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DVD 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.
If you haven't heard this piece of horror-movie doggerel before, you'll never forget it after seeing The Wolf Man for two reasons: it's a spooky piece of rhyme and nearly everybody in the picture recites it at one time or another. Set in a fog-bound studio-built Wales, The Wolf Man tells the doom-laden tale of Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), who returns to the estate of his wealthy father (Claude Rains). (Yes, Chaney's American, but the movie explains this, awkwardly.) Bitten by a werewolf, Talbot suffers the classic fate of the victims of lycanthropy: at the full moon, he turns into a werewolf, a transformation ingeniously devised by makeup maestro Jack Pierce. Pierce was the man who turned Boris Karloff into the Frankenstein monster, and his werewolf makeup became equally famous, with its canine snout and bushy hairdo--and, of course, seriously sharp dental work. The Wolf Man was a smash hit, giving Universal Pictures a new monster for their already crowded stable, and Chaney found himself following in the footsteps (or paw prints) of his father, who had essayed a monster or two in the silent era. This is a classy horror outing, with strong atmosphere and a thoughtful script by Curt Siodmak--well, except for the stiff romantic bits between Chaney and Evelyn Ankers. It's also got Bela Lugosi (briefly) and Maria Ouspenskaya, the prunelike Russian actress who foretells doom like nobody's business. --Robert Horton
"The Way You Walked Was Thorny Through No Fault Of Your Own"
"Even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers at night can become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the moon is full and bright." Curt Siodmak penned that poem over 60 years ago as the centerpiece for a film that was to feature Boris Karloff. The film was to be called "Destiny" and provide Karloff with a less lumbering creature than his Frankenstein's monster. The project was put on hold and would eventually re-emerge as "The Wolf Man", this time starring the son of the man of a thousand faces, Lon Chaney, Jr. Chaney would later in life claim this as his favorite role because unlike the Monster or the Mummy it was "completely my own".
Larry Talbot returns to his father's home as the next baron of his Welsh town. He is smitten by the local shopkeeper's daughter (Ankers). When he kills a wolf only later to discover it to be a man (Lugosi) he becomes tormented by the prospect of becoming a werewolf himself.
As with most of the Universal Classic Monster Collection there is a new feature produced by David Skaal. "Monster by Moonlight" features the most in-depth view yet on the origins of the film and the life of Lon Chaney, Jr. It is most touching to hear Ron Chaney, Lon's grandson, talk about his grandfather's passion for the role.
There is a montage of stills set to the trademark Wolfman score. The music would continue to appear in Universal films for almost 20 more years. Bios, trailers, production notes, and web links round out the features.
Lon Chaney's best performance in the Wolfman surprisingly is not his portrayal of the title monster. His true acting achievement has to be the tortured Larry Talbot. The depth of this role harks to his emotional Lenny from "Of Mice and Men". You'll also enjoy the interplay with Evelyn Ankers and of course his father played by Claude Rains. The gypsy might just as well have been talking about Chaney when she tells the dead Talbot: "The way you walked was thorny through no fault of your own."
Set the Standard for Creature Features
When watching the cheesy horror movies of the 50s and 60s some may think that monster movies were always made that way. Not so, as you can see in this classic horror film. While there had been a number of silent movies made in the horror genre, and Dracula had already set the standard for vampire movies and Frankenstein had set the standard for monster movies, movies about beasts among the talkies were still a bit thin.
Lon Chaney managed to set a standard for creature films. Dracula was not a sympathetic character. He was cold and self-serving, and his morality apparently non-existent. He lived only to master others. Dr. Frankenstein was also not a sympathetic character. He robbed graves and attempted to play God. His monster, on the other hand, had some moments where we felt sympathetic, but we were relieved when he was killed, which happened often in the numerous movies in which he appeared in the 30s. The Wolf Man, on the other hand, has always been a victim of circumstances. Often, or even perhaps typically, a nice guy who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the case of Lon Chaney's Wolf Man, he was helping someone when he was bitten.
Bela Lugosi plays Bela, a bit of original name creation if there ever was one, who also happens to be a werewolf. Lugosi's part in this film is short, providing some background appearances and a small handful of lines before succumbing to Lon Chaney's silver-handled cane. While his presence is brief, it is ominous.
Maria Ouspenskaya is another standard setter as the stereotypical "old Gypsy" Maleva who tells fortunes that lead to people becoming werewolves or dying. She gets to utter the poem that explains even nice people can become wolves when the wolf bane blooms and the autumn moon is bright. Though there is no mention of a full moon, the implication is that the moon must be pretty close to full. I also found the reference to autumn unusual, as later werewolf movies generally allowed the werewolf to transform during any time of year.
The makeup transitions are marvelous. We only see Lon Chaney's legs for most of the transition to a werewolf, and the transition seems to take forever; actually its only seconds but who wants to look at a Lon Chaney's legs that long? The transition back to human from a werewolf is much better as we get to see Chaney's face throughout.
These early horror movies were well done because they leveraged minimal special effects with a spooky atmosphere and chiller music as opposed to lots of entrails and blood. Or course, in the early 30s color films had yet to be produced commercially so blood often had to be identified in the dialogue in any case. Everything about this movie from the music to the foggy moor and the ominous Gypsy woman all contribute to the air of doom surrounding the story, ultimately focusing on Lon Chaney.
Also watch for Claude Rains playing Lon Chaney's father, though the two are physically very different people, and a very young Ralph Bellamy whose presence is generally kept to standing in pensive poses with a pipe in his mouth.
Horror movies about creatures have a long history, and this movie is one of the best. The Wolf Man series continued to deteriorate over a lengthy period until reinvigorated by more recent movies such as "An American Werewolf in London" and "Wolf" with Jack Nicholson. However, the central character in each of these owes a debt to the portrayal of Lon Chaney.
classic tragedy and dread
The Wolfman was not the first werewolf movie and it certainly wasn't the last but it is the greatest and most moving. Lon Chaney Jr. plays Larry Talbot, a man who the film implies, left England as an angry teenager and has been living in America until his older brother's death. He's back at home at Talbot castle and wants to made ammends with his dad, Sir John, played by the always excellent Claude Raines. Raines and Chaney look nothing alike and it's impossible to really "believe" that hulking Chaney could be Raines's son (as a child I just assumed that Chaney's character must have been adopted) but it's okay just go with the story because it's great. Larry Talbot is a truly tragic figure. He is a good man and all he wants is to settle back into English life, get to know his father and get cozy with Gwen, the antique shop owner's daughter but fate gets in the way. He's bitten by a werewolf, not because he was out doing something stupid on the moor but because he bravely tried to save a woman's life. He doesn't want to harm a soul but he can't help what happens when the moon is full and the wolfbane blooms. Larry's suffering is acute, his transformation still packs a punch and the wonderufl moody atmosphere still entertains. Get your popcorn, settle back on the couch, turn out the lights and have a ball with this.
When Universal Pictures picked up the movie rights to a Broadway adaptation of Dracula, they felt secure in handing the property over to the sinister team of actor Lon Chaney and director Tod Browning. But Chaney died of cancer, and Universal hired the Hungarian who had scored a success in the stage play: Béla Lugosi. The resulting film launched both Lugosi's baroque career and the horror-movie cycle of the 1930s. It gets off to an atmospheric start, as we meet Count Dracula in his shadowy castle in Transylvania, superbly captured by the great cinematographer Karl Freund. Eventually Dracula and his blood-sucking devotee (Dwight Frye, in one of the cinema's truly mad performances) meet their match in a vampire-hunter called Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan). If the later... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Bela Lugosi - Helen Chandler - David Manners Director(s): Tod Browning DVD Release Date: Released the 28 August 2001 This item is currently not available.
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You have to hand it to the walking dead. What they lack in speed and agility, they more than make up for in sheer single-minded determination. Im-Ho-Tep is a case in point. He's an ancient Egyptian priest, cursed for his terrible crimes against the gods. A team of British archaeologists digs up his sarcophagus, along with a box inscribed with a warning that opening it will unleash death and destruction. You'll never guess what they do. Once freed, Im-Ho-Tep takes on the appropriately evil alias Ardath Bey and gets to the task of resurrecting his ancient lover--which will, of course, require a living human surrogate. While the premise may sound formulaic, The Mummy in fact turns out to be bracingly weird, relying on atmospheric creepiness rather than on jump-out-and-scare-you... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Boris Karloff - Zita Johann - David Manners Director(s): Karl Freund DVD Release Date: Released the 28 August 2001 This item is currently not available.
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"It's alive! Alive!" shouts Colin Clive's triumphant Dr. Frankenstein as electricity buzzes over the hulking body of a revived corpse. "In the name of God now I know what it's like to be God!" For years unheard, this line has been restored, along with the legendary scene of the childlike monster tossing a little girl into a lake, in James Whale's Frankenstein, one of the most famous and influential horror movies ever made. Coming off the tremendous success of Dracula, Universal assigned sophomore director Whale to helm an adaptation of Mary Shelley's famous novel with Bela Lugosi as the monster. When Lugosi declined the role, Whale cast the largely unknown character actor Boris Karloff and together with makeup designer Jack Pierce they created the most memorable monster in... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Colin Clive - Mae Clarke - Boris Karloff Director(s): James Whale DVD Release Date: Released the 27 April 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Claude Rains practically owns his film debut in The Invisible Man, despite the fact that his face (let alone his body) is seen only for seconds in the final moments. As the brilliant scientist who discovers the secret of invisibility, Rains steps into the film wrapped up like a mummy behind a layer of bandages and blanketed in heavy clothes. When he removes his garments, there's nothing underneath, a simple but effective bit of 1930s movie magic that, apart from a few glitches, works as well today as it did in 1933. Like Frankenstein, another cautionary tale of science gone horribly wrong, the consequences of the doctor's experiments are dire: the chemicals drive him insane. Director James Whale infuses the film with plenty of humor, much of it arising from the quaint quirks... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Claude Rains - Gloria Stuart Director(s): James Whale DVD Release Date: Released the 28 August 2001 This item is currently not available.
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Jack Arnold's horror classic The Creature from the Black Lagoon spawned not one but two iconic images: the web-footed humanoid gill-man with a hankering for women and the leggy, luscious Julia Adams, the object of his desire, swimming the lagoon in a luminous white bathing suit. Not since King Kong has the "beauty and the beast" theme been portrayed in such sexually charged (though chaste) terms. Arnold turns an effectively B-movie plot--a small expedition up a remote Amazon river captures a prehistoric amphibian man, who escapes to wreak havoc on the team and kidnap his bathing beauty--into a moody, stylish, low-budget feature. The jungle exteriors turn from exotic to treacherous when the creature blocks their passage and strands them in the wilds. Much of the film is shot... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Richard Carlson - Julie Adams Director(s): Jack Arnold DVD Release Date: Released the 28 August 2001 This item is currently not available.
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