Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

The She-Wolf of London. (1946) Directed by Jean Yarbrough

This Sixty One minute "movie" is a bit of a departure from most of the Universal Creature Features.  Original intended as a second feature of a double feature, this movie was a bit of throw away from the beginning.  And that is sad; there are some features that were worthwhile.

Phyllis Allenby (June Lockhart) is a young woman about to make a family for herself.  Her fiancé Barry Lanfield (Don Porter) is eager to get married.  But Phyllis' happiness is marred by the Allenby family curse; they are supposed to be afflicted with lycanthropy, and the recent deaths in the nearby park point to a supernatural assailant.  Phyllis is frightened that the killer may be her!

Phyllis lives in an old London home (actually, an old hacienda I have seen in many Universal Westerns) with her Aunt Martha (Sara Haden) and Cousin Carol (Jan Wiley) who are not actually relatives but the housekeeper who raised Phyllis after her parents death.  The actual housekeeper Hannah (Eily Malyon) rounds out the all female household.

Martha keeps two great big German Shepherds for protection.  Both animals despise Phyllis.  But Martha is very solicitous of her young ward, easing her fears, soothing her worries, and bringing her an endless stream of warm milk to help her sleep.

Yet the murders continue, and the muddy slippers and wet gown tails point to Phyllis.  How can she marry Barry if she is a night prowling monster?

There is a lot of good meat in this story.  It has supernatural elements, but rises above the obvious to pursue a psychological thrill.

Then why is it such an utterly forgettable story?

Well, the director, Jean Yarbrough could have phoned this one in.  It was intended to be a double feature with The Cat Creeps, and has that cobbled together feel.  For a film set in London, it has a distinctly Southern Californian feel.  The fact that the House is a Universal set used primarily for Westerns does not help.  Further, many of the performances are wooden; the only outstanding one is Sara Haden as Aunt Martha Winthrop.  Layered with concern, propriety and manipulation, her subtleties of expression carry the mystery.  The constable (Fredrick Worlock) was a two dimensional cardboard cutout of the pompous and ineffectual policeman.  Cousin Carol (Jan Wiley) was lovely, but her role could have been done more successfully with a mannequin.  One wonders which producer she was dating.

The mystery is fairly simple; it would have made a better episode of Scooby Doo than a "Classic Monster Movie".  However, it is still a great example that any good concept can be ruined with enough neglect and an incompetent director.  It never even rated the late night circuit.  It will only be remembered as filler on DVD collections, which is exactly how I encountered it.

This review is my first Quadruple Dip.  It is a first; no one could be bothered to review this before now.  Second, it goes in MsBunnylicious' Wicked Hallows Write Off.  It also qualifies for Texas Swede's Texas-Sweden Write Off, since Sara Haden was born in Galveston Texas.  And it is Lean-N-Mean at a concise 533 words.

Full Moon Theatre. Werewolves on the Silver Screen.



The Howling
(0)True Blood: Season Two.(O)Wolf Moon(O)Wild Country (O)The Wolfman (2010)(O)War Wolves(O)Wolf Man: The Legacy Collection
She-Wolf of London(O)Werewolf of London(O)The Twilight Saga: New Moon(O)Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
The Wolf Man(O)Dog Soldiers(O)Wolf(O)True Blood
An American Werewolf in Paris(O)Underworld: Rise of the Lycans(O)Underworld(O)An American Werewolf in London
Silver Bullet(O)The Brothers Grimm(O)Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(O)The Brotherhood of the Wolf(O)Wolves of Kromer

Recommended: No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8