The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

In 18th Century Spain, an adopted boy becomes a werewolf and terrorizes the inhabitants of his town.

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Anthony Hinds (screenplay) (as John Elder), Guy Endore (novel)

Stars:

Clifford Evans, Oliver Reed, Yvonne Romain

1 nomination.

Cast

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

Storyline

In the Eighteenth Century, in Spain, a beggar comes to the castle of a cruel marquee on his wedding day to beg for food, and the marque locks him in his dungeon, where he is forgotten. The mute daughter of the gaoler feeds him along the years. When she grows-up, the widower marquee unsuccessfully tries to shag her and locks the servant in the dungeons with the beggar that rapes her. When she is released, she kills the marquee and flees to the forest. She is found living like an animal in the woods by Don Alfredo and he brings her home. Soon his servant Teresa finds that she is pregnant. When she gives birth to a boy on Christmas, she dies and the boy Leon is raised by Don Alfredo and Teresa. A few years later they learn the curse that the boy carries with him, and the local priest advises that he must be raised with love. What will happen to Leon?

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Plot Keywords:

aristocrat | dungeon | christmas | angry mob | 18th century | 

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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:

Horror

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Certificate:

Approved

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 Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Spain was only released in Barcelona (Méliès Cinemes), 44 years later. The film was projected 7 days and only in subtitled version.

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Goofs

When Leon is taken to the bawdy bar or nightclub, a modern (twentieth-century) roulette wheel is seen with gamblers surrounding it. Since the story takes place in the early to mid-eighteenth century, it would have been impossible for the roulette wheel to be there. Even earlier iterations of the roulette wheel only existed in Europe during the very late eighteenth century. Complicating issues further, roulette was outlawed in Spain throughout much of the twentieth century; and, roulette wheels were extraordinarily expensive. It would have been exceptional for a small village to have access to a roulette wheel even as late as the early-twentieth century. Suffice it to say that the roulette wheel and table's presence in the film is highly ahistorical.

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Alternate Versions

Original video releases blot out the Technicolor credit line with a black bar. The credit is visible on the DVD version.

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Connections

Referenced in Les veinards (1963)

User Reviews

Hammer 's Only Werewolf Film.

Terence Fisher directed this violent but effective werewolf tale from Hammer studios. It begins with a beggar being imprisoned in a dungeon after offending the local royalty. Years later, after falling into an degenerate state, the beggar attacks the mute servant girl of his jailer. She escapes, but later dies after giving birth on Christmas day, but her baby is adopted by a couple. Years later, the baby has grown into a young man named Leon(played by Oliver Reed) who leaves his father(played by Clifford Evans) to go look for work in the city, but the werewolf curse of his birth takes hold, as he goes on a murder spree, which only the love of a woman can prevent... Oliver Reed is quite good as the doomed young man, helped by fine direction and makeup F/X, though the story is overly lurid, particularly for its time.