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The Wolf Man, 1941
Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr) returns to the village where he grew up to be with his father, John (Claude Rains). But soon after arriving--and catching feelings for local shopwoman Gwen (Evelyn Ankers)--Larry is attacked by what he believes to be a wolf. Soon, Larry finds himself experiencing strange events that seem to fit with local legends about werewolves.
The Wolf Man is a rather compact little horror, coming in at just about 70 minutes. And yet it is chock full of classic sequences so that even things that are overly familiar move along at a good little pace.
To begin with, the film is packed with talent, including Bela Lugosi as a local fortune teller and Ralph Bellamy as a local colonel who takes an interest in the seeming appearance of a dangerous wolf.
Many of the conversations in the film involve a distraught Larry trying to understand what is happening to him via consultation with his father, the colonel, and other men. Discussing the legend of the werewolf, the men assert that it is possible for someone to be crazy and believe himself to be a wolf, but not for someone to actually transform. It's a undertone of horror---the idea that something can be happening to you, and yet science says it is impossible. Only a local Romani woman (Maria Ouspenskaya) understands what is happening to Larry and offers him comfort, though she knows he is doomed.
The scenes out in the moor, all swirling mist and different figures popping in and out of the fog, are great looking and atmospheric.
My only complaints were that Larry sometimes felt a bit bland. At times, Chaney really seemed to convey a quiet desperation, but Larry lacked in personality at other times. And it doesn't help that a painfully dated element is our introduction to him: he uses a telescope to spy on a woman in her bedroom, then flirts with her by letting her know that he's seen into her bedroom. Charming! The whole romance feels like it exists mainly to introduce a conflict--ie Larry doesn't want to accidentally eat Gwen--and their scenes lack the intensity of the conversations about werewolves, or the genuine emotion of the scenes with the local woman.
Not sure this is one that I'd revisit often, but I'm glad I finally checked it out.
The Wolf Man, 1941
Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr) returns to the village where he grew up to be with his father, John (Claude Rains). But soon after arriving--and catching feelings for local shopwoman Gwen (Evelyn Ankers)--Larry is attacked by what he believes to be a wolf. Soon, Larry finds himself experiencing strange events that seem to fit with local legends about werewolves.
The Wolf Man is a rather compact little horror, coming in at just about 70 minutes. And yet it is chock full of classic sequences so that even things that are overly familiar move along at a good little pace.
To begin with, the film is packed with talent, including Bela Lugosi as a local fortune teller and Ralph Bellamy as a local colonel who takes an interest in the seeming appearance of a dangerous wolf.
Many of the conversations in the film involve a distraught Larry trying to understand what is happening to him via consultation with his father, the colonel, and other men. Discussing the legend of the werewolf, the men assert that it is possible for someone to be crazy and believe himself to be a wolf, but not for someone to actually transform. It's a undertone of horror---the idea that something can be happening to you, and yet science says it is impossible. Only a local Romani woman (Maria Ouspenskaya) understands what is happening to Larry and offers him comfort, though she knows he is doomed.
The scenes out in the moor, all swirling mist and different figures popping in and out of the fog, are great looking and atmospheric.
My only complaints were that Larry sometimes felt a bit bland. At times, Chaney really seemed to convey a quiet desperation, but Larry lacked in personality at other times. And it doesn't help that a painfully dated element is our introduction to him: he uses a telescope to spy on a woman in her bedroom, then flirts with her by letting her know that he's seen into her bedroom. Charming! The whole romance feels like it exists mainly to introduce a conflict--ie Larry doesn't want to accidentally eat Gwen--and their scenes lack the intensity of the conversations about werewolves, or the genuine emotion of the scenes with the local woman.
Not sure this is one that I'd revisit often, but I'm glad I finally checked it out.