The Wolf Man

The Wolf Man (1941)

Runtime: 70 minutes

Directed by: George Waggner

Starring: Lon Chaney, Jr., Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Evelyn Ankers

From: Universal

I thought about seeing two films last night, but after seeing this I was suddenly struck with fatigue and I figured I wouldn't even be able to stay awake any longer... thus, I only watched this piece of classic Universal Horror: 

TCM is showing classic horror all this month each Tuesday night; it made sense for me to see some of those films; why not see a wide range of genre entries all throughout October? Universal Horror seems like a must anyhow. This movie, my main impression was... what a pushy creepy guy Larry Talbot was, and not only was that the lead character, it was even before he was bit by a werewolf!

This dude rolls back into his old home area, and immediately he uses his dad's telescope to peep on attractive blonde Gwen Conliffe and he is then all over this dame, not taking no for an answer and thinking it's OK to meet up with her despite her telling him not to. Sure, they eventually go out for a long romantic walk... in the woods with Gwen's friend and he tries to save that friend from the werewolf, but at least with my eyes and in 2017, it did not play quite like it did in 1941. I know that some won't care for the subplot involving the old Gypsy stereotypes but that personally doesn't bother me too much... of course I am not Romani but I can comprehend why they would feel differently.

Even with all that said, I can give this film a favorable rating. It being well-made is always an asset. Things like light/shadow and some fog during the appropriate scenes set a great mood. Except for constantly being a horny wolf throughout, Werewolf Larry I guess wasn't so bad a guy; I can't complain about Lon Chaney, Jr's performance. The cast as a whole is fine but it's Chaney and Claude Rains who are the best. As Chaney comes to believe his fate, his pops Rains is of course incredulous at his son's claims. That is a lot of this movie; it takes time before you see Larry in his first iconic appearance as the werewolf.

While this isn't my favorite of the classic Universal Horror of old, that does not mean this is not pretty good.