The Wolf Man (1941 film)

"Wolfman (film)" redirects here. For other uses, see Wolf man (disambiguation).

The Wolf Man
Original film poster
Directed by	George Waggner
Produced by	George Waggner
Written by	Curt Siodmak
Starring	Lon Chaney, Jr. Claude Rains Warren William Ralph Bellamy Patric Knowles Bela Lugosi
Cinematography	Joseph Valentine, ASC
Editing by	Ted J. Kent
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	December 12, 1941 (1941-12-12)
Running time	70 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$180,000

The Wolf Man is a 1941 American Werewolf Horror film written by Curt Siodmak and produced and directed by George Waggner. The film stars Lon Chaney, Jr. as The Wolf Man, featuring Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Béla Lugosi, and Maria Ouspenskaya. The title character has had a great deal of influence on Hollywood's depictions of the legend of the werewolf. The film is the second Universal Pictures werewolf movie, preceded six years earlier by the less commercially successful Werewolf of London. A remake was released in early 2010 starring Benicio del Toro and Anthony Hopkins. A reboot that will follow the original has already been released.

Plot

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. 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.")

Throughout the film, various villagers recite a poem, whenever the subject of werewolves comes up:

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.

That night, Larry attempts to rescue Gwen's friend Jenny from what he believes to be a sudden attack by a wolf. He kills the beast with his new walking stick, but is bitten in the process. He is told that it was not merely a wolf; but was a werewolf, and that now he will become one. A gypsy fortuneteller named Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) reveals to Larry that the animal which bit him was actually her son Bela (Béla Lugosi) in the form of a wolf. Bela had been a werewolf for years and now Larry will be transformed into one as well.

On the first night of the full moon, Talbot transforms into a wolf-like creature and stalks the village, first killing the local gravedigger. Talbot retains vague memories of being a werewolf and wanting to kill, and continually struggles to overcome his condition. He is finally bludgeoned to death by his father with his own silver walking stick after attacking Gwen. Sir John Talbot watches in horror as his son transforms back into a human form as the local police arrive on the scene.

Cast

• Lon Chaney, Jr. as Larry Talbot / The Wolf Man
• Claude Rains as Sir John Talbot
• Warren William as Dr. Lloyd
• Ralph Bellamy as Colonel Montford
• Patric Knowles as Frank Andrews
• Béla Lugosi as Bela
• Maria Ouspenskaya as Maleva
• Evelyn Ankers as Gwen Conliffe
• J.M. Kerrigan as Charles Conliffe
• Fay Helm as Jenny Williams
• Forrester Harvey as Twiddle

Production

The poem, contrary to popular belief, was not an ancient legend, but was in fact an invention of screenwriter Siodmak. The poem is repeated in every subsequent film in which Talbot/The Wolf Man appears, with the exception of House of Dracula and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and is also quoted in the later film Van Helsing, although many later films change the last line of the poem to "And the moon is full and bright".

The original Wolf Man film does not make use of the idea that a werewolf is transformed under a full moon. Gwen's description and the poem imply that it happens when the wolfbane blooms in autumn. The first sequel, though, made explicit use of the full moon both visually and in the dialog, and also changed the poem to specify when the moon is full and bright. Presumably this is what popularized the full-moon connection in the 20th century. The sequel visually implies that the transformation occurs as a result of direct exposure to light from the full moon. Other fiction has assumed the transformation is an inescapable monthly occurrence and does not examine whether it is caused by light, tidal effects, or some cycle that happens to coincide with the moon's phases.

Special effects

In the original film, Chaney did not undergo an on-screen transformation from man to wolf, as featured in all sequels. The lap-dissolve progressive make-ups were seen only in the final ten minutes, and then discretely: Talbot removes his shoes and socks, and it is his feet which are seen to grow hairy and transform into huge paws (courtesy of uncomfortable "boots" made of hard rubber, covered in yak hair). In the final scene, the werewolf does gradually become Larry Talbot through the standard technique.

The transformation of Chaney from man into monster was laborious. The makeup by Jack Pierce had been designed originally for Henry Hull and the film Werewolf of London but it was uncomfortable to wear and difficult to apply and Hull refused to wear it. Chaney, eager to follow in his father's footsteps, adopted it as his own. Chaney, who was known to stretch the truth at times^{[citation needed]}, claimed he was forced to sit motionless for hours as the scenes were shot frame by frame. At times he claimed he was to remain sitting even while the crew broke for lunch and was not even allowed to use the bathroom. Chaney even went as far as saying special effects men drove tiny finishing nails into the skin on the sides of his hands so they would remain motionless during close ups. However none of this is true, studio logs indicate during the filming of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) the entire crew, including Chaney took a two hour break during the filming of a transformation and filmed the rest of the scene later that day (though the makeup for Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein had been greatly redesigned and streamlined by Bud Westmore over the original Jack Pierce makeup). What really happened was a plaster mold was made to hold his head absolutely still as his image was photographed and his outline drawn on panes of glass in front of the camera. Chaney then went to makeup man Jack Pierce's office, where Pierce, using grease paint, a rubber snout appliance and a series of wigs, glued layers of yak hair to Chaney's face. Then Chaney would return to the set, line himself up using the panes of glass as reference and several feet of film were shot. Then the make-up was removed and a new layer was applied, showing the transformation further along. This was done about a half-dozen times. Talbot’s lap dissolve transformation on screen only took seconds, while Chaney’s took almost ten hours.

According to ballyhoo from Universal's publicity department, World War II was responsible for the brevity of Chaney's hirsute appearance in the last serious sequel, House of Dracula (1945). According to a small blurb in that film's press book, a nationwide lack of yak hair from the Orient prevented the character from appearing in more scenes. The Wolf Man appears with bare, non-hairy hands in one shot of House of Frankenstein (1944), but this was an on-set gaffe.^{[citation needed]}

Sequels

The Wolf Man proved popular, and so Chaney reprised his signature role in four more Universal films, though unlike his contemporary "monsters," Larry Talbot never enjoyed the chance to have a sequel all to himself. 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). He seeks out Dr. Frankenstein for a cure, but finds the monster (Béla Lugosi) instead. The two square off at the climax, but the fight ends in a draw when a dam is exploded and Frankenstein’s castle is flooded. 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). Grabbing the vampire as he turns into a bat, the Wolf Man dives over a balcony into the sea, taking Dracula with him.

Legacy

The Wolf Man is the only Universal monster to be played by the same actor in all his 1940s film appearances. Lon Chaney, Jr. was very proud of this, frequently stating in interviews: "He was my baby". Chaney would go on to play a wolf man (if not the Wolf Man) in very similar makeup in the 1959 Mexican film La Casa del Terror and a famous 1962 episode of TV's Route 66 titled Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing, which also starred Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein Monster. Nearly a decade later, even though he was seriously ill at the time, Chaney managed to conjure up his original energetic gestures while masked in a quasi-wolfish rubber mask for one scene in his last (and most unfortunate) film, 1971's Dracula vs. Frankenstein.

The Wolf Man was not Universal's first werewolf film. It was preceded by Werewolf of London from 1935, starring noted character actor Henry Hull in a quite different and more subtle werewolf makeup. As noted previously, Hull objected to having his face entirely covered in latex and hair, and a less-hirsute, more devilish version was used in the film. The film was not a huge box office success, probably because audiences of the day thought it too similar in many ways to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, for which Fredric March had won an Oscar three years before. Some latter-day critics prefer Jack Pierce's earlier werewolf to Chaney's, which was described in Carlos Clarens's book An Illustrated History of the Horror FIlm as "... looking like a hirsute Cossack."

The Wolf Man is one of three top-tier Universal Studios monsters without a direct literary source. The others are The Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. In the 1970s, novelizations of the original films were issued as paperback originals as part of a series written by "Carl Dreadstone," a house name pseudonym for a several writers, including British horror writer Ramsey Campbell.

Fantasy/horror author Neil Gaiman uses the "Larry Talbot" character in two selections from his short story collection Smoke and Mirrors. Harlan Ellison's Hugo Award winning "Adrift just off the Islets of Langerhans, latitude 38 degrees, 54' N., longitude 77 degrees, 00' 13' W." uses "Laurence Talbot" as the main character. Heavy metal band Iced Earth's track "Wolf" from the album Horror Show, has the wolf bane poem recited in its main chorus with some added words in between. Similarly, the track "Howl" by Florence + The Machine (from the album Lungs) features a slightly edited version of the poem in the closing verse. Cradle of Filth used the poem as the intro to their track entitled "Queen of Winter, Throned" on the album V Empire. The character of Jon Talbain, a werewolf attempting to overcome his curse in the Darkstalkers game series, bears a resemblance to the character of Larry Talbot in name and in characterization, made doubly so by the fact that the series primary characters are all homages to horror movie archetypes.

The Wolf Man also had an impact on future filmmakers as well. Cult films such as An American Werewolf in London and The Howling drew inspiration from The Wolf Man and made references to the film as well.

American Film Institute Lists

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills - Nominated
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains:
  • The Wolf Man (Larry Talbot) - Nominated Villain
• AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores - Nominated

Universal Legacy Collection DVD

On April 27, 2004, Universal released The Wolf Man on DVD as part of the Universal Legacy Collection. This two disc edition included four films:

• Werewolf of London
• The Wolf Man
• Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
• She-Wolf of London

The DVD collection also included the following bonus features:

• Documentary hosted by Van Helsing director Stephen Sommers
• Monster by Moonlight documentary hosted by John Landis
• The Wolf Man commentary from film historian Tom Weaver
• Theatrical trailers for Werewolf of London, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, and She-Wolf of London.

Remake/Reboot

Universal Pictures produced a remake of The Wolf Man with Joe Johnston directing the film and Benicio del Toro starring as Lawrence Talbot (also producer of the film). Del Toro has been a major fan of the Universal Horror Monster films since childhood. The Wolfman has been a dream project of his for the longest time and also, Lon Chaney, Jr. has also been an inspiration to him in acting. When hearing that news of Universal's Wolfman remake, legendary makeup effects artist Rick Baker contacted an executive at Universal (at the time, he was working on the makeup for Norbit) and told him that he "had" to do the makeup for the film. It was films like The Wolf Man, that inspired Rick Baker to become the renowned makeup artist he is today. Ironically, Rick Baker was Universal's first and only choice, but they couldn't contact him because he does not have a manager. The remake followed the same basic plot of the original but the story and characters were significantly altered, in order to update the film for a modern audience. The film was released on February 12, 2010 and opened at #3 at the box office. The film was met with mixed reviews and a low box office reception however, the film gained much more success and even a cult following when released on DVD and Blu-ray June 1, 2010 and has won an Academy Award for Best Makeup in 2011.

The 2010 remake performed below expectations at the box office and Universal is planning a complete reboot of The Wolfman franchise. The reboot is tentatively titled Werewolf and will be connected to the original wolfman film rather than the remake. Steven Bauer, Ed Quinn, and Stephen Rea have recently been added to the film's cast.

In popular culture

• Clips of the film are seen in the movie, The Sandlot, when Benny is being chased by "The Beast"
• Clips of the film are seen in the movie Beethoven
• Clips of the film are seen in an episode of Full House
• The scene of Bela reading Jenny's fortune is seen in the movie House of 1000 Corpses.

External links

• The Wolf Man at the Internet Movie Database
• The Wolf Man at AllRovi
• The Wolf Man at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Wolf Man (1941 film) at the TCM Movie Database
• The Wolf Man screen captures