Werewolf of London

Werewolf of London (1935)

Runtime: 75 minutes

Directed by: Stuart Walker

Starring: Henry Hull, Warner Oland, Valerie Hobson, Lester Matthews, Lawrence Grant

From: Universal

Here's a not so famous Universal horror movie from the past that is nonetheless pretty entertaining and worth seeing, especially if you enjoy the werewolf genre. I talk all about this and how the famous song did take its title from the movie, below: 

As sometimes happens, a messageboard conversation spurned me to watch this film. Indeed, The Wolf Man was not the first Universal horror film to focus on werewolves. Note that while this actually WAS the source for the famous song, the lyrics have nothing to do with the film.

Instead, it's about botanist Wilfred Glendon (Henry Hull), who is in Tibet looking for a wacky fictional plant that grows in moonlight. Later on, you see another fake plant.. that eats frogs. He encounters a werewolf and that goes badly. From what I understand this was the first piece of fiction which stated that people could become a werewolf in this way. Instead of holding a Chinese menu in his hand, walking the streets of SoHo in the rain or drinking a Pina Colada at Trader Vic's, he goes on a prowl and he does mutilate ladies late at night, but it's young ones. There is obvious subtext as Wilfred feels inadequate around his much-younger wife Lisa (Valerie Hobson) and when an old flame from her past shows up, he's howling at the moon. He's just an Excitable Boy. Oh, and Warner Oland is also here, playing what would be known during the time as yet another “Oriental character.”

The movie doesn't follow all the conventions you'd expect from the genre, and yet that is OK. Wilfred as the hairy-handed gent is actually a well-dressed gent during his lycanthrophic time, showing that he's not a feral beast. I even learned that there's a time where a werewolf can be rather loquacious. Overall, this is still a good film. The story is interesting, the actors do a fine job, and I enjoyed such touches as the pair of drunk women & the jabs at the upper crust of British society. Plus, it's only 75 minutes so you don't need to invest too much time in order to check this out. If you enjoy werewolf movies and lament that the past few decades, most of them have been less than worthwhile...