Werewolf of London (1935)

Director:

Stuart Walker

Writers:

Robert Harris (story)
John Colton (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 May 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Beware the Stalking Being - Half-Human - Half-Beast!

Plot:

The juice of a rare Tibetan flower is the only thing that keeps Dr. Glendon from turning into a werewolf during a full moon.

Plot Keywords:

Mad Scientist | Creature | Path | Man Beast | Animal Attack

Cast

Henry Hull	...	Dr. Glendon
Warner Oland	...	Dr. Yogami
Valerie Hobson	...	Lisa Glendon
Lester Matthews	...	Paul Ames
Lawrence Grant	...	Sir Thomas Forsythe
Spring Byington	...	Miss Ettie Coombes
Clark Williams	...	Hugh Renwick
J.M. Kerrigan	...	Hawkins
Charlotte Granville	...	Lady Forsythe
Ethel Griffies	...	Mrs. Whack
Zeffie Tilbury	...	Mrs. Moncaster
Jeanne Bartlett	...	Daisy

Also Known As:

Unholy Hour

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Tibetan | Latin

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-11 (2004) | Spain:13 | USA:Approved (PCA #714) | Sweden:7

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The copyright record synopsis has a scene where a boy is almost eaten by a plant in the botanical gardens sequence, and he is saved by Wilfred. It was not included in the final print.

Goofs:

Continuity: The arrangement of Mrs Moncaster's tumblers on the bar when she declares she's only had one drink changes between shots.

Quotes:

Dr. Yogami: The werewolf is neither man nor wolf, but a Satanic creature with the worst qualities of both.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man' (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

Tales from the Vienna Woods, op.325

By the Light of the Silvery Moon

Universal's first foray into lycanthropy was this version of a man that goes to Tibet in search of a rare flower. He is bitten by a werewolf. He then leaves Tibet for his home in London with said plant which flowering buds have the ability to off-set the "disease" at least for that evening against the full moon. This film is entertaining and has many good points. It has a great score and lots of wonderful scenes and sets. Many of the character actors are quite good, in particular Spring Byington and Valerie Hobson. Warner Oland steals the acting honors as an adversary to Dr. Glendon, the titular werewolf. Oland, the great Charlie Chan himself, hams it up as another werewolf in search of the flowering buds. The film has a lot of comedy in it, with several scenes between two friendly landladies creating most of the laughs. I think the picture really suffers from the script, which really does not help create werewolf folklore like The Wolfman did later for Universal. The make-up by Jack Pierce is pretty good, but actor Henry Hull is very dull in his lead role. Hull plays the beast with some passion but his role as the doctor is the epitome of boredom. Nonetheless I found the film very entertaining and recommend it.