Film Review
Having resurrected three of Universal's classic monster staples -
Dracula,
Frankenstein's monster
and
the Mummy - Hammer completed
the spine-tingling quartet with
The
Curse of the Werewolf, although copyright restrictions prevented
the company from naming its lycanthropically inflicted protagonist the
Wolf Man. Whereas the other three gothic fiends enjoyed multiple
outings at Hammer, the werewolf appeared in just one film, which makes
it something of an oddity in Hammer's cycle of horror films. Set
in 18th century Spain instead of Hammer's usual Gothic locales,
The Curse of the Werewolf has a
more romantic, Latin feel to it, similar to Jean Delannoy's classic
French film
Notre Dame de Paris
(1956). The story is based on the 1933 novel
The Werewolf of Paris by the
American writer Guy Endore. Although Endore ended up working as a
screenwriter for Universal Studios his novel had no direct connection
with any of the werewolf films made by the studio.
Cast in the role of the werewolf was a virtually unknown contract
player at Hammer who would later go on to much bigger things, Oliver
Reed. Today, the casting of Reed as the werewolf would seem to be
a no-brainer but at the time it was a huge gamble, much as the casting
of Christopher Lee as Dracula had been a few years previously.
Just as Lee had had to follow one screen legend, Bela Lugosi, so Reed
was likely to compared with another, Lon Chaney Jr, and the fact that
no subsequent werewolf film was made by Hammer would suggest that the
latter comparison had not been favourable. One of the strengths
of Universal's
Wolf Man films
is that Chaney compels us to sympathise with the plight of his
character. Whilst few would argue that Oliver Reed is not a great
actor, there are not many who would describe him as a sympathetic
actor. Reed may be superb as the transformed werewolf, every bit
as terrifying as Chaney's portrayal (thanks in part to an absolutely
stunning make-up job), but we struggle to engage with his character's
human alter ego. With or without the wolf make-up, there is
always something of the untamed savage in Oliver Reed's screen
portrayals - a quality that Hammer would exploit to dazzling
effect in subsequent films, notably
Paranoiac (1963).
Despite its plush production values and stylish mise-en-scène by
Hammer regular Terence Fisher,
The
Curse of the Werewolf cannot escape its one killer flaw - a
plodding narrative. Before Mr Reed shows up at the film's
mid-point and belatedly brings it to life we have to sit through an
interminable preamble which, moving at the pace of an asthmatic
one-legged tortoise, explains just how the main character came to be
afflicted with the titular curse. Clifford Evans does a
reasonable job of holding the fort until Reed turns up but the
languorous pace of the film's first half is a definite turn-off for
anyone expecting something in the line of Hammer's previous Gothic
horrors. Things improve a little in the second half, but the
overall impact is again marred by an overly padded denouement which
serves only to show what a very limited repertoire the werewolf has -
it essentially consists of strangling people and running around on
rooftops looking suitably menacing. No wonder Hammer couldn't be
bothered to resurrect this particular monster, even if it is the most
visually striking in its entire Gothic horror range. Still, it
can be argued that Oliver Reed's colourful off-screen exploits were
more than enough to make up for this shortfall...
© James Travers 2014
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Terence Fisher film:
The Gorgon (1964)
Film Synopsis
In 18th century Spain, a beggar is thrown into a dungeon cell when he
offends the cruel Marques Siniestro at his wedding feast. Fifteen years on,
the same beggar is still imprisoned and, now reduced to an animal, he
rapes a young serving girl when she enters his cell. The girl
gives birth before she dies and the child is adopted by a kindly
scholar, Don Alfredo Corledo, and his housekeeper Teresa. The
latter's fears that the child, christened Leon, may be tainted with
evil appear to be borne out when several goats in the area are found
dead, their throats ripped out. The love that Don Alfredo and
Teresa show towards him allows Leon to overcome his lycanthropic
tendencies and he grows up into a good, seemingly normal young
man. He finds work bottling wine for vineyard owner Don Fernando
Gomez but falls in love with the latter's daughter Cristina.
During a visit to a brothel one evening Leon is transformed into a
half-man, half-wolf creature and commits two savage murders. The
only thing that can save Leon is Cristina's love, but her father has
made up his mind that she will marry another man...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.