Cry of the Werewolf

Apart from Universal's "Larry Talbot" series, it seems that most of the early werewolf films are fairly maligned nowadays; this one, emanating from Columbia, is another of them: ironically, that studio had inserted a talking(!) lycanthrope in their bloodsucking flick THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE (1944) but, when it came time to make a standalone entry into the subgenre, they opted to use a normal wolf (amusingly shown 'munching' all through the opening credits)!! To be honest, the film under review has much more to do with RKO's CAT PEOPLE (1942) than THE WOLF MAN (1941) – actually the principal inspiration behind the Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur classic itself: not only is the monster of the female variety but, towards the end, she is likewise shown terrorizing the heroine (though these scenes have none of the impact of the panther's celebrated late-night stalkings!). Still, all things considered, I have to say that I enjoyed this 63-minute film: the obligatory concocted folklore may not have added up to much this time around, but the atmosphere is fairly nice throughout; Nina Foch (THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE's heroine here graduating to the monster role) and Osa Massen fill the central roles quite adequately, too (their authentic foreign origins helping more than their acting talent in this regard), and even the combined police detection and comic relief (usually redundant elements in this type of movie) prove tolerable under the circumstances.

This film when werewolf films are discussed gets a bad rap, and even though there are no " Special Effects", film is effective.It uses elements from two classic 1940's horror films " The Wolf Man" (1941) and " Cat People" (1942)and uses them well.Well made and acted apart from leading man Stephen Crane who acts like he is reading from cue cards.Overall this film is a nice surprise, i went into this not expecting much but thought it a good film, not that far behind the two classics already mentioned.

CRY OF THE WEREWOLF is about a legend, a family secret, and a curse. There are gypsies, a devil doll, and a Transylvanian connection! Is the gypsy princess Celeste (Nina Foch) more than she appears to be? Of course, there's a werewolf as well, with a bit of a twist. Several deaths occur as the beast tracks down those who could expose the gypsy tribe.

Police Lt. Barry Lane (Barton Maclane) is stumped, while Bob Morris (Stephen Crane) does some snooping of his own. One of the best parts has him sneaking around the basement vaults at a mortuary, while the werewolf pursues him. Will Bob uncover the truth, before his fiancee, Elsa (Ossa Massen) becomes part of the tribe?

Indeed, there's a certain CAT PEOPLE vibe to this movie. Suspenseful and mysterious, COTW is a very entertaining entry in its sub-genre..

EXTRA POINTS FOR: Viewers spotting the rubber band around the poor wolf's snout to make him look more fierce! It sort of works, until it becomes obvious he's just trying to get it off!...

This was described as a classic horror when I stumbled across a download of it online, yet in 40 years of being a fan of the genre I had never before come across it. The things that I liked about Cry is that it is nicely filmed, looking very good in black and white. The werewolf plot is just adequate to maintain an interest, it stars some very attractive women and there is an element of humour in the form of some comical cops. What lets it down somewhat is the werewolf action is very limited, a dog is obviously used for the part of the werewolf and some of the acting is wooden (Osa Massen gives by far the worst Transylvanian accent that I have ever heard!). At just over an hour it is a fairly enjoyable but forgettable, minor werewolf movie

There are some good moments in this film. At the center is Nina Foch who plays a gypsy princess who can become a wolf at will. It is her purpose to keep the gypsy band together by killing off those who know about her abilities. But a scientist begins to invade their domain. He is killed but it leads to his son and fiancee trying to figure out what happened. One down side is the keystone kops police force. Even if they don't believe in werewolves, they could be a tad more competent.