During a blizzard, veteran Sergeant major Tom Morris tells stories of his travels to India to his friends John and Jenny White.

[2][3] Based on the short story of the same name by W. W. Jacobs and the 1922 play by Louis N. Parker,[3]: 127  The Monkey's Paw was a film produced by RKO.

[5] His involvement was announced in August,[6] but for unknown reasons other than the studio's statement that Mowbray was ill, he was replaced by C. Aubrey Smith.

[9]: 68 In September 1932 The Film Daily announced that British freelancer Graham John had completed the script,[10] a month after he was contracted to write it.

[11] Originally, the script was written so that Morris would undergo a series of flashbacks as he told his story to the Whites.

[12]: 129–130  [13]: 199  After adding the prologue, the film team removed the parts containing Morris's flashbacks in order to avoid redundancy.

[15]: 57 The music, written by Max Steiner, includes an early version of Ann Darrow's theme in King Kong (1933).

[19]: 279  Before the film was released, Motion Picture Herald suggested strategies by which the studio could secure a steady attendance.

Suggestions included advertising in British communities and building up the singularity of the monkey's paw by comparing it to other magical charms, such as four-leaf clovers.

[3]: 131  Rushton Daily Leader wrote that the film was "a thrilling action drama", calling it "one of the most absorbing pictures of the year".

[21]: 200  Cinema Booking Guide Supplement wrote that it was "Excellent general entertainment with possible exception of squeamish patrons.

Burns additionally noted that the dialogue was "uninteresting" and the editing was low-quality, making the plot "jumpy".

Mentioning the music score, he wrote that "Max Steiner...labored hard and uselessly to help lift this opus out of the dumps".

While calling the staging "ambitious", Variety criticized the dream ending and wrote that the prologue was unrelated to the rest of the film.

[13]: 199 The Monkey's Paw was regarded as a lost film[25]: 3  until indications of its continuance, such as stills,[26]: 199  appeared on the internet in 2016.