The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Anthony Hinds (screenplay), Guy Endore (novel)

Stars:

Clifford Evans, Oliver Reed, Yvonne Romain

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Clifford Evans	...	Don Alfredo Corledo
Oliver Reed	...	Leon Corledo
Yvonne Romain	...	Servant Girl (Jailer's Daughter)
Catherine Feller	...	Cristina Fernando
Anthony Dawson	...	Marques Siniestro
Josephine Llewellyn	...	Marquesa
Richard Wordsworth	...	Beggar
Hira Talfrey	...	Teresa, Corledo's Servant
Justin Walters	...	Young Leon
John Gabriel	...	Priest
Warren Mitchell	...	Pepe Valiente the Watchman
Anne Blake	...	Rosa Valiente
George Woodbridge	...	Dominique the Goat Herder
Michael Ripper	...	Old Soak
Ewen Solon	...	Don Fernando

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.

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Plot Keywords:

werewolf | love | full moon | moon | born on christmas day | 

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Taglines:

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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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 June 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Curse of Siniestro

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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)

User Reviews

Very enjoyable and different

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.