AllMovie

The Grasp of Greed was a Hollywoodization of H. Rider Haggard's novel John Meeson's Will. En route to Australia, beautiful authoress Alice Gordon (Louise Lovely) is shipwrecked on a desert island in the company of wealthy book publisher John Meeson (C.N. Hammond). Sensing that his days are numbered, and lacking pencil and paper, Meeson tattoos his last will and testament on Alice's lovely back. Upon reaching civilization, the now-fully-clothed heroine finds herself pursued by all manner of fortune hunters and scurrilous villains, all of whom are anxious to grab a glimpse of her naked back. Though all of this was supposed to have been taken seriously, secondary villain Lon Chaney Sr. wisely played his character in a tongue-in-cheek manner.