Too many fans seem to be blown away

the audience applauded

Thanks for the memories!

Blistering performances.

A seemingly innocent, harmless man, Everett P. Digberry (Byron Foulger), gets caught up in blackmail, extortion, and murder. The DA suspects Mr. Digberry isn't as innocent as he appears. Can the police find the real criminal before the DA presses charges?The Panther's Claw is a very misleading title, evoking menace and horror. A more apt title (both literally and figuratively) would be The Kitten's Paw. The movie is more of a comedy with some weak mystery elements (I knew the killer's identity the moment he appeared on screen) than harrowing as title would lead you to believe. Despite the misleading title, The Panther's Claw is a decent little movie. Fortunately, some of the comedy works and at times is quite funny. Most of the credit has to go to Byron Foulger (I just wrote about him and his appearance in Honey West). He's good. The best I can say about the rest of the cast is they're serviceable. No one really stands out. Being a PRC film, it has that dark and dirty look I've come to expect. Lighting must have been beyond PRC's limited budgets. And the sets look as if they were furnished from a local second-hand store. The movie is only 70 minutes long and, generally, flows well. Unfortunately, there are a couple of plot points that left me scratching my head. Like, how did the killer's suit end up in Digberry's closet? Or, why wasn't Digberry more forthright and honest with the police from the beginning? Would have saved himself a lot of trouble. But in the end, this isn't brain surgery and it's enjoyable enough to deserve at least a 5/10.

The war years saw a lot of "pretty good" movies, relatively innocuous stories, usually good entertainment, the sort one would rat 4-7, with a few poorly directed slow moving ones a little less.And it's unfortunate that movie makers post 1965 sought to emulate the slow pace dull ones. It would take 30 years for film makers to learn their mistakes. Such was their incompetence. A man on the street could have done better than 98% of producers, directors, and writers from 1965-1995; it was truly the error of "rich kids and children with the silver spoon" at the reins.But these war years were full of fairly safe vehicles. Some were smartly done, like this murder mystery.We have a mystery here that begins with the comedy and affable personalities first, then goes into the plot, and that's what makes the atmosphere style murder mystery work.This is expertly done, and could be used for a film class to show how to make a film. It is "Entertainment".

A milquetoast of a man is caught climbing out of a cemetery late one night. Its transpires that he had left 1000 dollars on a grave, in response to a letter sent to him warning of death if did not do so. When he and the copes return to the grave the money is gone. The cops haul the man in to the precinct for trespass and other charges. It transpires that the note is one of many that has been sent to a group of people in the hopes of extorting cash. Murder and mayhem follow.Low budget PRC special is an odd mix of comedy and mystery. Its a mix that doesn't fully work since the comedy tends to over power the mystery at the most in opportune times. Part of the problem is that the very good Byron Foulger, a supporting stalwart has been pushed to the fore as our milquetoast lead. There is nothing wrong with Foulger in the lead, its just that decades of playing similar roles, usually for comic effect undercuts some of the tension.(I'm guessing this may play better on a second viewing when the flaws might be forgiven or at lest accepted). I know the film was also hurt for me by the cheapness of the sets which included numerous rear screen projections which result in a couple of screens where people just seem to be standing in front of a wall instead of being somewhere.Worth a look in an undemanding mood.

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.