The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand(Movie, 1936)

The Clutching Hand (in full, The Amazing Exploits of the Clutching Hand) is a 15-episode serial produced by the Weiss Brothers in 1936, based on the final 1934 Craig Kennedy novel of the same name by Arthur B. Reeve. A 70-minute feature film using a condensed version of the serial was also released in the same year. 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. The Clutching Hand 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). ()