One of silent serial queen Pearl White's best efforts, The Iron Claw was remade by Columbia Pictures starring brunette Joyce Bryant as the imperiled heroine. Bryant, alas, was no Pearl White, and needed a strong male lead in order to defeat that master criminal, the Iron Claw. She found him in handsome Charles Quigley, an Academy of Dramatic Art alumni whom the studio was grooming as an action lead. The story line is a bit less confusing this time around; Bryant is the heir to a fortune, which the Iron Claw also desires. Quigley plays Bob Lane, an enterprising reporter who saves the damsel-in-distress over and over again through the serial's 15 chapters. Among the many and various villains skulking about, Forrest Taylor, as Anton, was at his menacing best in The Iron Claw.
by Hans J. Wollstein
synopsis
