Legend of the Werewolf (1975)

Paris, 19th century. A man who has been raised by wolves works at a zoo. But on full moon nights he transforms into a dangerous beast. Professor Paul is in charge of hunting him down as the young man develops an obsession for a prostitute.

Director:

Freddie Francis

Writer:

Anthony Hinds (as John Elder)

Stars:

Peter Cushing, Ron Moody, Hugh Griffith

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Cushing	...	Professor Paul
Ron Moody	...	Zoo Keeper
Hugh Griffith	...	Maestro Pamponi
Roy Castle	...	Photographer
David Rintoul	...	Etoile
Stefan Gryff	...	Max Gerard
Lynn Dalby	...	Christine
Renee Houston	...	Chou-Chou (as Renée Houston)
Marjorie Yates	...	Madame Tellier
Norman Mitchell	...	Tiny
Mark Weavers	...	Young Etoile
David Bailie	...	Boulon
Hilary Farr	...	Zoe (as Hilary Labow)
Elaine Baillie	...	Annabelle
Michael Ripper	...	Sewerman

Storyline

A travelling circus in 19th century France adopts and showcases a feral "wolf boy", who grows into adulthood only to kill the one-man band. He runs off to Paris, where he develops a jealous, overprotective crush on a prostitute, leading him to attack her client, incurring a pursuit by a determined police surgeon.

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Plot Keywords:

travelling circus | feral child | jealousy | brothel madam | wolf | 

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Taglines:

A Tyburn Tale of Terror

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Genres:

Horror

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Renee Houston's final film before her death on February 9, 1980 at the age of 77.

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Goofs

At c. 23 minutes the freshly opened champagne has negligible fizz when it is poured.

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Quotes

Prof. Paul: He's all right; he won't harm you, but you musn't reject him!

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Connections

References The Curse of the Werewolf (1961)

User Reviews

An all around highly enjoyable werewolf tale

As a collector of the horror genre I always try and seek out some of the rarest titles I can find, so you can imagine my delight when I came across this seldom seen werewolf yarn at my local flea market. Not only is it no longer available for distribution but it had Peter Cushing's name in the credits! That's reason enough for me to purchase it. The story centers around a young boy named Etoile, whose parents were slaughtered by wolves when he was a baby. The wolves then took it upon themselves to raise Etoile as one of their own. Years later a traveling sideshow stumbles upon Etoile in the forest and they take him along as an attraction for their show dubbing him "wolf boy". As Etoile grows into a man he finds that some unusual characteristics have come along with his adulthood, especially when the moon is full. The rest of the movie details Etoile's obsession with a prostitute he has fallen in love with. When her clients turn up brutally murdered the police start a full investigation. Who will turn up as the guilty party? You'll have to watch the movie to find out and believe me it's worth tracking down. Outstanding performances from Peter Cushing as a coroner who tries to play detective and track down the killer, and Ron Moody as a sleazy and truly creepy zookeeper that Etoile works for. This British werewolf flick is probably now long forgotten and in my opinion deserves to be rescued from obscurity. With names like Peter Cushing and Freddie Francis attached to it, how can you resist?

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 March 1978 (Turkey)

Also Known As:

Legend of the Werewolf

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tyburn Film Productions Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1