Werewolf Wednesday Entry 1/29/25

This week, we shall start with an age old Universal Pictures classic that many are often familiar with. 

Title: The Wolfman.

Media: Film, directed by George Waggner. Original screenplay by Curt Siodmak.

The film itself followed the trend of Universal Pictures monster cinema from the 1930’s, which began with Dracula, 1931, directed by Tod Browning and Karl Freund. The film stars Lon Chaney Jr. and introduced the next wave of Universal Pictures monster cinema, and is responsible for producing a number of werewolf tropes present in horror media today. This includes the trope of a werewolf’s weakness to silver, aversion to wolfsbane, transformations under the light of the full moon, and the ability for werewolves to pass on the curse via bite.

The story begins with Larry Talbot, whom returns to his family home after the tragic death of his brother. Shortly after settling in back home at Talbot castle, Larry is attacked by a werewolf. The transformation that follows is the result of Jack Pierce, the man behind the makeup, whom is also responsible for the iconic look of 1931 Dracula, Frankenstein 1931, and The Mummy 1932. The dissolve effects by cinematographer John P. Fulton completed the transformation for actor Lon Chaney Jr. to become the titular Universal Pictures wolfman we recognize and love today. In this early rendition of the wolfman, Larry transforms into a beast every autumn night, but this would later change to full moon nights as not every film takes place in autumn, such as Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman 1943. 

Unsurprisingly, Larry’s maintained humanity in the daytime preserves his relatability with a human audience unlike Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula, or Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster and Imhotep. Larry shudders at the idea of his barbaric lunar crimes, and struggles to accept his newfound curse. It is this duality of man and beast that continues to recur in werewolf cinema in the twenty-first century. Werewolves at their core are born from the idea that a human can become a beast; blurring the line we as humans have drawn between ourselves and animals. In some werewolf stories, this animus manifests as base urges, and in other tales, the message is as simple as becoming a wild wolf. 

With that said, I implore you to stay curious, and appreciate your local monsters.