Tasty Wolfsbane

[Originally posted on DVDmon.com in 2000]

The Wolf Man (1941)

Film: ****
Audio: **1/2
Video: ***1/2
Extras: ****
Value: ****
Overall: ****

Studio: Universal Produced: 1941 Rated: NR Running Length: 70 min. DVD Release: 11/2/99 Video: 1.33:1 (Full-frame) Audio: English DD 1.0

Even though it comes late in the original Universal Monsters cycle, George Waggner’s The Wolf Man (1941) is rightfully a classic horror movie. The film stars Lon Chaney Jr., the son of the silent screen’s greatest horror icon, Lon Chaney. In this film, Chaney Jr. begins his own ascent into the horror movie pantheon by portraying Larry Talbot, a prodigal son returning to his homeland after years abroad. Unfortunately, while love begins to bloom for Larry in the form of Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers), so also blooms the wolfbane. After being bitten in an attack by a gypsy werewolf (Bela Lugosi), Larry has to wrestle with his fate.

To criticize a film like The Wolf Man by the standards of films which are made today is to miss a magical opportunity to enjoy classic myth-making. Of course the film is in black and white, the acting seems more stagey, and the violence is hidden from sight. These are the charms of the golden age of Hollywood. But what film made recently can boast the creepy charm of a forest ensconced with thick fog, or a small village of superstitious, torch bearing denizens? To answer my own question, Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow (1999), which is as much an homage to the classic Universal horror films as it is to the Hammer horror films of the 1950’s and 1960’s. While the look of The Wolf Man has been influential, it is the anguished monster (as in Frankenstein) which is played for the audience’s sympathy and not just for abject horror that elevates the film above other movies of its kind.

The presentation of the movie is very good with the occasional scratch or spot, but this is also a film which is almost sixty years old. Needless to say, the sound is Dolby Digital Mono. However, the DVD is yet another loaded special edition containing a half-hour documentary, Monster by Moonlight, hosted by director John Landis (An American Werewolf in London). It is very informative and gives a lengthy breakdown into how makeup artist Jack Pierce went about creating the infamous Wolf Man mask. Another bonus feature is a non-stop commentary track by film historian Tom Weaver. A highlight of his comments concerns the aborted attempt to make a werewolf movie back in the early 1930’s which would have starred Boris Karloff. If you’’ve never listened to an audio commentary, this is a great example of what they should be like. Additionally, the disc presents a montage of posters and on-set photos set to the fantastic film score by Charles Previn, Hans J. Salter, and Frank Skinner.

If you are a fan of classic monster movies, The Wolf Man is a howling good time.