I had never really belief of The Wolf Man as being in the same league as Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster – I was evil. Watching Lon Chaney, Jr.’s portrayal of Larry Talbot in The Wolf Man and Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man has opened my eyes. Chaney’s Wolf Man is by far the most sympathetic of Universal’s three major monsters. Dracula loves being Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster is a full-time monster made out of dubious body parts, yet Larry Talbot is a victim of cruel fate. Rushing in to befriend a damsel in harm, he sustains a bite from a werewolf – hardly the type of reward a hero deserves. Doing the things a werewolf does is dreadful enough, but Talbot knows he is a werewolf and has to exercise all of his normal waking hours wallowing in mental agony, shimmering he can do nothing to beget the hairy monster lurking within. Beginning with his resurrection in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, Talbot’s overriding ambition and sole wish is to die and be freed from the curse forever, yet he now knows he can never die- not by stale means, anyway. He truly is a lost soul trapped in a nightmare from which there seems to be no hasten. This was the role Chaney was born to play, and he delivered one extraordinary performance after another in his five werewolf films. The Wolf Man Legacy Collection contains only two of them, the new The Wolf Man from 1941 and the sequel/monster crossover film Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1942) . Chaney’s Wolf Man also appears in House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula, each of which can be found on the Frankenstein and Dracula Legacy Collections, respectively.

The Wolf Man has exerted a ample influence on the art of panic for over six decades now, thanks to the heralded make-up prowess of Jack Pierce, the tight and mighty script of Curt Siodmak, some impressive photography work, a tantalizing musical procure, and fantastic performances from a truly stellar cast of actors and actresses (including Claude Raines in the role of Larry Talbot’s father, Maria Ouspenskava as the gypsy woman and surrogate mother figure to Larry, and the big Bela Lugosi in a somewhat minor yet crucial role) . Chaney’s Wolf Man appearance is amazingly incandescent and, one supposes, somewhat gross to moviegoers of the early 1940s. His emotional performance adds to his character’s tragic status; his curious and slightly awkward manner, tempered by a sort of gentle slowness always leaves me mesmerized.

With the success of The Wolf Man in 1941, it didn’t occupy Universal long to creep out a sequel; the following year, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man not only capitalized on the success of everybody’s popular werewolf, it also brought in Frankenstein’s monster, thus becoming one of the first Universal monster cross-over films. Lon Chaney, Jr., returns as the ill-fated Larry Talbot, and the legendary Bela Lugosi dons the makeup of the Frankenstein monster – this fact alone makes the film appealing. Talbot, now haunted he cannot die, longs to be killed and keep out of his misery. He ends up at the castle of Frankenstein, where a honorable young doctor promises to serve him and slay Frankenstein’s monster in the process – things don’t quite work out that scheme, and the film ends with a monster grudge match between the Wolf Man and Frankenstein’s Monster.

Werewolf of London (1935) and She-Wolf of London (1946) could not be more different, and both are unmistakably positive from the Universal werewolf films starring Lon Chaney, Jr., yet I consider they both work marvelously. Many fans don’t care for them, especially She-Wolf in London, but I secure both films quite compelling. They differ significantly from the storyline running through Chaney’s Wolf Man films, but these two films have a mountainous deal of their fill to offer fans. Often overlooked and unduly dismissed by some reviewers and anxiety fans, these are two classic werewolf films.

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In terms of extras, you score trailers for three of the four films, a truly suited commentary of The Wolf Man by film historian Tom Weaver, a well-made 1999 documentary called Monster By Moonlight, and comments on the Wolf Man character by Van Helsing director Stephen Sommers. With only four movies and relatively few extras, The Wolf Man Legacy Collection falls a minute short in the value department compared to the Dracula and Frankenstein Legacy Collection sets, but nothing can change the fact that this is must-have material for fans of classic terror movies.

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What illustrious panic classic, panned by reviewers upon its initial release in December of 1941, looks better and better every year? THE WOLF MAN, starring Claude Rains, Ralph Bellamy, Evelyn Ankers, and Lon Chaney Jr. as the hapless Larry Talbot.

The tale is a familiar one: Larry, the son of esteemed Sir John (Rains) returns home to Wales after many years in America, is bitten by a werewolf (well played by Bela Lugosi), and becomes a werewolf himself. What’s amazing is the fact that the film can be so effective today.

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The biggest reason for this is the acting. Some classic films, pre-Actor’s Studio, glance delicate pathetic when it comes to realistic characterization. Not so THE WOLF MAN. Curt Siodmak’s expedient screenplay (likened to a Greek Tragedy) provides a vehicle for the stars to be at their best, and, boy, do they shine: Rains a tower of strength as the proud father; Ankers hitting objective the fair impress as the torn female lead; Maria Ouspenskaya as the Worn Gypsey Woman whose words prefigure Larry’s doom….

But the standout is Lon Chaney Jr. A determined mixed-bag as an actor, he is perfect here–and this is a role calling for the exercise of all human emotions (unlike later Wolf Man films, where Talbot’s head-pounding becomes stupid) . In fact, seeing THE WOLF MAN recently has convinced me that Chaney would have made the ideal mask Phillip Marlow (and I’m not forgetting Bogie) –big, tough, surly, yet charming when need be (a highlight early in WOLF MAN is Larry’s attempts at flirting with Ankers; Chaney does the surprisingly impish dialogue with impartial the factual touch) . There’s no doubt that his performance would merit accolades even today.

This is not to say that there aren’t problems in the film. The continuity is off in a number of places (Chany transforms into the Wolf Man at one point wearing a sleeveless undershirt; in the very next scene, he’s wearing a neatly buttoned Dickey), and there’s a scene or two that’s completely inexplicable (e.g., why DOES the Wolf Man pass out when caught in that trap? ) ….

But overall, the jog, lighting, cinematography, safe musical regain, and strong memoir propel the film through these rough spots, the 70-minute paddle leaving the viewer wanting more. For these reasons, THE WOLF MAN is a classic….and a DVD worth buying (the extra werewolf films, particularly FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN, are consuming as well) .

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