Werewolf in a Girls' Dormitory (1961)

At a girls' school, several students are murdered by a snarling, wolf-man-like creature. Suspicion falls upon a newly arrived teacher.

Director:

Paolo Heusch (as Richard Benson)

Writer:

Ernesto Gastaldi (US prints: as Julian Berry)

Stars:

Barbara Lass, Carl Schell, Curt Lowens

Cast

Credited cast:
Barbara Lass	...	Priscilla
Carl Schell	...	Dr. Julian Olcott
Curt Lowens	...	Director Swift
Maurice Marsac	...	Sir Alfred Whiteman
Michela Roc	...	Sandy (as Maureen O'Connor)
Mary McNeeran	...	Mary Smith
Grace Neame	...	Leonor MacDonald
Luciano Pigozzi	...	Walter Jeoffrey (as Alan Collins)
Annie Steinert	...	Mrs. Sheena Whiteman
Joseph Mercier	...	Tommy the Porter
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anne-Marie Avis	...	School Girl
Lucy Derleth	...	School Girl
Herbert Diamonds	...	Police Inspector
John Karlsen	...	Old Man
Martha Marker	...	School Girl

Storyline

The new science teacher Dr. Julian Olcott with a mysterious past arrives in an institutional boarding school for troublemaker girls. Along the night, the intern Mary Smith, who is blackmailing another teacher - Sir Alfred Whiteman - with some love letters, is slaughtered by a werewolf. The detective in charge of the investigation attributes the crime to a wolf, while her mate Priscilla believes she was killed by Sir Alfred. On the next days, other deaths happen in the school, reducing the list of suspects.

---

Plot Keywords:

werewolf | murder investigation | animal senses evil | unknown killer | smothered with a pillow | 

---

Taglines:

A new high in horror!

---

Genres:

Horror | Mystery

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

Italy Austria

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

5 June 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ghoul in a Girl's Dormitory

Filming Locations:

Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Royal Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the female leads, Barbara Lass, was the first wife of Roman Polanski.

---

Goofs

As the school teachers are examining Mary Wilson's dead body, her eyes move.

---

Connections

Featured in The Cinema Snob: Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory (2011)

---

Soundtracks

The Ghoul in School
Written by Marilyn Stewart, Frank Owens
Sung by Adam Keefe (uncredited)

User Reviews

Not a bad way to waste 80 minutes

This is, as you might expect, a movie about a werewolf in a girl's dormitory (although technically the werewolf mostly hangs around in a forest outside the girl's dormitory). The "girls" actually look to be about twenty-five on average and resemble European fashion models of the era much more than the "delinquents" they're supposed to be. And this was made in 1962 so you're not going to get any nighties or plaid mini-skirts, let alone any nude shower scenes. Still this is an entertaining little movie that serves to show the potential "beast" that lurks within the heart of all respectable men when they get around nubile young women. The first murder especially, while tame by today's standards, was no doubt quite a taboo-breaker at the time. The werewolf attacks his victim "missionary style" and the screams and cries that she makes as he ravages her off-screen could easily be taken for something else entirely. The other murders and attacks are less lurid, but generally pretty effective.

The movie also provides a plethora of great suspects and red herrings including a new professor who left his old job after a mysterious scandal, a benefactor of the school who is paying various girls for sexual favors (and finds himself being blackmailed), the creepy and very bestial-looking groundskeeper, and the very refined headmaster who nevertheless bears a striking resemblance to the werewolf. The movie really keeps you guessing to the end.

It's in black-and-white, of course, and it's dubbed (although the European cast does seem to be speaking English most of the time). Not a great movie perhaps, but not a bad way to waste 80 minutes either.