My seven year old is going to be a werewolf for Halloween.  He's been on a classic movie monster kick for several years now--it started with Dracula, then the Mummy, and last year he was Frankenstein.  I guess it was the Wolf Man's turn.  After this he says he wants to be a ghost next Halloween, and then he'll be done.  In order to help him get in the spirit of things, we rented the 1941 Lon Chaney classic, The Wolf Man. 

The 70-minute film is one of Universal's many creature features from the 1930s and 40s, and deserves its classic status.  It was also one of the few Universal monster movies I hadn't seen, so I was looking forward to watching it myself. 

Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney) returns to his ancestral homeland and moves back in with his father.  The wealthy family lives in a castle overlooking a village, and Talbot soon falls for a local girl, Gwen.  When a gypsy caravan comes through town, Talbot, Gwen and her girlfriend all go together to get their fortune told.  It's a foggy night, and while Gwen and Larry are off flirting, the girlfriend is killed by a wolf.  Larry stops the wolf by beating him to death with a silver cane, and is bitten in the process.  That bite heals quickly, but it's too late--Larry Talbot has become a werewolf.

Talbot is a reluctant werewolf, but a bloody one--soon he's claimed two additional victims, and has the townspeople on his tail.  The more educated folks debate the reality of werewolves and the psychology behind someone thinking they are a werewolf; all the while, Talbot is fighting his own inner demon and trying to stay one step ahead of the mob.

This isn't as good as Frankenstein or Dracula, and it's nowhere near as powerful as the Bride of Frankenstein, but it's a decent, fast-paced movie.  Lon Chaney is a stiff actor, but this actually serves him well in this role, as he struggles to contain the monster within.  He's overshadowed in the scenes with Claude Rains (who plays his father), but otherwise keeps up with the rest of the cast.  Bela Lugosi makes a brief but important cameo as Bela the Gypsy, and the rest of the cast feels like stock players set up to be the Wolf Man's banquet.

There are a few moments that might be difficult for modern audiences to understand--the abject racism and distrust of the Gypsies coming through the village, and the Gypsy refusal to have a traditional burial for their fallen family member.  The movie is also never quite clear about where this is all taking place, and the number of accents that appear and disappear in this movie are as mysterious as the Wolf Man himself. 

This is the classic werewolf movie, and as such it's worth seeing; don't expect too much in terms of special effects or makeup to flesh out the monster.  There is great atmosphere and there are some nice suspenseful moments; and, typical for Universal's monster flicks, you feel more than a little pity for the Wolf Man by the end of the feature.  He might be a bloodthirsty killer, but he's as much a victim as the people he's killed. 

The Wolf Man is available in several different DVD versions; this was a single film, but it's also around in a set with some Wolf Man sequels.  I haven't seen them, but after watching this, I might look them up. 

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Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD