''The Monkey's Paw'' is a 1923 British silent

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by

Manning Haynes Horace Manning Haynes (born: Lyminster, Sussex – died 3 March 1957, Epsom, England) (often credited as H. Manning Haynes) was a United Kingdom, British-born film director and actor. He was married to the screenwriter Lydia Hayward, with ...

and starring

Moore Marriott George Thomas Moore Marriott (14 September 1885 – 11 December 1949) was an English character actor best remembered for the series of films he made with Will Hay. His first appearance with Hay was in the film '' Dandy Dick'' (1935), but he w ...

Marie Ault Marie Ault (2 September 1870 – 9 May 1951) was a British character actress of stage and film. Biography Born as Mary Cragg, in Wigan, Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester. England. Ault was a star in many British films of the silent era but is ...

, and Charles Ashton. It is an adaptation of

W. W. Jacobs William Wymark Jacobs (8 September 1863 – 1 September 1943) was an English author of short fiction and drama. His best remembered story is "The Monkey's Paw". He was born in Wapping, London, on 8 September 1863, the son of William Gage Jacobs ...

's 1902 short story "

The Monkey's Paw "The Monkey's Paw" is a horror short story by English author W. W. Jacobs, first published in the collection '' The Lady of the Barge'' in 1902. In the story, three wishes are granted to the owner of The Monkey's Paw, but the wishes come with ...

". The short story was made into a 1907 one-act play by Louis N. Parker, elements of which were also incorporated into this 1923 British film by screenwriter

Lydia Hayward Lydia Hayward (1879-1945) was a British screenwriter and actress who worked on over 30 screenplays between 1920 and 1942. She was particularly active during the 1920s.Nelmes p.49 Hayward has been noted for several of the sophisticated comedy fil ...

Plot

As described in a film magazine review for an American audience, a traveler tells a family, John White, his wife, and son, weird tales of a magical talisman, a monkey's paw, which has the power of granting its possessor three wishes. The father falls asleep. In his dreams he acquires the paw and requests two thousand dollars. He gets the money but this results in the death of his son Herbert. His wife compels him to wish that her boy was alive again. This is accomplished, but when he appears as a soulless zombie, in his fright Mr. White makes his third and final wish that his son be dead once more, where he may hopefully rest in peace. Awakening, the father wants nothing to do with the magic charm.

Cast

as John White *

as Mrs. White * Charles Ashton as Herbert White *

Johnny Butt John William H. Butt (1870–1931) was an English film actor of the silent era. He was born in Bradford and died in North Bierley, West Yorkshire. Selected filmography * ''The Chimes'' (1914) * '' Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1915) * ''The ...

as Sergeant Tom Morris * A. B. Imeson * George Wynn *

Tom Coventry Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

as Engine Driver

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999.

External links

* 1923 films 1923 horror films British silent feature films British horror films 1920s English-language films Films directed by H. Manning Haynes Films based on short fiction Films based on works by W. W. Jacobs British black-and-white films Silent horror films 1920s British films {{1920s-horror-film-stub