FOR THE FUN OF IT:

FOR THE FUN OF IT:

FOR THE FUN OF IT:

BOOK OF THE WEREWOLF: A CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES TRIBUTE

Classic Monsters of the Movies' Book of the Werewolf: A Chronicle of Classic Lycanthropic Cinema offers a dandy, hairy string of some of the genre's best transformations, as its creepy collage-cover proclaims.

Authors/researchers Nige Burton & Jamie Jones host the effort, layering on precious details and insights into the making of such cinematic sojourns as Wolf Blood; The Werewolf of London; The Wolf Man/The Wolfman; Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman; Curse of the Werewolf; A Face at the Window; Face of the Screaming Werewolf; I Was a Teenage Werewolf; How to Make a Monster; The Werewolf 1956; Werewolf in a Girl's Dormitory; The Mark of the Wolfman; Assignment: Terror; Cry of the Werewolf; The Boy Who Cried Werewolf 1973; Return of the Vampire; The Mad Monster; The Undying Monster; The Daughter of Dr. Jekyll; Werewolves on Wheels; Legend of the Werewolf; The Beast Must Die; An American Werewolf in London; The Wolfen; The Howling, Wolf; The Company of Wolves; Wolfman 1979; and Wolfman 2010.  

It should go without saying, the writers spend ample time saluting the stars who headline these endeavors: Henry Hull; Lon Chaney Jr.; Oliver Reed; Tod Slaughter; Michael Landon; Gary Clarke; Steven Ritch; Curt Lowens; Paul Naschy; Kerwin Matthews; Matt Willis; Glenn Strange; David Rintoul; David Naughton; Jack Nicholson; Earl Owensby; Benicio Del Toro; et al.  

The volume is divided into categories, with an overview of lost/rare werewolf movies; Universal/Lawrence Talbot/Chaney Jr. submissions; 1950s, drive-in gems; Paul Naschy's energetic, Waldemar Daninsky series; offbeat, incidental entries; capped by modern variants on the theme. 

Burton and Jones' volume is written to satisfy, whether one is a dabbler of furry folklore, a casual fan or a devoted die-hard of ferocious manly lobos.

Order Book of the Werewolf at 

https://www.classic-monsters.com/shop/product/book-of-the-werewolf-luxury-movie-guide/

CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES #29: CHANEY JR, LUGOSI ... STRANGE

"Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright." 

Classic Monsters of the Movies #29 is one mighty, ferocious issue, with articles from reliable editors/researchers, Nige Burton and Jamie Jones, abetted by thorough contributors, Alex Hopkins, Marcus Turner and David Huckvale.

George Waggner/Curt Siodmak's The Wolf Man is, as Daniel Horne's atmospheric cover conveys, the issue's headliner, with fondness bestowed to its star, Lon Chaney Jr., who plays the cursed Lawrence Talbot. Acknowledgement is also given to his prime costars, Claude Rains, Bela Lugosi, Maria Ouspenskaya and Evelyn Ankers. Beyond any debate, the assessment is exquisite, as are its complementing photos.

To dip further into the Universal flavor, there's an adoring article on Glenn Strange, Frankenstein's Monster in House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, as well as other fantastic entries, such as The Black Raven, Master Minds, The Mad Monster and The Monster Maker, in addition to his westerns roles. 

For additional seasoning, Issue #29 is accented by Lugosi's B-flick favorite, The Ape Man; the Hughes Brothers' Jack the Ripper exploration, From Hell; the vindictive yet humorous Theatre of Blood, with Vincent Price and Diana Rigg;  animal-attacking terror that salutes Jaws, The Birds, Them, Frogs, Razorback, The Devil Bat, The Alligator People, King Kong 1933, The Fly 1958, Pet Sematary 1998, Cujo, Kingdom of the Spiders ... Arachnophobia; and Tai Ortiz's stylish, modern-macabre short, Positively Do Not Open. 

Classic Monsters of the Movies is a rich and satisfying periodical. Issue #29 proves it once again. 

Order at 

https://www.classic-monsters.com/shop/product/classic-monsters-magazine-issue-29/

HAPPY 80TH, WOLF MAN

There are few films as multilayered as George Waggner's 1941 character study, The Wolf Man, thanks in no small part to Curt Siodmak's engrossing, folklore-bolstering script and Lon Chaney Jr's iconic performance as Lawrence (Larry) Talbot, a man cursed with lycanthropy.

In one sense, The Wolf Man is a grand, atmospheric monster movie carved in the best Universal form; in another, it's an amazing, psychological thriller that draws one into its nuanced tiers. (One fears the monster, but one cares for the human behind the ravenous marauder and make his heartbreaking journey one's own cross to bear.) 

There are few werewolf yarns since that haven't been influenced by The Wolf Man, which redefined the werewolf concept in an unshakable way. In fact, Paul Naschy's entire Waldemar Daninsky series sprung from The Wolf Man's impact. Other productions owe The Wolf Man a mountain of debt: Cure of the Werewolf, I Was a Teenage Werewolf, An American Werewolf in London, The Howling and Universal's 2010 remake with Benicio Del Toro.

As Talbot, Chaney flawlessly churns a sense of yearning and guilt throughout his nuanced portrayal. However, when transformed, he moves like a stealthy beast (the ideal, hairy Hyde), a stark contrast to his woeful, gentlemanly antithesis, thus establishing one of the most memorable movie monsters of all time. 

In lovely contrast, Evelyn Ankers is excellent as the gorgeous Gwen, the apple of Talbot's eye (i.e the symbolic prize that he can't possess). Maria Ouspenskaya is equally effective as the maternal gypsy, Maleva, with Bela Lugosi in a celebrated cameo as her afflicted son. Comprising the rest of the prime cast is Patric Knowles, Ralph Bellamy and the great Claude (Invisible Man/Phantom of the Opera) as Talbot's confounded father, Sir John. 

To cradle to the movie's saturating mood, Hans J. Salter's score fills one ears while driving one's pulse. It set the standard for the Universal horror scores that followed.

From a cultural vantage, Siomak's script introduced the "Even a man who is pure in heart" proverb and the use of silver as a means to slay a werewolf. On a further cultural note, The Wolf Man's symbolic pentagram (as perceived by Talbot to convey his prophesied victims) epitomizes the stigmatic labeling that stained Nazi-reigned Germany at the time of the movie's release, empowering to the fable's identifiable air of terror.  

Jack Piece's make-up is also a substantial feature of the film, rendered with the same, unique logic that defined his design for Boris Karloff's Frankenstein Monster. (Pierce also applied the make-up for Henry Hull's Werewolf of London a few years prior, though that character dynamic ultimately required a more subdued approach, whereas The Wolf Man exudes pure, focused ferocity.) 

There's so much to gnaw upon in The Wolf Man. In truth, if one doesn't comprehend its haunting content, one is incapable of understanding what makes a movie a classic. 

(Re)visit The Wolf Man today. This hair-raiser is fated to mesmerize, whether one engages it for the first or the hundredth view.