''Werewolf of London'' is a 1935
horror film
Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes.
Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
directed by
Stuart Walker and starring
Henry Hull
Henry Watterson Hull (October 3, 1890 – March 8, 1977) was an American character actor perhaps best known for playing the lead in Universal Pictures's ''Werewolf of London'' (1935). For most of his career, he was a lead actor on stage and a ch ...
as the titular
werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...
. The supporting cast includes
Warner Oland
Warner Oland (born Johan Verner Ölund; October 3, 1879 – August 6, 1938) was a Swedish-American actor. His career included time on Broadway and numerous film appearances. He is most remembered for playing several Chinese and Chinese-American ...
,
Valerie Hobson
Babette Louisa Valerie Hobson (14 April 1917 – 13 November 1998) was a British actress whose film career spanned the 1930s to the early 1950s. Her second husband was John Profumo, a British government minister who became the subject of the Pro ...
,
Lester Matthews
Arthur Lester Matthews (6 June 1900 – 5 June 1975) was an English actor. In his career, the handsome Englishman made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was erroneously credited in later years as Les Matthews. Matthews pla ...
, and
Spring Byington
Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of ''December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared in ...
.
Jack Pierce, who is best known for creating the iconic makeup worn by
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...
in the 1931 film ''
Frankenstein
''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature in an unorthodox scientific ex ...
'', created the film's werewolf makeup. Produced by
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, ''Werewolf of London'' was the first feature-length werewolf film.
Plot
Wilfred Glendon, a wealthy and world-renowned English botanist, journeys to Tibet in search of the extremely rare plant ''Mariphasa lupina lumina'', which is rumored to be nourished by the moon. While there, he is attacked and bitten by a feral humanoid creature, but he succeeds in acquiring a specimen of ''Mariphasa''. He constructs a lamp that simulates moonlight in his London laboratory and waits for the plant to bloom.
At a party, Wilfred is approached by a fellow botanist, Dr. Yogami, who claims they met, briefly, in Tibet, where he also was seeking the ''Mariphasa''. Yogami tells Glendon the plant is a temporary antidote for "
werewolfery" (or "lycanthrophobia"), and responds to Wilfred's skepticism by claiming he knows of two men in London who are werewolves, having been bitten by another werewolf.
Eventually, one flower of the ''Mariphasa'' opens under Wilfred's moon lamp. When his hand grows fur in the artificial moonlight, he cuts the blossom and dabs its sap at the fur, and he is amazed to see the transformation reverse. Yogami visits, asking for two blossoms, as that night is the first of four nights around the full moon when the werewolves he mentioned will turn if left untreated, but Wilfred refuses. Before he goes, Yogami cautions that werewolves try to kill whatever they love best.
While Wilfred researches werewolves, learning they must kill someone each night they transform, or they will not turn back, Yogami steals two newly-opened ''Mariphasa'' flowers. Wilfred's chooses not to accompany his wife, Lisa, and her childhood sweetheart, Paul Ames, who is back in town for a visit, to her Aunt Ettie's party, and, soon after they leave, he transforms into a werewolf. Unable to reverse the process, he goes after Lisa, but Ettie's screams scare him away, so he settles for mauling a random woman in the street. Although they all heard a loud howl, no one at the party, other than Ettie, saw the werewolf, so they think she just had a drunken vision.
When Paul reads in the newspaper about the woman Wilfred killed, he begins to believe Ettie's story, having heard of something similar while in the
Yucatán
Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the political divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. I ...
, and tells his uncle, Colonel Forsythe, who is the chief of
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...
, but Forsythe does not take him seriously. Since the last ''Mariphasa'' blossom has not opened yet, Wilfred rents a room for the night and locks himself inside, but he breaks out after transforming. He sneaks into the zoo, where he sets a wolf free and kills a woman who has come for a tryst with the nightwatchman.
The next day, Yogami, out of ''Mariphasa'' blossoms, asks Forsythe to seize the plant from Wilfred, but Forsythe has fallen for Wilfred's red herring and says he is looking for a wolf, not a werewolf. Wilfred travels to Falden Abbey, his wife's family home in the country, and has the caretaker lock him in a room, but Lisa and Paul come to look around the property before Paul returns to California, and Wilfred, now a werewolf, sees them out the window. He breaks free and attacks, but Paul drives him off, recognizing him in the process. Paul tells Forsythe, who, though skeptical, agrees to investigate Wilfred. They are sidetracked when a dead chambermaid is found in Yogami's hotel room, which is too far from Falden for the supposed werewolf to have traveled there in one night, but Paul discovers Yogami's used ''Mariphasa'' blossoms, and Forsythe is convinced there are two werewolves on the loose.
The police search all day for Wilfred, who is hiding in his lab, waiting for the only remaining ''Mariphasa'' flower to bloom. When it does, Yokami enters and uses it, and an enraged Wilfred attacks. He transforms during the struggle and kills Yogamai, and then chases Lisa around the house, knocking Paul unconscious and causing Ettie to faint in the process. As he slowly closes-in on his wife, Forsythe arrives and shoots him. Wilfred thanks Forsythe for the bullet and apologizes to Lisa for not being able to make her happier, before dying and reverting to his human form. Forsythe tells Lisa that he will say he accidentally shot Wilfred while Wilfred was trying to protect her.
Cast
*
Henry Hull
Henry Watterson Hull (October 3, 1890 – March 8, 1977) was an American character actor perhaps best known for playing the lead in Universal Pictures's ''Werewolf of London'' (1935). For most of his career, he was a lead actor on stage and a ch ...
as Dr. Wilfred Glendon
*
Warner Oland
Warner Oland (born Johan Verner Ölund; October 3, 1879 – August 6, 1938) was a Swedish-American actor. His career included time on Broadway and numerous film appearances. He is most remembered for playing several Chinese and Chinese-American ...
as Dr. Yogami, of the University of Carpathia
*
Valerie Hobson
Babette Louisa Valerie Hobson (14 April 1917 – 13 November 1998) was a British actress whose film career spanned the 1930s to the early 1950s. Her second husband was John Profumo, a British government minister who became the subject of the Pro ...
as Lisa Glendon, Wilfred's wife
*
Lester Matthews
Arthur Lester Matthews (6 June 1900 – 5 June 1975) was an English actor. In his career, the handsome Englishman made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was erroneously credited in later years as Les Matthews. Matthews pla ...
as Paul Ames, Lisa's childhood boyfriend
*
Lawrence Grant
Percy Reginald Lawrence-Grant (30 October 1870 in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England – 19 February 1952 in Santa Barbara, California, USA) was an English actor known for supporting roles in films such as ''The Living Ghost'', '' I'll Tell ...
as Colonel Sir Thomas Forsythe, Paul's uncle and Lady Forsythe's son, who is the chief of
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...
*
Spring Byington
Spring Dell Byington (October 17, 1886 – September 7, 1971) was an American actress. Her career included a seven-year run on radio and television as the star of ''December Bride''. She was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who appeared in ...
as Miss Ettie Coombes, Lisa's aunt
* Clark Williams as Hugh Renwick, Wilfred's friend and assistant in Tibet
*
J. M. Kerrigan as Hawkins, Wilfred's lab assistant
*
Charlotte Granville as Lady Alice Forsythe, Sir Thomas' mother and Paul's grandmother
*
Ethel Griffies
Ethel Griffies (born Ethel Woods; 26 April 1878 – 9 September 1975) was an English actress of stage, screen, and television. She is remembered for portraying the ornithologist Mrs. Bundy in Alfred Hitchcock's classic '' The Birds'' (1963). Sh ...
as Mrs. Whack, Mrs. Moncaster's friend
*
Zeffie Tilbury
Zeffie Agnes Lydia Tilbury (20 November 1863 – 24 July 1950) was an English-American actress.
profile at Cinemorgue as Mrs. Moncaster, who rents Wilfred a room
* Jeanne Bartlett as Daisy, Alf's mistress, who is Wilfred's second victim
* Louis Vincenot as Wilfred's head "
coolie
A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent.
The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
" in Tibet (uncredited)
*
Egon Brecher
Egon Brecher (18 February 1880 – 12 August 1946) was an Austria-Hungary-born actor and director, who also served as the chief director of Vienna's Stadttheater, before entering the motion picture industry.
Early years
The son of a professor, ...
as the priest Wilfred and Hugh meet in Tibet (uncredited)
* Joseph North as Plympton, the Glendon's butler (uncredited)
* Eole Galli as the singer at Ettie's party (uncredited)
* Amber Norman as Wilfred's first victim (uncredited)
*
Connie Leon Connie Leon (1881 in Cheshire, England – 10 May 1955 in Los Angeles, California) was an English singer, dancer and film actress.
Career
Between 1896 and 1909, Connie Leon was popular in provincial theatre as a singer, dancer and comedian, includi ...
as Millie, Yogami's chambermaid at Bedlington Hotel (uncredited)
*
Harry Stubbs
Harry Oakes Stubbs (December 7, 1874 – May 9, 1950) was an English-born American character actor, who appeared both on Broadway and in films. He was born on December 7, 1874 in Southampton, Hampshire, England. Stubbs immigrated from England ...
as Officer Jenkins, who discovered the first victim (uncredited)
*
Herbert Evans as Detective Evans (uncredited)
*
Tempe Pigott
Tempe Pigott (2 February 1869 – 6 October 1962) was an Australian silent and sound screen character actress. She was a stage actress in England and Australia, Canada and the United States for a number of years before entering motion pictures.
...
as a drunk (uncredited)
* James May as the bartender (uncredited)
* Jeffrey Hassel as Alf, the nightwatchman at the zoo (uncredited)
*
J. Gunnis Davis
James Gunnis Davis (21 December 1873 – 23 March 1937) was a British-born American actor and director who had a career in films in the US.
Early life
He was born as Joseph Gunnis Davis on 21 December 1873 in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, Sun ...
as Detective Tom (uncredited)
* George Kirby as a detective (uncredited)
*
Reginald Barlow
Reginald Harry Barlow (June 17, 1866 – July 6, 1943) was an American stage and screen character actor, author, and film director. He was a busy performer in Hollywood films of the 1930s.
Early life
A native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, ...
as Timothy, the
caretaker
Caretaker may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker''
* '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital
* Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...
at Falden Abbey (uncredited)
Production
Originally, the film was intended to star
Boris Karloff
William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established h ...
as Dr. Glendon and
Bela Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian and American actor best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ''Dracula'', Ygor in ''S ...
as Dr. Yogami, but it was filmed simultaneously with ''
Bride of Frankenstein
''Bride of Frankenstein'' is a 1935 American science fiction horror film, and the first sequel to Universal Pictures' 1931 film ''Frankenstein''. As with the first film, ''Bride of Frankenstein'' was directed by James Whale starring Boris Karlo ...
'' (1935), in which Karloff reprised his star-making role of
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster or Frankenstein's creature, often referred to as simply "Frankenstein", is a fictional character who first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus''. Shelley's title thus compares ...
, so
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
decided to recast both parts; coincidentally,
Valerie Hobson
Babette Louisa Valerie Hobson (14 April 1917 – 13 November 1998) was a British actress whose film career spanned the 1930s to the early 1950s. Her second husband was John Profumo, a British government minister who became the subject of the Pro ...
was the
leading lady
A leading actor, leading actress, or simply lead (), plays the role of the protagonist of a film, television show or play. The word ''lead'' may also refer to the largest role in the piece, and ''leading actor'' may refer to a person who typica ...
in both ''Werewolf of London'' and ''Bride of Frankenstein''. Lugosi would subsequently portray the
gypsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...
who bites
Lon Chaney Jr.
Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...
's titular character in ''
The Wolf Man'' (1941), which was a much smaller, though memorable, role.
Jack Pierce's original, more extensive design for the werewolf makeup was rejected in favor of a more minimalist approach.
[ It has often been reported that Pierce's design was simplified because ]Henry Hull
Henry Watterson Hull (October 3, 1890 – March 8, 1977) was an American character actor perhaps best known for playing the lead in Universal Pictures's ''Werewolf of London'' (1935). For most of his career, he was a lead actor on stage and a ch ...
was unwilling to endure the hours that it would have taken to apply the original version of the makeup, or that Hull did not want his face obscured because of vanity. According to his great-nephew Cortlandt Hull, however, Hull, an accomplished makeup artist in his own right, argued that Pierce's original design obscured his face so much that it would contradict the script, which specified that other characters were able to recognize the werewolf as Glendon. Pierce resisted the change, so Hull went to studio head Carl Laemmle
Carl Laemmle (; born Karl Lämmle; January 17, 1867 – September 24, 1939) was a film producer and the co-founder and, until 1934, owner of Universal Pictures. He produced or worked on over 400 films.
Regarded as one of the most important o ...
, and, much to Pierce's annoyance, Laemmle sided with Hull.[Neibaur, James L., ''The Monster Movies of Universal Studios'', Rowman & Littlefield, 2017, p. 46]
/ref> Six years later, Pierce was able to use a design closely resembling his original version when he worked with Lon Chaney Jr. on ''The Wolf Man''.[
When Glendon is conversing with the Tibetan "]coolies
A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent.
The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
" in the beginning of the film, the actors playing the Tibetans are speaking Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
, rather than Lhasa Tibetan
Lhasa Tibetan (), or Standard Tibetan, is the Tibetan dialect spoken by educated people of Lhasa, the capital of the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China. It is an official language of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
In the traditional "three-branch ...
, while Hull is just muttering gibberish. The werewolf's howl for the film is a blend of Hull's voice and a recording of an actual timber wolf, an approach that has not been used in any subsequent werewolf film.
The film's score was composed by Karl Hajos, whose original compositions are interspersed with fragments of other pieces. Johann Strauss
Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...
's "Tales from the Vienna Woods
"Tales from the Vienna Woods" (german: "Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald", links=no, italic=no, occasionally ) is a waltz by Johann Strauss II.
Composed in 1868, , Op. 325, was one of six Viennese waltzes by Johann Strauss II which featured a vi ...
", Op. 325, can be heard during the party at Glendon Manor early in the film. "Scenes that are the brightest" from Act III of Vincent Wallace
William Vincent Wallace (11 March 1812 – 12 October 1865) was an Irish composer and pianist. In his day, he was famous on three continents as a double virtuoso on violin and piano. Nowadays, he is mainly remembered as an opera composer of n ...
's opera ''Maritana
''Maritana'' is a three-act opera including both spoken dialogue and some recitatives, composed by William Vincent Wallace, with a libretto by Edward Fitzball (1792–1873). The opera is based on the 1844 French play ''Don César de Bazan'' by ...
'' (humorously misidentified by Aunt Ettie as being composed by the painter Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, when he was rediscovered ...
) is sung with piano accompaniment at Aunt Ettie's party. Symphonic Poem No. 3 (''Les préludes'') by Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
is also heard, as well as compositions by Heinz Roemheld
Heinz Roemheld (May 1, 1901 – February 11, 1985) was an American composer.
Early life and career
Born Heinz Eric Roemheld in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he was one of four children of German immigrant Heinrich Roemheld and his wife Fanny Rauterberg ...
from the earlier Universal horror films ''The Invisible Man
''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in ''Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devote ...
'' (1933) and '' The Black Cat'' (1934).
Although the time period in which the film is set is not explicitly specified, Dr. Glendon drives a 1933 Alvis Speed 20
The Alvis Speed 20 is a British touring car that was made between late 1931 and 1936 by Alvis Car and Engineering Company in Coventry. It went through four variants coded SA to SD.
In October 1935 the Speed 20 was supplemented by a 3½-litre ca ...
.
Reception
In ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', Frank S. Nugent called the film a "charming bit of lycanthropy
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (; ; uk, Вовкулака, Vovkulaka), is an individual that can shapeshift into a wolf (or, especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf-like creature), either purposely or ...
", and ended his review by making reference to the fact that ''Werewolf of London'' was the last film to be shown at New York's Rialto Theatre before it was torn down and rebuilt:
Designed solely to amaze and horrify, the film goes about its task with commendable thoroughness, sparing no grisly detail and springing from scene to scene with even greater ease than that oft attributed to the daring young aerialist. Granting that the central idea has been used before, the picture still rates the attention of action-and-horror enthusiasts. It is a fitting valedictory for the old Rialto, which has become melodrama
A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...
's citadel among Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
's picture houses.
Other critics criticized the film's similarity to Rouben Mamoulian
Rouben Zachary Mamoulian ( ; hy, Ռուբէն Մամուլեան; October 8, 1897 – December 4, 1987) was an American film and theatre director.
Early life
Mamoulian was born in Tiflis, Russian Empire, to a family of Armenian descent. H ...
's '' Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' (1931) with Fredric March
Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary ''Variety'', April 16, 1975, p ...
, and it was a box office disappointment.
On review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 77% based on , with an average score of 6.4/10. In a retrospective review, film critic Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
awarded it two-and-a-half out of four stars, calling the film "dated but still effective", and complimenting Oland's performance as Dr. Yogami.
Legacy
''Werewolf of London'' was re-released theatrically by Realart Pictures
Realart Pictures was a motion picture distribution company founded in 1948 by Jack Broder and Joseph Harris. The company specialized in reissues of older pictures, particularly from the library of Universal Pictures, but also handled an occasion ...
in 1951. It aired on the April 2, 2022, episode of ''Svengoolie
''Svengoolie'' is an American hosted horror movie television program. The show features horror and science fiction films and is hosted by the eponymous character Svengoolie, who was originally played by Jerry G. Bishop from 1970 to 1973, before ...
''.
The film inspired '' An American Werewolf in London'' (1981) and its sequel, ''An American Werewolf in Paris
''An American Werewolf in Paris'' (the "An" does not appear in the title scene) is a 1997 dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Anthony Waller, screenplay by Tim Burns, Tom Stern, and Waller, and starring Tom Everett Scott and Julie De ...
'' (1997). Pierce's minimalist werewolf makeup has been referenced and duplicated in other productions, including ''Wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
'' (1994), with Jack Nicholson
John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. In many of his films, he played rebels against the social structure. He received numerous ...
, as well as the television series ''Penny Dreadful
Penny dreadfuls were cheap popular serial literature produced during the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom. The pejorative term is roughly interchangeable with penny horrible, penny awful, and penny blood. The term typically referred to ...
''.
There have been two novelizations of the film. In 1977, a paperback novel written by Walter Harris, under the pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
"Carl Dreadstone",[Ian Covel]
"Ian Covell on ‘Carl Dreadstone’"
''Souvenirs Of Terror fiendish film & TV show tie-ins'', October 3, 2007, accessed 11 July 2011. was published as part of a short-lived series of books based on classic Universal horror movies. The story is told from Glendon's point-of-view, so the structure is very different from the plot of the film. The novel also has a different ending, in which Glendon decides to cooperate with Yogami, and they attempt to control their transformations with the aid of a hypnotist. The plan fails, and the hypnotist is killed, after which Glendon and Yogami transform and fight each other, resulting in Glendon killing Yogami, as in the film. After the mêlée, however, Glendon returns to human form, and the novel ends with him contemplating killing himself with the hypnotist's gun.
The second novelization, written by Carl Green, was published in 1985 as part of Crestwood House's hardcover Movie Monsters series, which was also based on the old Universal films. This book was considerably shorter than the first novelization, followed the plot of the film more closely, and was illustrated extensively with still frames from the film.
Musical references to the film include Warren Zevon
Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician.
Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Tho ...
's 1978 hit song "Werewolves of London
"Werewolves of London" is a rock song performed by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. It was composed by Zevon, LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel and was included on ''Excitable Boy'' (1978), Zevon's third solo album. The track featured ...
", and Paul Roland
Paul Roland (born 6 September 1959) is an English singer-songwriter, author and music journalist. Roland typically writes his songs in the form of stories, often addressing historical figures, characters from literature and film, or his own cre ...
's 1980 album and single ''The Werewolf of London''.
The 1987 video game ''Werewolves of London
"Werewolves of London" is a rock song performed by American singer-songwriter Warren Zevon. It was composed by Zevon, LeRoy Marinell and Waddy Wachtel and was included on ''Excitable Boy'' (1978), Zevon's third solo album. The track featured ...
'' is based on the film.
See also
* Universal Monsters
Universal Classic Monsters (also known as Universal Monsters and Universal Studios Monsters) is a media franchise based on a series of horror films primarily produced by Universal Pictures from the 1930s to the 1950s. Although not initially concei ...
* '' She-Wolf of London'' (1946)
Note
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{Stuart Walker
1935 horror films
1935 films
American black-and-white films
Films directed by Stuart Walker
Films set in London
Films about Tibet
Universal Pictures films
American werewolf films
Films scored by Karl Hajos
1930s English-language films
1930s American films