In 1941, Universal introduced Larry Talbot as the Wolf Man, but he was not Universal's first werewolf. That honor goes to Werewolf of London, released six years earlier. But it was Talbot, played by the legendary Lon Chaney Jr., who was destined to be a mainstay of the monster movie universe for the next twenty years. 

In The Wolf Man, Talbot seeks to reconcile with his father (played by Claude Rains of The Invisible Man) after the death of his brother. While there, he buys a cane from an antique shop in order to have a reason to chat up the woman working there. She tells him the head of the cane, which is a metal engraving of a wolf, represents a werewolf--a man who changes to a wolf.

Talbot later saves the woman's friend from a wolf attack by killing the wolf with the cane, but is bitten by the wolf first. An old gypsy woman tells Talbot that it was no wolf, it was a werewolf--her son (played by Dracula's Bela Lugosi)! Now that he's been bitten, he too is a werewolf and will become a wolf.

Of course he does, and begins to kill. He murders a gravedigger, only to awaken as a man with the vague recollection being a wolf and wanting to kill. Eventually, he attacks the woman and is killed by his father wielding the same wolf-headed cane. Once dead, Talbot transforms back to a man, and both the woman and father are horrified. 

Thus ends this marvelous film.

This movie holds up. The story is timeless, and the acting is superb. Chaney would reprise the role multiple times, as Universal's horror universe--the first cinematic shared universe--began opening up. Each time he did, it added layers to the character. But that's for future articles. Absolutely give this one a watch--it's a classic with good reason!

(If you’re new to Publish0x, create an account and get paid for reading articles like this!)