The Wolf Man

One must always be familiar with the origins.  This has become more apparent as I've aged, going back and watching the films that inspired the things I grew up with (and at least one generation before).  Universal had a long run of classic horror in the '30s and '40s, and 1941's THE WOLF MAN is a jewel among them.  I knew about Lon Cheney Jr. and this sad old tale mainly through AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, which more than paid its respects to yesteryear.  Of course, the special effects were exponentially more advanced in the 1981 film.  Aaand.....the tragedy hit a bit harder.  Director George Waggner's take on the lycanthrope legend is quite primitive compared to later efforts, but essential, a worthy progenitor.  And c'mon, it's only seventy minutes long. 

A guy named Larry Talbot (Cheney Jr.), who's been off in the U.S., returns to the family homestead in Wales after the death of his brother.  He is to be groomed by his father Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains, terrific) as successor of lordship over the estate.  Fairly quickly we see that Larry's a bit sleazy.  What with using a telescope to spy on antique shopkeeper Gwen (Evelyn Ankers) and later pretending he is psychic based on what he saw through it in his creepy attempts to woo her.  He'll learn that she is already engaged to another blueblood named Frank (Patric Knowles) but is undeterred. 

Good thing Larry bought that walking stick with the silver tip wolf head.  It will prove useful when he is attacked by a (were)wolf during a stroll with Gwen and her friend Jenny (Fay Helm) later that night.  After the latter is mauled to death, Larry, who also gets bitten, will fatally beat the animal.  When the police find the weapon next to the corpse of Bela (Bela Lugosi), the Romani fortune teller (and lupine assailant) the following morning, suspicions are cast.  Even more so when Larry cannot produce any bite marks on his chest.    Will his legs grow alarmingly hairier when the sun goes down? Is Gwen in peril?

THE WOLF MAN, penned by Curt Siodmak, considers the plight of such an unfortunate as a suitable case for treatment.  At least through the eyes of Sir John, Colonel Paul (Ralph Bellamy) and others, who think Larry is just traumatized, maybe on the verge of insanity.  Not really going full werewolf, which is just a tale to them anyway.  The movie can be taken as a metaphor for ahem, sexual urges, if you wish.  A cautionary tale of unbridled lust, the kind that can make a man hit even on engaged women.  I mean, there are even hairy palms for crying out loud. 

This is quite the handsome production, and Waggner skillfully evokes atmosphere in foggy graveyards and crypts and such.  The lap dissolve effects are very dated but I'm sure '40s audiences were impressed.  What hinders the film a bit is Cheney Jr. himself, who's kinda blah.  His character is also a creep who is hard to root for, kinda important in a story such as this.   Rendering the finale less emotional than if we fancied the old boy a bit more.