Werewolves and Wax Museums

 

Along with my user comments below, I also have an older review in the blog archive, October 2015.

Sadly, I recall watching a slight but fun Universal Monsters documentary on the now "sunset" Chiller Channel where the interviewed Nina Foch was very vocal about how much she disliked the horror genre while James Karen, of "Return of the Living Dead", glowingly remembers how much he loved these films from his youth.

That was the 1998 doc, "Universal Horror", narrated by Kenneth Branaugh. Foch, who starred also in the Lugosi vampire film for Columbia, "Return of the Vampire", was the actual lead in the 1944 werewolf feature for the same studio, "Cry of the Werewolf". As a gypsy werewolf descendent of Marie Le Tou, Foch targets and kills a wax museum curator and historian, soon herself in trouble due to such actions. Very noirish and every bit in the Val Lewton vein, "Cry of the Werewolf" is very attractive aesthetically. The story didn't exactly just knock me for a loop and this film remains obscure. The 40s is just a decade of horror not especially recognized or endorsed by fans as other decades before and after it. But the studios of this era were very well crafted... serious talent behind the camera and even with the less atmospheric sets and set in more modern times, there is a distinct visual style this decade has going for it.

--this review for IMDb was special to me as it was a viewing on Halloween, 2007.

I was a bit disappointed with this horror tale as Columbia Pictures decided to take a stab at their own werewolf flick as Nina Foch stars as a gypsy high Priestess, Celeste, whose mother was a lycanthrope passing the affliction to her. She kills a museum owner who has been delving into Foch's mother's history. The man's scientist son, Bob(Stephen Crane) and future Transylvanian wife, Elsa(Osa Massen) decide to follow a few leads through some burnt written words that his late father was penning for a forthcoming novel to be published about the infamous Marie La Tour and her werewolf lineage. The great Barton MacLane stars as Lt. Barry Lane, on the case to discover who murdered Bob's father. While the film certainly has that wonderfully polished B&W noirish look Columbia Pictures is known for, there aren't enough juicy bits with the werewolf that I desired, but Foch is striking in the lead role. No werewolf transformations except some shadow changes on the wall with Foch turning to a regular wolf. The film is more about the search for the killer of the museum curator, with Foch's Celeste using her mind-control black magic powers to persuade Bob and Elsa off her tracks. Too short with a conclusion that I found rather hastily finished. But, good cast and production values helps significantly. The idea of a woman werewolf certainly is interesting and I wish this film could've established that a bit more. Yeah, a woman in a werewolf costume would've definitely satisfied me, to tell you the truth.