Sadly, the 1915 version appears to be lost but the 1923 British version does exist, or at least part of it does. It was made at least twice during the silent era, first in 1915 and, again, in 1923. The 1933 film was not the first time Jacobs’ story had been brought to the big screen. This was truly horrifying material for the early 1900s. But her husband soon realizes that the thing at the door is no longer their son and uses the third wish to send him back to the grave. White doesn’t care and is eager to answer the knock on the door, knowing it’s her baby boy returned from the grave. Of course, they then wish for their son to return without thinking of what condition he’ll return in. However, the cost is their son’s life as the payment is a settlement for a work incident. The couple, dealing with financial issues and wishing for money, finds that they soon have their wish granted. In the tale, a couple find themselves the new owners of the paw after the previous owner attempts to burn it in a fireplace, realizing the horrors it can bring. However, the advice to be careful what you wish for has never been more accurate as there is always a price to pay for taking a shortcut to one’s happiness. Anyone who possesses the paw is granted three wishes. It’s a fairly simple supernatural tale involving a mysterious monkey’s paw. I recently had one of my own wishes granted as I had the opportunity to view the rare 1933 version.įirst, some of you may not be familiar with the story itself. However, adapting a short story into a full length film has some obvious drawbacks. Of course, the story has even been told in a long list of celluloid adaptations, ranging from short films and anthologies, such as Tales from the Crypt (1972), to several feature length films dating back to 1915 and as recent as 2013. Jacobs in 1902, has been heard on numerous radio adaptations, featured in comics and incorporated into a variety of television shows, such as The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror. If you want classic British period horror from the 1940s, you’re better off watching Dead of Night (1945).It’s likely that most of us have seen some version of the classic short story, The Monkey’s Paw. Pity that last bit doesn’t make up for the messy, uninteresting guff that came before it. It’s all very convoluted stuff, though the final scene is actually quite atmospheric and scary. So it’s all very much like the original, but with an additional flashback from ridiculous local Irishman Seamus Kelly (Michael Martin Harvey) who tells us how he saw the paw lead to the death of a society woman in Dublin. Ka-ching! (Interestingly, Alfie Bass (notable character actor, who appeared in The Fearless Vampire Killers 1967) plays the speedway manager.) Next thing we know his son, Tom (Eric Micklewood) dies during a motorcycle race, but posthumously wins the £200 prize. Mr Trelawne (Milton Rosmer) is in great debt to a local bookmaker and uses the paw to make wish for £200 – in line with the original story. Later on, the monkey paw comes into the possession of the Trelawne family of Cornwall, who run a local shop. The new owner is told it comes with three wishes but these wishes come with dreadful consequences. The film begins with an antiquities dealer (Hay Petrie) begrungingly selling a magic monkey’s paw to another dealer (Sydney Tefler). But The Monkey’s Paw (1948) takes too long to tell it and pads it out with additional nonsense. Shortly after, the dead son, in a mangled state turns up at the door, and in horror, the father uses his last wish to wish him dead again.) Mrs White, so distraught over her son’s death, wishes him alive again. Mr White flippantly wishes for £200 to pay off his mortgage, and receives it in compensation when his son is killed in a machine at a local factory. It grants the owner three wishes but with dreadful consequences. (FYI: The original short story in a nutshell sees an ex-British army officer, Mr White, from India who receives a mummified monkey’s paw that is cursed. Fortunately, this flick only goes 64 minutes but even then it’s stretched to the max. The short storyįirstly, The Monkey’s Paw is a short story, so to fill a feature length film is a hard ask. Unfortunately, that said can’t be said of the 1948 film version. The tale is about a monkey’s paw (or hand) which is cursed to give its owner three wishes but with dreadful consequences.Īs a short story, The Monkey’s Paw is eerie and shocking. There’s been many versions of it – including this one from Christopher Lee’s Fireside Tales.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |