The Panther's Claw

This is a cute blend of comedy and mystery as others have said. It is at least as good as a modern TV sitcom. I thought Byron Foulger did a great job as the suspicious character who just might be a bad guy. He is so addled being questioned by the police and so scared of his wife and 5 daughters it makes for a sympathetic and charming hero. The plot slowly bumps along with plenty of red herrings thrown around and more humour stirred in with the stereotyped black elevator operator doing the step and fetch it style humour good for a little chuckle. If hubby who really does not like B and W movies stayed interested, then that is enough to recommend it.

Byron Foulger stars as Everett Digberry, a mild-mannered wigmaker for theatrical folks who, in the film's opening scene, is picked up by the cops climbing out of a cemetery late at night. Taken downtown, he finds a number of acquaintances in the commissioner's office; all of them, like him, have received mysterious letters demanding money and signed only with a panther's paw print.

Sidney Blackmer investigates as police commissioner Thatcher Colt with suavity and humor. He is ably assisted by Ricki Vallin as Anthony Abbot. (Somewhat bizarrely, the original story is also credited to "Anthony Abbot," the pen name of a mystery writer who was not the first to insert "himself" into a story.)

The mystery plot holds interest but doesn't create a huge amount of suspense, although it does take a few interesting turns, including one major shift that arguably renders the film's title misleading (but catchy!).

I would like to know, having watched these characters spend no little time looking over wigs, if Mr. Digberry is correct when he tells the commissioner, "One wigmaker can usually tell another's knot."

I was very happy to be able to buy this movie and watch it last weekend. I last saw this movie over 30 years ago. I remember it being good, and I was not disapponted. It has a fairly good mystery, but what makes this movie special is that it's very funny. It has several scenes which I think are classic. The line up scene is hilarious. Byron Foulger gives a great comedic performance.

Anthony Abbot's fictional detective, Police Commissioner Thatcher Colt, inspired only two little known Columbia features, 1932's "The Night Club Lady" and 1933's "The Circus Queen Murder," so after a decade's passing, Poverty Row's PRC took a crack at the character with "The Panther's Claw," intended to be only the first in a new series that came to naught. Replacing two-time Colt Adolphe Menjou with dependable Sidney Blackmer (an excellent choice), the often comic story is derived from Abbot's 1940 short story, "About the Perfect Crime of Mr. Digberry." In keeping Digberry (Byron Foulger) at the forefront, Blackmer's Colt is reduced in stature, conducting a too leisurely investigation as other annoying suspects get an abundance of screen time until he comes on strong at the end. Sadly missing from this PRC Colt are his faithful assistant Miss Kelly, delightfully portrayed by Ruthelma Stevens, and his unique lip reading abilities, which at least made him stand out from his inspiration, Van Dine's Philo Vance. Speaking of which, this would be the screen finale of Thatcher Colt, just as PRC also brought Philo Vance to his end, in a three picture series from 1947. Both characters suffered the same fate on television, as neither were ever revived for small screen incarnations. In hindsight, I believe that PRC was not only better than Monogram with mysteries (Charlie Chan), but also the horror genre, as their stories usually wasted no time getting underway; feel free to disagree.

"The Panther's Claw" is a B-movie from tiny PRC--a tiny studio that made a ton of cheap low-budgeted Bs. While this film isn't that much different from the norm for PRC, it is, inexplicably, more enjoyable than most of their output. Now I am NOT saying it's an especially well made film--it's full of plot holes and the ending is one giant plot hole! But, despite all this, it is fun to watch and much of it is because of the inexplicable choice for a main suspect in this murder mystery.

When the film begins, a very mousy man, Everett Digbury (Byron Foulger) is caught climbing over the wall from the cemetery. According to Digbury, he HAD to go to the place to drop off extortion money from an unknown person who calls them self 'The Panther'. However, the cop insists on taking Digbury downtown and he's treated like a criminal! Fortunately, the Chief of Police isn't as stupid as the rest of the cops and he feels sorry for Digbury and feels that he is a victim of a crime--not some evil perpetrator. However, over time, this confidence is shaken as several times murders occur and all the evidence points to poor old Digbury!

As I mentioned above, seeing one of the meekest men in all of Hollywood playing a guy who MIGHT be a multiple murderer and extortionist is pretty funny. Additionally, despite a few plot holes, the script actually is pretty good--particularly when it comes to snappy dialog. Although this is far from a great film, it is entertaining and fans of old B-mysteries would surely enjoy this one.