Legend of the Werewolf

This is a decidedly rarely seen werewolf movie that I hadn't even heard of prior to a very kind fellow IMDber sending me a copy to check out. It was directed by Freddie Francis who helmed quite a lot of British genre films in the 60's and 70's including the impressive Amicus horror omnibus movie Tales from the Crypt (1972), although he is probably most famous now as a fantastic cinematographer who shot many great films including classics such as The Straight Story (1999). Legend of the Werewolf is a film made very much in the style of a Hammer movie, with its period setting and traditional horror monster, as well as the presence of genre legend Peter Cushing. But it turns out it was made by an obscure British production company called Tyburn, who it appears were a lower budget competitor and whose small output has ensured that they are all but forgotten now compared to other more successful smaller studios like Amicus and the very similarly named Tygon.

Set in 19th century France, a young orphaned boy is raised by wolves in a forest. A travelling carnival discovers him one day and takes him under their wing. Once an adult he relocates to a town and it's here that his lycanthropy really kicks in and needless to say, a series of unexplained violent murders ensue in the vicinity.

The fate of Tyburn, and this movie, probably wasn't helped by them coming in at the tail end of the popularity of the costume horror cycle. By 1975 this sub-genre had waned in popularity and the main draws in the genre were contemporary-set films featuring the occult, deranged psychopaths and…giant sharks. So this one is more a throwback to an older style of horror and probably suffered at the box office as a consequence. It benefits from the presence of the always reliable Cushing as a coroner/amateur sleuth and Ron Moody as a shady zoo-keeper. But in truth this is a fairly middling effort overall. Nothing really wrong with that though, as most of Hammer's horror output were solid efforts rather than great on account of this particular sub-genre suffering from a certain predictability and cosiness. However, also like those films, this one is still a decent effort. The period detail serves it well now, in that it gives it a certain timelessness, although the obvious low budget renders the 'Paris' of this film to appear as if it is no more than a small village. From a werewolf film perspective its business as usual really and like several films of this type, it's not until near the end before we finally see the werewolf in all his glory. There's nothing especially new here overall but I would say this is an essential item for werewolf film completists at the very least and it does have a definite extra interest value on account of its Tyburn origins.

A baby was raised by wolves and when he looked to be about 8, he was captured and put on display in a traveling show as 'the Wolf Boy'. Well, this kid (dubbed 'Etoile') continued the act for sometime...even though he had become civilized and a nice guy. Then, suddenly and for no reason I can think of, one day he goes berserk, turns into a wolf-man and kills someone--all after being with the show many years.

On the run, Etoile makes his way to Paris where he gets a job working at the zoo....all because of his natural affinity with animals. He soon falls for a prostitute but is naive enough to think she's just some nice lady. When he catches her with a john (after all, this IS her job), he goes berserk again...turning into a wolf-man and savaging the guy. He later does the same to other johns who frequent this lady. There is no full moon involved...and it seems that when Etoile gets upset he becomes a human-animal hybrid.

Investigating the case is a very intelligent professor (Peter Cushing). He uses modern investigative techniques to determine what is going on...though the dopey police seem to hold little of what he says to heart. Can this professor sort all this out and help the police stop this menace? Or, can he somehow manage to cure Etoile of this weird malady?

Let's cut to the chase. There have been quite a few werewolf films before this and most of them are simply better. This one just doesn't make a lot of sense and it ignores the wolfman canon. It also isn't as entertaining and atmospheric as many of these other films. Worth seeing...but far from a must-see horror flick.

As a collector of the horror genre I always try and seek out some of the rarest titles I can find, so you can imagine my delight when I came across this seldom seen werewolf yarn at my local flea market. Not only is it no longer available for distribution but it had Peter Cushing's name in the credits! That's reason enough for me to purchase it. The story centers around a young boy named Etoile, whose parents were slaughtered by wolves when he was a baby. The wolves then took it upon themselves to raise Etoile as one of their own. Years later a traveling sideshow stumbles upon Etoile in the forest and they take him along as an attraction for their show dubbing him "wolf boy". As Etoile grows into a man he finds that some unusual characteristics have come along with his adulthood, especially when the moon is full. The rest of the movie details Etoile's obsession with a prostitute he has fallen in love with. When her clients turn up brutally murdered the police start a full investigation. Who will turn up as the guilty party? You'll have to watch the movie to find out and believe me it's worth tracking down. Outstanding performances from Peter Cushing as a coroner who tries to play detective and track down the killer, and Ron Moody as a sleazy and truly creepy zookeeper that Etoile works for. This British werewolf flick is probably now long forgotten and in my opinion deserves to be rescued from obscurity. With names like Peter Cushing and Freddie Francis attached to it, how can you resist?

My first exposure to horror cinema was seeing the poster of this movie when I was 10 years old. I wasn't old enough to be taken to a horror movie then, so I hadn't been able to watch it on big screen at the time. Since then, it had become a holy grail for me. Unfortunately, it wasn't easily available. A second-hand VHS I had bought from ebay had turned out to be unwatchable. It hasn't been released on DVD as of yet. Recently, someone uploaded an apparently fan-made transfer from an old 35 mm print on to you-tube and I've finally watched it. I wasn't disappointed with it. A boy raised by wolves in the wilderness becomes a werewolf when there is full moon. As a grown-up, he falls in love with a prostitute and begins to kill her customers. Perhaps the frustration and jealousy driving him might have been more developed, but this premise is nevertheless OK as it stands. Visually, the movie boasts some very gory close-ups of the werewolf's blood-soaked mouth at the violent scenes and the underground sewer tunnels where some of the action takes place are a welcome setting. Peter Cushing as the police surgeon and Ron Moody as the wolf-man's employer excel in their roles. In sum, LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF is worth a view if you don't set your expectations at the level of masterpieces.

Hammer undoubtedly ruled the horror industry during the sixties & seventies, but there were several other production studios that released a couple of noteworthy gems, particularly Amicus ("The House that Dripped Blood", "Tales from the Crypt", "The Beast Must Die") and Tigon ("The Witchfinder General", "Blood on Satan's Claw", "The Creeping Flesh"). Tyburn was another very modest and rather anonymous studio, but they did manage to contract both director Freddie Francis and veteran actor Peter Cushing for their fairly original, suitably violent and delightfully raunchy lycanthrope tale "Legend of the Werewolf". The always-reliable and fantastic Sir Cushing has a lovely role as cynical police surgeon, but his distinct voice also serves for the narration of the atmospheric opening sequences. The titular "Legend" is that of a young infant whose parents are devoured by a pack of wolves but then raised by the same animals. When he's about 7, the boy is captured by a travelling freakshow and exploited as the main attraction in a cage. But upon the first full moon after his 18th birthday, he transforms into a werewolf for the first time, kills a man and is forced to run off again. He ends up in the sleazier part of Paris where he sneaks into a zoo and connects with the wolves there. The sleazy and drunk caretaker (a fabulous performance by Ron Moody) takes him in and offers him shelter and a job, but he cannot control his savage nature. When the moon is full, he prowls the streets and sewers and particularly targets the clients of his beloved cabaret girl Christine. "Legend of the Werewolf" is engaging 70s horror with a raw atmosphere and gruesome make-up effects, as well as a large dose of dry and wit British humor; - mainly provided by Cushing when he's performing autopsies, or Moody when he's trying to score free drinks.