The Wolfman
Image taken from wikipedia.org
In 1941, Universal Pictures created one of its most memorable monster films. It was known as The Wolfman. The film starred Lon Chaney Jr. and Claude Rains. It told the story of Larry Talbot who returns to his home in England to reconcile with his father. He becomes romantically-linked with a woman in the nearby town who sells him a cane with a wolf’s head on it. Larry hears a poem that is told by the villagers whenever a wolf is mentioned.
- 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.
Later in the film, he is attacked by a wolf while attempting to save a woman. He kills the beast with the cane but then realizes it was a werewolf: half man and half wolf. Larry now will become a werewolf whenever the moon is full. While, attempting to control this terrible affliction, he is beaten to death by his father.
The film became innovative in its use of visual effects. The process by which the actor turned into a wolf was done by making the actor stand perfectly still while his face was drawn on panes of glass in front of the camera. The effect worked perfectly and is still viewed as one of the most groundbreaking makeup effects in motion picture history.
