Werewolf of London
(1935), dir. Stuart Walker, Universal Pictures
Here is a real historical treat. Not only the first
Universal Picture to deal with a werewolf, but also the first sound one to
boot. Much of popular werewolf mythology hadn’t been established by this point,
so there are some elements that stick out.
We open in a remote area of Tibet. Botanist Wilfred Glendon
(Henry Hull) is searching for a rare flower that only grows in moonlight.
Problems arise however, as the natives refuse to enter the valley where the
flower grows, claiming it is a place of evil demons and spirits. A local
missionary tries to warn Glendon away, but the Englishman is insistent. Even
when his assistant becomes stuck to a wall for no explained reason, Glendon
pushes forward. He manages to find the flower, but a strange hairy creature
attacks him, clawing his arm.
Despite the injury, Glendon takes the planet back to England
where his neglected wife Lisa (Valerie Hobson) hosts a party in his honor.
Among the guests are Captain Paul Ames (Lester Matthews) a childhood friend of Lisa
who still harbors feelings for her and Glendon’s Aunt Ettie (Spring Byrington),
who seems to be trying to set Lisa up with Paul.
Uninvited yet attending is a strange man named Dr. Yogami
(Werner Oskland) who claims to have run into Glendon in Tibet, yet Glendon
claims no memory of the encounter. Yogami is also looking for the same flower
Glendon was, yet his samples died. The man is desperate to see Glendon’s
samples, claiming the flower is the only known cure for lycanthropy (called
lycanthrophobia here, which makes some degree of sense, but still…). Glendon
orders the man out, but later while working a lamp that duplicates the effects
of the full moon, Glendon reacts with horror as his exposed hand suddenly turns
into a claw. Quickly poking himself with a bud from the flower reverses the
effect, but he notes with horror that the real full moon is tomorrow night.
Things grow worse when someone breaks into his greenhouse
later and steals all the viable buds. The moon brings out a change in Glendon
and London is about meet some hairy handed gents.
A funny aside, makeup artist Jack Pierce’s original werewolf
FX was rejected as being too cumbersome. Pierce kept the ideas and later used
them in the later film the Wolf Man.
Like many films from the period, the film undercuts the scares with comic
relief, usually in the form of Aunt Ettie. Depending on your preference these
interruptions either help things along or drag the story to a standstill, but
the story is still compelling. Hull’s Glendon is also interesting as Hull plays
him as a prickly and smug ass with contempt for seemingly everyone who dares
get in his line of vision. If you ignore the rules set down by other films, one
could enjoy the film on its own merits.
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