The Iron Claw -
Newspaper serialization by Arthur Stringer
(taken from the Atlanta Constitution Sunday Magazine Section)"Herald" for chapter 19
There were many newspaper and magazine tie-ins way back in the silent era. Usually they coincided with the release of the film. Sometimes these were later published in book form. Sometimes they were not. The Iron Claw was not.
I found out that The Iron Claw was serialized weekly in The Atlanta Constitution and tracked it down on microfilm at an Atlanta university library. This was after being put on the scent by an excellent publication called "Blood 'n' Thunder" (I recommend this to anyone interested in old dime novels, pulp magazines, serials and the like). Issue #3 had a great article on The Iron Claw by the magazine's editor. Rather than try to duplicate the somewhat lengthy summary he provides, here instead are the episode titles and the dates.
Episode # Title Date in Atlanta Constitution. 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20"The Vengeance of Legar"
"The House of Unhappiness"
"The Cognac Cask"
"The Name and the Game"
"The Invention of Tito"
"The Spotted Warning"
"The Hooded Helper"
"The Ghost Man"
"Arrows of Hate"
"The Living Dead"
"The Saving of Dan O'Mara"
"The Haunted Canvas"
"The Hidden Face"
"The Plunge for Life"
"The Double Resurrection"
"The Unmasking of Davy"
"The Vanishing Fakir"
"The Green-Eyed God"
"The Cave of Despair"
"The Triumph of the Laughing Mask"February 27, 1916
March 5, 1916
March 12, 1916
March 19, 1916
March 26, 1916
April 2, 1916
April 9, 1916
April 16, 1916
April 23, 1916
April 30, 1916
May 7, 1916
May 14, 1916
May 21, 1916
May 28, 1916
June 4, 1916
June 11, 1916
June 18, 1916
June 25, 1916
July 2, 1916
July 9, 1916The colorful chapter titles should give the idea that this was more or less standard serial stuff. (BTW, the theater would release each episode the week after it ran in the papers.)
I wouldn't be me without looking for the sci fi elements in The Iron Claw. Chapter 2 features a wave-projector which can set fires from miles away. In the last Chapter (SPOILERS), the evil Iron Claw meets his demise by a plan to use biological warfare that backfires.
However, it struck me, in reading The Iron Claw, what the real fantastic element was. How-in-the-world could The Iron Claw and his nemesis The Laughing Mask (the good guy) be smart enough to lay so many traps and counter-maneuvers for each other only to be not quite smart enough to avoid those of their opponent?
The tale dragged on a bit too much for me with this back and forth. Whether that would have been the case with watching the actual serial in the theaters will never be known. Only episode 7 exists; I've only seen a few minutes even of that.
I suspect though that the film-going audience was more than content to go every week and watch Pearl White, Creighton Hale and Sheldon Lewis star in this production. All three had teamed up previously in the earlier successful Exploits of Elaine.
(I was lucky enough to also pick up a herald of The Iron Claw - Chapter 19. There wasn't much information about the film but there are some nice scenes from it.)
written: 1/17/2004
