Format: DVD from Cortland Public Library on rockin’ flatscreen.
As a long-time Warren Zevon fan, I think I can be forgiven for both the title and the fact that I immediately associate Werewolf of London with St. Warren. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect going into this one. The werewolf stories I know focus on the Lon Chaney Jr. persona, or are more modern takes like The Howling, An American Werewolf in London, and Dog Soldiers. This is an early look at the mythos, and one that is going to fly in the face of lycanthropic convention in a lot of ways. That’s okay—I don’t mind that too much when the film presents a consistent world, and perhaps surprisingly for a short little horror film from the mid-1930s, Werewolf of London does just that.
Dr. Wilfred Glendon (Henry Hill) is exploring in Tibet for a particular flowering plant. A renowned botanist, Glendon is hoping to bring it home and cultivate it. He is warned against entering a particular valley where the plant grows, but Glendon is a wealthy, white Englishman and such taboos and warnings are for others. Naturally, when he goes into the valley to find the plant, he is attacked and wounded by an unknown creature. If you guessed it was a werewolf, you’ve seen the title of the movie.
