This wasn’t just Universal’s first werewolf movie… it was Hollywood’s first werewolf flick by any major studio. With all due reverence to Lon Chaney Jr and The Wolf Man (1941), Werewolf of London (1935) is a much better story.
The main character, Wilfred, is a world-renowned botanist who travels to Tibet to find an elusive flower – the mariphasa – to study its properties. While there, he is bitten by a werewolf and the disease of lycanthropy is transmitted to him.
Back in London, his nightmare begins. The only thing that can delay his transformations are the mariphasa flowers that he brought back from Tibet.
But when a rival doctor/werewolf steals the flowers for himself, Wilfred is consumed by his animalistic urge to destroy that which he loves the most – his beloved wife.
Like The Wolf Man’s Larry Talbot, Wilfred is a very sympathetic character who suffers one tragedy after another. The makeup artistry is fantastic for its time – thanks to legendary artist Jack Pierce who would use this experience to create the unforgettable look of The Wolf Man.
Can Wilfred find a cure before he kills the innocent? You’ll have to watch to find out!
