{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox film | name = The Clutching Hand | image = | alt = | caption = | native_name = <!--(for non-English films: film's name in its native language)--> | director = [[Albert Herman]] | producer = [[Louis Weiss (producer)|Louis Weiss]] | writer = [[Arthur B. Reeve]] (novel)<br>[[George M. Merrick]] (adaptation)<br>[[Eddie Granemann]] (adaptation) | screenplay = [[Leon D'Usseau]]<br>[[Dallas M. Fitzgerald]] | story = | based_on = <!-- {{based on|title of the original work|writer of the original work}} --> | starring = | narrator = | music = [[Bernard B. Brown]]<br>[[Lee Zahler]] | cinematography = [[James Diamond (cinematographer)|James Diamond]] | editing = [[Earl Turner (film editor)|Earl Turner]] | studio = Weiss Productions | distributor = | released = {{Film date|1936}} | runtime = 305 minutes (15 episodes) | country = United States | language = English | budget = | gross = <!--(please use condensed and rounded values, e.g. "£11.6 million" not "£11,586,221")--> }} [[File:The Clutching Hand, Chapter 1.ogv|thumb|''The Clutching Hand'', Chapter 1: ''Who Is the Clutching Hand?'']] '''''The Clutching Hand''''' (in full, '''''The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand''''') is a 15-episode serial produced by the [[Weiss Brothers]] in 1936, based on the final 1934 [[Craig Kennedy]] novel of the same name by [[Arthur B. Reeve]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A1023148|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415210908/http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A1023148|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 15, 2014|title=BBC - Home}}</ref> A 70-minute [[feature film]] using a condensed version of the serial was also released in the same year.<ref>Pitts, Michael R. ''Poverty Row Studios, 1929-1940: An Illustrated History of 55 Independent Film Companies'' McFarland & Co., 2005</ref>
In it, the famous detective (portrayed by [[Jack Mulhall]], who had portrayed the Black Ace in the serial ''The Mystery Squadron'' three years before) is assigned to solve the disappearance of Dr. Paul Gironda ([[Robert Frazer]]), a scientist who has developed a formula for synthesizing gold but vanishes before he has a chance to reveal it to his board of directors.<ref>{{cite book |last =Rovin |first =Jeff |title =The Encyclopedia of Supervillains |publisher =Facts on File |date =1987 |location =New York |isbn = 0-8160-1356-X |page=62}}</ref>
''The Clutching Hand'' was the last Craig Kennedy serial and the only one to be filmed as a talkie. One of the criminals, Hobart, is played by Charles Locher, who is better known nowadays as Jon Hall,<ref name="hall">{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmiink|title=The Campy, Yet Surprisingly Interesting Cinema of Jon Hall|first=Stephen|last= Vagg|date=April 9, 2022|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/the-campy-yet-surprisingly-interesting-cinema-of-jon-hall/}}</ref> and it appears that Gironda is being held prisoner by Craig Kennedy's old foe, the Clutching Hand (a faceless presence apparently played by [[Bud Geary]], an actor who was frequently cast in such roles, and voiced by Robert Frazer).
==Plot==
The serial was based very loosely on Arthur Reeve's final novel and in it, the Clutching Hand has a new secret identity: Dr. Paul Gironda, the very man whom Kennedy is looking for. Having almost exhausted the estate of his young ward Vera, he has come up with the idea of using a fake synthetic gold formula to recoup his losses on the stock market, but just before he disappears, one of his assistants steals the notebook containing the formula. Unable to find it, he fakes his disappearance and goes into hiding, assuming the identity of Craig Kennedy's foe, the Clutching Hand, who was seemingly disposed of in ''The Exploits of Elaine'' years before. (The Clutching Hand had a totally different identity in that serial.) Supposedly holding Gironda captive in an induced coma, the Hand demands the missing pages of the gold formula from his wife and "daughter." At the same time as Gironda vanishes, Mitchell -–Vera's real father and Mrs. Gironda's first husband – is released from prison after serving a full sentence on a blackmail charge, forcing the Hand to try to dispose of Mitchell before Vera can learn of her true identity.
==Cast== *[[Jack Mulhall]] as [[Craig Kennedy]] *[[Ruth Mix]] as Shirley McMillan *[[Rex Lease]] as Walter Jameson *[[Marion Shilling]] as Verna Gironda *[[Mae Busch]] as Mrs. Gironda *[[Gaston Glass]] as Dr. Louis Bouchard *[[Bryant Washburn]] as Dr. Denton *[[Franklyn Farnum]] as Lab Tech Nicky *[[William Farnum]] as Insp. Gordon Gaunt *[[Robert D. Walker|Robert Walker]] as Joe Mitchell *[[Jon Hall (actor)|Charles Locher]] as Frank Hobart *[[Reed Howes]] as Sullivan, private eye *[[Frank Leigh]] as Wickham the butler *[[George Morrell (actor)|George Morrell]] as Jenkins the butler *[[Yakima Canutt]] as "Number 8" *[[Bob Kortman]] as "Number 6" *Ray Cardona as "Number 2" *[[Joseph W. Girard]] as Attorney Cromwell *Knute Erikson as Capt. Hansen *[[Richard Alexander (actor)|Richard Alexander]] as Mate Olaf *[[Robert Frazer]] as Dr. Paul Gironda
==Chapter listing== This is a partial list of chapters:
*Chapter 1 - Who Is The Clutching Hand? *Chapter 2 - Shadow *Chapter 3 - House of Mystery *Chapter 4 - The Phantom Car *Chapter 5 - The Double Trap *Chapter 6 - Steps of Doom *Chapter 7 - The Invisible Enemy *Chapter 8 - A Cry in the Night *Chapter 9 - Evil Eyes *Chapter 10 - A Desperate Chance *Chapter 11 - The Ship of Doom *Chapter 12 - Hidden Danger *Chapter 13 - The Mystic Menace *Chapter 14 - The Silent Spectre *Chapter 15 - The Lone Hand
Chapter Thirteen is titled "The Mystic Menace," and yet nothing mystical happens – it is a pretty standard serial chapter. However, the serial makers – the Weiss Brothers, in this case – could not alter the chapter titles for some reason.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019}} This was apparently the brothers' final serial and their last Craig Kennedy adaptation, although in 1952 the Weiss Brothers produced a television show called ''Craig Kennedy, Criminologist''.
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|The Clutching Hand}} * {{IMDb title|id=0027452|title=The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand}} * [https://archive.org/details/clutching_hand_ep1 ''The Clutching Hand''] at Internet Archive * The serial itself can be found at CamelotBroadcasting.com * [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE5t9PFMBEe71DAeGWEqANBM71OJVdJmL The Clutching Hand] complete Series on [[YouTube]] (public domain)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clutching Hand}} [[Category:1936 films]] [[Category:1936 mystery films]] [[Category:American black-and-white films]] [[Category:American mystery films]] [[Category:Films scored by Bernard B. Brown]] [[Category:Film serials]] [[Category:Films based on American novels]] [[Category:Films based on mystery novels]] [[Category:Articles containing video clips]] [[Category:1936 American films]]