The Wolf Man

STORY

A dramatic score plays over an open book defining “Lycanthropy”: A disease of the mind in which human beings imagine they are wolf-men. According to old legend ... the victims actually assume the physical characteristics of the animal. A small village near Talbot Castle still claims to have had gruesome experiences with this supernatural creature. The sign of the werewolf is a five-pointed star, a pentagram, enclosing ...

Jovial American Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) is escorted to his ancestral home by a chauffeur. The car drives up to Talbot Castle, and Larry is greeted by his father, Sir John (Claude Rains). Larry expresses his excitement about being there. As he enters the castle, he remembers his past and is also introduced to Colonel Monford (Ralph Bellamy), who warmly greets him. Monford, a boyhood friend, is now the district's Chief Constable. He swiftly exits to get to work. Larry sees a portrait and consoles his father about his brother John. The father sarcastically adds that isn’t it a shame it took a hunting accident and a brother’s death to reunite. The father ultimately takes the blame for Larry’s drifting apart. Sir John smiles and extends his hand to Larry.

Two servants carefully carry in a new piece of Sir John’s telescope. Larry installs the part, then calls out for his father to check the apparatus. Sir John is quite impressed with Larry’s work, which he says he learned at an optical company. Larry insists he’s an amateur when it comes to theory, but he’s skilled with tools. While looking through the telescope, he spots the beautiful Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers) in her bedroom above the Charles Conliffe Antique store. He goes there in person. He enters the shop, is greeted by Gwen, and says he is looking for earrings. In a creepy sequence, he asks for the type of earring he saw in Gwen’s bedroom, on her dressing table. He tells Gwen they look so good on her. Larry starts looking at canes while Gwen is perplexed that he knew of her earrings. Larry chooses a cane with a wolf’s-head handle. She quotes him three pounds, and he is shocked by how high it is. Gwen briefly tells Larry werewolf lore. “Even a man who’s pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright.” Larry asks about the pentagram on the cane and says the werewolf will see it on his next victim’s hand. Larry confidently tells Gwen he’ll see her at eight tonight.

Into the town, an old Gypsy carriage carries Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) riding horseback and Bela the Gypsy (Bela Lugosi), her son, riding an ornate coach. Unknown to him, Gwen has invited a friend, Jenny (Fay Helm), for her date with Larry, and he’s none too happy. They walk through the foggy forest and come upon a patch of wolfsbane, where the little poem Gwen just recited repeats. Jenny picks wolfsbane, and the threesome come upon the Gypsy carriage. Bela greets them, and the woman wants her fortune told. Larry asks Gwen to take a short walk in the woods with him. Gwen confesses she is about to be married and shouldn’t be here. Bela throws flowers on the floor, puts his hand to his forehead, and closes his eyes. Bela soon recovers and asks for her left hand. Bela sees a pentagram on her hand. Solemnly, he says he can’t tell her anything tonight and that she should come back tomorrow.

After Jenny runs out of the tent, Maleva sees Bela sulking. Jenny is soon running through the fog-shrouded forest when Larry and Gwen hear something. A scream shatters the evening’s peace, and Larry investigates. An actual wolf is attacking Jenny, and Larry rushes to save her, armed only with his wolf's-head cane. He confronts the wolf and beats it to death with the silver-headed cane. Wounded by the wolf, Larry slowly wanders away. He finally falls as Gwen searches for him. Maleva and her wagon approach. Gwen tells the Gypsy that a wolf bit him. Maleva says to bring Larry home. His father and Colonel Montford greet the party. The Gypsy mysteriously returns to her camp. Another man enters to announce that Jenny has been murdered. At the scene of her death, they find that Jenny’s jugular vein has been severed. Near her, they find Bela in human form, his skull crushed by Larry’s cane, left at the scene.

Larry awakens in bed and answers the knock at the door. Sir John and Monfort enter with Doctor Lloyd (Warren William). Larry, showing his cane, says it is what he used to kill the wolf last night. But no wolf was found, only the body of Bela. Larry shows Dr. Lloyd his wolf bite. The doctor tells Larry that he needs a lot of rest.

Two men carry Bela’s coffin to the mausoleum and set it on a table. When they leave, Larry enters and tries to open the coffin’s lid, but Maleva and a minister enter. Maleva says Bela’s in a much better place. The minister worries that Gypsy culture will turn a solemn funeral into a celebration, but Maleva says that’s their way. Maleva offers a few peaceful words over her son’s body. Larry silently watches.

Jenny’s parents come to the Conliffe shop to blame Gwen for their daughter’s death. Larry walks in and scares the accusing women off. Young Talbot apologizes to Gwen’s father for getting Gwen caught in the middle of all this mess. Gwen tells Larry he might have been confused about killing a wolf; in the confusion and fog, the intruder might have been Bela. Frank Andrews (Patric Knowles) enters with his dog, which starts barking at Larry. He is the gamekeeper of his father’s estate. He fails to shake Larry’s outstretched hand, instead fascinated by Larry’s cane. Frank warns Gwen about Talbot, saying something’s really sad with that young man.

The townspeople attend a Gypsy celebration; Larry goes alone, and Gwen goes with Frank. Frank tells Gwen to say hello to Larry out of politeness. Larry says he was about to leave, but Frank implores him to stay and have some fun. At a shooting gallery, Larry hits all the animal targets until a wolf pops up, and he freezes. He finally takes a shot and misses.

Larry finally wanders into Maleva’s camp. The Gypsy woman invites him into a tent. She solemnly states that he killed the wolf and adds that the wolf was Bela. She tells Larry that a werewolf can only be killed by a silver bullet, a silver knife, or a cane with a silver handle. Maleva offers him a protective necklace to ward off werewolves. As Larry is about to leave the tent, Maleva says that a man bitten by a werewolf is doomed to become a werewolf himself. She places the charm over his head and tells him to wear it at all times. After examining Larry’s werewolf wound, she tells him to leave and wishes that heaven help him.

Later, Larry meets Gwen and tells her about the charm necklace he received from Meleva, then gives it to her for added protection. Suddenly, the Gypsies around them start preparing to break camp and leave. One panicking man says there is a werewolf in camp. Larry wears a distressed look.

Larry rushes home alone, goes to his room, and examines his arms and hands for any sign of transformation. He smiles broadly when he sees his body hasn't changed. Then his expression shifts as he takes off his socks and discovers hairy legs and feet. Slowly, his legs fully transform. We segue to a werewolf walking in a misty forest. The feral animal roams the woods, looking for victims. A gravedigger, Richardson (Tom Stevenson), works on finishing two graves as Larry advances. The man lights a pipe as a distant howl sounds. The Wolf Man approaches him head-on and soon attacks. In town, people wake to hear terrifying sounds.

The corpse of the gravedigger is soon found in the misty woods. Again, his jugular has been severed. A wolf’s tracks are found near the body. In Larry’s room, muddy footprints lead from an open window to his bed. Larry, fully dressed, lies unconscious on his bed. As he slowly revives, he looks disheveled and worried. A pentagram is etched on his chest. He cleans up muddy animal tracks so nobody can see them. He hides from a man outside.

Neatly dressed, Larry goes downstairs to meet his father. Sir John says Richardson, the gravedigger, was killed last night, and animal tracks lead to this house. Larry asks about the myth that men can turn into wolves. Sir John says it is a form of schizophrenia, a symbol of the good and evil in every man’s soul. Sir John adds that he does not believe a man can physically turn into a wolf, but he does believe anything is possible within a man’s mind.

Larry and his father travel to church one Sunday. The church bell rings. People gather. They secretly gossip about an insidious side of Larry Talbot. Larry greets Gwen and her father as everyone files inside. He stands at the back of the church as people fill the pews. Soon, the churchgoers turn around and look at Larry with disapproval. He looks uneasy and guilty, and the entire village condemns him. When people rise to begin the service, Larry quickly ducks out of the church.

Dr. Lloyd, Montford, Sir John, and Frank gather to examine a cast of a single animal track left by the wolf in the woods. They discuss setting traps to protect the town's citizens, and they soon do so. Larry enters glumly and says there is no wolf, just a werewolf. When Larry asks Dr. Lloyd if he believes in werewolves, the doctor says a man lost in the mazes of his mind might believe anything, and even those around him might influence him. After everyone leaves, Dr. Lloyd tells Sir John that young Talbot is sick.

At night in the misty forest, a howl sounds. The Wolf Man hunts for another victim. Soon, the beast is caught in an animal trap and slowly wanders away, limping. In great pain, the werewolf writhes on the ground and falls unconscious. Maleva’s coach approaches through the thick fog. She comes upon the wounded werewolf. Maleva speaks comforting words, and Larry changes back to human form. Larry slowly awakens. He rushes to free himself from the trap as the dogs approach. Once free, he limps through the forest as two men question him about wandering around there. Larry says he is out hunting for the beast, as the rest of the men are. Larry walks away; nobody asks about his bare feet.

While going to Gwen’s and tossing stones at her window, she awakens and opens it. Seeing pitiful Larry, she goes down to open the front door. Larry announces that he is going away. Gwen wants to accompany him, but Larry insists on going alone, saying she wouldn’t want to run away with a murderer. “I killed Bela, I killed Richardson ... you can’t tell who is going to be next!” Talbot utters. He sees the pentagram projected on Gwen’s hand. Larry runs out of the shop in fear.

Larry confesses to his father his phobia of being a werewolf, and his father believes he is suffering a mental collapse. Seeing Larry suffer, Sir John ties him to a chair to restrain him. Sir John intends to bolt his door. Larry wants his father to stay with him, but his father is needed elsewhere. Larry tells him to at least take his silver cane.

Montford and other townspeople set up in the forest with rifles to hunt the wolf. Sir John joins the hunting party. He soon comes upon Maleva. She asks whether he is frightened, since he has the silver cane for protection. John accuses her of filling his mind with werewolf lore and mythology. Maleva asks, “You don’t believe the witch’s tales, do you?” Sir John hears rifle shots and tries to find the source. The townsmen believe their shots hit the wolf but did nothing, while Larry Talbot, fully transformed into a werewolf, roams the woods.

Searching for Larry, Gwen comes upon Maleva and asks where he is. Maleva warns her the woods are dangerous tonight and urges her to come with her. Gwen refuses and keeps searching for Larry. The Wolf Man stalks Gwen, closing in. The werewolf catches up to Gwen as Sir John also approaches. The beast attacks Gwen as she screams. Sir John approaches the werewolf with his cane and beats the Wolf Man with it. Maleva watches as Sir John beats the werewolf to death. She then drives to Sir John and the dead beast. As Maleva speaks, Larry slowly transforms from the furry beast back into human Larry. Sir John looks on in horror. She ends her speech by saying Larry will now find peace, and she drives off in her carriage. Sir John gently caresses his son. Gwen, attended to, is just fine. The townspeople approach the area where Larry lies dead. Gwen hides her face as the end credits roll, Montford creating a story to legally protect Sir John for the killing

CRITIQUE

Universal was ready to inaugurate the decade of the sequel, the monster rally films that combined multiple monsters into one movie. The true classics of Universal horror were behind us, and their formulaic films, inferior to the decade of the 1930s but still wildly entertaining, were ready to begin. But Universal still had one truly great film to spring upon its audience in 1941: The Wolf Man. Jack Pierce had another classic monster to loose upon the world. Director George Waggner was responsible for Man Made Monster, Horror Island, The Wolf Man, and The Climax, but only The Wolf Man remains a classic. Much of that success is due to the mythological-heavy script by Curt Siodmak, who went on to write infinite horror movie screenplays.

In my younger days, I really didn't like The Wolf Man because I thought it lacked the artistic style of James Whale and others. But I’ve come to accept that not every director can be Whale, but they can still craft genre classics. George Waggner could sculpt magnificent set pieces, like that mist-shrouded forest, almost totally consumed by fog. It is the classic horror film forest that tops all others. His observatory's upper-level room, with its gigantic telescope, overwhelms the viewer with its complexity. The Gypsy camp, with its horses, tents, and wagons, is almost dreamlike with its misty flourishes. The complex sets and costumes enrich the film in subtle ways.

Like the 1939 Son of Frankenstein, The Wolf Man features a stellar supporting character: the iconic Gypsy woman, Maleva, played by Maria Ouspenskaya, who dominates every sequence she appears in. First, losing her own son Bela, she helps his murderer, Larry Talbot, survive the ordeal of becoming a werewolf, dealing with the compulsions and guilt, and never holding Bela’s death against him because he is now free of the wolf’s curse. She is the Earth Mother, the mythology maker, and the strange Other. Her performance is essential to The Wolf Man much as Bela Lugosi’s is to Son of Frankenstein. Without these two characters, these movies would be far less interesting.

A few gripes materialize. How could Lon Chaney, Jr. and Claude Rains be father and son? One appears as a royal midget next to the other’s bulk and height, and personality-wise Larry becomes the average jovial middle-class man. Not only physically, but their personalities are so different. Also, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, and Forrester Harvey, representing the leading village officials, become crowded and too similar, representing the same things/personalities. One gets the feeling they show up for their star power alone. And if your neighbor is caught wandering around barefoot in a vast forest, wouldn’t somebody notice? Isn’t this behavior a little weird?

Labeling Bela Lugosi’s character as Bela isn't creative. Suppose Boris Karloff was named Boris in The Body Snatcher or Arsenic and Old Lace? Of course, that is an effective Gypsy name, but they could’ve come up with so many other names. And why was Bela, when he transformed into a werewolf, an actual wolf, and Larry Talbot a Wolf Man? Did they not want to spend the time or money creating two separate Wolf Men?

But the most fascinating discussion The Wolf Man offers is much the same as Curse of the Demon: Should the monster have been shown or not? I stand defiantly in the corner that states the werewolf should be seen. But Universal’s owners considered not showing the Wolf Man and merely suggesting the change was psychological. Even the little mythology lesson that begins the film states, “Lycanthropy is a disease of the mind in which human beings imagine they are wolf-men.” Remember, the 1940s are the era of Val Lewton, subtle horror films where monsters are suggested or even imagined, differentiating them from the less subtle 1930s horror fare. Universal was willing to take a more ambient route, suggesting that Larry Talbot did not physically transform into a beast but only believed he did. Lycanthropy then becomes a disease of the mind. I, for one, am glad Jack Pierce created one of his iconic classic monsters.

So in 1941, Universal created the last of its classic monsters, among mythology and mist. The Wolf Man isn't the artistic triumph of Frankenstein or Dracula, but it adds another beast to the ever-growing pack. It can be said to be the last of the truly classic Universal horror cycle. It’s a film rich in Gothic set-pieces, mood, set design, and effective acting, even with the gosh-wow enthusiasm of Lon Chaney Jr. It adds another peg to Universal’s legacy.

LON CHANEY AS THE WOLF MAN, ONE OF THE ICONIC CLASSIC MONSTERS , CREATED AGAIN BY JACK PIERCE.OF THE SCREEN

ON THE ICONIC FOREST SET, THE WOLF MAN HAS JUST KILLED RICHARDSON (TOM STEVENSON), THE GRAVE DIGGER.

LARRY TALBOT (LON CHANEY), HORRIFIED BY HIS POTENTIAL CRIME, STANDS NEXT TO MALEVA (MARIA OUSPENSKAYA).

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