THE WOLFMAN (1941)
This one is just a freakin classic. Part of the Universal monster movie originals. After the death of his brother, Larry Talbot (played by Lon Chaney Jr.) goes back to his home in Wales. In the opening scene, Larry Talbot buys a walking stick, but thinks the ornament on it is a dog. The next person that sees the sticks thinks it’s a horse. The ornament is supposed to be a wolf. If you make a walking stick with an ornament and only 1 out of 3 people can tell what it is, that my friends, is bad craftsmanship. He decides to kind of stalk Gwen the girl that sold him the walking stick (played by Evelyn Ankers). Later that night Larry goes to see a fortune teller with Gwen and this girl Jenny. She is attacked by a wolf and Larry is bitten in the process. We later find out that the wound healed overnight and the wolf was actually a werewolf named Bela (played by Bela Lugosi).
The sets and acting in this thing are just stellar when the time period is
taken into perspective. Claude Rains performance as Sir John Talbot (Larry
Talbot’s father) stands out as superb, but pretty much everyone in this thing
with the exception of a few back up characters are amazing in this. Most of the
details are awesome even down to the mist coming up from the forest floor. Even
the furniture featured in the movie is exquisitely ornate. However there is one
exception I will get to later.
Unlike a lot of newer werewolf films, THE WOLFMAN actually looks more like a
wolf-man than a wolf. He walks up-right and has the facial features of just a
dude that hasn’t shaved in 90 months, than an actual wolf. To be honest, I
appreciate the movies classic nature, but this design is just wonky. I am not a
fan. I realize this is a style choice and an artistic liberty. I also have an
issue with the fact that the original attacking werewolf is literally a wolf,
or probably a dog in that very first shot. I guess this might have been a nod
to the fact that this was “the” original werewolf, but that is never stated. Everyone
in the movie seems to know about werewolves (even if some are skeptical)
indicating they’ve been around awhile.
THE WOLFMAN is a cinematic legend, but for some of the issues stated above, I
can only give it a 6 out of 7. The ending also lacked like a lot of movies from
this era almost cutting out too soon. This movie clocks in at just 70 minutes. The
good news for fans of the originals is that UNIVERSAL has re-released and
re-mastered most of the classics and the quality is mind-blowing for a black and
white flick shot almost 79 years ago and counting.
GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY.
Please check out the link below by clicking on the picture.
Because no one should die buttonless. Until next time.
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