Directed by George Waggner / Screenplay by Curt Siodmak

In 1941, riding high on its sequels to Dracula, Frankenstein, The Invisible Man and The Mummy, Universal added a fifth monster to its line-up. The Wolf Man wasn’t actually the studio’s first attempt at a werewolf picture - that distinction goes to 1935’s charming but modest Werewolf of London, which had performed disappointingly at the box office - but on its second attempt, the studio struck gold. Lon Chaney Jr, son of the silent star, plays the luckless heir Larry Talbot, whose homecoming to the family estate is overshadowed by a life-changing encounter with a wolf. A less versatile actor than his father, Chaney is nonetheless a perfect fit for the role of Talbot: his burly frame, pained eyes and slightly awkward physicality create the immediate impression of a man uncomfortable in his own skin - a sharp contrast with Claude Rains, who drips with elegance as Talbot’s father. The Wolf Man also benefits from another fine make-up creation by Frankenstein veteran Jack Pierce, and a nuanced script from newcomer Curt Siodmak, a German Jewish émigré whose vision of the werewolf as an awakening of man’s bestial nature has been interpreted as a reflection of his first-hand experiences of the rise of Nazism (a connection explicitly taken up forty years later in the nightmares experienced by the Jewish hero of 1981’s An American Werewolf in London). Siodmak’s script created much of the werewolf lore that we now take for granted, including the silver bullet, the mark of the pentagram, and the haunting verse: ‘Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfsbane blooms, and the autumn moon is bright.’

Framed Dimensions: 330mm x 410mm

Acrylic on 300gsm Arches oil paper
Glazed, mounted and framed

Supplied with signed letter of authenticity from Barnaby.