The Clutching Hand (1936)

Kitsch Classic

It could just as easily have been 1 star. This is a kitsch classic. I saw it on a tiny tv when I was six or seven years old and found it riveting and scary as all get out. Now it's pure cheese and corn, with interminable phony fight scenes, unending car chases along the same roads and predictably-solved cliffhanger endings. And yet, it's so bad that it's good. It's campy, quaint fun, and for less than ten bucks a lot of entertainment (since it runs for over 5 hours). The renowned detective, Craig Kennedy, is, by turns, thick as a brick and smarter than Sherlock Holmes (particularly in his final explanation of the case). He is a specialist in disguises and, given his doofus antagonists, the same disguises continue to work, even after he's been exposed using them. The Clutching Hand himself (described as Craig Kennedy's arch-enemy) has the most fiendish of cackles, which he lets loose at inopportune moments. The serial has the kind of cast that Johnny Carson (as teatime movie host, Art Fern) used to describe and the clips that Johnny/Art showed could have come straight out of the fight scenes here. The plot is endless. I've seen reference to a 70 minute feature version. The editor would have had little trouble in reducing the 15 20-minute episodes down to a short feature. Having said all that, it's still great fun. I could imagine a well-oiled fraternity party in the wee hours, with the members stamping their feet and saying, "One more episode, one more episode . . . " The scenes of mid-30's L.A. are worth the price of admission, as is the use of television as the villain and crimestopper's cutting-edge technology. Many of the actors are from the silent screen days. As such, they specialize in long reaction shots and big-eyed leers. This one's delicious. July 20, 2008

Everything except the kitchen sink!

I have owned this serial for a couple of years now, and I have probably watched it no less than 30 times. Yes, I have a life, but for some reason, I can't get enough of this cliffhanger. The plot is rather complex, the subplots numerous, and the red herrings too many to count! Good direction. Jack Mulhall is well cast in the lead role. Handsome cowboy Rex Lease is excellent as a newspaper reporter who apparently never has to report to work, thereby allowing him to hang around as Jack's sidekick on an almost continual basis, and eventually decking nearly every cast member before this thing is over. Some of the acting is terrible, which goes to show that no matter how good the direction, some people simply weren't meant to act. The music score is unlike any I've ever heard before, but personally, I think it's a perfect fit. Sounds like The Salvation Army Band. The fight sequences are nearly non-stop, and most are phony as all get out since they hadn't yet learned the fine art of dubbing in the sounds of someone slapping and punching a hunk of raw meat in sync with thrown punches. The best fight scenes, needless to say, are those involving Yakima Canutt. He obviously staged his own fights and they are by far the most realistic. He has a reasonably good-sized role in this serial ("Number 8"), and he proves that he's not only one of the finest, if not the finest, stuntman of all time, but he can even act halfway decent. One of the cornier subplots has to do with something called "The Ceremony of the Jewels". It involves nothing more than repeated bowing from the waste with arms outstretched, and the inhaling (by the victim whose jewels the con men are after) of some very "special" incense placed two feet under her nose that gets her so quickly stoned that she wouldn't care if they were about to amputate her arms. For those who enjoy watching for continuity mess-ups, they'll have a field day with this serial. Seems the person in charge of continuity was out on sick leave a lot. During the last three or four episodes, a different director, or second unit director, takes over, and he has this very annoying and unprofessional habit of cueing his actors by loudly snapping his fingers. Must have driven the sound technician nuts. It's clearly audible to anyone who is paying attention. This serial is very low-budget, but considering what they had to work with, I think they did a wonderful job. Very clever use of gadgets, sets, and some of their ideas and use of electronics were years, if not decades, ahead of their time (i.e., tele-conferencing). Picture and sound quality are not too good at times due to degradation of the source material. I very much hope that The Clutching Hand will one day be treated to a total & highgrade digital remastering. Yes, this serial can be very corny at times, the acting sub-par and the low budget obvious, but frankly, I think these things add to its charm and appeal. I own and have watched many, many cliffhangers in recent years. This one ranks as my favorite. Many readers will probably think I'm nuts, and maybe I am, but there is something about this particular serial that draws me in, and I'm not even certain I know why. All I have to know is that I am entertained every time I watch it, and I usually see something new with each viewing. I firmly believe that this cliffhanger improves with each watching. I hope many others will feel compelled to write reviews of their own of The Amazing Exploits Of The Clutching Hand (its official title). March 30, 2008

Poor sound quality

I give this DVD 3 stars, because for $6.98 you can't expect too much.

The sound quality is very poor. A simple background noise filter would have made a huge difference, and it would have required so little effort!

The other thing that eventually gets on your nerves as you watch "The Clutching Hand" is that, apparently someone forgot to add sound effects to the fight scenes (and like most old serials, there are many of these). This really makes the scenes appear phoney, even by serial standards. March 11, 2006

"The King of Serials...VCI Entertaiment ~ The Clutching Hand (1936)"

VCI Entertainment and Stage and Screen Productions present..."The Clutching Hand" (1936) (Dolby digitally remastered), aka "The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand" featuring the15 Chapter cliffhanger from a suspenseful early sound serial era featuring an outstanding cast...the plot and story line stems from the International Research Foundation where a book and scientist Doctor Paul Gironda (Robert Frazer) of a rare formula for making synthetic gold have suddenly disappeared....will our hero the well known detective Craig Kennedy (Jack Mullhall) and his sidekick Walter Jameson (Rex Lease) discover the whereabouts of the scientists and his formula...is "The Clutching Hand", the notorious villian who had plagued the entire 15 chapters behind all of the scullduggery....don't leave the theater until the final chapter is over and done with "The Lone Hand"....just remember double thrills, chills, mystery and suspense...hitting the bull's eye with excitement...don't miss a single spine thrilling episode..return next week to this local theater for another episode of action and adventure that will keep you thrilled until the next chapter

Under director Albert Herman, producer George M. Merrick, supervised by Louis Weiss, adaptation by George M. Merrick and Eddy Granemann, original screenplay by Leon D'Usseau and Dallas Fitzgerald, musical score by Lee Zahler, stunts by Yakima Canutt, Carl Mathews and Eddie Parker...the cast includes Jack Mulhall (Craig Kennedy), Rex Lease (Walter Jameson), Mae Busch (Mrs. Paul Gironda), Ruth Mix (Shirley McMillan), William Farnum (Insp. Gordon Gaunt), Marion Shilling (Verna Gironda), Jon Hall (Frank Hobart), William Desmond (Bartender Steve), Reed Howes (Sullivan-private detective), Bob Kortman (Number Six, aka Spike Harvey, a thug), Robert Frazer (Dr. Paul Gironda), Bryant Washburn (Dr. Denton), Gaston Glass (Dr. Louis Bouchard), Robert Walker (Joe Mitchell), Yakima Canutt (Number Eight/garage-owner and chauffeur thug), Joseph W. Girard (Cromwell, the attorney), Frank Leigh (Wickham-Gironda's butler), Henry Hall (Warden), John Elliott (White), Knute Erickson (Captin Hanson), Franklin Farnum (Nicky), Gaston Glass (Louis Bouchard), Richard Alexander (Olaf), Milburn Morante (Marty), Harry 'Snub' Pollard (Snub).......special footnotes, a line up of former silent film stars grace this serial with Mae Busch, William Farnum, Franklyn Farnum, Reed Howes, Rex Lease, Jack Mulhall, Snub Pollard and Bryant Washburn...also well known character actors Yakima Canutt (King of the stuntmen), Robert Frazer, William Desmond, Jon Hall (aka Charles Locher-"Ramar of the Jungle"), Bob Kortman, Tom London, Ruth Mix (daughter of Tom Mix), Robert Walker and Slim Whitaker appeared in B-Westerns and Serials from '30s, '40s and '50s....meanwhile back to our Weiss Serial Production film which is always good till the last drop and this serial is no exception...there is a great deal of entertainment here for the cliffhanger fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features.

CHAPTER TITLES:
1. Who is the Clutching Hand?
2. Shadow
3. House of Mystery
4. The Phantom Car
5. The Double Trap
6. Steps of Doom
7. The Invisible Enemy
8. A Cry in the Night
9. Evil Eyes
10.A Desperate Chance
11.The Ship of Doom
12.Hidden Danger
13.The Mystic Menace
14.The Silent Spectre
15.The Lone Hand

If you're into vintage serials as I am, why not pick up a copy of the following titles from VCI Home Video:
VCI CLIFFHANGER TRAILERS:
1. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)
2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)
3. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)
4. Captain Midnight (Dave O'Brien)
5. Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (Judd Holdren & I. Stanford Jolley)
6. Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)
7. Don Winslow of the Navy (Don Terry)
8. Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (Don Terry)
9. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)
10.Fighting Kit Carson (Johnny Mack Brown)
11.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)
12.The Green Archer (Victory Jory)
13.Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)
14.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)
15.Lost City of the Jungle (Russell Hayden & Keye Luke)
16.Mandrake the Magician (Warren Hull & Dick Curtis)
17.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)
18.The Painted Stallion (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
19.The Phantom (Tom Tyler)
20.The Return of Chandu (Bela Lugosi)
21.Riders of Death Valley (Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo & Buck Jones)
22.Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)
23.Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)
24.Sky Raiders (Donald Woods & Billy Halop)
25.Undersea Kingdom (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)
26.Winners of the West (Dick Foran, Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft & Charles Stevens)
27.Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)
28.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)

Coming soon January 2006 from VCI Home Video on DVD..."FLAMING FRONTIERS" (1938), Universal Serial with 15 chapters, featuring Johnny Mack Brown, Eleanor Hansen, John Archer, James Blaine and Ralph Bowman..."OREGON TRAIL" (1939), another Universal Serial with 15 exciting chapters featuring Johnny Mack Brown, Fuzzy Knight, Roy Barcoft and Charles King..."THE TALL TEXAN" (1953), full length feature starring Lloyd Bridges, Lee J Cobb, Luther Adler and Marie Windsor...watch for more details on VCI Entertainment and Amazon your two favorite sites for serials and B-Westerns.

Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "The Clutching Hand" (1936), the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '30s, '40s & '50s...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure from the "King of Serials" VCI...just the way we like 'em

Total Time: 308 mins on 2 VHS ~ VCI Entertainment 1729 ~ (11/01/2000) December 6, 2005

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