Legend of the Werewolf
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| Legend of the Werewolf | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster for the film | |
| Directed by | Freddie Francis |
| Written by | Anthony Hinds |
| Produced by | Kevin Francis |
| Starring | Peter Cushing Ron Moody Hugh Griffith Roy Castle |
| Cinematography | John Wilcox |
| Edited by | Henry Richardson |
| Music by | Harry Robertson |
| Distributed by | Fox-Rank (UK, theatrical) |
Release date | 1975 |
Running time | 85 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Legend of the Werewolf is a 1975 British Tyburn Film Productions horror film directed by Freddie Francis. It stars Peter Cushing.[1] and was released on VHS only. Although Endore is not credited, aspects of Guy Endore's classic werewolf novel The Werewolf of Paris are present in the film.
Plot
A boy that has been raised by wolves is displayed as a circus freak under the title 'Wolf Boy.' Named Etoile by Pamponi, the circus owner, he grows up and after killing a member of the circus troupe while under the influence of the full moon, becomes a zookeeper in Paris.
A group of prostitutes from a nearby brothel visit the zoo, which is run by a salacious keeper, everyday to eat their lunch. Etoile falls in love with one of them, Christine but she doesn't tell him what she really does for a living. Meanwhile, Etoile is experiencing turning into a werewolf at full moon, and goes out killing. (The werewolf point of view is shown via a red filter over the camera). Peter Cushing plays the forensic surgeon who begins to investigate deaths in the local area. Etoile visits the bawdy house to take her dancing but is rejected by the house madam. Spying through an upper window, he sees Christine with a client and flies into a rage, crashing thrrough the window and attacking the client. His jealousy brings out his wolf side, changing him into a werewolf so that he can kill her clients. Christine berates Etoile for breaking up the brothel. He demands to know why she prostitutes herself and she tells her story of being left an orphan and being taken in by the brothelkeeper. Etoile asks her to marry him but she says it wouldn't work. Later, several clients leaving the brothel are killed off by the werewolf in one night. Prof Paul deduces from the size of the fang marks on the necks that the 'escaped animal' must be a wolf.
Cast
- Peter Cushing as Professor Paul
- Ron Moody as Zookeeper
- Hugh Griffith as Maestro Pamponi
- Roy Castle as Photographer
- David Rintoul as Etoile
- Stefan Gryff as Max Gerard
- Lynn Dalby as Christine
- Renee Houston as Chou-Chou
- Marjorie Yates as Madame Tellier
- Norman Mitchell as Tiny
- David Bailie as Boulon
- Hilary Farr as Zoe (as Hilary Labow)
- Michael Ripper as Sewerman
- Patrick Holt as Dignitary
- John Harvey as Prefect
- Pamela Green as Anne-Marie (uncredited)
Production
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The film was shot at Pinewood Studios from 19 August 1974.[2] The screenplay was written by Anthony Hinds under his pseudonym John Elder. Hinds was also the writer of Hammer's only werewolf film The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), in which Michael Ripper also appeared.[3]
Related items
- Black, Robert. Legend of the Werewolf. Novelisation of the film.
- Buscombe, Edward. Making Legend of the Werewolf. BFI Publications, 1976. 122-page book which provides a full production history of the film.
References
- ^ The New York Times
- ^ Jonathan Rigby, English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema, Reynolds & Hearn 2000
- ^ [1]
