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Curse of the Werewolf, 1961
In rural Spain a starving beggar (Richard Wordsworth) makes the mistake of begging at the wedding of a cruel Marques. Thrown into the dungeon for years and years, he loses his humanity. When a mute servant girl (Yvonne Romain) is thrown into the dungeon for refusing the Marques’ advances, she is raped by the beggar and becomes pregnant. She finds refuge with Don Alfredo (Clifford Evans) and his housekeeper Teresa (Hira Talfrey), who kindly take her in and ultimately adopt her baby. But the young Leon (played as a child by Justin Walters and an adult by Oliver Reed) has a curse on him, and soon it begins to impact those he loves.
Taking its time to develop characters and relationships, this is an impressive and memorable tale of horror.
It’s astonishing, thinking back on the film, to realize just how many stories are embedded in this film, which clocks in at just about an hour and a half. Some of the stories get only a few moments of screentime, such as a single scene that speaks volumes in which the Marques’ young wife (Josephine Llewellyn), already realizing the crass cruelty of her new husband, begs for him to spare the life of the beggar. This character, who only gets maybe 4 minutes out of the whole film, is memorable and tragic. It’s a very deft trick whereby we witness tragedies big and small, and yet woven between those stories are moments of love and affection that keep the whole thing from being a slog. Running through almost the whole film is the story of Pepe (Warren Mitchell), the town watchman, and his wife Rosa (Anne Blake). Pepe is sure that he shot the mysterious creature attacking local livestock, and he endures years and years of abuse and mocking from the locals, with only his wife steadfastly standing up for him.
It is also very moving that the film takes time to tell the story of the servant girl, not treating her assault as just a garish piece of place-setting, but letting us understand what she’s been through. She has been one of the people who took care of the beggar in the dungeon, and so his attack on her feels particularly cruel and perverse---a sexual assault on someone he has known since she was a small child. While her story is a sad one, the care and kindness she receives from Alfredo and Teresa underscores a theme of the film about the redemptive power of love.
I was very moved by the way that this film departs from the traditional werewolf origin story. We don’t have some dashing man getting attacked by a wild wolf in the misty woods under a full moon. Instead, the curse is one that Leon is born with. And to further the tragedy, what awakens the curse in him is an act of empathy and mercy as he rushes to comfort a squirrel that has been shot by a hunter. Leon is far too young to understand what is happening to him, and Alfredo and Teresa must do their best to keep him under control.
When Leon grows up and moves away, the temptations of the adult world reawaken the curse. The love of the attractive young woman across the road, Cristina (Catherine Fuller), may act as an antidote to the curse, but is it too little too late? Catherine is being pushed by her father into a relationship with a real dud, and there are echoes of the Marquesa’s story in Catherine.
As a film, this is just very strong and character-driven. You feel for every character who crosses Leon’s path, just as you feel for Leon who doesn’t understand the pain and destruction he causes in his “nightmares”. None of the characters, and none of the deaths in the film, are throwaway. Even a somewhat annoying sex worker isn’t portrayed as a caricature, and the only death not mourned is that of someone who is overtly cruel and predatory.
The only complaint I had about the film is that the final act seems to rush by. The relationship between Leon and Catherine needs just a little more room to breathe. And after some intriguing set-up about her possible influence on his curse, it feels as if things are left hanging in regards to certain plot points. I couldn’t help but feel that there were 5-10 minutes missing from the final third.
In terms of werewolf films, this would probably be a top 5 for me. Just incredibly solid and a masterful example of managing a sprawling cast of characters.
Curse of the Werewolf, 1961
In rural Spain a starving beggar (Richard Wordsworth) makes the mistake of begging at the wedding of a cruel Marques. Thrown into the dungeon for years and years, he loses his humanity. When a mute servant girl (Yvonne Romain) is thrown into the dungeon for refusing the Marques’ advances, she is raped by the beggar and becomes pregnant. She finds refuge with Don Alfredo (Clifford Evans) and his housekeeper Teresa (Hira Talfrey), who kindly take her in and ultimately adopt her baby. But the young Leon (played as a child by Justin Walters and an adult by Oliver Reed) has a curse on him, and soon it begins to impact those he loves.
Taking its time to develop characters and relationships, this is an impressive and memorable tale of horror.
It’s astonishing, thinking back on the film, to realize just how many stories are embedded in this film, which clocks in at just about an hour and a half. Some of the stories get only a few moments of screentime, such as a single scene that speaks volumes in which the Marques’ young wife (Josephine Llewellyn), already realizing the crass cruelty of her new husband, begs for him to spare the life of the beggar. This character, who only gets maybe 4 minutes out of the whole film, is memorable and tragic. It’s a very deft trick whereby we witness tragedies big and small, and yet woven between those stories are moments of love and affection that keep the whole thing from being a slog. Running through almost the whole film is the story of Pepe (Warren Mitchell), the town watchman, and his wife Rosa (Anne Blake). Pepe is sure that he shot the mysterious creature attacking local livestock, and he endures years and years of abuse and mocking from the locals, with only his wife steadfastly standing up for him.
It is also very moving that the film takes time to tell the story of the servant girl, not treating her assault as just a garish piece of place-setting, but letting us understand what she’s been through. She has been one of the people who took care of the beggar in the dungeon, and so his attack on her feels particularly cruel and perverse---a sexual assault on someone he has known since she was a small child. While her story is a sad one, the care and kindness she receives from Alfredo and Teresa underscores a theme of the film about the redemptive power of love.
I was very moved by the way that this film departs from the traditional werewolf origin story. We don’t have some dashing man getting attacked by a wild wolf in the misty woods under a full moon. Instead, the curse is one that Leon is born with. And to further the tragedy, what awakens the curse in him is an act of empathy and mercy as he rushes to comfort a squirrel that has been shot by a hunter. Leon is far too young to understand what is happening to him, and Alfredo and Teresa must do their best to keep him under control.
When Leon grows up and moves away, the temptations of the adult world reawaken the curse. The love of the attractive young woman across the road, Cristina (Catherine Fuller), may act as an antidote to the curse, but is it too little too late? Catherine is being pushed by her father into a relationship with a real dud, and there are echoes of the Marquesa’s story in Catherine.
As a film, this is just very strong and character-driven. You feel for every character who crosses Leon’s path, just as you feel for Leon who doesn’t understand the pain and destruction he causes in his “nightmares”. None of the characters, and none of the deaths in the film, are throwaway. Even a somewhat annoying sex worker isn’t portrayed as a caricature, and the only death not mourned is that of someone who is overtly cruel and predatory.
The only complaint I had about the film is that the final act seems to rush by. The relationship between Leon and Catherine needs just a little more room to breathe. And after some intriguing set-up about her possible influence on his curse, it feels as if things are left hanging in regards to certain plot points. I couldn’t help but feel that there were 5-10 minutes missing from the final third.
In terms of werewolf films, this would probably be a top 5 for me. Just incredibly solid and a masterful example of managing a sprawling cast of characters.