La marca del Hombre-lobo (1968)

User Rating:

3.2/10   

Director:

Enrique López Eguiluz

Writers:

Paul Naschy (story)
Paul Naschy (screenplay)

Release Date:

January 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

You'll Live Through A Thousand Torments of Sheer Shock!

Plot:

A man suffers from the curse of lycanthrope and seeks help from doctor and wife team. They both turn...

Plot Keywords:

Werewolf | Vampire | Seduction | Silver Bullet | 3 Dimensional

Cast

Paul Naschy	...	Count Waldemar Daninsky
Dyanik Zurakowska	...	Countess Janice von Aarenberg (as Dianik Zurakowska)
Manuel Manzaneque	...	Rudolph Weissmann
Aurora de Alba	...	Wandessa Mikhelov
Julián Ugarte	...	Dr. Janos Mikhelov
José Nieto	...	Count von Alen
Carlos Casaravilla	...	Gypsy Judge
Ángel Menéndez
Antonio Jiménez Escribano		(as Antonio G. Escribano)
Rafael Alcántara
Juan Medina
Antonio Orengo
Ángela Rhu
Pilar Vela
Milagros Ceballos

Also Known As:

Hell's Creatures (UK) (USA) (promotional title)
Frankenstein's Bloody Terror (USA)
The Mark of the Wolfman (International: English title) (informal literal title)
The Vampire of Dr. Dracula
The Werewolf's Mark
The Wolfman of Count Dracula (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

88 min | Germany:93 min | USA:78 min

Country:

Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (70 mm prints) | Mono (English version)

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Sweden:15 | USA:GP | Canada:AA (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Colmenar Viejo, Madrid, Spain

Company:

Maxper Producciones Cinematográficas (Maximiliano Pérez Flórez)

Movie Connections:

Featured in Nightmare Theatre's Late Night Chill-o-Rama Horror Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

The Birth of Daninsky ...

So here it is, the movie that started it all. The first step in the unending saga of Waldemar Daninsky, the werewolf, that would launch Jacinto Molina's career of playing this character through the next four decades.

The English-dubbed "Frankenstein's Bloody Terror" print available from Horror Theater Video begins with an amusing explanation as to why it was given that title, even though Frankenstein's creature isn't featured. Basically the narrator tells us that Frankenstein becomes Wolfstein, or something. Anyway, it makes absolutely no sense ... the real truth is that the American studio was promised a Frankenstein movie and received this instead, but decided to release it under that title all the same. Heh. Anyway, the picture is quality is quite poor but at least it's a decent surviving print of this historical werewolf movie, and the dubbing is actually not bad.

Two gypsies take refuge in an abandoned castle, get drunk on some old wine that they find and ultimately end up doing a bit of good old-fashioned grave robbing, which includes removing a silver crucifix from the 'Wolfstein' tomb. Needless to say, they are quickly slaughtered. Kind-hearted nobleman Waldemar Daninsky joins the investigation, fascinated by the strange occurrences that surround the castle, and eventually encounters the beast responsible, who is stabbed with a silver dagger again but not before giving Waldemar a nasty bite. He tries to cure himself from his new infection, but ultimately puts the love of his life and everyone else in danger. His friend writes to a mysterious doctor who may be able to help him, but all is not as it seems ...

Yes, it's completely exploitative ... but hell, it's a lot of fun and there's kind of a well-meaning innocence to it in a way, just a bunch of Spanish folk having some fun with the classic Universal monsters that they love. You'll probably even get a few laughs from some of the cheesy horror moments. The women mostly just run around screaming "look at how exotic and busty I am!", while along with the men they endure gruesome deaths. Jacinto Molina, sporting a full bodybuilder physique, gives a decent first performance as this character (particularly during the werewolf scenes) though obviously not as good as many of his later ones. The directing isn't great, some of the lighting effects are pretty laughable, and the editing is rather sloppy -- but it does have an effective, creepy soundtrack unlike many of the later Daninsky movies.

Silly, creepy, nonsensical and fun. Along with every other Naschy movie, it's not for everyone, but if you do enjoy then you've got twelve more movies to check out. Which is nice.