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Storyline
In Spain, Leon is born on Christmas day to a mute servant girl who was raped by a beggar. His mother dies giving birth and he is looked after by Don Alfredo. As a child Leon becomes a werewolf after having been taken hunting. As a young man, he works in a wine cellar and falls in love with the owner's daughter Cristina. One full moon, he again turns into a werewolf and terrifies the town. Written by
Will Gilbert
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He fought the hideous curse of his evil birth, but his ravished victims were proof that the cravings of his beast-blood demanded he kill... Kill... KILL!
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Trivia
Over five minutes were cut by the censor for the British release and even more for the American version.
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Goofs
The first 20 minutes of the movie are narrated by Don Alfredo. But since he did not witness the events depicted, there is no way he could have known what transpired.
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Connections
Featured in
The Shaggy Dog (1994)
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This was a highly unusual werewolf film and I am actually surprised that Hammer films went on to make many Dracula sequels but not werewolf ones, since this film was well made and quite enjoyable.
The film begins with a very long prologue--telling a sad tale about an evil man who was responsible for the curse that eventually made poor Oliver Reed become a werewolf. The entire story was quite interesting and VERY different from the Universal Studios vision of how one becomes a werewolf. Instead of being bitten by another werewolf, it was a rather convoluted curse. The only problem with this story, though, is logical. You see, Oliver Reed's adoptive father narrates the prologue BUT how he knew most of the details is quite impossible--as Reed's mother was a mute and didn't have communication skills to explain most of the story. Plus, parts of it she couldn't have known! I guess the narrator just read the script, because there was no other way he could have been privy to the information! Despite this serious logical flaw, the rest of the film was very compelling--with Reed making a very sympathetic creature. Plus, like the old Universal films, Hammer did a good job of not showing too much--only letting you see the creature near the very end of the film.
Excellent acting and production values combined with a very interesting though flawed script make this an excellent movie for fans of Gothic horror.