Anton Benson (Forrest Taylor) and his brother Culver (James Metcalfe) are responsible for sinking a ship called the Sally Ann, which was full of salvaged Spanish gold, and killing the captain. Anton, with his accomplice and butler Gyves (John Beck), have been slowly melting the gold and selling it. He pretends that the gold comes from the family mine but the mine isn’t producing any gold. An evil villain known as the Iron Claw is menacing the family. Culver believes the Iron Claw is the one-handed Captain Flint and that he survived the sinking of the Sally Ann and is now taking revenge on the family. Culver wants his share of the treasure so he can get out of town. Anton, who is the only one who knows where the treasure is, refuses.
Their brother Roy (Norman Willis) is newly out of prison and knows of the treasure as does Anton’s nephew Dr. James Benson (Alex Callam). Everyone in the Benson family knows of the treasure. Anton’s daughter Milly Leach (Edythe Elliott) and her husband Simon (Allen Doone) have also descended on Anton’s estate, Bensonhurst. They all believe the treasure is somewhere in the house. Roy calls an old pal, Silk Langdon (Charles King), the leader of a gang of crooks, to help him find and steal the treasure. Anton’s niece Patricia (Joyce Bryant) is also living in the house. She is the only one who is not looking for the treasure.
During the night Culver is killed by the Iron Claw. When the managing editor of the Daily Item, (Lloyd Ingraham) learns of Culver’s murder he sends investigative reporter Bob Lane (Charles Quigley) and his photographer, Jack “Flash” Strong (Walter Sande) to Bensonhurst for the story. Bob and Flash team up with Patricia to find out who the Iron Claw really is. Police Inspector Cramer (Frank LaRue) assigns Detective Casey (James C. Morton) to investigate Culver’s murder but the Iron Claw is not done killing people and the treasure is still out there somewhere.
“The Iron Claw” was released in 1941 and was directed by James W. Horne. It is a 15 chapter crime thriller serial and was the 15th serial done by Columbia Pictures. There is also a serial that was done in 1916 but it is a totally different story and has nothing to do with the 1941 serial. The 1916 serial is a lost film except for the 7th chapter.
The main plot of the serial is the family’s scheming to steal the Spanish galleon treasure from each other. Other than that it is a series of fist fights between the heroes and Silk and his minions. And I mean a lot of fights. In and around the fights, Patricia does a lot of screaming but that’s the only way they can find her in the maze of corridors and hidden rooms in the house and the various tunnels in the mine. Between the family, the newspaper guys, the inept police and the criminal gang the actual Iron Claw is only one aspect of the film. That doesn’t make it a bad serial just a rather silly one. The cliffhangers are mostly standard but there are a few that are actually decent. The serial is more ridiculous than anything else and should be looked at that way in order to enjoy it.
The film is a little difficult to find. The only copy I have is in rough shape. There are a lot of skips, the volume is erratic and it’s a little dark in places. The condition of the film stock makes the serial somewhat difficult to enjoy.
Chapter Titles: 1. The Shaft of Doom 2. The Murderous Mirror 3. The Drop To Destiny 4. The Fatal Fuse 5. The Fiery Fall 6. The Ship Log Talks 7. The Mystic Map 8. The Perilous Pit 9. The Cul-de-sac 10. The Curse of the Cave 11. The Doctor's Bargain 12. Valors of Evil 13. The Secret Door 14. The Evil Eye 15. The Claw's Collapse