The Monkey's Paw

Mike-764's summation is obviously that of an updated US presentation & not that of the original short story originally set in the '20s by one of Britain's most popular & prolific spinner of yarns with a twist,W W Jacobs.Through the 30s-50s it was a popular choice for Rep groups and BBC Radio and rates with the best - the famed "Sorry,Wrong No!" as a suspencer for the imagination. Small wonder it was a popular choice for the US "Suspense" series. Adaptations from the 50s for film & TV have altered the "McGuffin" but not always for the best. I probably saw this particular version but not recently, so I can't properly rate it. I have,however,read the play & it is that with which I am familiar. Listen to this in the dark in the original version with the original finish which is the real clincher. Who - or what was knocking at the door after that final wish? Would you have opened it?

Minor British chiller about a monkeys' paw talisman that can grant three wishes but comes with a heavy price. Just watched it on the channel Talking Pictures. It is very crackly and the print looks older than 1948 but that does add a certain element of charm. Despite it's short running time the first 30 minutes do drag somewhat, however it does build to a quite impressively eerie climax. I recognized Meg Jenkins, who starred in the fantastic Wurzel Gummidge kid's TV series some 30 or so years later. Also filmed in 2013, which wasn't a bad effort either.

Monkey's Paw, The (1948)

** (out of 4)

British version of the famous story has two elderly folks getting the monkey's paw, which will grant three wishes but usually follows those wishes with tragedy. The father wishes for riches and gets them but his son is killed at the same time. Then, the couple wish for their son to return to life. The horror elements of this thing are discussed and talked about for the first sixty minutes and then finally happen during the last three. I see there are many other versions of this out there and I'm sure one has to be better than this rather disappointing film.

Norman Lee takes W. W. Jacobs' classic short story and transforms it into a second feature.

One of the strengths of the short story is that it is a short story; there is no fat on it, leaving the reader to put the real horror into the story: the failure of the first wish; the hint at what it is knocking, unseen, at the door; the tragic necessity of the third wish. It all takes place in the reader's imagination, the elaborations of what the reader thinks is terrifying. Instead, in order to bring this to an hour's length, there is effectively, a forty-minute prologue; first we are introduced to a seller of curios. Then we see various wares; then the monkey's paw, and finally, the story. Lee paces it very well, and adds a platitudinous epilogue, but the story, although still interesting, is weakened. With Milton Rosmer, Megs Jenkins, and a lot of art direction by Victor Hembrow and George Ward.

Based on the famous story written by W.W. Jacobs, The Monkey's Paw is directed by Norman Lee who also co-adapts the screenplay with Barbara Toy. It stars Milton Rosmer, Megs Jenkins, Michael Martin Harvey, Eric Micklewood and Brenda Hogan. Filmed out of Kay Carlton Studio, music is by Stanley Black and cinematography by Bryan Langley.

Story finds the Trelawne family purchasing a fabled Monkey's Paw from a peddler, it is said to be an item that can grant three wishes, but many believe that those wishes come at a cost. The Trelawne family is about to find out if the tale of The Monkey's Paw is fact or fiction...

It's such a strong premise in story it has been mined many a time over the decades, in film, radio and television. Here we go back to a time of British cinema of minimal budgets, straight backed delivery of scripts and economical running times of just an hour. Norman Lee's film is a splendid piece of atmospheric unease that makes the most of some sparse but effective sets, however, that is on proviso you can allow for its obvious limitations. It's safe to say this will not terrify anybody, but it has the capacity to tingle the spine as the story builds to a finale played out in the flashes and bangs of a thunder storm. Right there, before a cheeky coda, suggestion is everything, proof once more that quite often what you don't see is more frightening...

It's no must see lost British Chiller Classic, and the best available print from Renown Pictures Ltd (paired with The House in Marsh Road) is still scratchy and has the odd reel jump and unintentional patches of blackness, but it's still a watchable print and of interest to those with a bent for really old British chillers. 6.5/10