"The Wolf Man" *** (out of ****)
When I was younger some of my friends and I became fans of the Universal horror monsters. Each had their favorite, mine was Franken-stein's Monster because at his heart he was the gentlest one. The ones which scared me the most were "The Mummy" (1932) and "The Wolf Man" (1941).
Throughout the years I've seen "The Wolf Man" a few times. As a child it scared me, when I got into my teens the story seemed silly to me but watching it again prior to reviewing it now, I became very struck by the story. In some ways it just may be the best of the horror monsters if only because this offers the most developed background story. We can relate to Larry Talbot (AKA The Wolf Man) more than Frankenstein's Monster or Dracula because Larry is a man, not a monster or the undead. He was just a man caught in an unfortunate situation. He never asked to be in the predicament he finds himself in.
Now after all these years I can come to these conclusions. With age I suppose a certain amount of understanding has developed. I can see into these characters a bit more. What I also noticed this time around was "The Wolf Man" burrows from elements we associate from noir, but this is before the term was coined. "The Wolf Man" is a very dark film. Everything happens at night in the fog. We follow shadows while danger lurks around every corner. The older Universal horror films such as "Frankenstein" (1931) or "Dracula" (1931) burrowed from German expressionism. They had an almost Gothic look to them. "The Wolf Man" looks modern. Like a typical 40s noir film.
Some of my readers should be familiar with the story, even if they haven't seen this particular film. "The Wolf Man" is about a man, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) who gets bitten by a werewolf. After which he too has become one. And whenever the moon is bright he turns into one. He can tell who his next victim will be when he sees the sign of the werewolf ( a star) in the palm of their hand.
Larry has returned home to meet his father, Sir. John Talbot (Claude Rains) after being absent for 18 years. But the recent death of his brother has brought them back together. While back home Larry meets Gwen (Evelyn Ankers) who runs an antique shop across the street with her father. Larry is immediately smitten and determine to get to know her. So much in fact he is not even slightly bothered by the fact that she is engaged to Frank Andrews (Patrick Knowles). But instead sees it as a fun challenge. And Gwen seems to be enjoying the game.
Rewatching "The Wolf Man" I was struck by what a fine cast the film as. As all us old timers will know every actor in the film; Claude Rains, who had also appeared in one of Universal's horror films, "The Invisible Man" (1933). Then there is Patrick Knowles, Warren Williams, Ralph Bellamy and Bela Lugosi as Bela a gypsy travelling in town with his mother (Maria Ouspenskaya). It is through them Larry learns about werewolves.
As I watched this film and some of the other older horror films, I've come to realize something. In my family, perhaps because we are Hungarian, we have often thought of Bela Lugosi as a major film star (and so did he. He had quite the ego). I've now come to notice Lugosi rarely had major starring roles outside of Dracula. His performance here amounts to little more than a cameo. I said something similar about his character in "The Body Snatcher" (1945).
I wonder if Lon Chaney Sr. was alive if he would have been offered the role. For that matter I wonder if this film and this character was at all an inspiration to the Incredible Hulk. Both stories are about the beast within man.
Lon Chaney Jr. does a very effective job playing the character. The audience does come to sympathize with him despite his killing instincts. We understand that Larry doesn't intend to be evil. In certain ways Chaney makes the character as sympathetic as Frankenstein's Monster. Chaney played this character many, many times after this. I know of at least 5 other occasions including the extremely disappointing "House of Frankenstein" (1944), "House of Dracula" (1945) and even a comedic turn in the classic Abbott and Costello comedy, "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948).
"The Wolf Man" was directed by George Waggner and written by Curt Siodmak. Siodmak does something pretty interesting here. He keeps the gore entirely off screen. We don't see one murder on-screen. Siodmak actually wrote the classic "B" horror film " I Walked with A Zombie" (1943) by Val Lewton. Of course that was typical of Lewton. Siodmak must have learned some lessons working with him and brought them with him on "The Wolf Man".
I'm not familiar with Waggner however. He worked a lot in TV directed several television shows but did direct a John Wayne western. He manages to direct with some flair giving the film a certain amount of style and charm.
The film at times suggest that Larry doesn't really turn into a werewolf but instead it is all in his mind. His doctor, Dr. Lloyd (Williams) and his father (Rains) believe in this theory strongly. But Col. Montford (Bellamy) who is on the track to find the killer, doesn't believe in werewolves. But the film's ending seems to confuse us even more. Pay attention to the Montford character. Has he had a sudden change of heart or were the doctor and the father right all along. The film continues along the blurry lines it has established.
Does "The Wolf Man" still have the ability to scare today's audience? Maybe. It does a great job creating mood and atmosphere. And I suppose at its heart is a more terrifying story than one could imagine. It is not about ghost and monster but what is inside man's mind and his soul. Now that is scary stuff.
Readers should also know that a new adaption of "The Wolf Man" has been in the works. The new film stars Benicio del Toro. Photos can be found on-line.
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