In the beginning of the movie there is a page dedicating the movie to the New York Police: "This picture dedicated to the New York Police Department with its thousands of loyal and courageous men for meritorious service to its community." A man named Digberry/Byron Foulge is seen climbing out on a cemetery wall by a policeman late at night. The policeman asked what he was doing in the cemetery. Digberry gives the policeman a story that is like suspicious and kind of funny that he is brought to the police station and questioned.The story goes on from there that Digberry got a letter from a anonymous person to leave money on a grave. He claims he paid the money because he has a wife and 5 daughter on vacation who will be coming home and he does not want them frightened or anything bad happen to them. Other people that know each other got a similar letter with a paw print on it and days later Digberry got direction as to where and when he was to leave the money.A woman is murdered and 3 men are considered suspect. One of the clues is a wig. Digberry is a wig maker and there is another man that made a wig for a man. The hair of the wig was found in the dead woman's hand.There are lots of funny scenes. What I thought was interesting is the way the police investigated. They were very clever and alert as to what was said and what they saw and the way people responded. Good police work.Good mystery, lots of humor and nice for a black and white picture made in 1942 you can watch for free on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OY6ddm8zy0

A seemingly innocent, harmless man, Everett P. Digberry (Byron Foulger), gets caught up in blackmail, extortion, and murder. The DA suspects Mr. Digberry isn't as innocent as he appears. Can the police find the real criminal before the DA presses charges?The Panther's Claw is a very misleading title, evoking menace and horror. A more apt title (both literally and figuratively) would be The Kitten's Paw. The movie is more of a comedy with some weak mystery elements (I knew the killer's identity the moment he appeared on screen) than harrowing as title would lead you to believe. Despite the misleading title, The Panther's Claw is a decent little movie. Fortunately, some of the comedy works and at times is quite funny. Most of the credit has to go to Byron Foulger (I just wrote about him and his appearance in Honey West). He's good. The best I can say about the rest of the cast is they're serviceable. No one really stands out. Being a PRC film, it has that dark and dirty look I've come to expect. Lighting must have been beyond PRC's limited budgets. And the sets look as if they were furnished from a local second-hand store. The movie is only 70 minutes long and, generally, flows well. Unfortunately, there are a couple of plot points that left me scratching my head. Like, how did the killer's suit end up in Digberry's closet? Or, why wasn't Digberry more forthright and honest with the police from the beginning? Would have saved himself a lot of trouble. But in the end, this isn't brain surgery and it's enjoyable enough to deserve at least a 5/10.

Adolphe Menjou was perfect as the well dressed detective about town, Thatcher Colt in "The Circus Queen Murder" (1933) (there was also an earlier one, "Night Club Lady" (1932)). Unfortunately, that was it until PRC resurrected the elegant detective in an unusually good "who done it" (for them!!!) with the debonair Sidney Blackmer. PRC may have had the reputation as the cheapest of the cheap but it did produce the occasional interesting movie ie "Baby Face Morgan", "Strange Illusion" and "The Mask of Diijon", even the very intriguingly titled "I Ring Doorbells"!!A man is picked up acting suspiciously in a cemetery, he claims he was delivering a $1,000 as per instructions. When he is taken to the police station it seems he is not the only recipient of a black mail letter - from the Black Panther!!! They are all connected with an opera company and have all had trouble with a bombastic baritone named Lombardi - prima donna Nina Politza has been pestered by him so much she books a ticket to South America!!Oddly, all fingers point to Mr. Digberry!! Yes, it's Byron Foulger!! At his best playing "nervous nelly" characters and I must admit I have never seen him play such a large part before. His nervous librarian in "Quiet Please, Murder" (Sidney Blackmer was also in that) is more what I am used to. He is in the same vein as Johnny Arthur - he even bears a resemblance to him as well!! Having the movie revolve around Foulger added to the suspense - he does have a portable typewriter with a dodgy H and the policeman sees a cat in the flat that could have been used to make the Panther's mark!! The police think he is the blackmailing mastermind who has sent himself a letter to appear like a victim - and the surprise of the movie is that they are right as Mr. Digberry confesses!! He did write the letters so he could use the excuse when his wife found out there was $1,000 missing from their bank account!! He gave the money to Nina, who wasn't as wealthy as everyone believed but when she turns up dead - he doesn't have a very good explanation!!Sidney Blackmer bought polish and class to Thatcher Colt, it is just a pity he was relegated to the sidelines while Foulger took centre stage. And according to literary descriptions, Blackmer was Colt to a T, even though in this movie his lip reading technique, which made the character stand out is not used. Unfortunately, his offsider, instead of being the beautiful and efficient Miss Kelly, was crusty D.A. Bill Dougherty (Herbert Rawlinson).Recommended.

I was very happy to be able to buy this movie and watch it last weekend. I last saw this movie over 30 years ago. I remember it being good, and I was not disapponted. It has a fairly good mystery, but what makes this movie special is that it's very funny. It has several scenes which I think are classic. The line up scene is hilarious. Byron Foulger gives a great comedic performance.