The Monkey's Paw

The Monkey's Paw (1933)

A mother wishes for the return of her dead son, a wish that is granted by the severed paw of a dead monkey.

Date of release
1933-01-13
TMDB
6.5 / 10 (2)
Runtime
58m
Genres
Horror
Director
Wesley Ruggles

Casting

Interesting facts

The Monkey's Paw is a 1933 American pre-Code horror film co-directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack (prologue) and Wesley Ruggles, based on the short story "The Monkey's Paw" (1902) by W. W. Jacobs. It tells of a family who obtains a cursed monkey paw that grants three wishes. Because the film was shorter than anticipated after the initial shooting, the producers added a prologue. Though the film was not widely viewed upon its release in the United States, it was well-liked in England. Critical reviews were mixed, ranging from an appreciation of its suspense to a dislike of its plot, particularly its deus ex machina ending.

Production

Based on the short story of the same name by W. W. Jacobs and the 1922 play by Louis N. Parker, The Monkey's Paw was a film produced by RKO. The studio secured rights to the story on August 13, 1932, and shooting likely began in the late summer. Alan Mowbray was originally cast as Sgt. Maj. Tom Morris. His involvement was announced in August, but for unknown reasons other than the studio's statement that Mowbray was ill, he was replaced by C.

In September 1932 The Film Daily announced that British freelancer Graham John had completed the script, a month after he was contracted to write it. Originally, the script was written so that Morris would undergo a series of flashbacks as he told his story to the Whites. However, the film, which ran at thirty minutes, was shorter than the producers anticipated. To make it longer, they wrote a prologue set in India with additional characters.

The music, written by Max Steiner, includes an early version of Ann Darrow's theme in King Kong (1933).

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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