The Monkey's Paw (1948 film)

The Monkey's Paw is a 1948 British horror film directed by Norman Lee, who also wrote the screenplay, and starring Milton Rosmer, Michael Martin Harvey, Joan Seton and Megs Jenkins. It is based on the 1902 story "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs. The screenplay was written by Norman Lee and Barbara Toy. It was produced by Ernest G. Roy.

Plot summary
A magic Monkey's Paw grants its owner three wishes before a disaster befalls them as punishment for tampering with fate.

Cast

 * Milton Rosmer as Mr. Trelawne
 * Megs Jenkins as Mrs. Trelawne
 * Michael Martin Harvey as Kelly
 * Eric Micklewood as Tom Trelawne
 * Brenda Hogan as Beryl
 * Mackenzie Ward as Noel Lang
 * Joan Seton as Dorothy Lang
 * Norman Shelley as Monoghan
 * Alfie Bass as Roberts, the Speedway Track Manager
 * Rose Howlett as Mrs. Gurney
 * Hay Petrie as Grimshaw
 * Sydney Tafler as The Dealer
 * Patrick Ward as Sergeant Lawson
 * Vincent Lawson as Morgan

Critical reception
The Spinning Image called it "a creaky diversion with stagey acting and an obvious lack of funds to open it out, yet the strength of Jacobs' yarn was such that it showed through even the most impoverished of tellings." On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar commended the film for its character development and climax which he called "suitably tense and eerie".