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The Case of the Velvet Claws

  • 1936
  • Approved
  • 1h 3m
IMDb RATING
6.0/10
692
YOUR RATING
Claire Dodd, Wini Shaw, and Warren William in The Case of the Velvet Claws (1936)
Watch The Case of the Velvet Claws Official Trailer
Play trailer2:26
1 Video
11 Photos
Cozy MysteryMystery

Perry marries Della but a beautiful woman interrupts their honeymoon night and demands Perry take her case at gunpoint.Perry marries Della but a beautiful woman interrupts their honeymoon night and demands Perry take her case at gunpoint.Perry marries Della but a beautiful woman interrupts their honeymoon night and demands Perry take her case at gunpoint.

  • Director
    • William Clemens
  • Writers
    • Tom Reed
    • Erle Stanley Gardner
  • Stars
    • Warren William
    • Claire Dodd
    • Wini Shaw
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.0/10
    692
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • William Clemens
    • Writers
      • Tom Reed
      • Erle Stanley Gardner
    • Stars
      • Warren William
      • Claire Dodd
      • Wini Shaw
    • 23User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    The Case of the Velvet Claws Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:26
    The Case of the Velvet Claws Official Trailer

    Photos10

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    Top cast31

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    Warren William
    Warren William
    • Perry Mason
    Claire Dodd
    Claire Dodd
    • Della Street
    Wini Shaw
    Wini Shaw
    • Eva Belter
    • (as Winifred Shaw)
    Bill Elliott
    Bill Elliott
    • Carl Griffin
    • (as Gordon Elliott)
    Joe King
    Joe King
    • George C. Belter
    • (as Joseph King)
    Addison Richards
    Addison Richards
    • Frank Locke
    Eddie Acuff
    Eddie Acuff
    • Spudsy Drake
    Olin Howland
    Olin Howland
    • Wilbur Strong
    Dick Purcell
    Dick Purcell
    • Crandal
    Kenneth Harlan
    Kenneth Harlan
    • Peter Milnor
    Clara Blandick
    Clara Blandick
    • Judge Mary F. O'Daugherty
    Ruth Robinson
    • Mrs. Veite
    Paula Stone
    Paula Stone
    • Norma Veite
    Robert Middlemass
    Robert Middlemass
    • Police Sgt. Wilbur Hoffman
    Stuart Holmes
    Stuart Holmes
    • Digley
    Carol Hughes
    Carol Hughes
    • Esther Linton
    Eddie Shubert
    Eddie Shubert
    • Detective Jones
    Harry Semels
    Harry Semels
    • A.G. 'Kicky' Kickopopolos
    • Director
      • William Clemens
    • Writers
      • Tom Reed
      • Erle Stanley Gardner
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews23

    6.0692
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    10

    Featured reviews

    7Handlinghandel

    Stylish Perry Mason Entry Walked Off With By Wini Shaw

    Perry Mason and Della Street marry at the beginning. I don't think that ever happened in the TV series.

    This is a sleek, stylish movie, with good acting and chic sets.

    I had forgotten that Wini Shaw was in the opening credits and was wondering who that fabulous fatale femme could be. In a dark wig she is very persuasive as the precursor to the betraying woman of film noirs, which would follow a few years later.

    What a talent she was!
    7csteidler

    Clever mystery has plenty of laughs but does not skimp on plot

    Perry Mason and Della Street burst into the courtroom, a noisy crowd at their heels. Boldly interrupting proceedings, Mason announces that he wants the judge to marry him and Della immediately. They're going on a honeymoon then he's giving up his criminal law career: "I have promised Della to become a sober filer of briefs." –Alas, when they get back to his apartment, there's a woman hiding in the bedroom with a gun, and the honeymoon is off.

    A good balance between humor and suspense keeps this picture zipping along. Warren William dominates proceedings from start to finish in a flamboyant performance that is alternately silly and clever.

    Of course there's a murder, and the strong plot has the murder victim's wife—who may be guilty herself—accusing Mason of the crime, forcing him to hide out in a hotel and rely on assistant Spudsy Drake to do research and legwork. Eddie Acuff is more comical than serious as Spudsy; he and Claire Dodd (as Della) are both very good.

    A rather wild climactic gathering-of-the-suspects has Mason passing around kleenexes—over the course of the picture, just about everybody has caught his cold!

    Great fun.
    6bkoganbing

    Perry and Della tie the knot

    As it turned out I happened to see the TV version that Raymond Burr did on his hour long Perry Mason show. Spoiled it a bit because I knew who did the deed. Still seeing the same story done by another actor as Mason was interesting. And was it ever different.

    This one started with Warren William as Mason and Claire Dodd as Della Street invading Judge Clara Blandick's chambers and demanding to be married. The barest hint of a romance was present on the Mason television shows. But off Della and Perry go to the apartment and then the plan is for a honeymoon lodge in the country.

    All that gets interrupted by Wini Shaw toting a gun and demanding to retain Warren William in a blackmail scheme against the publisher of a Confidential type magazine called Spicy Bits. What she doesn't tell him is that her husband is the secret owner of the rag and she's been stepping out on him with a candidate for office.

    In a confrontation Shaw actually believes she shot her husband, but as in television Perry Mason defends no guilty clients. That's a parameter not broken. And if you watched the series you know who did the crime.

    What was fascinating to me in The Case Of The Velvet Claws was how Paul Drake's character was changed from a professional well dressed William Hopper who owned his own agency to Eddie Acuff, a rather seedy looking retainer who even got into a drag to tail someone.

    The Case Of The Red Velvet Claws has some nice sparkling urban Warner Brothers type dialog handled with aplomb by William. That was a guy who did all kinds of series, Perry Mason, Philo Vance, and Michael Lanyard The Lone Wolf. And all sounded as urbane and sophisticated as Warren William was in real life.

    Definitely for fans of Warren William if not Erle Stanley Gardner's sleuth with a law degree.
    6BaronBl00d

    Last of the Warren Mason Films - Oh! Woe Is Me !

    Unfortunately this was Warren Willism's fourth and last foray in film as the omnipotent/ever-confident San Franciso(in film) lawyer Perry Mason. Warren William again gives a nice turn as the lawyer adding humorous touches with his witty deliver and his obvious talent for verbal repartee. The story; however, is not nearly as good as the previous three films as Perry marries Della Street(played again by Claire Dodd from the second Mason film The Case of the Curious Bride)and is held up when getting home from his wedding to enjoy his wedding night by a woman needing Mason's help in keeping someone's name out of a cheap gossip rag called The Tattler. The story then gets somewhat convoluted from there and William and Dodd do their best to throw one-liners everywhere they can hoping they stick. Some indeed do - but many just don't land, and that makes The case of the Velvet Claws the least of the William Mason films. The direction is not bad nor is the character acting though the guy taking over the Spudsy Drake role(Eddie Acuff) is nowhere as good as the previous actor Allen Jenkins. The fine comedic acting of Warren William - an actor who is definitely overlooked and forgotten by many - keeps this one relatively entertaining.
    Michael_Elliott

    Good Film

    Case of the Velvet Claws, The (1936)

    ** 1/2 (out of 4)

    Fourth film in Warner's Perry Mason series once again features Warren William as the lawyer. This time out Perry is about to go on his honeymoon when a woman kidnaps him at gunpoint and asks for him to blackmail a newspaper so that her name won't be brought up in a love affair which will ruin a big politician. The bribe doesn't work but soon the woman's husband ends up dead and Mason is the suspect. This is a pretty good film that's nothing special but it makes for a quick 63-minutes worth of entertainment. The best thing the film has going for it is the performance of William who also picks up after the previous film. He's full of charm and anger this time out and those are two things William can do with ease. Sadly Allen Jenkins isn't in this one. He's replaced with a new assistant played by Eddie Acuff and he's comedy just doesn't work. The case itself is pretty good as is the ending.

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    Related interests

    Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic in Castle (2009)
    Cozy Mystery
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Warner Bros. created the advertising marketing ploy "Clue Club" to increase audiences attending its crime mystery/drama movies. Twelve titles showing the Warner Bros. "Clue Club" promo footage were released from 1935 to 1938.

      Clue Club #1: The White Cockatoo (1935)

      Clue Club #2: While the Patient Slept (1935)

      Clue Club #3: The Florentine Dagger (1935)

      Clue Club #4: The Case of the Curious Bride (1935)

      Clue Club #5: The Case of the Lucky Legs (1935)

      Clue Club #6: The Murder of Dr. Harrigan (1936)

      Clue Club #7: Murder by an Aristocrat (1936)

      Clue Club #8: The Case of the Velvet Claws (1936)

      Clue Club #9: The Case of the Black Cat (1936)

      Clue Club #10: The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937)

      Clue Club #11: The Patient in Room 18 (1938)

      Clue Club #12: Mystery House (1938)
    • Goofs
      At the Belter crime scene, it is mentioned that the ballistics expert had determined the gun had been fired twice. At that point it would have been impossible for him to determine that at the crime scene alone. The gun in question was referred to by Spudsy, Mason, and on the pawn sale as a .32 Colt automatic.
    • Quotes

      Perry Mason: Tell me who's the real owner of this blackmail rag and maybe we can make a trade.

      Frank Locke, an alias of Cecil Dawson: Do you smoke it or take it in the arm? I'm the owner!

    • Connections
      Followed by The Case of the Black Cat (1936)
    • Soundtracks
      You Left Me Everything But You
      (uncredited)

      Written by Benee Russell

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 15, 1936 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Clue Club #8: The Case of the Velvet Claws
    • Filming locations
      • Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA(Studio)
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 3m(63 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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