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Films: The Wolf Man/Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man/She-Wolf Of London/Werewolf Of London
Stars: Claude
Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Patrick Knowles, Bela Lugosi, Maria
Ouspenskaya, Evelyn Ankers, and Lon Chaney, Jr./Ilona Massey, Patrick Knowles,
Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Maria Ouspenskaya, and Lon Chaney, Jr./Don Porter,
Sara Haden, Jan Wiley, Lloyd Corrigan, Dennis Hoey, Martin Kosleck, Elly Malyon,
and Frederick Worlock/Henry Hull, Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson, Lester Matthews,
Spring Byington, Clark Williams, and Lawrence Grant
Writers: Curt
Siodmak, George Bricker, Robert Harris, and John Cotton
Directors: George
Waggner, Roy William Neill, Jean Yarbrough, and Stuart Walker
Feature lengths:
70 minutes/73 minutes/71 minutes/75 minutes
Extras: Stephen
Sommers On Universal’s Classic Monster: The Wolf Man Featurette, Audio
Commentary With Film Historian Tom Weaver, Monster By Moonlight Documentary,
Theatrical Trailers
Languages: English
Monaural Sound
Subtitles: English
Captions and French and Spanish Language Subtitles
Packaging:
Two-Disc Book Style Digipack Within A Cardboard Slipcase
Chapter Stops:
18/18/18/18
Sound: Monaural
Sound
Year of Theatrical
Release: 1935/1941/1943/1946/DVD Release: 2004
Theatrical
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Home Video
Distributor: Universal Studios Home Video
MPAA Rating: Not
Rated
Reviewer: Mark A.
Rivera
Of the three
classic Universal Studios monsters to inspire dozens of filmmakers, the
character of “The Wolf Man” has in some ways been the most under appreciated
in my opinion. In terms of films, there are more vampire films than perhaps any
other creature on celluloid and then there are a whole lot of Frankenstein films
ranging from the Hammer Studios releases with Peter Cushing through Roger
Coreman’s “Frankenstein Unbound” and the Francis Coppola produced “Marry
Shelley’s Frankenstein.” Then there are simply the films that involve the
re-animation of the dead that include the “Re-Animator” trilogy and one
might argue that the whole zombie subgenre owes a bit to the “Frankenstein”
story in that if Frankenstein’s monster visits the sins of his creator to
ultimately destroy him and all he loves, very often in zombie flicks, the
explanation is that they are a plague being visited upon humanity for it’s own
sins. I think the logical reason why there are not as many werewolf films as
there are films about the undead is because it is easier on every level to make
a vampire or re-animated being come to life on the screen, but it is far harder
to convince a viewer that a man can indeed become a wolf or wolf like creature.
There are also a
lot of bad werewolf films out there. You can probably count the best ones on one
hand. In 1981 audiences got to see two great werewolf movies with Joe Dante’s
“The Howling” and John Landis’ “An American Werewolf In London,” but
for every good flick, you get tons of bad ones, especially when it comes to
werewolves. However there have been a few recent films that were released
straight to video in the United States that I think are among the best werewolf
horror pictures made in the last ten years or so. “Ginger Snaps” and “Dog
Soldiers” are two imports that have reinvigorated the genre for a new
generation. I like them both very much, but I still think more can be done now
that we can marry makeup and CGI together to complement a good scary screenplay
in ways that were impossible before. The only other strike against the werewolf
genre film is that perhaps more than any other subgenre of horror picture,
werewolf movies are inherently tragic and often can be depressing especially
when you care about the protagonist.
That is why Lon
Chaney, Jr. was so great as the ill fated Larry Talbot who becomes infected with
the curse and spends the rest of his days trying to warn others who never
believe him until it is too late, find a cure, or in utter desperation he will
even try to kill himself. Chaney gave the role a sense of humanity and pathos so
that we can truly emphasize with him and hope he can overcome his affliction.
There is nothing romantic about being a werewolf. It is more heartbreaking in my
opinion than anything else. Lon Chaney, Jr. would reprise his role as Larry
Talbot in five more Universal features that include “Frankenstein Meets The
Wolf Man,” which is also included in this set, “House Of Frankenstein,”
which is included in the “Frankenstein:
The Legacy Collection,” “House Of Dracula,” which is included in the
“Dracula: The Legacy Collection,” and
in the spoof “Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein.”
“Werewolf Of
London” can be seen as a forerunner to “The Wolf Man” though the makeup
effects are not as good as those used in “The Wolf Man” and “She-Wolf Of
London” is actually more of a psychological thriller than a horror film. All
four films are presented in their original (1.33:1) theatrical release aspect
ratios and considering the age of the films, I think they look pretty good. They
are not perfect, but they definitely look better than any presentation of the
films I have personally seen on the tube before. Clear two-channel English
Monaural Soundtracks are included along with English Captions for the hearing
impaired and French and Spanish Language Subtitles encoded as options. Film
Historian Tom Weaver provides a somewhat fast paced, but very informative and
screen specific feature length audio commentary for “The Wolf Man” too.
Extra materials
include a featurette with filmmaker Stephen Sommers discussing how the classic
Universal “Wolf Man” features inspired his take on the monster for “Van
Helsing” and it features a short video clip with Actor Will Kemp, who plays
the afflicted man in the film (5:37). John Landis hosts a documentary entitled
“Monster By Moonlight” (32:55), which covers the evolution of “The Wolf
Man” with scenes from various Universal films and interview clips that include
Makeup Master Rick Baker and Screenwriter Curt Siodmak. Trailers for
“Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man” (1:36), “She-Wolf Of London” (1:22),
and “Werewolf Of London” (1:23) conclude the extra value features in this
DVD set.
“The Wolf Man:
The Legacy Collection” DVD set is available now separately or as a part of a
larger gift set that includes the “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” sets at
retailers on and offline from Universal Studios Home Video.
© Copyright 2004
By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
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