During the opening credits, which features a very tight close-up of the werewolf's eyes, the edges of the contact lenses can be clearly seen.
- PLOTThe first 20 minutes of the movie are narrated by Don Alfredo.
But since he did not witness the events depicted, there is no way he could have known what transpired.
The Curse of the Werewolf was the only werewolf movie produced by Hammer studios, and to be honest, I can understand why: even with the usually excellent Terence Fisher at the helm and a young Oliver Reed in the starring role, I found the film rather disappointing, suffering from a weak script that offers up one of the most ridiculous reasons for a case of lycanthropy that I've ever seen and terrible pacing that keeps the werewolf under wraps for most of the running time.Much of the first half is given over to back story: a beggar (Richard Wordsworth) visits a castle looking for food there he is mocked and ridiculed by the wicked Marques Siniestro (Anthony Dawson) before being thrown into the dungeon, where he is looked after by the jailer and his mute daughter.
When it came out, this film was hyped at the local small town theater as a real shocker and the trailers shown in the weeks leading up to it were quite compelling - at least for kids.They did a good job selling it and were able to fill the seats even at an increased price (35 cents up from 25 cents for the under-12 crowd, not a minor sum to a 3rd grader).
I liked this because it wasn't your standard Universal Studios werewolf movie.First, it's set in Spain, not in Romania.
Hammer's only take on lycanthropy is a mixed ordeal. It's clearly a case of a horror script being padded to make up for budgetary restrictions limiting the showcase of the titular monster.
Terence Fisher directed this violent but effective werewolf tale from Hammer studios. It begins with a beggar being imprisoned in a dungeon after offending the local royalty.
Hammer was quick to plunder the Universal vaults in their search for new horror successes. Dracula, The Mummy and Frankenstein had all been done, and it seemed only natural to film a lycanthropic story, following on from the success of Universal's THE WOLF-MAN.
Under the glow of a full moon if you hear a howl, it might just be Oliver Reed taking lycanthropic form in Hammer Films' classic 1961 film "The Curse of the Werewolf".Brief Description: An adopted boy terrorizes the inhabitants of his local town in 18th century Spain.
You know what's great about Hammer horror? It's the way that they take existing stories, change various elements, add camp value and end up coming out with something original and completely different to the original source material.
Always been a fan of the werewolf, especially - well, only - of the STAND-UP wolf-man. Also curious about this retelling since I appreciate both Hammer and the look of the wolf.
