I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF (1957)

I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF (1957)

Tagline: Explosive! Amazing! Terrifying! You won't believe your eyes!

(Horror, Drama, Fantasy) [PG]

Note – This movie was just given an “approved” by theaters when it came out. I think if it had been given an MPAA rating it would have been a PG. 

It's not for man to interfere in the ways of God.

In the ’50s and ’60s, there was zero shortage of movies that had taglines that gloriously over-promised what we would get on screen. This movie is no exception. 

In this one, Tony Rivers (played by Michael Landon best known for the TV show “Highway To Heaven”) has a really bad attitude. I mean it’s so freakin bad, that he’s in a fight already when the movie starts. Anyway, an evil doctor seeks out Tony and talks him into undergoing hypnotherapy and serum to calm himself down and be his “true self”.  Instead, Tony regresses and turns into a werewolf which was really the goal of the doctor. Now everyone Tony knows is in mortal danger…including Tony himself.  

First off, this movie has Michael Landon and that dude could act. He’s so good in this that I actually can’t stand him in it. Not because he can’t act though, but because he can.  Tony is an aggravating character to watch, but that was kind of the point. As far as I can tell, this was the only horror movie Landon ever did and he didn’t seem ashamed of it in interviews, etc. This is only significant because his entire body of work aside from this is about as wholesome as it gets. Yvonne Lime plays Tony’s girlfriend Arlene, and she is fine in this film but not amazing. Outside of this role, she did have a pretty successful career. I did feel like the chemistry between her and Landon was a bit off. We do get a strong but weird outing from Whit Bissell who plays the evil doctor. Bissell was a force in Hollywood staring in over 322 projects including THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON and SOYLENT GREEN. 

I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF was so successful it was almost ridiculous. It cost about $500,000 to make and took in $2 million at the box office. MONSTER ON CAMPUS which came out a year later almost copied this formula exactly even using a “regression theory” storyline. Whit Bissell was also in that movie. For me of the two MONSTER ON CAMPUS was actually a better movie between these two. 

The plotline involving hypnosis and the fact that it’s extremely unlikely that Tony’s character would have bothered with getting that type of help feels far-fetched in this setting, even more, far-fetched than him just becoming a werewolf.  This movie does have a decent music number right in the middle of it which kind of works since they are at a party, but the script goes way overboard to show that Tony is out of control. We could have gotten that in a few quick scenes. Instead, those parts of the film really drag out. 

Having said all that, this movie is definitely a must-see for 50’s horror fans. The werewolf design even as “slicked back” as the hair looks is pretty decent and gives a fair enough nod to the werewolf films of old. Still, it’s a 4 out of 7 overall in comparison to other films of the time and just based on its own merit. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF SUNSET PRODUCTIONS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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