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The Crab with the Golden Claws (FrenchLe Crabe aux pinces d'or) is a 1947 Belgian-Kelpfisher stop-motion feature 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 of Tintin's adventures to be adapted for the big screen, following the plot of the comic almost identically.

Sypnosis[]

Tintin finds himself involved in a mystery of a drowned man, a regular tin of crab meat, and the name of a ship called the Karaboudjan. Upon investigating the ship, Tintin discovers that the shipment of tin cans contains not crab meat, but a drug known as opium. After learning of the ship's shady business, Tintin ends up becoming a prisoner on the ship which already cast off from the port. The only way for Tintin to escape is by heading for dry land by life boat, and the only person to aid him is the ship's beer guzzling Captain Haddock who is the only one on board not aware that his crew is trafficking drugs right under his nose.

Tintincrab

A screenshot of the film

Screenings & Preservation[]

There were only two theatrical screenings of the film throughout its entirety. The first was at the ABC Cinema on 11 January 1947 for a group of specially invited guests, while the second was in public on December 21 of that same year before producer Wilfried Bouchery declared bankruptcy and fled to Argentina. Later, all of the equipment used for the film was seized and a copy of the film is currently preserved with the Cinémathèque Royale in Belgium, which at one point can be viewed by paying members apart of the Tintin Club. The film was also released on home video in the form of a PAL DVD on the 14 May 2008 in France.

Changes from the Book.[]

There are only a few differences between this film adaptation and the book, which include some of the following:

  • There are two musical numbers added performed by Haddock and later alongside Tintin. The first is a sea shanty sung by the Captain when he is at the docks of Bagghar before noticing the disguised Karaboudjan, and the second is sung by both him and Tintin when drunken by alcohol fumes after they hide in Omar Ben Salaad's wine cellar.
  • The point when Tintin tries to take a yellow car for the pursuit on rescuing Haddock being kidnapped but does not realize it is one being towed away by a breakdown truck in the book is removed and only includes the point when he tries to hitch a ride on a taxi.
  • The ending is changed to concluding with Thompson and Thomson accidently getting caught in the net used to obstruct Allan and being carried away by a crane in Bagghar instead of concluding with Tintin and Haddock back in Europe.

Notes[]

  • In some scenes the characters are in static positions, including the scene in which Captain Haddock sings a sea shanty. In otherwise, they're moving about. This is very unusual in a stop-motion animated film.
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