Good evening, moviegoers!
Today, to wrap up the looks at the classic Universal monster movies, I'll be examining the most recent of them, as well as my own personal favorite among them: The 1941 film 'The Wolf Man,' directed by George Waggner and starring Lon Chaney Jr. in the title role.
After learning of his brother's death, Larry Talbot (Chaney) returns to his ancestral home in Wales and attempts t reconcile with his estranged father, Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains). Talbot soon becomes interested in a charming yet spoken- for local girl named Gwen (Evelyn Ankers). He buys a silver- tipped cane with a wolf head on it from the antique store she runs as a pretext for talking to her.
That night, Talbot, Gwen, and Gwen's friend Jenny go to a carnival put on by a traveling group of gypsies. As they are leaving, Jenny is killed by a wolf- like creature. Talbot kills the creature by beating it to death with his new silver- tipped walking stick, but not before being bitten. An old gypsy woman (Maria Ouspenskaya) tells Talbot that the creature was a werewolf, and was in fact her son, Bela (Bela Lugosi). She then tells Talbot that since he was bitten, he will himself turn into a werewolf.
The next night, Talbot first turns into the Wolf Man, killing a gravedigger. His father and acquaintances insist there's no such thing, and begin to question Talbot's sanity when he develops vague memories of being a werewolf.
On the last night, Talbot's father ties him up and locks him in his room, believing this will cause him to forcibly realize that it's all in his head. Of course, Talbot turns into the Wolf Man and escapes. He attacks Gwen but is killed by his father, beaten to death with the same cane he himself used on the first werewolf earlier, and returns to human form as he dies.
As far as complaints go, the only one I can think of is that it seemed kind of wrong for Talbot to keep trying to flirt with Gwen the way he did, considering she told him several times that she was engaged to someone else.
Now, for the many things I liked about 'the Wolf Man.' First, the makeup effects were extremely good, perhaps better than for any other classic Universal monster. Second, the music was very good, reflecting all the different moods of the story. Third, there was a nice diversity of sets, between Talbot Manor, the village, the gypsy camp, and the woods. However, the true strength of 'The Wolf Man' lies in its performances. Claude Rains does a wonderful job as Sir John, as you can tell how much he cares for his son and wants what's best for him. Maria Ouspenskaya makes the gypsy woman into a fascinating character whose lines are all quite memorable. The true star of the show, of course, is Lon Chaney Jr.. He takes Talbot on a full range of emotions, from happy (Early in the film, especially when he's with Gwen), to angry, to nervous (When he starts noticing the changes in himself), to terrified (When he realizes the full implications of his problem), and makes Talbot an incredibly sympathetic character all throughout.
For an example of his range, there's the scene right before Talbot first transforms. He has a bit of an episode at the gypsy fair, and heads straight home. He looks first at his face to make sure there's no extra hair on it, then takes off his shirt to make sure the same applies to the rest his torso, and smiles in relief that things seem normal. Then, however, he notices that something else feels odd, this time around his feet. He takes off his shoes, and discovers to his horror that hair has sprouted up all over his feet. We then see the feet growing hairier and more beast- like as he transforms, clearly deliberately saving the look at his face until later, leaving it to the audience's imagination for as long as possible. That's always good to see.
So, that is 'The Wolf Man,' and that concludes my look at the classic monsers. Tune in tomorrow to find out what the next theme for this month will be. Until then, good night!
