WEREWOLF OF LONDON (1935)

In Tibet, botanist Wilfred Glendon (Henry Hull) and his young assistant Hugh Renwick are hunting at night for a rare flower that blooms only during the full moon. The natives accompanying him are skittish, and go running when they see a strange figure come over a hill—from a place the natives call the Valley of Demons—but it turns out to be a priest who gently warns them about going any farther. They continue anyway, and soon Renwick pauses, saying he feels paralyzed. Glendon sees the flower and reaches for it, but is attacked by a wolf-like creature; he is bitten but manages to wound the beast and take the flower. Back in London, Glendon becomes completely absorbed in his work, trying to use artificial light to make the moon flower bloom. At a party, with Glendon distracted, his young wife Lisa is chatted up by her former flame Paul (with a busybody society matron seemingly encouraging the pair to "hook up," as we might say today). Another botanist, Dr. Yogami (Warner Oland), shows up, claiming to have met Glendon in Tibet and is very interested in the moon flower, claiming that it is an antidote to "werewolfery." This tidbit may interest Glendon, as he finds that, under full moon light, the bite from Tibet sprouts hair and the nectar of the plant changes it back to normal. In short order, we realize that both Glendon and Yogami are afflicted by werewolfery (or lycanthropy as the condition is better known) and both need the antidote of the moon flower to ward off a transformation under the full moon into a savage, murderous werewolf—who is driven to kill that which he loves.

This was the first werewolf movie of the sound era and, as such, set a template that lasted for years: the transformation into a beast happens due to a bite or wound from another werewolf, is triggered by the full moon, and might be avoided by a natural cure. The story and makeup work well, and the opening scene is lovely and atmospheric. But Hull was not a terribly demonstrative actor and he's a bit of a letdown, especially if you’ve seen Lon Chaney Jr.  (1942's THE WOLF MAN) or Oliver Reed (1961's CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF) who both give stronger performances. This may seem like mild stuff to those raised on the more modern monsters in The Howling or An American Werewolf in London. But still, this manages to be an effective entry in the Universal classic horror series of the 30s. There are interesting readings of the film that highlight themes of drug addiction (the need for a plant serum injected into the body) and homosexuality (Hull and Oland sharing a secret subculture). The supporting characters are mostly uninteresting, though I enjoy Spring Byington a comic-relief biddy. Even though this is a very different movie from Chaney’s Wolf Man, it's difficult not to compare them. This one will lose out just a bit on most points, but it is still well worth watching. Pictured are Oland and Hull in combat. [DVD]