The Curse of the Werewolf was the only werewolf movie produced by Hammer studios, and to be honest, I can understand why: even with the usually excellent Terence Fisher at the helm and a young Oliver Reed in the starring role, I found the film rather disappointing, suffering from a weak script that offers up one of the most ridiculous reasons for a case of lycanthropy that I've ever seen and terrible pacing that keeps the werewolf under wraps for most of the running time.
Much of the first half is given over to back story: a beggar (Richard Wordsworth) visits a castle looking for food; there he is mocked and ridiculed by the wicked Marques Siniestro (Anthony Dawson) before being thrown into the dungeon, where he is looked after by the jailer and his mute daughter. Years pass, the beggar becomes a savage, the jailer dies, and his daughter grows up to be a major hottie (the stunning Yvonne Romain). When the Marques tries his luck with the buxom beauty, she is thrown into the same cell as the beggar, who cannot believe his luck. After attacking the girl, he dies a very happy man.
The mute woman is then taken back to the Marques to make amends for her behaviour, but she stabs him to death instead and flees the castle for the forest. There she is found several months later by kindly Don Alfredo Corledo (Clifford Evans) who takes her to his home and discovers that the young woman is pregnant, much to the concern of his housemaid Teresa (Hira Talfrey), who is worried that the child will be born on the 25th December: according to superstition, an unwanted baby born on Christmas Day is an insult to heaven, and can lead to lycanthropy (I told you it was dumb!).
The child is born, but his mother dies shortly after. Don Alfredo and Teresa raise the boy, named Leon, but as he grows older, the lad develops a lust for blood, attacking local animals. As a young adult, Leon (Oliver Reed) leaves to work in a winery (probably not the wisest place to send Oliver Reed), where he falls for the owner's daughter Cristina (Catherine Feller). Leon's love for Cristina prevents him from becoming a fully-fledged werewolf, but on a drunken night out with his work colleague, his blood-lust is aroused by a wanton woman, and he transforms. The next day, Leon is arrested for the murder of the woman; separated from Cristina, there is nothing to stop him transforming again, and he goes on the rampage—about five minutes before the end of the film! After some clambering around the rooftops of the town, attacking absolutely no-one in the process, he is shot with a silver bullet by Don Alfredo. The End.
5/10 for Yvonne Romain, who is easily one of Hammer's hottest babes, and for the cool werewolf design (shame we don't get to see more of it throughout the film).
Much of the first half is given over to back story: a beggar (Richard Wordsworth) visits a castle looking for food; there he is mocked and ridiculed by the wicked Marques Siniestro (Anthony Dawson) before being thrown into the dungeon, where he is looked after by the jailer and his mute daughter. Years pass, the beggar becomes a savage, the jailer dies, and his daughter grows up to be a major hottie (the stunning Yvonne Romain). When the Marques tries his luck with the buxom beauty, she is thrown into the same cell as the beggar, who cannot believe his luck. After attacking the girl, he dies a very happy man.
The mute woman is then taken back to the Marques to make amends for her behaviour, but she stabs him to death instead and flees the castle for the forest. There she is found several months later by kindly Don Alfredo Corledo (Clifford Evans) who takes her to his home and discovers that the young woman is pregnant, much to the concern of his housemaid Teresa (Hira Talfrey), who is worried that the child will be born on the 25th December: according to superstition, an unwanted baby born on Christmas Day is an insult to heaven, and can lead to lycanthropy (I told you it was dumb!).
The child is born, but his mother dies shortly after. Don Alfredo and Teresa raise the boy, named Leon, but as he grows older, the lad develops a lust for blood, attacking local animals. As a young adult, Leon (Oliver Reed) leaves to work in a winery (probably not the wisest place to send Oliver Reed), where he falls for the owner's daughter Cristina (Catherine Feller). Leon's love for Cristina prevents him from becoming a fully-fledged werewolf, but on a drunken night out with his work colleague, his blood-lust is aroused by a wanton woman, and he transforms. The next day, Leon is arrested for the murder of the woman; separated from Cristina, there is nothing to stop him transforming again, and he goes on the rampage—about five minutes before the end of the film! After some clambering around the rooftops of the town, attacking absolutely no-one in the process, he is shot with a silver bullet by Don Alfredo. The End.
5/10 for Yvonne Romain, who is easily one of Hammer's hottest babes, and for the cool werewolf design (shame we don't get to see more of it throughout the film).