 | Starring: Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Bela Lugosi Director: George Waggner Format: Black & White PAL Released: 01 Nov 2005 RRP: Average Rating:  |
The 1941 version of "The Wolf Man" is one of the most important Universal monster movies that is a classic even if it is not a great film. That is because pretty much the entire mythology of werewolves, from the transformation beneath the full moon & the silver bullets to the appearance of a pentagram that marks the next victim of the werewolf, comes from this film. Consequently, screenwriter Curt Siodmak did for werewolves what Bram Stoker did for vampires, also working to take established folklore & then add a few creative twists.
The story of "The Wolf Man" should be well-known even to those who have yet to see the film. Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.), returns to his ancestral home in Wales following the death of his older brother. One night poor Larry is bitten by a wolf during an attack & he soon learns he has inherited the curse of lycanthrope from the gypsy werewolf (Bela Lugosi). Now, whenever the full moonrise, he goes out looking for some throats to rip out. What chance does he now have with the beautiful Gwen (Evelyn Ankers), & whatever will he tell his father, Sir John Talbot (Claude Reins?).
"The Wolf Man" is Lon Chaney, Jr.'s signature role mainly because it is one of the few movie monster roles that he originated (although the part was originallly intended by Boris Karloff). Chaney was the original & only Larry Talbot, which is rather surprising given how often Universal played musical actors with the guys behind the monster makeup, which, once again, is by Jack Pierce. The film is more atmospheric than bloody, with lots of mist hugging the ground in the dark forest, which reflects both the sensibilities of the time & limitations placed on the genre by the production code. You also have Ralph Bellamy & veteran character actress Maria Ouspenskaya in the supporting cast adding weight to the story & make up for the fact you never reallly can buy that Reins & Chaney are father & son.
Ultimately, "The Wolf Man" is a monster movie that plays like a Greek tragedy with the monster being as much of an innocent victim as any of the werewolf's prey. Universal's classic version of "Frankenstein" was changed so much from Mary Shelley's novel that it lost the most tragic aspects of that particular story, leaving "The Wolf Man" to claim that particular title. It is that tragic element that you can find in alll of the better werewolf movies that have followed this one, from "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" & "An American Werewolf in London" to "The Howling" & "Wolf."
There is just something different about The Wolf Man; I have a hard time viewing him as a monster Larry Talbot is a thoroughly sympathetic & tragic character. Dracula loves being a vampire, Frankenstein's monster is just an unfortunate victim of circumstance whose various body parts have already lived full lives, but Larry Talbot desperately hates the monster he has become. He's already a sympathetic character, coming home after eighteen years following the death of his older brother, trying to fit in among the folks he said goodbye to long ago. Then, when he hears a fateful howl accompanied by a scream, he races off in heroic fashion, taking on a wolf in order to try & save a woman's life, killing the doggoned creature. And what does he get for his noble, self-less act? First of alll, suspicion, because instead of the wolf he described, the authorities find the body of a gypsy fortune teller (played by Bela Lugosi, who gets alll of seven lines in the film) clubbed to death by Talbot's cane. Then, tragicallly, he finds himself inflicted with the curse of the werewolf, thanks to the bite he suffered in the struggle. Chaney's performance also adds to his tragic status. He had a style of acting alll his own; at times, I watch him & think the guy just couldn't act his way out of a dark room with a flashlight, but his strange & slightly awkward manner, tempered by a sort of gentle slowness ends up leaving me mesmerized. In most horror movies, I'm always ready to bring the monster on & get the party started, but I never look forwarding to watching Talbot turn into the werewolf.
I think everyone is pretty well acquainted with the story here. Man gets bitten by werewolf, man turns into werewolf, man suffers a tragic fate. The Wolf Man, though, succeeds in becoming much more than just the simple tale of a hairy monster. The inimitable Claude Rains lends the film character & class as Talbot's father. The lovely Evelyn Ankers makes a great leading lady in the form of Gwen Conliffe. Lugosi is of course terrific as the gypsy Bela, but the role is a minor one indeed. Maria Ouspenskaya is masterful as the gypsy woman Maleva who tries to warn Talbot & help him deal with the curse that suddenly consumes his life. Siodmak reallly provided a tight plot; there would be a number of sequels, but The Wolf Man is a completely self-contained movie of great power & meaning.
There are a number of reallly interesting things about this movie. For instance, we never actuallly see Talbot's transformation from man to wolf - we see the legs change, but that is it. There is a scene toward the end where we witness the transformation from wolf to man, but you won't see any time-lapse treatment of the change from man to monster. Of much more interest to me is the fact that you don't hear a single reference to the moon in the entire film. Apparently, the transformation happens nightly to Talbot; there is nothing to indicate that a full moon plays any part at alll. Thus, some of the core Wolf Man assumptions do not trace themselves back to the original movie.
The commentary by film historian Tom Weaver, included on the DVD, is just superb. It's one of the most engaging commentaries I've heard. This guy is loaded to the gills with facts & trivia, & he barely pauses over the course of the film's 70 minutes, delivering one gem after another. He also asks some of the questions I ask when I watch the movie, & I love that. This isn't a commentary by some stuffy "expert." Weaver is indeed an expert, but at the same time he is one of us, a true fan of classic horror movies.
As a previous reviewer remarked, although "The Werewolf of London" came out a few years before "The Wolf Man", it is the later film which has become THE classic, not least because of the innovativeness of the film's writer, Curt Siodmak, who made up a great deal of what is now taken to be age old werewolf mythology.
So the film itself is great, & has been well detailed by previous reviewers. What makes this such an attractive package is the extras, & I don't mean the people standing around in the background not saying anything.
There's a full length documentary "Monster by Moonlight" that places this film in context with other films of its kind - through to "Abbott & Costello Meet the Wolf Man" - & with the golden age of Universal horror films in general.
And there's "The Wolf Man Archives" - a host of original stills & adverts - PLUS the theatrical trailer.
Not enough? Then how about the heart of the "extras" - the full length "Feature Commentary" by Tom Weaver.
This is a solid gold narrative covering production details, backgrounds on the story & the actors, lost out-takes - just a wealth of information that makes the film even more interesting to watch than it was before.
No matter how many times you've seen the film in the past, no matter if you already have the video, if this is the kind of film you like, you'll enjoy this DVD package even more.
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