Moon of the Wolf (1972) (TV)

Director:

Daniel Petrie

Writers:

Alvin Sapinsley (writer)
Leslie H. Whitten (novel)

Release Date:

26 September 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

After several locals are viciously murdered, a Louisiana sheriff starts to suspect he may be dealing with a werewolf. |

Plot Keywords:

Louisiana | Sheriff | Suspect | Werewolf | Double Barreled Shotgun

Cast

David Janssen	...	Sheriff Aaron Whitaker
Barbara Rush	...	Louise Rodanthe
Bradford Dillman	...	Andrew Rodanthe
John Beradino	...	Dr. Druten
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Lawrence Burrifors
Royal Dano	...	Tom Gurmandy Sr.
John Davis Chandler	...	Tom Gurmandy Jr.
Claudia McNeil	...	Sara
Paul R. DeVille	...	Hugh Burrifors
Dan Priest	...	Sam Cairns
Robert Phillips	...	Deputy
Serena Sande	...	Nurse
George Sawaya	...	Attendant #1
Dick Crockett	...	Attendant #2
Sonny Klein	...	Harry

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Not Rated | Iceland:16 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Burnside, Louisiana, USA

Company:

Filmways Pictures

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In killing the werewolf in the end, when firing the third shot, the cylinder of the revolver doesn't turn.

Quotes:

Tom Gurmandy Sr.: ONE EYE!

Entertaining

The setup never fails ... a murder in a small town leaves the local sheriff stumped, and he travels around investigating and finding several suspects among the townsfolk. The sheriff is your typical kind-hearted, beer-swilling Louisianan kind of guy, and the list of suspects includes the murdered girls brother (the angry redneck), the town's doctor (the local professional with a dark secret), a Mr Rodance (the wealthy, mysterious businessman who owns half the town) and his sister (the slightly unhinged female lead who becomes the Sheriff's love interest).

Yeah, it's all fairly standard, but it's also quite entertaining in a formulaic kind of way. For at least the first half of this film, there's really nothing to suggest that a werewolf is responsible (unless you're familiar with werewolf folklore and know what 'loup garou' means). This is in fact a typical small-town crime melodrama, one of many which were made for TV in the seventies, and it's shot and played out in exactly the same style as these movies. But it just so happens to have a werewolf in it.

It's an interesting idea, and executed reasonably well. The quality of acting and so forth is pretty much what you'd expect from a TV movie -- competent enough, but nothing special. It's also a fairly short movie, as at 75 minutes it's not even feature length. This is to the film's credit, and it certainly managed to keep me engaged for that length of time, which is more than I can say for many of the similarly low-budget werewolf movies I've seen. The story unfolds at a good pace, and leads to a suitably thrilling (but not too over-the-top) climax. It's all decent enough, not great, but it doesn't try to be.

All in all, this is your average werewolf B-movie which I'd recommend to werewolf enthusiasts if you happen to get a chance to see it. Hell, there are worse ways to spend an hour and fifteen minutes.