Wolf Blood
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| Wolf Blood | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | George Chesebro Bruce Mitchell |
| Written by | Cliff Hill Bennett Cohen |
| Produced by | Ryan Brothers |
| Starring | George Chesebro Roy Watson Milburn Morante Frank Clark Marguerite Clayton Ray Hanford Jack Cosgrave |
| Cinematography | Lesley Selander |
Production company | Ryan Brothers Productions |
| Distributed by | Lee-Bradford Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 68 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
Wolf Blood, also known as Wolfblood: A Tale of the Forest, is a silent 1925 werewolf film starring George Chesebro, who also co-directed it with B-serial veteran Bruce M. Mitchell. The film has been referenced in a number of books as being the first werewolf movie ever made. This however is erroneous; the first werewolf movie is The Werewolf, a film made in 1913. However that film is considered to be lost. Therefore, Wolf Blood could be called the earliest surviving werewolf film. Wolf Blood is available commercially as an extra on a DVD together with F.W. Murnau's The Haunted Castle.
Plot
Dick Bannister is the new field boss of the Ford Logging Company, a Canadian logging-crew during a time when conflicts with the powerful Consolidated Lumber Company, a bitter rival company, have turned bloody, like a private war. His boss, Miss Edith Ford, comes to inspect the lumberjack camp, bringing her fiancé Dr. Horton with her. Dick is attacked by his rivals and left for dead. His loss of blood is so great that he needs a transfusion, but no human will volunteer, so the doctor uses a wolf as a source of the blood. Afterwards, Dick begins having dreams in which he runs with a pack of phantom wolves, and some rival loggers are killed by wolves. Soon, the news has spread through the camp and most of the lumberjacks begin to believe that Dick is a werewolf. Dick attempts to jump off a cliff, but is rescued by Edith.
Cast
- George Chesebro as Dick Bannister.
- Marguerite Clayton as Miss Edith Ford, owner of the Ford Logging Company.
- Raymond "Ray" Hanford as Dr. Eugene "Gene" Horton, Edith's fiancé.
- Roy Watson as Jules Deveroux, envious owner of the Consolidated Lumber Company.
- Milburn Morante as Jacques Lebeq, notorious bootlegger.
- Frank Clark as Old Pop Hadley, alcoholic woods guard for the Ford Logging Company.
- Jack Cosgrave as Edith's uncle and manager.
Criticism
Critic Troy Howarth writes "The film spends an eternity dwelling on its old-fashioned romantic scenario before even beginning to toy with the notion of a man turning into a wolf. Even more disappointing, no actual transformation ever occurs. The filmmaking is crude and antiquated, even for its time.".[1]
References
- ^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p.295. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
External links
- Wolf Blood at IMDb
- Wolf Blood is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- Wolf Blood at AllMovie
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