The Wolf Man - The Legacy Collection (The Wolf Man / Werewolf of London / Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man / She-Wolf of London) DVD
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Rating:  -
I saw one of the "Wolf Man" pictures with Lon Chaney when I was in one of the primary grades in elementary school. I was in the front row as they put the youngest and lowest grades in front as the children in the higher grades could see over our heads. It was on a Friday afternoon, and I, being just a child, had the hell scared out of me (the large bed sheet used as a screen was no more than 10 feet in front of me) when Larry Talbot changed into the Wolf Man in a jail cell, snarling and rattling the bars as the camera panned in for a closeup. To mention just how effective the special effects were at the time, that scene created a fear that lasted for a very long time. I was especially fearful at night when alone and for years afterward dreaded going into my dark bedroom. No matter how I tried to describe my fears to my parents, they could not understand and never allowed me have even the tiniest light to allay my anxieties. (They were not cruel . . . things were simply different in those days.)
Looking back, I think that those original "Wolf Man" movies were the state of the art in their day and there are few things new today that can compare with those ground-breakers.
This is the first time I came across the movie ("Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man") where I thought the scene was. It was not. Next I watched the first in the series, "The Wolf Man," and it was not in that movie either.
This is the first time I have seen any of the "Wolf Man" series since I saw that movie almost 70 years ago, and I can still picture that transformation from man into beast, with the creature wildly raging against the confines of the bars in the cell.
Is there anyone out there that recalls this scene and in which movie it occurs? Perhaps I am recalling the correct movie but the scene was not included in the re-release.
Thanks,
Rating:  -
This set has the best horror work done by Lon Chaney; the original "Wolf Man" and the follow-up movie, "Wolf Man Meets Frankenstein." I know the first movie by heart and see it often on TCM during Halloween. The second movie isn't shown as often and is one of my all-time favorites.
In the "Wolf Man Meets Frankenstein," they give us a chilling atmospheric opening. Two grave robbers break into the tomb of Lawrence Talbot, who died in the first movie. I won't spoil it for you if you haven't seen it but the grave robbers learn the error of their ways. Lawrence Talbot aka The Wolf Man is free again.
I hadn't seen "Werewolf of London," or "She-Wolf of London," in years. But the addition of these two movies doesn't distract one bit from the set. In "She Wolf," Lockwood is terrific as the frightened woman who thinks she's a werewolf. She may be, but I'm not saying!
In today's world of horror, this is tame enough for family viewing. If you have very young and easily-frightened children, maybe not. It would probably earn a PG rating.
Rating: -
I am glad to add this to my collection but at the same time. I was dissapointed by only two of the Talbot Wolfman series. I admit to having never seen the other two movies of this collection. But I look forward to seeing them. I do recommned this collection of any fan of the Classic Horror movies.
Rating: -
Just bought this movie and I am very happy with it. Four movies are included and each one is good. The original Wolfman is my favorite. I would highly reccomend this movie to anyone who likes classic horror films.
Rating:  -
Until now, Universal has done an amazing job with their legacy collections, condensing every Dracula, Frankenstein, Mummy, Invisible Man, and Creature from the Black Lagoon film into single, easily affordable volumes. Unfortunately, the Wolf Man Legacy collection is where that all goes wrong. This volume only contains two of the four Wolf Man films and, in place of the last two installments, includes two Universal werewolf films that have no relationship to the Wolf Man series at all.
The true crime here is that the Larry Talbot Wolf Man series is, undoubtedly, the strongest and most consistent of the Universal monster franchises. It is the only series where the monster is played by the same actor each time, and it's the only series where we actually see that character develop in believable and logical ways with each installment. Larry Talbot begins as a frightened child of a man who has no idea what to do with the cruel fate that has been inflicted upon him. By the time of Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, he has become a stronger and more resolved character, desperately working in search of a cure. In the two remaining sequels not included in this collection (House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula), this progression goes even farther, ultimately finding Larry as a tragic hero, resigned to work toward killing himself in order to save society. It's rich, character-intensive stuff; the kind of thing you wouldn't normally expect to see in a Universal monster film, let alone a franchise sequel.
House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula are (presumably) not included in this collection because their titles suggest that they are Frankenstein and Dracula films, but this is not the case. The Frankenstein monster plays an entirely insignificant role in House of Frankenstein, being literally reanimated at the very end of the film. House of Dracula, on the other hand, features Dracula prominently throughout the film, but it is still clearly a Larry Talbot story, with Larry playing the central character with whom we identify. More importantly, while both of these films include significant character development for Talbot, they do absolutely nothing to further the stories of Count Dracula nor the Frankenstein monster. These are Wolf Man films, through and through, and they are as important to "the Wolf Man Legacy" as the first Wolf Man film included in this volume.
Well, enough whining. So long as you know that you're going to have to buy two other Legacy collections in order to follow the full Wolf Man story, here's the break down of what IS included here. Despite my low marks for this "Wolf Man Legacy Collection," all of these films are worth a viewing:
*The Wolf Man: The first film in the Larry Talbot series is possibly the least interesting. The action is slow-moving, and Larry is a bit too childish and helpless for my taste. However, Claude Rains plays a wonderfully menacing father and brings tremendously rich conflict and emotion to the story. With his help, The Wolf Man becomes a deeply psychological film, more about the conflicted relationship between prodigal son and estranged father than a blood-thirsty monster that kills people (but don't despair, monster fans! There's plenty of the latter, as well). Viewed in this light, the ending of the film is stunning in its significance.
*Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man: Possibly the best of the Wolf Man films. Here, the focus is still fixed entirely on Larry as he becomes a darker, more tragic figure, mature beyond his years, and bearing a heavy weight about him. Cheney rises to the occasion nicely, and the plot (which is far more busy and exciting than in the first film) certainly meets him part way.
*She-Wolf of London: Though the film begins as if continuing from a previous story ("The Allenby curse had almost been forgotten..."), it is entirely original and has no relationship to any other Universal werewolf picture. It's an unusual film in that the focus is neither on action nor monster make-up. In fact, you never actually SEE the She-Wolf at all. However, this slow-moving film filled with two-dimensional arch-types does one fascinating thing -- it leaves us doubting. The original plan for the first Wolf Man film was that they were never going to show the werewolf. They wanted to keep you guessing as to whether Larry really was transforming or was actually losing his mind. She-Wolf of London runs with that idea, keeping you guessing about June Lockhart's supposed transformations, and the revelation at the end is quite brilliant. If you pay careful attention, you'll probably see it coming.
*Werewolf of London: Universal's first werewolf film, pre-dating The Wolf Man by six years. It's incredibly well cast and features surprisingly strong acting for a monster picture. It also contains a lot of subtlety, such as when a drunk woman at a bar orders drinks for "two ladies" and then comically reveals that she is the two ladies. This tangential episode runs parallel to, and offers thematic insight into, a far darker aspect of the story. There's also some stunning psychological undertones, as the main character's fear and rage about losing his fiance to a former lover seems to take its form in the shape of the werewolf. It's a highly intelligent and complex script, far more than you might bargain for in a Universal monster film. Really, all that weighs the film down is the werewolf, himself. He's less of a monster, and more of an ill-tempered hairy man in a three piece suit who attacks people. He can be knocked out with a blow to the head and killed with a bullet. Theater-goers of the time complained that the film was too much like the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mister Hyde (that film had been in theaters only a few years earlier). They were certainly on to something.
So, all in all, this is a collection of excellent werewolf films, but it loses major marks for not being the full "Wolfman Legacy." I recommend purchasing this set. You will enjoy it. But the Larry Talbot story does not end here. There's so much more worth seeing in House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula, but you'll have to shell out another $45.98 for the Frankenstein and Dracula Legacy Collections in order to find this out for yourself.
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