List of adaptations of The Monkey's Paw

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

English author W. W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw" (1902) inspired many adaptations and parodies; some are listed here.

Film, television or theatrical adaptations[edit]

  • The segment "Wish You Were Here" from the 1972 film adaptation of the Tales from the Crypt comic book series is an adaptation of the story.[7] "Last Respects", the 1996 episode of the TV series, is another adaptation of the story. [8]
  • Bob Clark's Deathdream is inspired by the short story.[9]
  • Michael Scott directed and starred in a short film version.[10]
  • The Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode "The Tale of the Twisted Claw" is based on the story.[11]
  • The story also inspired an episode of Brandy & Mr. Whiskers.[12]
  • Short film directed by James Henschen. Filmed in 2003. Tribalfilm[13]
  • A variant of this story, using a genie in a bottle, was featured in The Twilight Zone episode "The Man in the Bottle".[14]
  • In an episode of The Monkees, titled "The Monkee's Paw", a nightclub magician sells the band a cursed monkey's paw in revenge after they unwittingly force him out of a job.[15]
  • The Ripping Yarns story "The Curse of the Claw", first broadcast in 1977 and starring Michael Palin, is a spoof in the style of Monty Python, and is loosely inspired by "The Monkey's Paw".[16]
  • The main idea was used in a season 5 episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer entitled "Forever" in which Spike and Dawn Summers attempt to revive Joyce Summers. The episode even ends similarly to the original story, with Buffy opening the door to reveal no one there after she convinces Dawn to end their dead mother's revival.[17]
  • "Treehouse of Horror II" - In one segment of the 1991 Halloween episode of The Simpsons, the Simpson family gets a monkey's paw that grants four wishes. Each member of the family makes a wish, which have terrible consequences. In a humorous twist, Homer gives the paw to his hated neighbor Ned Flanders in the hopes that it will ruin his life, only for Ned's wishes to come true without any of the usual consequences. The segment ends with Homer grumbling, "I wish I had a monkey's paw."[18][19]
  • The Cartoon Network show I Am Weasel featured an episode in its fourth season entitled "The Baboon's Paw" in which Weasel's sidekick, I.R. Baboon, has the power to make his wishes come true through the use of his own paws, having been told they are lucky after attempting to buy a monkey's paw in Chinatown.[20]
  • The 21st episode of the seventh season of The X-Files, "Je Souhaite", is a remake of the monkey's paw myth in which Mulder seems to solve the puzzle.[21]
  • The K-Horror movie Wishing Stairs recasts the story with the family replaced by a trio of students at an all-girls' school and the monkey paw replaced by the eponymous stairs.[22]
  • The cartoon series Adventure Time references the concept directly in the second episode of the fifth season, "Jake the Dog," when heroes Finn and Jake meet a wish-granting being named Prismo. Because he likes Jake, Prismo warns that all his wishes have a catch, "like a monkey's paw thing", and helps guide him into making a wish that will only have negative consequences for the villainous Lich.[23]
  • The 2017 horror film Wish Upon utilizes the concept by swapping the monkey's paw for a music box that can grant seven wishes. The music box comes into the possession of high school student Claire (Joey King), who uses the wishes for fortune, friends, love and revenge. People close to her suddenly begin dying horrifically, and she learns that others who have had the box before have died in freak accidents.[24][25]
  • The episode "Tempting Fate", the finale to the fourth season of the BBC anthology series Inside No. 9 first broadcast on 6 February 2018, features a story based on "The Monkey's Paw".[26]
  • Creepshow (TV series) season 1, episode 5, includes the segment "Night of the Paw."[27]
  • The cartoon The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy introduces a talking skull named Thronambular who can grant wishes, but they also come with a terrible price. He is only able to grant a certain amount of wishes based on the number on his forehead.
  • The 2012 version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles features an alien called Wyrm who appears in the episode "The Weird World of Wyrm". Wyrm is an alien who can grant three wishes, but they can also cause chaos to the universe.
  • The sixth season of Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu features an evil genie named Nadakhan who can grant wishes, but as a consequence for others, he imprisons victims in his sword and gets more powerful.
  • The plot of Wonder Woman 1984 revolves around the Dreamstone, a seemingly benign stone that grants one wish but at a cost. Character Steve Trevor refers to it as "the monkey's paw" in the movie.

Music[edit]

  • Industrial/goth band the Electric Hellfire Club released a song called "The Monkey's Paw" on their album Witness.[28]
  • The story was the subject of a humorous song by the same name on Laurie Anderson's 1989 album Strange Angels.[29]

Literature[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Alan Goble (1 January 1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. p. 241. ISBN 978-3-11-095194-3.
  2. ^ "The Monkey's Paw (1923) - Manning H. Haynes - Cast and Crew - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  3. ^ "The Lady of the Barge by W W Jacobs". Fantasticfiction.co.uk. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  4. ^ "The Monkey's Paw (1948)". Archived from the original on 31 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Coming of age with Kagbeni-Nepali Times". nepalitimes.com.
  6. ^ "The Monkey's Paw (2013) - Brett Simmons - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  7. ^ "Tales From The Crypt - 1972". www.britishhorrorfilms.co.uk.
  8. ^ ""Tales from the Crypt" Last Respects (TV episode 1996)". 26 April 1996 – via www.imdb.com.
  9. ^ "Deathdream (1972) - Bob Clark - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  10. ^ "The Monkey's Paw". 14 September 2006 – via www.imdb.com.
  11. ^ "'Are You Afraid of the Dark' - 'The Tale of the Twisted Claw' - Chicago Tribune". www.chicagotribune.com.
  12. ^ "Brandy & Mr. Whiskers". TVGuide.com.
  13. ^ "The Monkey's Paw". 15 November 2003 – via www.imdb.com.
  14. ^ "The Twilight Zone: The Man in the Bottle (1960) - Don Medford - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  15. ^ "The Monkees: Monkees Paw (1968) - James Frawley - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  16. ^ "Ripping Yarns: The Curse of the Claw (1977) - - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  17. ^ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Forever (2001) - Marti Noxon - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  18. ^ Randolph, Laurel (21 March 2017). "Cooking The Simpsons: Monkey's Paw Turkey Sandwich". Paste.
  19. ^ "I wish I had a monkey's paw". Yarn.
  20. ^ "I am Weasel: The Baboon's Paw". TV.com.
  21. ^ "The X-Files: Je Souhaite (2000) - Vince Gilligan - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  22. ^ "Wishing Stairs (2003) - Yoon Jae-Yeon, Yun Jae-yeon - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  23. ^ Sava, Oliver (13 November 2012). "Adventure Time: "Finn The Human"/"Jake The Dog"".
  24. ^ Wish Upon Official Trailer #2 MovieClips on YouTube
  25. ^ "Wish Upon (2017) - John R. Leonetti - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  26. ^ "TV Review: Inside No. 9 - Tempting Fate". www.thenationalstudent.com.
  27. ^ "The Eternal Grip of Creepshow's 'Night of the Paw' (S1E5)". 25YL. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  28. ^ "Witness the Millenium by The Electric Hellfire Club" – via rateyourmusic.com.
  29. ^ "Monkey's Paw - Laurie Anderson - Song Info - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  30. ^ "Prom Nights from here - Teenreads".
  31. ^ Winter, Douglas E. (13 November 1983). "Pet Sematary By Stephen King (Doubleday. 373 pp. $15.95.)". The Washington Post. Retrieved 8 April 2019.