Watch The Steel Claw

The Steel Claw is a thrilling action-adventure movie from 1961 starring George Montgomery, Charito Luna, and Mario Barri. The movie is set in a remote jungle village in the Philippines, where a group of smugglers has taken over a valuable iron mine. The smugglers are using forced labor to mine the iron and are terrorizing the local villagers to keep them under control.

Enter Jim Ransom, a former soldier turned adventurer who is hired by the mine's former owner to clean up the mess. Ransom is a tough, no-nonsense kind of guy who knows his way around both a gun and a fistfight. He arrives in the village with a chip on his shoulder and a score to settle, and quickly sets about taking down the smugglers one by one.

Along the way, Ransom meets a beautiful local woman, Ingrid, who has been taken captive by the smugglers. Ingrid is played by Charito Luna, and she brings a touch of romance and vulnerability to the story. Luna's performance is both fierce and tender, and she and Montgomery have a chemistry that sizzles on screen.

The Steel Claw is a classic adventure movie, with plenty of action, romance, and suspense. The plot is solid, with enough twists and turns to keep viewers on the edge of their seats, and the pacing is brisk. The movie doesn't waste any time getting to the good stuff, with the action kicking off in the first few minutes and never letting up.

One of the highlights of The Steel Claw is its use of location. The movie was filmed on location in the Philippines, and the lush jungle scenery adds a sense of authenticity to the story. The remote village where the action takes place feels like a real place, with fully realized sets and detailed costumes. The movie also has some impressive set pieces, including a cave filled with booby traps and an epic final battle on a giant crane.

The cast of The Steel Claw is solid, with Montgomery doing most of the heavy lifting as the tough-guy hero. Montgomery is a classic leading man, with chiseled good looks and a commanding presence. He's not the most nuanced actor, but he's more than capable of pulling off the action scenes and delivering the occasional one-liner. Charito Luna is also a standout, bringing a depth and complexity to her role that elevates the movie beyond typical adventure fare.

The villains in The Steel Claw are appropriately menacing, with Mario Barri playing the head smuggler, Burke. Barri chews the scenery with relish, playing Burke as a cold, calculating villain who takes pleasure in his own cruelty. He's a match for Montgomery in the action scenes, and their final showdown is a satisfying conclusion to the movie.

Overall, The Steel Claw is a fun and entertaining adventure movie that is sure to please fans of the genre. It may not be sophisticated cinema, but it has heart, excitement, and a genuine love for the genre. It's a movie that knows what it is and has a good time doing it.

The Steel Claw is a 1961 drama with a runtime of 1 hour and 36 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 4.8.