The Wolf Man (1941)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

George Waggner

Writer:

Curt Siodmak (writer)

Release Date:

12 December 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

"His hideous howl a dirge of death!"

Plot:

A practical man returns to his homeland, is attacked by a creature of folklore, and imbued with a malady his disciplined mind tells him can not possibly exist.

Plot Keywords:

Werewolf | Gypsy | Full Moon | Wolf | Mirror

Cast

Claude Rains	...	Sir John Talbot
Warren William	...	Dr. Lloyd
Ralph Bellamy	...	Col. Montford
Patric Knowles	...	Frank Andrews
Bela Lugosi	...	Bela
Maria Ouspenskaya	...	Maleva
Evelyn Ankers	...	Gwen Conliffe
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Charles Conliffe
Fay Helm	...	Jenny Williams
Forrester Harvey	...	Twiddle
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	The Wolf Man / Larry Talbot (as Lon Chaney)

Also Known As:

Destiny (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-15 (2004) | Spain:13 | Australia:PG | Germany:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #7874) | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Curt Siodmak's first draft lacked all werewolf scenes and the hallucinatory sequence.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the elder Talbot witnesses the transformation of the slain werewolf into his son, the younger Talbot's head is normal, even after having been beaten worse than werewolf Bela's.

Quotes:

Gwen Conliffe: [Gwen and Larry are taking a moonlight walk] So you're a fortune teller?
Larry Talbot: Uh-huh.
Gwen Conliffe: Is that how you knew about the earrings?
Larry Talbot: Well, no exactly. You see, a telescope has a mighty sharp eye. It brings the stars so close that you feel you can almost touch them.
Gwen Conliffe: [shocked] A telescope?
Larry Talbot: Sure. And it does the same thing to people in their rooms - that is if you point it in the right direction.
Gwen Conliffe: Oh you wouldn't.
Larry Talbot: Well, now, I was only testing the refractor. I didn't know about you and all of sudden there you were.
Gwen Conliffe: From now on I'll be sure to draw the curtains.
Larry Talbot: Oh, don't do that, I mean, not on account of me.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Back to the Black Lagoon: A Creature Chronicle (2000) (V)

Lon Chaney Jr's signature role is still one of his best performances. 'The Wolf Man' is an undisputed horror classic.

Lon Chaney Jr lived under the shadow of his famous father, but in 'The Wolf Man' he helped create a horror icon that has lasted for over sixty years. Chaney had already shown that he could act in 'Of Mice And Men'(1939). In 'The Wolf Man' he gives another excellent performance, but this movie was both a blessing and a curse to his career I think. It forever labeled him a horror actor, and frankly he made a lot of lousy movies after this. Some good ones too, don't get me wrong, but too often he was given b-grade material to work with. Maybe his drinking problem had a lot to do with it, I don't know, but apart from a strong cameo in 'The Defiant Ones'(1958) and a great performance in Jack Hill's cult classic 'Spider Baby'(1964), he rarely was given a role as good as Larry Talbot in this movie. Chaney is surrounded by a very strong supporting cast including horror legends Claude Rains ('The Invisible Man') and Bela Lugosi (sadly only a cameo), Ralph Bellamy ('His Girl Friday'), and frequent costar Evelyn Ankers (she and Chaney made a great on screen couple but apparently hated each other off screen. Such is Hollywood!). Many people complain about the casting of Rains and Chaney as father and son. I agree it's totally unrealistic, but I don't think it hurts the movie at all. The lack of Lugosi is a bigger problem. There was more footage of him but unfortunately it wasn't used in the final cut. It's too bad as more scenes between Lugosi and Chaney would have been a treat. Of course they worked together a few times after this, but mostly in lesser movies. The real scene stealer in 'The Wolf Man' is Maria Ouspenskaya who plays the gypsy woman Maleva. She's just terrific, and gives the most memorable performance after Chaney. 'The Wolf Man' has had an enormous influence on just about every subsequent werewolf movie. Much of the lore seen on screen here isn't in fact traditional, as many people assume, but created by the talented Curt Siodmak ('Donovan's Brain') who subsequently wrote the horror classics 'I Walked With A Zombie'(1943), and 'The Beast With Five Fingers'(1946). 'The Wolf Man' is an undisputed horror classic, and just as entertaining and interesting as it ever was.