Freddie Francis is at the helm for Legend Of The Werewolf, made for his son Kevin's short-lived production company Tyburn. It is surprising, given the sheer quantity of British horror films between the late '50s and mid '70s, that werewolves feature so little in the terror pictures of the period. The only other really notable films to deal with lycanthropic chills are Curse Of The Werewolf and The Beast Must Die. Legend Of The Werewolf is scripted by Anthony Hinds (using the pseudonym John Elder), the same writer behind the earlier Hammer entry, 'Curse Of
'. Sadly, the script is not really the strong point this time around, coming across as alternately clichéd and clumsy. It is a generally accepted truth that good films don't ensue from bad scripts, but Francis has a very respectable go at disproving this theory with Legend Of The Werewolf, coaxing a refreshingly witty performance from Peter Cushing and generating atmospheric POV werewolf shots through red-tinted filters. It also builds to a fairly exciting climax in the Parisian sewer system. Yes, the film is haphazardly scripted and all-too-familiar in tone
but somehow it rises above its flaws to become a moderately enjoyable slice of werewolf hokum.
Raised from birth by wolves, a feral boy is eventually found by travelling circus performers and taken in as part of their act. Many years later, the grown-up boy, Etoile (David Rintoul), finds himself undergoing a strange transformation during the full moon and in a fit of rage murders one of his circus colleagues, taking a huge bite out of his jugular vein. Disturbed by his own actions, Etoile runs away and ends up at a zoo on the outskirts of Paris. Here he is offered work by the lecherous old zookeeper (Ron Moody). He also meets a group of local ladies who frequent the zoo every afternoon, taking a particular liking to one of them, a pretty young thing named Christine (Lynn Dalby). Only later does Etoile learn that Christine is actually a prostitute from the local whorehouse and, upon discovering this, he flies into another of his lycanthropic rages and savages to death several men that frequent the brothel. The Parisian police are baffled by the killings and assume that they are the work of a rogue wolf. The local pathologist Paul Cataflanque (Cushing) investigates further and, piece by piece, establishes that the killer at large is actually a werewolf.
The film's unexpected sense of humour really helps, with Cushing in particular having fun as the outspoken pathologist and Moody as the sleazy zookeeper. It's also interesting to find a film which shows a curiously compassionate werewolf, distressed at his own propensity for killing and desperate to be cured of his condition. This notion that the man inside the beast is aware of his own crimes, disturbed by them even, is unusual and rather effective. Although not perfect by a long shot, Legend Of The Werewolf has its moments and is worth a look.
Raised from birth by wolves, a feral boy is eventually found by travelling circus performers and taken in as part of their act. Many years later, the grown-up boy, Etoile (David Rintoul), finds himself undergoing a strange transformation during the full moon and in a fit of rage murders one of his circus colleagues, taking a huge bite out of his jugular vein. Disturbed by his own actions, Etoile runs away and ends up at a zoo on the outskirts of Paris. Here he is offered work by the lecherous old zookeeper (Ron Moody). He also meets a group of local ladies who frequent the zoo every afternoon, taking a particular liking to one of them, a pretty young thing named Christine (Lynn Dalby). Only later does Etoile learn that Christine is actually a prostitute from the local whorehouse and, upon discovering this, he flies into another of his lycanthropic rages and savages to death several men that frequent the brothel. The Parisian police are baffled by the killings and assume that they are the work of a rogue wolf. The local pathologist Paul Cataflanque (Cushing) investigates further and, piece by piece, establishes that the killer at large is actually a werewolf.
The film's unexpected sense of humour really helps, with Cushing in particular having fun as the outspoken pathologist and Moody as the sleazy zookeeper. It's also interesting to find a film which shows a curiously compassionate werewolf, distressed at his own propensity for killing and desperate to be cured of his condition. This notion that the man inside the beast is aware of his own crimes, disturbed by them even, is unusual and rather effective. Although not perfect by a long shot, Legend Of The Werewolf has its moments and is worth a look.