The Werewolf of Washington (1973)

A reporter who has had an affair with the daughter of the U.S. President is sent to Hungary. There he is bitten by a werewolf, and then gets transferred back to Washington, where he gets a ... See full summary »

Director:

Milton Moses Ginsberg

Writer:

Milton Moses Ginsberg

Stars:

Dean Stockwell, Katalin Kallay, Henry Ferrentino

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dean Stockwell	...	Jack Whittier
Katalin Kallay	...	Giselle
Henry Ferrentino	...	Beal
Despo Diamantidou	...	Gypsy Woman (as Despo)
Thayer David	...	Inspector
Nancy Andrews	...	Mrs. Margie Captree
Clifton James	...	Attorney General
Biff McGuire	...	President
Jack Waltzer	...	Appointments Secretary
Ben Yaffee	...	Mr. Captree
Jane House	...	Marion
Beeson Carroll	...	Commander Salmon
Jacqueline Brookes	...	Angela - Publisher
Barbara Spiegel	...	Hippie
Thurman Scott	...	Hippie (as Thurmon Scott)

Storyline

A reporter who has had an affair with the daughter of the U.S. President is sent to Hungary. There he is bitten by a werewolf, and then gets transferred back to Washington, where he gets a job as press assistant to the President. Then bodies start turning up in D.C. . . .

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Plot Keywords:

hungary | u.s. president | werewolf | lycanthrope | creature feature | 

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Taglines:

Makes it perfectly clear.

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der Werwolf von Washington

Filming Locations:

Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Diplomat Pictures / Millco

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 85 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film is a satire on politics in Washington during the early 1970s, mainly prompted by the Watergate scandal.

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Goofs

At about the 47 minute mark, the werewolf bursts out of the darkness at center screen to attack the Hippy Chick in the phone booth. Unfortunately, the actor, as he mounts the stairs from the left seconds before to get into position, breaks out of the light shadow enough to distract from the 'boo' effect.

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Quotes

President: Jack, would you please quit scratching the palms of your hands? It's just not manly.

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Connections

References Frankenstein (1931)

User Reviews

total political satire

I don't know specifically whether "The Werewolf of Washington" was intended as a political satire, but it sure comes across as such. It probably helped that the movie was released around the time of Watergate (and at one point, we even get a glimpse of that very building).

The opening voice-over monologue begins with something like "How could it happen here?", before White House press secretary Jack Whittier (Dean Stockwell) explains his predicament. I believe that Upton Sinclair wrote a book called "It Can Happen Here", about the possibility of fascism coming to America. Anyway, after Jack has an affair with the president's daughter, the prez sends him to Hungary - ah, a jab at the Cold War - where he gets bitten by a wolf. When someone warns Jack about the pentagram, he thinks that the person says Pentagon (what aren't those warmongers behind?).

When he arrives back in the states, the president is angry about how the media reports negatively on the current state of affairs, especially since it makes the nation's youth protest things so much; the prez's solution: martial law! If that isn't a rip at the Nixon administration, then I don't know what is! But sure enough, Jack starts seeing the pentagram in people's palms, and...well, you know what happens once there's a full moon.

So even if it was intended as a straightforward horror flick, this certainly elicits a sense of political satire. With comments about the Black Panthers and other stuff, it's just the sort of thing that we need nowadays. I totally recommend it.