Universal Pictures released Werewolf of London on 13 May 1935. This was just a week after they released Bride of Frankenstein nationally. And you can see the difference! Carl Laemmle Jr produced the latter. But he really was not at all involved with Werewolf. Instead, Carl Laemmle Sr’s son-in-law, Stanley Bergerman, produced the film. That’s not a knock on him. He did a good job producing it. But it lacks the style that came with having twice the budget.
Werewolf of London was the first werewolf film of the sound era. I know of only two other werewolf films before it. First was The Werewolf — a 1913 20-minute silent film that has been lost since 1924. It was based on Native American legends and was about a witch transforming into a wolf to get revenge against White invaders. It sounds really interesting. But it isn’t what we normally think of as a werewolf film.
Wolf Blood was a silent feature film released in 1925. In it, a man is badly beaten in a fight. The doctor gives him wolf blood because no one else will provide him with human blood. This leads to his having dreams about wolves and people thinking he’s a werewolf. It turns out he isn’t. The film is primarily a romance.
I find it curious that these two films are so different from the standard werewolf film. Because the biggest problem with werewolf films is that they all tend to tell the same story. And it isn’t a great or malleable story!
Werewolf of London itself is a bit more interesting than later films. It features two werewolves throughout. And they are competing for a limited supply of a “moon flower” that stops lycanthropy. This is first introduced in a great scene where we only see the lead character’s hand get hairy and then recover.
Overall, the film works pretty well. It has enough comedy and romance for those not interested in horror. And the make-up from Jack Pierce is as good as ever.
Other 13 May Anniversaries
Filmmakers:
- Zohra Lampert (1937-): Actor who played the title role in Let’s Scare Jessica to Death.
- Harvey Keitel (1939-): Actor in Mean Streets, Pulp Fiction, and more.
- Joe Johnston (1950-): Director of Jumanji, The Wolfman, and more.
- Robert Pattinson (1986-): Actor known for Cosmopolis and the Twilight films.
Films:
- Eaten Alive (1976): People at a remote hotel are killed by the owner, who feeds them to his crocodile.
- The Car (1977): Demonic car terrorizes a small community.
- Day of the Animals (1977): Environmental destruction makes animals attack.
- Maniac Cop (1988): A serial killer dressed as a cop harasses New York.
- The Crow (1994): Murder victim rises from the grave to avenge.
- Scream Bloody Murder (2003): Slasher-comedy where teen girls get stuck at a junkyard.
- The Last Horror Movie (2005): Serial killer uses horror video rentals to find victims.
- Mindhunters (2005): FBI trainees are stalked by a serial killer.
- The Dead Undead (2010): Vampires battle zombies (who are also vampires).
- Attack the Block (2011): Teens defend their block from space aliens.
- Priest (2011): Priest vs vampires.
- The Darkness (2016): Pilfered Native American stones bring evil into a family.
- Firestarter (2022): Girl starts fires with her mind.
Werewolf of London (1935) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.
