Visibly passed masters at creating atmosphere by this point, Universal added the last key piece of the Universal Monsters puzzle 10 years after Dracula, with 1941's The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney Jr. and Claude Rains as miscast son and father (one's a giant, the other tiny), the former cursed before long to become a wolf in the night. While Chaney does a good job as a man tortured by what he might do, the film fails to exploit the metaphor of the predator that might be lurking there already. We have shades of that in his pushy (not to say creepy) flirting with the film's ingenue, but the short 70-minute run time doesn't allow for much in the way of psychological exploration the werewolf myth. But then, they were really introducing it to audience. The fact they tease it meant I had a certain expectation.
Bunch of clowns on here. It's a 75 year old movie. Sorry the monster didn't "scare" you 7 decades after the fact. The Wolf Man isn't any more or less scary than the other Universal monsters
@Zeltaebar: Agree completely. The most horrifying thing about the movie is the miscasting of Chaney, whose onscreen romance with Evelyn Ankers is as unconvincing as the werewolf makeup.
Claude Rains is a major plus, but his talents are mostly wasted in this film.
Weaker than the other Universal Horror Classics. Too much dialogue with phrases being repeated, slow despite the movie's short running time, a leading man with little charisma (trying to seduce a young woman in a borderline sleazy manner), and a monster that no one can find scary or creepy, only ridiculous. Werewolves had to wait until the 80s before they could scare or thrill on the big screen.
Bela's werewolf didn't even look like a wolf. It was a german shepherd for some reason, which isn't even the most wolfy looking kind of dog. And Chaney's werewolf resembled a monkey more than a wolf.
I don't know why, but even with all the effort to make a scary atmosphere (sooooo much foooooog), the movie was still hilarious. And not in a good way.
i know it was made in 1942, but the wolf looked like shit. also, why did bela in wolf form look like and actual wolf, whereas lon cheney in wolf form looked like a man in a wolf mask.
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MMDan
https://ok.ru/video/87497247324Siskoid
Visibly passed masters at creating atmosphere by this point, Universal added the last key piece of the Universal Monsters puzzle 10 years after Dracula, with 1941's The Wolf Man, starring Lon Chaney Jr. and Claude Rains as miscast son and father (one's a giant, the other tiny), the former cursed before long to become a wolf in the night. While Chaney does a good job as a man tortured by what he might do, the film fails to exploit the metaphor of the predator that might be lurking there already. We have shades of that in his pushy (not to say creepy) flirting with the film's ingenue, but the short 70-minute run time doesn't allow for much in the way of psychological exploration the werewolf myth. But then, they were really introducing it to audience. The fact they tease it meant I had a certain expectation.richjenkins28
Bunch of clowns on here. It's a 75 year old movie. Sorry the monster didn't "scare" you 7 decades after the fact. The Wolf Man isn't any more or less scary than the other Universal monsterscoffeejazzlofi
(comment removed by mod, please post in English)mjb0123
I can't see why this is so famous...I fell asleep twice trying to get through it--had to keep rewinding.
duchin6
how can you name a character "Twiddle" in a so called horror movie.weirdboy
Chaney's wolf man was the original Chewbacca.Gunness
@Zeltaebar: Agree completely. The most horrifying thing about the movie is the miscasting of Chaney, whose onscreen romance with Evelyn Ankers is as unconvincing as the werewolf makeup.Claude Rains is a major plus, but his talents are mostly wasted in this film.
ClassicLady
Claude Rains makes the picture.Zeltaebar
Weaker than the other Universal Horror Classics. Too much dialogue with phrases being repeated, slow despite the movie's short running time, a leading man with little charisma (trying to seduce a young woman in a borderline sleazy manner), and a monster that no one can find scary or creepy, only ridiculous. Werewolves had to wait until the 80s before they could scare or thrill on the big screen.jktomas
Bela's werewolf didn't even look like a wolf. It was a german shepherd for some reason, which isn't even the most wolfy looking kind of dog. And Chaney's werewolf resembled a monkey more than a wolf.I don't know why, but even with all the effort to make a scary atmosphere (sooooo much foooooog), the movie was still hilarious. And not in a good way.
mittens
i know it was made in 1942, but the wolf looked like shit. also, why did bela in wolf form look like and actual wolf, whereas lon cheney in wolf form looked like a man in a wolf mask.afan
not as well executed as some of the other classic monster movies, but still a good one.