The Crab with the Golden Claws (French: Le 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 drugs. After learning about the ship's shady business, Tintin ends up becoming 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 named Haddock who is the only one on board not aware that his crew is trafficking drugs right under his nose.
A screenshot of the film
Screenings
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. All of the equipment was seized and a copy of the film is currently stored in Belgium Cinémathèque Royale. The copy is still available to watch for paying members of the Tintin club there. The film was released on PAL DVD on the 14th of May 2008 in France.