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Rating: 5 out of 5
One of my all-time favorite supernatural creatures is a werewolf. I think werewolves are freakin awesome. The transformation at the full moon, heighten senses and everything else. I really don’t know why anyone loves vampires because a werewolf can live in the sun. There have been a shit ton of films that revolve around werewolves or have them in it. I have watched a ton of supernatural movies but never watched the OG The Wolf Man. I have always seen the classic transformation scene and was impressed. Hell, I even have gone to Universal Studios a few times and even during Halloween Horror Nights and saw the classic Wolf Man poster. I thought to myself, how the hell haven’t I seen that movie yet. I watched the classic 1931 film Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi, and thought it was awesome and ahead of its time. While browsing the streaming service Tubi, one of my recommendations was the classic 1941 version of The Wolf Man. Oh, the excitement in my heart because I have always wanted to watch this movie. I quickly hit play because I wanted to see what this film was all about, and it was everything I was expecting and wanted.
First, those old-school movies knew how to make a short movie and not wasting time. The film clocks in at 70 minutes. Yes, 70 minutes. A quick hour and ten minutes and you out. That is how you make a movie and ensure it has an impact in all ways. The 1941 version was written by Curt Siodmak and produced and directed by George Waggner. It begins when Larry Talbot (Chaney Jr.) returns to his ancient ass home in Llanwelly, Wales, to bury his brother and try to be on more friendly terms with his estranged pops, Sir John Talbot (Rains). Larry sees Gwen Conliffe (Ankers) and thinks she is FOINE! Gwen runs an antique shop, and Larry tries to spit game to her by purchasing a walking stick with the head of a silver wolf on the top. Gwen gives a short talk about how the head represents a werewolf, and for some reason, the werewolf always sees a pentagram on the palm of their next victim. Larry doesn’t have time for any talk about werewolves because he wants to have Gwen, and Gwen shuts him down for a date.
One night, Larry meets Jenny, aka Gwen’s homegirl, to have their fortunes told. They roll up to a Romani fortune teller named Bela, who becomes frightened when she sees the pentagram on Jenny’s palm. Ohhhhhhhhhh shit! While Gwen and Larry are waiting for their fortunes to be told, Gwen tells Larry she is engaged, and when he is about to retort, they hear screams from Jenny, who is attacked by a wolf. Larry tries to save Jenny, but boom, he is bitten in the chest before killing the wolf with his fly ass wolf head walking stick. Shit goes from zero to one hundred when the police roll up and find Jenny’s throat mauled and Bela beaten to death. Many think that Larry is the prime suspect. As suspicions grow around Larry and Gwen, Larry begins to feel uneasy. He starts to feel new sensations until, boom, the guy undergoes a transformation of a lifetime.
There have been many themes surrounding this film, ranging from werewolves to sexual aggression, puberty, and a wide range of other topics. I don’t have time for that, nor do I care. I want to talk about why this film is awesome. First, it is a classic, and the story is straightforward. A playboy rolls up home, sees a girl, gets bitten by a wolf, and then becomes a werewolf himself. What I like is the build-up in the story. After Larry is bitten by the wolf and the community thinks that Larry and Gwen are getting it on and having an affair, they are pretty much ostracized by the village. It’s wrong because Gwen told Larry no, and Larry didn’t want to listen. Men with power always thinking with their little man. Larry is also a murder suspect. You know he didn’t kill Jenny, but who killed Bela. You think it might be Larry because of his fly-ass walking cane. You can see the pressure of the situation grow on Larry until one night, it happens. We see the transformation, and Larry goes wolf mode. He kills a villager, but the next day, Larry has no memory. The village thinks it was a wolf. Villagers, being villagers, put out traps and wait for the wolf to return. Larry transforms once again, and things get real, really quick.
This movie was all about the iconic transformation scene. This film has a significant influence on how werewolves are portrayed in Hollywood, mainly due to the transformation scene. This was an era when CGI was non-existent. What makes this transformation iconic is that you don’t see any facial transformations of Larry from man to wolf. If you saw the 1931 version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, you don’t get that transformation. Instead, you see Larry running to his room and taking off his shoes. You see his feet as they slowly grow hairy and into huge paws. The next scene is Larry running through the woods, and when you see his face, you see the iconic wolf man. This transformation kept the suspense up until the big reveal of the character. What I love is that in the final scene of the film, we see the werewolf gradually transform back into Larry.
The Wolf Man is one of the OG of the movie Monster Universe. A movie that started it all for all werewolf movies. The story is simple but effective. The movie is short with being no more than 70 minutes. The acting was spot-on, and it was fun to watch. This legendary film deserves to be respected for all time and is best watched during the Halloween season. Remember, werewolves are the best!
