The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Anthony Hinds (screenplay)
Guy Endore (novel)

Release Date:

7 June 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

EVEN THOSE WHO LOVED HIM WERE NOT SAFE! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

In Spain, Leon is born on Christmas day to a mute servant girl who was raped by a beggar. His mother...

Plot Keywords:

Werewolf | Love | Full Moon | Moon | Born On Christmas Day

Cast

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
Peter Sallis	...	Don Enrique
Martin Matthews	...	Jose Amadayo
David Conville	...	Rico Gomez
Denis Shaw	...	Gaoler
Charles Lamb	...	Marques' Chef
Serafina Di Leo	...	Senora Zumara
Sheila Brennan	...	Vera
Joy Webster	...	Isabel
Renny Lister	...	Yvonne
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kitty Atwood	...	Midwife (uncredited)
John Bennett	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Hamlyn Benson	...	Landlord (uncredited)
Ray Browne	...	Official (uncredited)
Rodney Burke	...	1st Customer (uncredited)
Max Butterfield	...	Cheeky Farmer (uncredited)
Loraine Carvana	...	Servant Girl as Child (uncredited)
Francis De Wolff	...	Bearded Customer (uncredited)
Richard Golding	...	3rd Customer (uncredited)
Howard Lang	...	Irate Farmer (uncredited)
Michael Lewis	...	Page (uncredited)
Desmond Llewelyn	...	1st Footman (uncredited)
Alan Page	...	2nd Customer (uncredited)
Michael Peake	...	Farmer in Cantina (uncredited)
Stephen Scott	...	Another Farmer (uncredited)
Frank Sieman	...	Gardener (uncredited)
Gordon Whiting	...	2nd Footman (uncredited)
Alister Williamson	...	Policeman (uncredited)

Directed by
Terence Fisher

Writing credits
Anthony Hinds		(screenplay) (as John Elder)
Guy Endore		(novel "The Werewolf of Paris")

Produced by
Michael Carreras	....	executive producer
Anthony Hinds	....	producer
Anthony Nelson Keys	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Benjamin Frankel

Cinematography by
Arthur Grant		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Alfred Cox

Casting by
Stuart Lyons

Production Design by
Bernard Robinson

Art Direction by
Don Mingaye
Thomas Goswell		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Roy Ashton	....	makeup artist
Frieda Steiger	....	hair stylist
Colin Garde	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Clifford Parkes	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dominic Fulford	....	second assistant director
John Peverall	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Jock May	....	sound recordist
Alban Streeter	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Les Bowie	....	special effects

Stunts
Jack Cooper	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Len Harris	....	camera operator
Tom Edwards	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Molly Arbuthnot	....	wardrobe mistress

Editorial Department
James Needs	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Benjamin Frankel	....	conductor
Leonard Salzedo	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Tilly Day	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Hammer Film Productions

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1961) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1961) (USA) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Network Enterprises (video)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1961) | France:-12 | UK:12 (video rating) (1995) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Unrated | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Hammer Film Productions

Trivia:

Over five minutes were cut by the censor for the British release and even more for the American version.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the opening credits, which features a very tight close-up of the werewolf's eyes, the edges of the contact lenses can be clearly seen.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Jack the Bear (1993)

A superb addition to the cinematic annals of lycanthrope

A modest werewolf "epic" that never feels formulaic in the hands of director Terence Fisher and writer Anthony Hinds. The film is one of Hammer's most accomplished and deals with the subject of lycanthrope with some imagination. Young Leon (Justin Walters), the consequence of a rape, is born with what appears to be a dormant werewolf gene that is awakened when he tastes the warm, "sweet" blood of a bird. Unable to resist his true nature, he starts killing livestock in a small rural community. His juvenile rampage doesn't last long because the local priest (John Gabriel) identifies his condition and encourages his adopted parents to shower him with love and affection, convinced that it is love that will keep the boy's desires at bay. Clearly, the priest's faith in love is not misplaced, because, ten year's later, the adult Leon (nicely played by Oliver Reed), who has just left home, is only a wolf with the women. He falls hard for the daughter of his employer, but when he is deprived of her love, his lycanthrope surfaces and the killings begin again, only this time he leaves the livestock alone.

The film is a character drama in werewolf clothing, and, though it references genre classics such as "The Wolfman", "The Werewolf of London", and even "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" in its climax, it is still very much its own animal. There is a welcome depth to the performances and Reed's acceptance of his condition and desire to be destroyed gives the piece a fine sense of tragedy.

Unlke the genre films of today, which make this feel like something made on another planet, "The Curse of the Werewolf" really takes its time to establish a solid foundation for its horror and is a refreshing product of far less cynical times in which human warmth was seen as essential, not "uncool".

The last shot, in my opinion, is flawed. When the dead werewolf is flipped onto his side by his adopted father, he is not shown, in death, as having returned to his former state as represented by Oliver Reed.

A fine achievement.