Legend of the Werewolf (1975)

Director: Freddie Francis                                 Writers: Anthony Hinds
Film Score: Harry Robertson                            Cinematography: John Wilcox
Starring: Peter Cushing, Ron Moody, David Rintoul and Lynn Dalby

As I was watching the original Star Wars a few weeks ago, I began to wonder what else Peter Cushing had done in his later years and I stumbled upon Legend of the Werewolf. While deciding which VHS version to purchase on Amazon--there is no DVD release in the US--the one review there stated the film was not very good, but it was a must for Peter Cushing fans. How true. But I would make a small amendment: the film is not great until Cushing appears. When he does, it elevates the film to another level. [As of 2017 the film has been released on DVD in the US by Cheezy Flicks] Legend of the Werewolf was one of three films produced by the British company Tyburn Films in 1975, using mostly talent associated with Hammer Studios. Director Freddie Francis does what he can with the limited production values he has at his disposal.

The first part of the film is rather dismal, wherein Hugh Griffith as Maestro Pamponi stumbles across a wolf-boy and uses him to attract customers to his feeble sideshow. The boy grows up and moves to the city, and is given a job at the zoo owned by Ron Moody. But it’s not until he meets the prostitute Lynn Dalby that his jealousy turns him fully into a werewolf during the full moon. When the murder victims are brought to the morgue, Peter Cushing’s Professor Paul at first believes it’s a wolf and suspicion naturally falls on the zookeeper’s wolves. Though he was 63 at the time, Cushing is magnificent as the French pathologist. His knowing and fearless character that graced so many Hammer films is present in abundance, and with the paucity of acting around him, he completely dominates the proceedings. His skull-like face was even more accentuated later in his career, but rather than making him look weak, it does quite the opposite.

For real fans of Hammer and associated horror films, the British Film Institute--for some reason--published a book called Making Legend of the Werewolf by Edward Buscombe to coincide with the release of the film. There was also a novelization of the film from the same year, by author Robert Black, but much of the screenplay is lifted by Anthony Hinds from his script for Curse of the Werewolf, using the name John Elder. The makeup is similar to that worn by Oliver Reed in the earlier film as well. But David Rintoul is far inferior to Reed, and Ron Moody’s characterization suffers from a lack of direction and pales in comparison to his work on Oliver!. The real draw, though, is Peter Cushing. Again, it’s not a great film and so no one should go into it expecting that. But for anyone who loves Cushing’s work, I would say, it’s a must have.