Review of The Wolf Man (1941) by Paul S — 02 Jun 2005

Universal's big hit of the forties. The werewolf thing had already been tried in 1935, but didn't take. Good thing they tried again. Maybe it was the improved make-up. Maybe it was the more likeable hero. Whatever it was, this one took off.

After his brother's accidental death, Larry Talbot returns home to a european village in some indeterminate country which many reviewers insist is Wales, in order to begin learning what he will need to know to run things when his father dies. Not that his father is on his deathbed or anything. Apparently it's just a huge responsibility and Larry has a lot of catching up to do. Anyway, his skirt chasing ways lead him to a gypsy carnival where he is bitten by a wolf, which he kills, but when the police investigate they find the body of a gypsy named Bela. So now, Larry's troubles begin, and they would continue for four more movies.

This one has always been my personal favorite, and for werewolf fans, this is where it really began.