My son recently surprised me with a gift that game in the form of "Tales Of Terror" (A 50 DVD Movie Pack). This collection of "horror films that most people have never heard of" included "The Werewolf of Washington" which featured actor Dean Stockwell as a "political lycanthrope". It might surprise you to know that Stockwell was nominated for one Oscar, four Emmy Awards, and won two out of his six Golden Globe Nominations. The thing that I remember most about him was the fact that he looked a lot like the late great James Dean, and for a time there was a lot of talk about him playing Dean in "The James Dean Story". Warner Brothers later decided to make the film into a documentary. I have often wondered what an actor of Stockwell's talent could have done with that role. Having said that... I now can fully appreciate Stockwell's sense of "professionalism" if not his talent after viewing "The Werewolf of Washington". Stockwell puts forth his best effort in this comedy spoof type of rip off of the old Universal Studio version of "The Wolfman". The script seems to have a mind of it's own as it wanders around aimlessly in numerous directions trying to find itself. Actor Stockwell finds himself in a quandary as to whether to play the scene "straight" or as some kind of "comedic foil" and who could possibly blame him? I think what really transpires in this film is a series of disconnected "comedic skits" that range from the lead getting his fingers stuck in bowling ball to a President trying to break into a locked bathroom stall to a midget mad scientist (Michael Dunn)advising the President while standing next to what appears to be the Frankenstein Monster. Maybe Dean Stockwell should have received some kind of special award for just appearing in this film!
Review of The Werewolf of Washington
