. [2] [3] It is based on the 1902 story "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs. The screenplay was by Lee and Barbara Toy. [4] It was produced by Ernest G. Roy. [5]
A magic Monkey's Paw grants its owner three wishes before a disaster befalls them as punishment for tampering with fate.
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The "story within a story", which deals with the marital tragedy related by Kelly, is well done, but it seems to result in detracting somewhat from the climactic intensity of the later tragedy, that of the Trelawnes, which is painstakingly built up with every possible effect of horror and suspense as Mrs. Trelawne imagines the imminent entrance of her dead son. Milton Rosmer as Trelawne and Megs Jenkins as the bereaved mother are the mainstay of the film. The remainder of the cast, though adequate, fail to approach the same standard of excellence." [6]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Old chiller loses most of its sting in this version." [7]
The Spinning Image called it "a creaky diversion with stagey acting and an obvious lack of funds to open it out, yet the strength of Jacobs' yarn was such that it showed through even the most impoverished of tellings." [8]
On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar commended the film for its character development and climax which he called "suitably tense and eerie". [9]
"The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by English author W. W. Jacobs. It first appeared in Harper's Monthly in September, 1902, and was reprinted in his third collection of short stories, The Lady of the Barge, later that year. In the story, three wishes are granted to the owner of The Monkey's Paw, but the wishes come with an enormous price for interfering with fate.
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