Meet these obscure werewolves from classic film

A werewolf walks into a bar and ….

No, that’s not a joke. It’s the opening scene of a 1956
low-budget film with the straightforward and generic title of The Werewolf.
And if you’ve seen other werewolf films, you’ll guess right away that the
disheveled and anxious man who stumbles into a small-town bar with no memory is
the title creature.

Why? Well, he’s clearly distraught and depressed, characteristics we’ve seen in other classic film werewolves. Yes, werewolves violently rip necks open but have a heart – it’s not a life they chose. Thanks to Lon Chaney Jr. in his Universal films, I’ve always seen the werewolf as a pitiful creature, caught in a tragic life through no fault of its own. Often, they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, like Chaney was in The Wolf Man. Or they are the victim of a family curse, a popular fate in films like Cry of the Werewolf (1944) and The Curse of the Werewolf (1961).

Chaney’s Wolf Man films worked so well because they were as much about Larry Talbot, the man, as they were about the wolf he became. When he was resurrected in the Universal mash-up films Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1942), House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945) he become sadder and more tragic in each film, begging to be killed so he can escape his cursed life.

“Back to a life of misery and despair – I only wanted to
die,” he says in House of Dracula.

(He at least got to be the hero in the comedy Abbott and
Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

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For Duncan Marsh, our amnesiac lycanthrope in The Werewolf, his sad twist of fate happens after a car crash when he’s treated by two unscrupulous country doctors who use him as a test subject by injecting him with irradiated wolf serum they created to survive a nuclear apocalypse. (You’re right, that doesn’t make sense.)

When the disoriented Duncan (played by Steven Ritch) arrives
at the bar with a twenty-dollar bill, he’s marked by a thug who follows him
outside for the money. That’s how we learn this werewolf doesn’t transform by
the light of a full moon; he simply needs to be afraid or angry. The thug never
had a chance and the odds are stacked against our man-wolf who spends most of
the film afraid or angry.

The only bit of luck Duncan has is stumbling into the office of the kind town doctor Gilchrist (Ken Christy) and his assistant/nurse Amy (Joyce Holden) who believe that something bad has happened to the pitiful and remorseful man. Though he’s starting to remember pieces of the past few days including the crash and the doctors, he is so skittish that he runs off. Gilchrist and Amy try to discover the truth and convince the sheriff (Don Megowan) to take Duncan alive. That will be a tough task with the whole town dressed in their hunting hats while out to destroy the “killer wolf.” (The scene of the vengeful torch-bearing mob is a throwback to Frankenstein and other Universal films.)

Arriving in town are Duncan’s loving wife and young son, as well as the two “evil” doctors who are out to protect their experiment – or at least make sure their secret dies with Duncan. All these elements will, of course, converge.

* * * * *

I discovered The Werewolf while looking for werewolf films to watch in anticipation of two new films, Wolf Man from Blumhouse and The Beast Within.

Unfamiliar with it, I barely expected The Werewolf to reach “B-movie” level quality. But it has some surprisingly solid attributes including the wolf makeup and transformation, cinematography and how deeply affecting it is (try not to be touched in scenes with Duncan, his wife and son).

The makeup was created by Clay Campbell (The Return of the Vampire) and the wolf’s extra-long facial hair and ferocious pointed teeth hold up to other werewolves. The transformation is through time-lapse photography that is appropriate for genre. I appreciate that the creature is a true wolf and man as he stays the same size as both (even his suit stays intact).

Director of Photography Edward Linden (King Kong, Son of Kong), who died shortly after this film was completed, crafted stylish scenes. My favorite is when the evil doctors attack Duncan in his prison cell and the immense shadows cast from the bars are angled in a way to suggest that life is crashing down on the three men.

* * * * *

The opening credits give the “introducing” banner – used to herald a (hopefully) rising star – to Steven Ritch, who does a better-than-admiral job as our man-wolf. His pain is evident throughout and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him from the get-go, so I was expecting to see a nice line of acting credits for him after this film. Though he had a steady career, the roles that followed don’t depict that he given parts in recognition for the skills he showed in The Werewolf. He had small roles in a few movies and in many TV shows, plus writing credits including the 1957 film Plunder Road in which he also acted, along with episodes of such TV shows as  77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye and Wagon Train.

Though the film’s low budget is evident, and I felt cheated by the end, I still came away as a fan of The Werewolf.

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A TRIO OF WEREWOLF FILMS

Here are three other notable werewolf films – one for
historic reasons, the other two simply because I find them interesting.

The Werewolf (1913)

Canadian actress Phyllis Gordon was the original Universal monster in this silent film. The two-reeler was produced by Bison Film Co. and released by Universal Film Manufacturing Co., a precursor to Universal Studios.

Unfortunately, the film was destroyed in a 1924 fire and is considered lost so we can’t watch it but shouldn’t forget that it is part of film history.

It is based on a Navajo legend, which is mentioned in other werewolf films. This time, a spurned  Navajo woman, a witch, raises her daughter, Watoma (Phyllis Gordon), to hate white men like her father, and teaches her how to change into a werewolf.

Watoma suffers her own tragedy and returns to life 100 years after her death seeking vengeance on the man who killed her boyfriend.

* * * * *

The Undying Monster(1942) (also known as The Hammond Monster)

 I love this
little-known horror film. It’s low budget, but high quality through the
atmospheric cinematography of Lucien Ballard and a fun cast of actors with
unfamiliar names.

It’s set at one of those cliff side mansions so omnipresent in British horror films, this one being the magnificently grand House of Hammond.

Talk is immediate of legends of the Hammond monster and of the relative who sold his soul to the devil and now lives in a secret room in the castle. Adding to the drama is a spooky old Scottish saying – also carved into a basement wall – that portends tragedy ahead: “When stars are bright on a frosty night, beware thy bane on the rocky lane.” (A clear variation of the classic quote from The Wolf Man.)

Current castle residents are the spunky Helga (Heather Angel) and her brother Oliver (John Howard) who don’t believe all of that nonsense, but still live under the weight of it all.

The film is highly atmospheric with action set mostly inside the candlelit castle that is colored by moody shadows. There are plenty of howls in the night – “lost souls,” the creepy maid says, and the cliffs are punctuated by large boulders and striking wind-swept trees frozen in movement.

When Howard is attacked on a moonlit night near where the body of maid is found mauled, it brings in a Scotland Yard scientist and his comical female sidekick Christy (Heather Thatcher) to investigate.

Is there really a curse? Is the killer beast or man? Sit around the campfire that is The Undying Monster and let the old yarn unravel and entertain you.

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The Beast Must Die (1974)

Right before a full moon, millionaire big-game hunter Tom Newcliffe (played by Calvin Lockhart) invites five guests to his island mansion. (How rich is he? He has invested in a security system with cameras and microphones throughout the island that will track every move and sound that is made.)

Each guest has one thing in common: He or she has been at a site of mysterious and gruesome murders, and Tom is sure one is a werewolf. It gets uncomfortable right away as the guests and Tom’s wife learn why they’re there. Peter Cushing is among those invited. People will be tested (here, touch this silver item and prove you’re not a werewolf), guests will turn on each other (“The backs of your hands are covered in hair!” – one exclaims) and yes, there will be blood (1970s-style) and people will die.

While this is a horror movie from trustworthy Amicus Productions, it’s also a detective story that asks the viewer to guess the identity of the werewolf.

So be warned: You will be given a 30-second countdown to share your answer before the wolf is revealed. You might even get a couple of chances to do so. How did I do? I botched it up, but it all made sense in the end.

– Toni Ruberto for Classic Movie Hub

You
can read all of Toni’s Monsters and Matinees articles here.

Toni Ruberto, born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., is an editor and writer at The Buffalo News. She shares her love for classic movies in her blog, Watching Forever and is the board president and a member of the Classic Movie Blog Association. Toni was the president of the former Buffalo chapter of TCM Backlot and its offshoot group, Buffalo Classic Movie Buffs. She is proud to have put Buffalo and its glorious old movie palaces in the spotlight as the inaugural winner of the TCM in Your Hometown contest. You can find Toni on Twitter at @toniruberto.