Bad screenwriting 101 – have a film about a werewolf but don’t introduce him as an adult until 45 minutes in! 45 minutes! Then start the adult section plot – with love interest and friends, etc but don’t have a werewolf attack until 60 minutes in. And it takes forever to get going – setting up this beggar arriving in town, going to the wedding, thrown in gaol, years pass, woman thrown in gaol, rape, kill aristocrat, give birth and die, young kid, kid does attack… it takes forever. It’s a major shame too since there’s lots of intelligent ideas and the concept of a were wold as someone haunted by good and evil is intriguing… but here the bloke turns into a wolf after one visit to a nightclub. There’s no real emotional investment the way we had with Larry Talbot, say.
And it’s a major shame since this could have been one of the Hammer classics. It’s got style to spare, tremendous production value, a strong cast – including the emergence of a new Hammer star, Oliver Reed, who is dynamic – brooding, good looking, doomed. A better film or bigger role (he’s only in the second half) and he could have been the next Lee or Cushing for the company (as it is they still used him in a number of films). Terence Fisher’s direction is vigorous, too.
I should add this film does have it's fans but it's a small cult and the film wasn't popular with the public.
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