Rating: - "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)

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