The werewolf of London

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Movie
German title The werewolf of London
Original title Werewolf of London
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1935
length 75 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Stuart Walker
script Robert Harris
John Colton
production Universal Pictures
Stanley Bergerman
Robert Harris
music Karl Hajos
camera Charles J. Stumar
cut Russell F. Schoengarth
Milton Carruth
occupation

Werewolf of London is an American horror film of Universal Studios from the year 1935 . The film is Universal's first werewolf film. It was directed by Stuart Walker and starred by Henry Hull and Warner Oland .

action

The ambitious and world famous botanist Dr. Wilfred Glendon travels to Tibet to find a specimen of the extremely rare Mariphasa plant. In the mountains, after a painstaking search, he actually comes across such a plant. Just as he is about to take the plant, he is attacked and bitten by a strange creature half human, half animal.
Back in London, he soon begins to feel strange. He is gripped by restlessness and, much to the chagrin of his attractive wife Lisa, becomes more aggressive the closer the full moon approaches. One day he receives a visit from the mysterious Dr. Yogami, who himself was in Tibet looking for a plant like the one that Glendon brought back from his expedition. He also explains to Glendon that the creature that attacked him in the mountains was a werewolf and that he too is now burdened with this curse. Yogami also claims that the mariphasa is the only effective antidote for lycantropia. Glendon thinks he's crazy and sends him away. But the following night there is a full moon and he turns into a werewolf. The next morning he had to find out about a gruesome crime from the newspaper. Apparently a young woman was murdered last night and literally torn to pieces. Glendon makes terrible reproaches and works feverishly to decipher the secret of the plant, because the delicate plant is already beginning to wither and has only one flower bud.
The following night, the werewolf strikes again, and again Glendon has to deal with his nagging conscience. Just on the evening before the third night of the full moon, he uncovered the secret of the Mariphasa. But before he can use it, Dr. Opposite to Yogami. He snatches the last of the mariphasa blooms and rubs its sap on an old scar that appears to have come from a bite. It turns out that Yogami himself was the werewolf who infected Glendon in Tibet.

Yogami is freed from the curse by the sap, but Glendon turns into a beast again with the rising moon and kills him. Then he makes his way to Lisa, because the werewolf instinctively tries to kill what he loves most. Only at the last second is he shot by the intervening police and takes on his human form again as he dies.

production

Jack Pierce's original makeup design for The Werewolf of London was actually the same design that was not finally used in The Wolf Man until 1941 . Main actor Henry Hull was dissatisfied with the mask after a few test shots because he felt too much impaired in his facial expressions. Eventually they agreed on a less hairy, more subtle look for the werewolf.

There is a short scene in the Universal archives in which a young boy is almost eaten by a huge carnivorous plant and only at the last second by Dr. Glendon is saved. However, this scene never made it into the finished film.

The creature's creepy howl is a cross-fade between Henry Hull's voice and the howl of a real wolf. So the noise eludes a clear characterization as human or animal. This simple but powerful effect was not used in any other Universal werewolf film.

In 1935 the film flopped at the box office.

DVD release

The Werewolf of London is part of " The Monster Legacy DVD Collection ".

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