The Wolf Man
Starring: Lon Chaney Jr., Evelyn Ankers, Claude Rains
Written by: Curt Siodmak
Directed by: George Waggner
****Spoilers****
After learning about the death of his brother, Larry Talbot returns home from abroad. There to pay his respects, as well as make do and mend with his father, he falls head over heels (via, Pops' telescope) for Gwen, a beautiful young lady working at her dad's antique shop. After purchasing a cane with a silver handle shaped like a wolf from said shop, he talks her into accompanying him to a gypsy camp for a palm reading. A co-worker of Gwen tags along, and is attacked in the woods near the campsite. Larry jumps into heroic mode and runs to her rescue, to no avail, and has to fight off a wolf. He is bitten in the process, but caves in the beast's head with his silver cane. What is found at the scene is not an animal, but Bela the fortune teller, with massive cranial damage, and dead as a doornail. Talbot's bite wound heals way too quick, and Bela's mother says he bears the mark of the werewolf - Larry can't determine if she's telling the truth or if he's just gone batshit crazy.
Lon Chaney Jr. churns up a fantastic and sympathetic performance as Larry Talbot. Watching the portrayal of a happy-go-lucky realistic man deteriorate into madness is extremely fascinating. The sorrow is increased, due to the way in which he reacts to having no control of what he does while being a monster. In my opinion, Lon never repeats this excellence again in later sequels, though, the follow-ups aren't void of entertainment.
The chemistry between Ankers and Chaney Jr. as Gwen and Larry was pretty remarkable, especially considering that they were far from being besties when the cameras weren't rollin'. In what was thought to be a punishment by Universal, Evelyn was given Lon's dressing room. Apparently quite pissed over this, Chaney's mischievousness began, which mainly consisted of childish acts in wolf-mode, scaring the crap outta her behind the scenes. Nevertheless, they went on to star in several other pictures together, and as far as The Wolf Man goes, you would never guess the two had any amount of disdain towards one another (save for the finale, perhaps, where Gwen has a confrontation with the werewolf in the fog-ridden woods). They are straight up charming, and you want Gwen and Larry to ultimately make it through all of their misfortunes.
Claude Rains was a fantastic actor, no doubt, but I think having him in the role of Sir John Talbot, Larry's Father, wasn't the greatest choice. The two are so far apart by appearance that Larry looks like he may have been adopted. Also, they are supposed to have a sort of Father/Son reparation from a previously strained relationship, which doesn't shine through as much as I'd like. It's more along the lines of “Son, I'm glad you're back... whatevs”, and that's basically it. There could have been some great conflicts, but I don't really hold blame on Rains for this; he was just more than likely working with what he'd been given. I feel bad for sounding like a hater, I'm really not... ole' Claude would've just been more appealing to me playing another part for this picture. That being said, Rains give his Sir John role one helluva memorable moment in the woods with Maleva (the old gypsy lady, played by Maria Ouspenskaya), in which she ridicules him for his disbelief in the supernatural. It's an excellent, unforgettable scene, where Rains and Ouspenskaya really deliver the goods.
Curt Siodmak did some extensive study on lycanthropic folklore before devising his script (which was changed from Larry originally being a telescope engineer to him actually being the son of Sir John Talbot) for the picture. While he kept some of the legends true to the source, this film has not one single frame of a full moon, or even a moon at all. Later sequels lay blame on the transformation being caused by the light of a full moon, not the case here. The curse unravels through the bloom of wolfbane during the autumn season, under the light of the moon. Most interesting, Siodmak created the famous rhyme himself, long thought to be a part of folklore: "Even a man who is pure at heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright."
The bleak atmosphere is astounding, thanks to moments in a dark woodsy setting near the gypsy camp. Dim lighting is used perfectly, with an inch thick layer of fog covering the ground. I'm also really big on a montage moment displayed before Talbot first becomes the wolf; creative editing showcases Larry's drop into insanity by bizarre images and previous moments in the story. The film score also magnifies most of these creepy scenes, and segments of the music has been used in a few other Universal horror films. The miniature model used to display the Talbot mansion when Larry is arriving by car is awesome, too. Mostly, this movie is fantastic.
Now, as much as I love The Wolf Man (my top 3 Uni-classics are Bride of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and Creature From the Black Lagoon), there are a few “What the hell?” moments that need to be addressed:
First - when Larry Talbot is attacked by the gypsy werewolf (The fortune-teller named Bela, played by Bela Lugosi), once he himself becomes a lycanthrope, he is a traditional prowling on two-legs monster. The creature that attacks him, however, just appears to be your everyday average wolf. It's never been really explained why, other than theories about last minute changes in the script. It's not bothersome enough to keep me from admiring the film, but it's still there, and noticeable.
Second - After Talbot is cursed, Maleva the gypsy gives him a pentagram shaped necklace, which is supposed to keep him from becoming a hairy and murderous beast. So, if she had such an amazing piece of jewelry, why does she never give it to her werewolf son, Bela? Moreover, why is Bela doing palm readings mere minutes before he knowingly is about to transform into a monster? Well, pretty much because it makes for an entertaining story.
Third – During Talbot's first conversion into the beast, he sits down, pulls his shoes off, lifts his pants leg up, and notices some rather lengthy hair. In this scene, he is wearing a sleeveless undershirt... fast forward to him as the werewolf creeping through the woods, he's wearing a long-sleeve, dark button-up shirt. I guess he decided to dress up warm before going out to devour, since you know, a whole new body-full of hair isn't going to be enough for the harsh chilliness of the night. It's actually quite easy to overlook; it's just a humorous inconsistency.
Don't let my bitchy little nitpicking detour you, I actually admire a film for its minor flaws, and The Wolf Man is no exception. For every squabble I have, it repays ten-fold by overdosing me with incredible atmosphere, an entrancing story, perfect pacing, and makeup FX that I still consider groundbreaking.
Not much is known about the process of turning Chaney Jr. into the werewolf. Some say it was anywhere from 4-8 hours worth of work, and if you want to buy the truth-stretched stories of Lon, you're gonna believe it took about 22 hours. Some theories are that FX pioneer Jack Pierce applied every hair one-by-one, and that he purposefully burnt Chaney while ironing yak hair onto him because they had a difficult relationship. This much is true; the wolf feet and hands are boots and gloves, probably done as a team effort by Pierce and the costume department. Whatever story you want to go with about the rest is up to you. The bottom line is this: the werewolf himself looks pretty awesome, definitely in terms of the time this movie was made, and it can still be appreciated now. A lot of FX masters pay so much respect to Jack Pierce for his work, especially Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London, Wolf).
The Wolf Man is a timeless classic in my eyes. Some may find it cheesy all they want; it's extremely important and referenced in nearly every lycanthropic based film afterward. At least in the one's of any worth. While it may not be my favorite werewolf film of all time (An American Werewolf in London, way to be cliché, I know), without it, my favorite would likely not exist.
