The Crab with the Golden Claws (1947)

Original title

Le Crabe aux pinces d'or

Directed by

João B. Michiels, Claude Misonne

Genre

adventure film

Country

Belgium

Runtime

1h

Rating

5.7 of 10 from 13 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A young reporter named Tintin investigates a drowning and uncovers a drug smuggling ring hidden inside a cargo ship's crab meat shipments. The ship's captain is the only crew member who does not know about the crime.

whimsicallightheartedplayfulretrolow-budgetmysteriousstraightforwardgentle

What happens

The Crab with the Golden Claws (French: Le crabe aux pinces d'or) is a 1947 Belgian stop motion crime film produced by Wilfried Bouchery for Films Claude Misonne and based on the comic book of the same name from The Adventures of Tintin by Hergé. This was the first Tintin story to be adapted into a movie and follows the story of the comic almost exactly. There were only two theatrical screenings of the film; the first at the ABC Cinema on 11 January 1947 for a group of special invited guests, while the other one was shown in public on 21 December of that year, before Bouchery declared bankruptcy and fled to Argentina. All of the equipment was seized and a copy of the film is currently stored at Belgium's Cinémathèque Royale. The copy is available to watch for paying members of the Tintin club. The main premise of the film is drug smuggling by ship. While investigating a death by drowning, Tintin discovers that the transport of crab meat by the ship Karaboudjan is actually a cover for the transport of drugs. The only member of the crew who is actually unaware of the drug trafficking operation is Captain Haddock, the nominal leader of the crew. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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• Hergé's Adventures of Tintin (1957)
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