Werewolf of London (1935)

The juice of a rare Tibetan flower is the only thing that keeps Dr. Glendon from turning into a werewolf during a full moon.

Director:

Stuart Walker

Writers:

John Colton (screenplay), Robert Harris (story)

Stars:

Henry Hull, Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson

2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Henry Hull	...	Dr. Glendon
Warner Oland	...	Dr. Yogami
Valerie Hobson	...	Lisa Glendon
Lester Matthews	...	Paul Ames
Lawrence Grant	...	Sir Thomas Forsythe
Spring Byington	...	Miss Ettie Coombes
Clark Williams	...	Hugh Renwick
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Hawkins
Charlotte Granville	...	Lady Forsythe
Ethel Griffies	...	Mrs. Whack
Zeffie Tilbury	...	Mrs. Moncaster
Jeanne Bartlett	...	Daisy

Storyline

While on a botanical expedition in Tibet Dr. Wilfred Glendon is attacked in the dark by a strange animal. Returning to London, he finds himself turning nightly into a werewolf and terrorizing the city, with the only hope for curing his affliction a rare Asian flower.

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Plot Keywords:

full moon | flower | laboratory | dysfunctional marriage | jealousy | 

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Taglines:

Beware! Terror strikes in the night!

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Cantonese Latin

Release Date:

13 May 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Unholy Hour

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$195,393 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While it has been well documented that Henry Hull objected to Jack P. Pierce's original makeup design for the werewolf, producers were also concerned that Pierce's makeup effects would push the boundaries of censorship in the United States. Producers asked Pierce to tone down the zoomorphic qualities of the werewolf transformation scenes and asked him to make the werewolf appear more human in nature in order to gain approval of the censorship board. Pierce's first design for the creature would later be put to effect in The Wolf Man (1941).

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Goofs

When the werewolf creeps up on the floozie at the Zoo, he conceals his face with his cape and arm, but when the floozie spots him in her compact, he is shown unconcealed.

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Quotes

Dr. Yogami: The werewolf is neither man nor wolf, but a Satanic creature with the worst qualities of both.

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Crazy Credits

"A good cast is worth repeating..."

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Connections

Featured in Fright Night Part 2 (1988)

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Soundtracks

SCENES THAT ARE BRIGHTEST
(uncredited)
from opera "MARITANA"
Written by Vincent Wallace
Played at the salon of Aunt Ettie Coombes

User Reviews

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

Universal's first foray into lycanthropy was this version of a man that goes to Tibet in search of a rare flower. He is bitten by a werewolf. He then leaves Tibet for his home in London with said plant which flowering buds have the ability to off-set the "disease" at least for that evening against the full moon. This film is entertaining and has many good points. It has a great score and lots of wonderful scenes and sets. Many of the character actors are quite good, in particular Spring Byington and Valerie Hobson. Warner Oland steals the acting honors as an adversary to Dr. Glendon, the titular werewolf. Oland, the great Charlie Chan himself, hams it up as another werewolf in search of the flowering buds. The film has a lot of comedy in it, with several scenes between two friendly landladies creating most of the laughs. I think the picture really suffers from the script, which really does not help create werewolf folklore like The Wolfman did later for Universal. The make-up by Jack Pierce is pretty good, but actor Henry Hull is very dull in his lead role. Hull plays the beast with some passion but his role as the doctor is the epitome of boredom. Nonetheless I found the film very entertaining and recommend it.