WAITING FOR A SHIPMENT OF BULBS FROM BURMA: RE-EXAMINING THE WEREWOLF OF LONDON.

The first time Universal ventured into lycanthropy was the 1935 film "The Werewolf of London" starring Henry Hull as Dr. Glendon, Warner (Charlie Chan) Oland as Dr. Yogami and Valerie Hobson as Lisa. Werewolves were an untried element at the time of this film; there was no real literary work to adapt (as in the case of Dracula, Frankenstein or Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde). As for the movie at claw ...er...I mean HAND. . .(click here to watch the movie trailer) I saw it years ago as a kid and was frankly disappointed in it. I thought it was OK but nowhere near as good as "The Wolf Man". I would watch it whenever it came on Creature Double Feature or Dr. Shock's Mad Theater/Horror Theater on Saturday afternoons (but then this Monster Kid would watch EVERYTHING horror). Then, in the 80's I rewatched it every time AMC played it and STILL found it disappointing. However, after watching it again in the last few years on the Wolfman Legacy DVD collection, I found myself liking it much more. I don't know why. I have made an effort to try to see the good things in all horror films in order to support the genre. . .and 9 times out of 10 every horror film has SOMETHING to recommend it. "Werewolf of London" has quite a few more things going for it, as it turns out. I absolutely LOVE Henry Hull's makeup and costume as the werewolf. I think it's very distinctive and nicely satanic around the face and hair. Shots of the lycanthropic Hull in cloth cap with turned-up collar work surprisingly well. Whether or not the old chestnut about Hull refusing to have too much makeup is true or not, Jack Pierce did an elegant, effective job creating Universal's first werewolf. The beauty of Hull's werewolf can be seen very effectively in the Sideshow Toys collectible figure of "The Werewolf of London" made in the late 90's. The opening of the film is, of course, a stunner; much like 1931's Dracula truly shines most in the first reel. However, "Werewolf"'s first reel is not the equal of "Dracula"'s first reel. The shot of Warner Oland's lycanthropic werewolf peering over the rocks at Henry Hull as the full moon plays among the clouds behind him is an absolutely beautiful shot. The fight scenes between both characters here and moreso at the end of the film (with those wonderful clawmarks to the face) are genuinely thrilling. In fact, the movie is littered with nice scenes (as well as less interesting talky ones). The opening setting in Tibet and the concept of the werewolf-curative flower which only blooms in the full moonlight are great ones which also bolster the film's interest. The concept of the werewolf hunting the one he most loves would be used many times but is always welcome. Hull's performance is good if cold. Warner Oland shines as Dr. Yogami; he was quite good in sinister roles (see Drums of Jeopardy for a great example where Oland plays a raving mad doctor named Boris Karlov!). Perhaps my favourite line is the first (non-lycanthopic) meeting of Dr. Glendon & Dr. Yogami at a dinner party. "Have I met you before?" asks Glendon to which Yogami replies "In Tibet. Once. But only for a moment. In the dark." (My second favourite line is the one that opens this blog: Dr. Glendon excuses himself from a night out with Lisa by saying that he's waiting for a shipment of bulbs from Burma! That line's a hoot!) Valerie Hobson is adequate as Hull's love interest but she (along with everyone else except perhaps Oland) is saddled with typical old-fashioned 30's acting styles. Spring Byington's comical character could be either annoying or funny; depending on your mood. Half the time I think she's annoying; half the time she elicits a smile. Stuart Walker's direction is adequate and keeps the film moving at a reasonable (if not kinetic) rate while Charles Stumar's photography makes an effort to move around rather than anchor itself in one place. All in all, "Werewolf of London" is a very good, if second tier, Universal horror and remains watchable (if you can sit through the "drawing room" scenes). For a first try, "Werewolf" does modestly well as a warmup for the truly classic "Wolf Man" starring Lon Chaney Jr. You could do a lot worse than this picture.