Today's movie of the day = The Wolf Man. This is another of the solid Universal monster films. This one had more story behind it and it was all about the idea of the duality of man. The Wolf Man is only in the film for probably ten minutes, at most, but it is the struggle that Larry Talbot faces that is the core of the story. The funny thing is, the town goes from believing in werewolves to not, to believing, and back again.
One thing I found cringeworthy was that Larry was a peeping Tom with the telescope, which was bad enough, but then he goes and stalks the shop girl. And then she falls for him over the course of the film. Awkward...
When doing the opening credits Universal showed the actors and their roles but they were all males even though two major characters were female. It was a different time, to be sure.
One thing I find funny about all of these Universal films is that the monsters always die at the end yet they have multiple sequels.
As for the film, Lon Chaney was very good in his role. He was convincing as a torn man. It was fun to see Claude Rains and Bela Legosi in the film as well as it felt like a semi-reunion. While the Wolf Man was more cuddly teddy bear than scary monster, the story was really what mattered. Oh, and I found it funny how the other werewolf was a German Shepherd but Larry got the teddy bear look.
Yes, I would recommend this one with no caveats.
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