To continue "Monster Mash Month", this week we would like to talk Universal Studios Monster - The Wolf Man. The 1940s brought us several movies that we would sit on the edge of our seats in fear when we watched them. The film in today's highlight is The Wolf Man (1941). With his sharp teeth and furry face, we thought he was terrifying as he ran through the mist, sneaking up on his next victim.
Who will ever forget Lon Chaney, Jr. as Lawrence (Larry) Talbot and his lycanthropic alter-ego,"the wolf man"? After eighteen years of estrangement, the unsuspecting, good-natured Larry returns home to his father’s European estate, only to be bitten by a wolf soon after his arrival. It was not just any wolf, mind you, but a werewolf and, once bitten, the victim himself will also become a werewolf. The nightmarish life of blood-lust and horrific transformation thus begins for poor Larry Talbot with each full (autumn) moon. As we are reminded several times throughout The Wolf Man: "Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night; may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms, and the autumn moon is bright". (Sequels would change the last line to "and the moon is full and bright”, but the original "autumn moon" indicates that the werewolf only transforms in the fall and not with every full moon of the year, thereby receiving a respite from his wolfish pursuits.)
How we thrilled as Lon Chaney, Jr. changed from man to wolf in this film as well as in the sequels. Whether or not his transformation compares to the technically advanced transformations that appear on the screen today is irrelevant to us. We much prefer The Wolf Man of old, with legendary Lon Chaney, Jr. in the “monster” role that was solely his throughout the 40s (Henry Hull had portrayed a similar character in Universal’s The Werewolf of London in the 30s, but it never achieved the popularity of the 1941 version). With a stellar cast that includes Claude Rains, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Evelyn Ankers, Warren William, Maria Ouspenskaya, and Bela Lugosi, The Wolf Man is definitely a horror classic and one of the all-time favorites of that genre.
So for a scary "Monster Mash Month" selection, we recommend watching the 1941 classic film, The Wolf Man with Lon Chaney, Jr. Join "Let's Talk Classic Movies" Wednesday to read more about the Universal Studios Monster werewolf in Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man.
**Trivia Question for Today: Who created Lon Chaney Jr.’s transforming makeup in The Wolf Man?
Trivia Answer for Previous Post: In Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, the transformation of Count Dracula to a bat and visa versa was animated. The person responsible for this animation was Universal-International's animator, Walter Lantz (of Woody Woodpecker fame).
Trivia Bonus for Previous Post: The villain who appears at the end of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, or shall we say 'who does not appear' is the invisible man. As Chick and Wilbur are escaping Dracula's castle in a row boat, a cigarette lights up in the boat and only a voice is heard. The voice of the invisible man is that of Vincent Price.
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