The Wolf Man

The Wolf Man is a 1941 horror film written by Curt Siodmak and produced and directed by George Waggner, starring Lon Chaney Jr, Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Ralph Bellamy, Patrick Knowles, Bela Lugosi, and Maria Ouspenskaya. It introduced a character that stands alongside Frankenstein and Dracula as the most recognized Universal Studios monsters and has had a great deal of influence on Hollywood's depictions of the legend of the werewolf.

Analysis

As in most of Universal’s classic monsters, the appeal of the Wolf Man lies in the humanity beneath the horror. Lawrence Talbot was tormented with the knowledge that he became a savage beast with a lust to kill. Only death could set him free but, as the sequels proved, just temporarily. He is the quintessential reluctant monster.

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