78 Days to Halloween- 1941 The Wolf Man

Over the next 100 days, I will present one movie of significances in horror, suspense or thrillers for each year from 1919 to 2018. The next film presented here is the 1941 horror film "The Wolf Man" starring Lon Chaney, Jr, Claude Rains, Warren William, Ralph Bellamy, Bela Lugosi, Evelyn Ankers and directed by George Waggner.

The Wolf Man (1941)

Dir- George Waggner

One of the finest and best-remembered horror films ever made: Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr) is an unlucky heir bitten by gypsy werewolf Bela Lugosi and survives to carry the curse himself. The outstanding cast includes Claude Rains as the unknowing father, Evelyn Ankers as his perplexed girlfriend. Kudos go to Maria Ouspenskaya as the wise gypsy woman who foretells his fate and attempts to care for him. Although one of the later of the classic monster movies to appear it is Lon Chaney Jr's excellent portrayal that leaves us with such a great and memorable monster classic. Literate and very engrossing, with superb makeup by the maestro Jack Pierce, atmospheric music (re-used in many other Universal chillers) by Charles Previn and Hans J. Salter with a script by Curt Siodmak.