The Clutching Hand
(1936)
Action / Crime / Drama / Mystery / Serial
Directed by Albert Herman
Cast:
Jack Mulhall as Craig Kennedy
Rex Lease as Walter Jameson
Mae Busch as Mrs. Paul Gironda
Ruth Mix as Shirley McMillan
William Farnum as Inspector Gordon Gaunt
Marion Shilling as Verna Gironda
Bryant Washburn as Dr. Denton
Robert Frazer as Dr. Paul Gironda
Gaston Glass as Dr. Louis Bouchard
Mahlon Hamilton as Montgomery
Robert Walker as Joe Mitchell
Yakima Canutt as Number Eight - Garage-Owner and Chauffeur Thug / Bar-Brawling Sailor
Joseph W. Girard as Cromwell
Frank Leigh as Wickham - Gironda's Butler aka Major Courtney
Jon Hall aka Charles Locher as Frank Hobart
The Clutching Hand (The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand) is a 15-episode serial based on the final Craig Kennedy novel of the same name by Arthur B. Reeve. 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. It 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, 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).
Chapter 1 - Who is the Clutching Hand?
Chapter 2 - Shadows
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 Peril
Chapter 12 - Hidden Danger
Chapter 13 - The Mystic Menace
Chapter 14 - The Silent Spectre
Chapter 15 - The Lone Hand
