Movie Review - The Wolf Man

The Wolf Man (1941)

Starring Lon Chaney, Claude Rains, Ralph Bellamy, and Bela Lugosi

Directed by George Waggner

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Away from home for eighteen years, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney) returns to the English country home of his father (Claude Rains) following his brother's death in a hunting accident.  While there, Larry wanders through the woods one evening and gets bit by a wolf.  Although he manages to kill the beast, an old gypsy woman tells Larry that the wolf Larry believed he killed was actually her son Bela (Bela Lugosi) who was a werewolf...and since Larry was bit by him, Larry is now cursed to be a werewolf, too.

While the whole premise is silly, this is a solid horror film for the 1940s.  There are times here and there where is drags a tiny bit (which is surprisingly considering the running time is a svelte 68 minutes), but I can't ever say I was really bored (unlike the 2010 remake which was pretty awful).  Admittedly, I'm not all that familiar with horror icon Lon Chaney, but he actually acts here which I wasn't expecting at all...and he's pretty good at it, too.  The Wolf Man himself makes a few scant appearances here and there, but for the majority of the time, Chaney is playing "Larry Talbot" and he more than adequately portrays Larry's doubts and guilt concerning his possible werewolf tendencies.  Plus, with a nice turn from Claude Rains as Larry's father and more than adequate performances from the supporting cast, The Wolf Man is a nice diversion and a pleasant look back at Hollywood's initial attempts at creating cinematic horror.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-