Review of The Wolf Man (1941) by Adam R — 05 Sep 2010

A superior Universal monster picture which, though it doesn't nearly meet the standard set by "Frankenstein" 10 years prior, still manages to exude enough creepy atmosphere and offer vivid enough characters to make it worth watching.

Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns to his family home in Wales to reconcile with his father (Claude Rains, the tiny Brit whose acting presence towers over the far taller Chaney) after his brother's death. While there, Larry beings courting a local girl, Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers), who runs a curiosity shop filled with mystical lore.

On Larry and Gwen's first date, Larry is bitten by a feral animal while attempting to rescue Gwen's friend from an attack. Unfortunately, Larry was attacked by a traveling-gypsy-cum-werewolf (Bela Lugosi, nearly subliminal), whose bite transforms him into the mythical creature when the moon is full.

The movie's economical, barely-over-an-hour running length makes "The Wolf Man" an uncomplicated, brisk affair, packing each minute onscreen with a mix of horror-picture dread and Archers-esque bucolic whimsy. The consistent presence of Maria Ouspenskaya, the mother of the lycanthropic gypsy who bit Larry, consistently undermines the latter in favor of the former as the film moves toward its tragic, inevitable third act.