The Wolf Man
Cinema is a screen onto which we can project our fears, torments and the monstrosities of the world. The screen protects us from what we see, but cinema has also permanently anchored our nightmares around a few powerful images (empty houses, hostile attics and basements, demonic masks, bloodcurdling grimaces, disturbing postures). Throughout the summer, the Cinémathèque québécoise will be presenting a series of films encompassing more than one hundred and twenty years of horror, reminding us that what scares us most is to make the deepest of our fears tangible and credible.
Larry Talbot returns from America to his Welsh home after learning of the death of his brother. Whilst there, he becomes romantically entwined with the local girl at the antiques shop, Gwen. Finding any excuse to be near her, he purchases a walking stick topped with a silver wolf’s head, which she explains represents the werewolf of local legend. Several nights later, Larry finds himself rescuing one of Gwen’s friends from an attack by a wolf, only to be bitten himself. A visit to the local gypsy soothsayer reveals that this was actually her son, and now as a victim to the curse, Larry will roam the countryside killing innocent ramblers.
Screenwriter Curt Siodmak created the often repeated werewolf myths that a person becomes a werewolf through a bite, a werewolf can only be killed with a silver bullet, and that a man can change into a wolf during a full moon.
George Waggner
George Waggner (September 7, 1894 – December 11, 1984) was an American actor, director, producer and writer. Born in New York City, he trained as a chemist and served in World War I before coming to Hollywood to pursue a career as an actor. The first film he directed was Western Trails (1938). During his career as a film director, he worked with John Wayne (The Fighting Kentuckian), Lon Chaney Jr. (Man Made Monster and his most famous film, The Wolf Man), Randolph Scott (Gunfighters) and Boris Karloff (The Climax). Though primarily known for his horror films today, Waggner also directed many Westerns, action films, and war films. During his career as a film director, he also wrote songs which appeared in his films. In the 1960s, he moved from cinema to television, directing episodes of the television series Maverick, Batman, The Green Hornet, 77 Sunset Strip and The Man from U.N.C.L.E..
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