Episode 58 - Universal's Werewolf Films

Discover the Horror

The Werewolf of London (1935), The Wolf Man (1941), and She-Wolf of London (1946)

When the night falls and the full moon rises, it is time to talk about werewolves. Not just any werewolves, but the ones that came from Universal Studios. While still riding the wave of their successes with the horror titles of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The Invisible Man, Universal's front office continued to look for their next big monster, which spawned The Werewolf of London (1935). While it wasn't the success they'd hoped, they would try it again in 1941 on the second wave of monster films, which was a big hit. And like the curse of lycanthropy, things weren't always particualrly good with this particular sub-genre.

We cover the three official titles from Universal that have the werewolf (one in title alone!) by themselves, and not any of the monster-rallys that we'll cover in the future. Will they still hold up to modern audiences? Are they worthy of their "classic monster" title? Listen and find out.

Films mentioned in this episode:

The Ape (1940), The Black Cat (1934), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Brute Man (1946), The Cat People (1942), Calling Dr. Death (1943), C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud (1989), Climax (1944), Dead Man’s Eyes (1944), Dracula (1931), Dracula’s Daughter (1936), Dracula vs Frankenstein (1971), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932), Frankenstein (1931), Frozen Ghost (1945), Great Expectations (1934), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945), House of Horror (1946), Jungle Woman (1944), The Invisible Man (1933), The Invisible Man Returns (1940), The Invisible Man’s Revenge (1944), The Invisible Woman (1940), The Mad Ghoul (1943), The Mummy (1932), The Mummy’s Curse (1944), The Mummy’s Ghost (1944), Night of the Howling Beast (1975), Of Mice and Men (1939), Pillow of Death (1945), She-Wolf of London (1946), Son of Dracula (1943), Spider Baby (1967), Strange Confession (1945), Troll (1986), The Weird Woman (1944), The Werewolf of London (1935), The Wolf Man (1941), The Werewolf (1913), Werewolf’s Shadow (1971), The White Wolf (1914), Wolf Blood: A Tale of the Forest (1925), The Wolfman (1915), The Wolfman (1923)