ON THIS DAY IN HORROR - December 12th
"THE WOLF MAN" released in 1941
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Sometime in the early twentieth century, after learning of the death of his brother, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) returns to his ancestral home in Llanwelly, Wales to reconcile with his estranged father, Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains). While there, Larry becomes romantically interested in a local girl named Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers), who runs an antique shop. As a pretext to converse with her, he purchases a silver-headed walking stick decorated with a wolf, which Gwen tells him that it represents a werewolf (which she defines as a man who changes into a wolf "at certain times of the year.").
That night, Larry attempts to rescue Gwen's friend Jenny (Fay Helm) from what he believes to be a sudden wolf attack. He succeeds in killing the beast with his new walking stick, but is bitten on the chest in the process. A gypsy fortuneteller named Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) reveals to Larry that the animal which bit him was actually her son Bela (Bela Lugosi) in the form of a wolf. She also reveals that Larry will transform into a wolf as well since he who is bitten by a werewolf and lives will turn into one himself!
On the next full moon, Talbot transforms into a wolf-like creature and stalks the village, first killing the local gravedigger. The next morning, Talbot retains vague memories of being a werewolf and wanting to kill, and continually struggles to overcome his condition. But by the next full moon, Talbot again transforms and goes on another bloody rampage, which eventually brings him face to face with Gwen and his father. But will Talbot's humanity be enough to overcome the beast's murderous spirit before he harms the people he loves?
That night, Larry attempts to rescue Gwen's friend Jenny (Fay Helm) from what he believes to be a sudden wolf attack. He succeeds in killing the beast with his new walking stick, but is bitten on the chest in the process. A gypsy fortuneteller named Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) reveals to Larry that the animal which bit him was actually her son Bela (Bela Lugosi) in the form of a wolf. She also reveals that Larry will transform into a wolf as well since he who is bitten by a werewolf and lives will turn into one himself!
On the next full moon, Talbot transforms into a wolf-like creature and stalks the village, first killing the local gravedigger. The next morning, Talbot retains vague memories of being a werewolf and wanting to kill, and continually struggles to overcome his condition. But by the next full moon, Talbot again transforms and goes on another bloody rampage, which eventually brings him face to face with Gwen and his father. But will Talbot's humanity be enough to overcome the beast's murderous spirit before he harms the people he loves?
Jenny Williams: 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.
Larry Talbot: [after hearing it twice already] You know that one too ah?
Top and Above: Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) meets with his father Sir John (Claude Rains) and love-interest Gwen (Evelyn Ankers)
"Even a man who is pure at heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright." This quote has been listed in some sources as an authentic Gypsy or Eastern European folk saying, but was in fact an invention of screenwriter Curt Siodmak (nonetheless, the rhyme would be recited in every future Universal film appearance of the Wolf Man, albeit slightly modified to, "The moon is shining bright." rather than "The autumn moon is bright."). At the time, Universal had another unproduced werewolf script originally planned as a vehicle for Boris Karloff on file but Siodmak did not utilize any of it for his script. In Siodmak's original script for the film, Larry was not the prodigal son of Sir John Talbot, nor related to him in any way - he was an American engineer who comes to fix Sir John's telescope, and ends up getting trapped in the werewolf curse. Siodmak also left it ambiguous as to whether or not Lawrence Talbot really underwent a physical transformation to a werewolf or if the transformation simply occurred in his mind. Ultimately, the studio determined that Talbot's literal transformation into a werewolf would be more appealing to the audience and thus more profitable and the script was revised accordingly.
In fact, many of the modern myths of werewolves originated from this film, such as a person becoming a werewolf through a bite, the only way to kill a werewolf is with a silver bullet, werewolves and their victims being marked with pentagrams, and changing into one during a full moon. Some are taken from the earlier, unsuccessful werewolf movie Werewolf of London (1935), and others are original concepts created by Siodmak. Later films added the detail of werewolves being immortal; again, an invention of Hollywood, and basically an excuse to keep bringing the character back for sequel after sequel.
In fact, many of the modern myths of werewolves originated from this film, such as a person becoming a werewolf through a bite, the only way to kill a werewolf is with a silver bullet, werewolves and their victims being marked with pentagrams, and changing into one during a full moon. Some are taken from the earlier, unsuccessful werewolf movie Werewolf of London (1935), and others are original concepts created by Siodmak. Later films added the detail of werewolves being immortal; again, an invention of Hollywood, and basically an excuse to keep bringing the character back for sequel after sequel.
Maleva: You killed the wolf.
Larry Talbot: Well, there's no crime in that is there?
Maleva: The wolf was Bela.
Larry Talbot: You think I don't know the difference between a wolf and a man?
Maleva: Bela turned into a wolf and you killed him. A werewolf can only be killed by a silver bullet, or a silver knife...
[looks down at Larry's walking stick]
Maleva: ...or a stick with a silver handle.
Top : The Gypsy Fortune-teller Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) reveals to Larry that e did not kill a wolf, but her son Bela (Bela Lugosi) (Above)
With Karloff not available for The Wolf Man, Bela Lugosi actively campaigned for the lead role, but ended up playing only a minor supporting role of the Gypsy's son, Bela. Ironically, Maria Ouspenskaya, who played the old Gypsy woman, was only six years older than Lugosi, who was playing her son. The title role was ultimately given to Lon Chaney Jr., son of legendary actor Lon Chaney. This film would mark the first of five appearances by Chaney Jr. as the Wolf Man for Universal Studios. Out of Universal's classic canon of monsters, Chaney was the only actor to portray the same character in each of the studio's classic films and sequels. Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, and Evelyn Ankers were soon added to the cast playing Sir John Talbot, Dr. Lloyd, Colonel Paul Montford, and Gwen Conliffe respectively.
Stories about the make-up and transformation scenes have become legendary, and are mostly apocryphal. The transformation of Chaney from man into monster was laborious, and included filming a series of makeups took five to six hours to apply, and an hour to remove. Jack P. Pierce achieved the Wolf Man's iconic makeup primarily with a rubber nose and yak hair which was singed with a curling iron and attached to Lon Chaney Jr.'s face, arm, and legs with spirit gum. The first on-screen transformation takes place with Talbot in an undershirt (although he is fully dressed in a dark shirt once on the prowl), with only the feet transforming on screen in six lapse dissolves. In the second transformation there are eleven shots - again of feet only. The third transformation features 17 face shots in a continuous dissolve.
Stories about the make-up and transformation scenes have become legendary, and are mostly apocryphal. The transformation of Chaney from man into monster was laborious, and included filming a series of makeups took five to six hours to apply, and an hour to remove. Jack P. Pierce achieved the Wolf Man's iconic makeup primarily with a rubber nose and yak hair which was singed with a curling iron and attached to Lon Chaney Jr.'s face, arm, and legs with spirit gum. The first on-screen transformation takes place with Talbot in an undershirt (although he is fully dressed in a dark shirt once on the prowl), with only the feet transforming on screen in six lapse dissolves. In the second transformation there are eleven shots - again of feet only. The third transformation features 17 face shots in a continuous dissolve.
Above: Larry transforms into the Wolf Man!
By all accounts, Evelyn Ankers had a rough time on the set, with Chaney Jr. delighting in sneaking up on her in full makeup and scaring her senseless. In a deleted scene, a bear was to wrestle with the werewolf - but the bear broke loose and chased Ankers up into the soundstage's rafters! Ankers also later recalled that during the filming of the final confrontation, she was required to faint, and then to stay on the floor until the fight scene between Chaney Jr. and Rains was finished. Ankers recalled that during one take, she stayed on the floor so long that the low-hanging chemical fog being used in the scene caused her to pass out. When the take was over, the film crew began rearranging the cameras and lights for the next take, not noticing that Ankers had not emerged from the floor. Finally someone on the crew realized that Ankers was missing, and she was pulled up from the fog and revived.
Despite Universal's apprehensions over the public's appetite for horror movies following the attack on Pearl Harbor, The Wolf Man became one of the studio's top grossers in 1942, and became one of Universal's top tier movie monsters - along with Dracula and Frankenstein - and spawned four sequels. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) had Talbot’s grave opened on a full moon night, causing him to rise again (making him, in the subsequent films, technically one of the undead). The full moon, which had not been shown or mentioned in the first film, was used as a quasi-explanation for the monster's resurrection, and the poem known to the local villagers was retconned to mention the full moon. In House of Frankenstein (1944), Talbot is once again resurrected and is promised a cure via a brain transplant, but is shot dead with a silver bullet instead. He returns with no explanation in House of Dracula (1945), and is finally cured of his condition. But he was afflicted once again, in the comedy film Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). This time the Wolf Man is a hero of sorts, saving Wilbur Grey (Lou Costello) from having his brain transplanted by Dracula (Bela Lugosi) into the head of the Monster (Glenn Strange).
Despite Universal's apprehensions over the public's appetite for horror movies following the attack on Pearl Harbor, The Wolf Man became one of the studio's top grossers in 1942, and became one of Universal's top tier movie monsters - along with Dracula and Frankenstein - and spawned four sequels. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) had Talbot’s grave opened on a full moon night, causing him to rise again (making him, in the subsequent films, technically one of the undead). The full moon, which had not been shown or mentioned in the first film, was used as a quasi-explanation for the monster's resurrection, and the poem known to the local villagers was retconned to mention the full moon. In House of Frankenstein (1944), Talbot is once again resurrected and is promised a cure via a brain transplant, but is shot dead with a silver bullet instead. He returns with no explanation in House of Dracula (1945), and is finally cured of his condition. But he was afflicted once again, in the comedy film Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). This time the Wolf Man is a hero of sorts, saving Wilbur Grey (Lou Costello) from having his brain transplanted by Dracula (Bela Lugosi) into the head of the Monster (Glenn Strange).
TRIVIA: Larry Talbot and his father Sir John attend church on Sunday in the village, but the doorway and steps of the village church looks more like that of a cathedral. In fact, it was a cathedral - part of the original set built for the legendary silent version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), which had starred Lon Chaney Jr.'s famous father, Lon Chaney and which stood on the Universal back lot for over 20 years.
Top: Lon Chaney Jr. with make-up effects artist Jack P. Pierce;
Above: Universal publicity shot with Chaney Jr. and Evelyn Ankers
In 2010, Universal Pictures produced a remake of The Wolf Man with Joe Johnston directing the film and Benicio del Toro starring as Lawrence Talbot (del Toro also produced the film). The remake followed the same basic plot of the original but the story and characters were significantly altered, with Anthony Hopkins in a radically altered version of the Claude Rains role. The Wolf Man was released on February 12, 2010 and opened at #2 at the box office that weekend, but garnered mixed reviews and a low box office reception. Although Rick Baker and Dave Elsey won the Academy Award for Best Make-Up for The Wolf Man, the films performing below expectations at the box office caused Universal to cancel a sequel.
In October 2013, Universal announced that it would reboot their Universal Monsters properties as part of a shared cinematic universe, with Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan attached to develop the structure of the shared universe. In November 2014, Universal hired Aaron Guzikowski to write the shared universe's reboot of The Wolf Man, with Dwayne Johnson being approached to play the Talbot/Wolf Man role. Later it was reported that David Callaham was brought on board to re-write the script, and the reboot has been given a release date of March 30, 2018.
In October 2013, Universal announced that it would reboot their Universal Monsters properties as part of a shared cinematic universe, with Alex Kurtzman and Chris Morgan attached to develop the structure of the shared universe. In November 2014, Universal hired Aaron Guzikowski to write the shared universe's reboot of The Wolf Man, with Dwayne Johnson being approached to play the Talbot/Wolf Man role. Later it was reported that David Callaham was brought on board to re-write the script, and the reboot has been given a release date of March 30, 2018.
ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE: 94%
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