Werewolf of London

[Doc Faustus]

Having recently picked up the Wolfman monster legacy collection,I got to see this absolute gem. Warner Oland as the enigmatic Japanese scientist is cool and menacing, the makeup is cool and the plot cohesive. I was curious as to what classic buffs like Filmmaker and Return thought of this. I'm thinking in many ways it's superior to the Lon Chaney wolfman and cutting edge stuff for 1935. So, I started this thread to see what classic buffs who have seen this think of it and to recommend it to those who haven't caught it yet. The Legacy collections have gotten quite affordable. I wasn't able to get ahold of them before, but now they're much more accessible to the more sporadically employed among us.

[alkytrio666]

Get the Invisible Man collection next. They're all good, but I perticularly like that one.

[The_Return]

I havent got around to watching all of this one yet. Started it after a LOOOONG day, but I dosed off about 5 minutes into it:o. What I saw seemed pretty good though, I have to give a proper viewing soon.

[novakru]

This does sound interesting,I haven't heard of it.

Good to see you again Doc.

[urgeok]

i have all 6 of the Legacy collections (i dont have the hammer one yet)

and i'm ashamed to say that i havent watched a single film yet ...

but this werewolf one in particular is the most intriguing ... probably because i like the title ..

[alkytrio666]

Originally posted by urgeok
i have all 6 of the Legacy collections (i dont have the hammer one yet)

and i'm ashamed to say that i havent watched a single film yet ...

but this werewolf one in particular is the most intriguing ... probably because i like the title ..

I'm assuming you've seen most, if not all, of the Hammer movies in that set. How are they? I've been eyeing the set for awhile, but I don't know how much I'd like 'em.

[urgeok]

Originally posted by alkytrio666
I'm assuming you've seen most, if not all, of the Hammer movies in that set. How are they? I've been eyeing the set for awhile, but I don't know how much I'd like 'em.

i've seen very few of them ...

hammerfan has though .. she can give a good recount of the films ..

[Elvis_Christ]

Hammer Horror just doesn't do it for me.

[urgeok]

i like them (i know - they are more talk than action) but the actors are top-notch and there's far more attention paid to atmosphere.

i just havent been able to find that many...

[hammerfan]

Gee, I was wondering why my ears were burning! :D

I've seen almost all of the Hammer films. I have the box set that has Brides of Dracula, Curse of the Werewolf, etc.

The Hammer movies are my favorites (remember I'm older than most of you) simply because of what urgeok has already said re: the actors being top-notch (Christopher Lee is da man in my book) and the atmosphere was fantastic. (see, urgeok, this is why you and I get along so well!)

If you want to know about any movie in particular, feel free to ask me here or you can PM me.

Now, if you want to know about any movie that has Ingrid Pitt, in it, the man to go to is DraculaInDallas.

[urgeok]

Originally posted by hammerfan

Now, if you want to know about any movie that has Ingrid Pitt, in it, the man to go to is DraculaInDallas.


just realize that as he answers, he'll be typing with one hand

[alkytrio666]

Originally posted by hammerfan
Gee, I was wondering why my ears were burning! :D

I've seen almost all of the Hammer films. I have the box set that has Brides of Dracula, Curse of the Werewolf, etc.

The Hammer movies are my favorites (remember I'm older than most of you) simply because of what urgeok has already said re: the actors being top-notch (Christopher Lee is da man in my book) and the atmosphere was fantastic. (see, urgeok, this is why you and I get along so well!)

If you want to know about any movie in particular, feel free to ask me here or you can PM me.

Now, if you want to know about any movie that has Ingrid Pitt, in it, the man to go to is DraculaInDallas.

Thanks, and thanks Urge. I'm a very patient, acceptable movie watcher, I love atmosphere, I don't mind low-action. I think I'll check the set out.

Thanks again, guys.

[filmmaker2]

Well, first, John Fulton did that amazing "walking transformation" scene that seems to be one continuous shot but is really several shots joined together, with the pillars going by as a separate element to cover the edits. It's cooler and freakier, I think, than any of the basic Lon Chaney werewolf transformations. So this movie gets BIG BIG points for one kickass transformation IMO. (Henry Hull's werewolf makeup also looks pretty demonic and scary.)

The werewolf dresses up, puts on a hat even, before going out. You know, so he'll blend in. It's cool.

The scene with the fake British people admiring the carnivorous plant exhibit is hilarious. Most people would never go anywhere near plants that are moving and waving giant tentacles around. I wouldn't. Would you? I didn't think so. Weird scene.

This is a neat movie showing how hard Universal was trying to find an interesting werewolf movie concept.

[voorhees92]

dude, i am SOOOOOOOOOO far behind in my horror film collections......next stop, FRANKENSTEIN!

[hollywoodgothiq]

For me, WEREWOLF OF LONDON is mostly an interesting oddity -- something you watch, thinking "Cool, they made a werewolf movie before THE WOLF-MAN."

It has some nice ideas, but there seems to be a general agreement that Henry Hull evokes little sympathy as the werewolf. It's also a bit disappointing that there are two active werewolves in the movie, but we only get to see one transformed. There's even a fight between the two characters at the end, but one has just taken an antidote to stop the transformation (a rather foolish move, strategically, since it results in his death at the claws of the one who does transform).

The script was developed for Karloff and Lugosi. One assumes Karloff would have played the Hull part, with Lugosi instead of Oland. That might have been more fun to watch.

[Posher778]

I really like this movie, not bad.

[Slipknot 666]

Originally posted by The_Return
I havent got around to watching all of this one yet. Started it after a LOOOONG day, but I dosed off about 5 minutes into it:o. What I saw seemed pretty good though, I have to give a proper viewing soon.



Same bro:p

[The_Return]

Originally posted by Slipknot 666
Same bro:p

I did get around to watching it recently, quite enjoyed it. Here, give me a sec and I'll find my mini-review...

[The_Return]

Here it is:

I started watching this once, and fell asleep within the first 10 minutes. Today I decided to watch it properly, and I thought it was pretty good. Not as good as Universal's later "The Wolf Man", but still a good film in it's own right. Henry Hull made a good werewolf, though he wasn't nearly as easy to sympathize with as Cheney Jr.'s later portrayal. I really liked the plot, very different than most werewolf flicks. I especially liked the fact that there were two werewolves present, though we only get to see one transform. Most of the transformations were pretty run-of-the-mill, but the walking transformation was phenomenal. This film's main flaw was it's pacing; even at barely over an hour in length, it seems to drag on very badly. Overall if you're a fan of werewolves, this early feature is a good one to check out.

7/10