Movie Review - "The Wolfman"

Movie review number 35

PLOT
Lon Chaney plays the title role in this black and white movie, the younger son of the Talbot family.  The plot starts with Talbot Jr (Chaney) returning to the Talbot castle in Wales after an 18 year absence, and just after his elder brothers' death.  He is met by Dad Talbot (played by Claude Rains) and helps install a fancy telescope in the attic.  While testing it, he spies an attractive woman in an antique shop window in the village...... and later he goes into the shop to chat her up but under the pretext of making a purchase.  He ends up buying a walking came with a silver handle in the shape of a wolf's head with a pentacle on it.  The attractive woman recites a four line poem about werewolves, that is repeated several times through the movie.
Later, a gypsy caravan comes through town, driven by Bela (played by Bela Lugosi!) who is the gypsy fortune teller.  Lon, attractive woman and her friend decide to walk though the woods that evening to get their fortune read.  The friend goes in first, while Lon and attractive woman wander off for a chat.  As Bela does the palm reading, he gets very agitated and tells the lady to leave straight away.  What he doesn't tell her is that he's seen the pentacle in her palm........ (a bad sign!  That's how a werewolf sees his next victim!!!)  The lady runs into the woods....... and shortly after, Lon and the woman hear screams!!!  Uh oh!!!  Lon runs into the woods, and sees a wolf attacking the lady, which he kills with the silver wolf-head of his walking cane.  Lon and the woman run back home, with Lon being injured from a wolf bite.
The next day, the wolf bite injury has disappeared, but is replaced by a pentacle where he was bitten!!!  However, not only has the dead body of the lady been found in the woods, but also the dead body of Bela, the gypsy fortune teller, who it seems was not wearing any shoes...... Lon Chaney insists that he killed a wolf but is now suspected of murder.....
The next night, the moon comes out, and Lon Chaney can't sleep but feels unwell.  He takes his shoes & socks off...... and then changes into a werewolf!!  He goes into the woods and kills a games-man ........ and wakes up at home the next day to discover that wolf paw marks lead up to the Talbot castle and another dead body has been found!!!  Later, traps are set in the woods to try and trap the rogue wolf, whilst murmurs of the werewolf legend start going round the village!
Later, a large group of gypsies set up camp in the woods and hold a fair with lots of food and games.  People from the village visit the fair including Lon Chaney..... but then stories of the werewolf start up and scare the gypsies away!
Traps are set in the woods to try and catch what is thought to be a rogue wolf.... which eventually work but it's not a wolf that is caught - as the wolf upon death changes back into Lon Chaney!

RECOMMENDED
It passes the time.......!!

RATING
6 squeaks out of 10

SCOOBY SNACKS
Mini-burgers with lots of ketchup!!

Movie Review - "Dracula"

Movie Review number 34

PLOT

This black and white movie made in 1931 is based on Bram Stoker's "Dracula" story and starts with Englishman Mr Redfield travelling by horse drawn carriage to Transylvania for a meeting at Dracula's Castle.  He arrives late at night to a small Transylvanian village, with the carriage driver refusing to go any further.  Mr Redfield insists as he has an Important Meeting and has to reach another horse drawn carriage at midnight exactly to take him to the castle.  After some discussion, they agree to take him further up the mountain.

He reaches the second carriage and is then taken up to the Castle where he is met by Count Dracula played by Hungarian Bela Lugosi.  Lugosi does a very creepily evil, if somewhat camp, Count (with the plastic bats and spiders not adding any sense of seriousness to the movie!  I'm sure if you looked hard enough, you could probably spot the wires the bats are dangling from!!!)  Redfield has arrived with a lease agreement on an old abbey (monastery/church) in Whitby, England which, after close examination, agrees to and states that four boxes will be ready for a ship voyage to Whitby the next day.

Next, there is a ship sailing through a horridly nasty storm........ only to be found drifting into Whitby Harbour some time later, with the entire crew dead, and a madman (Redfield) in the hull of the boat with four boxes....... which turn out to be coffins!!!!  But what's inside the coffins???  Redfield is then taken to Dr Seward's Sanatorium for the Insane.

Later, Count Dracula arranges to meet Lucy, Mina and her fiance John Harker to find that his rented abbey is "next door" to their large property and are neighbours!  A few days later, Lucy is discovered comatose in bed with two marks on her neck.  After several blood transfusions, she never gain consciousness and dies.  Dr Van Helsing arrives to assist, and finds that Dracula cannot be seen in a mirror, and discovers Dracula's true identity!!!!  Later, Mina complains of nightmares, and is found also to have two marks on her neck and Van Helsing discovers that she now is part of the Undead Vampires!!!  John Harker refuses to believe it, and tries to take Mina to London to get her away from the panic setting in around Whitby!  However, she is kidnapped by the Count and taken to the Abbey.... followed by the mad Redfield...... who is followed by Van Helsing and Harker!!  Van Helsing drives a stake through the heart of the Count, and Harker finds Mina "just in time"...... which is where the movie ends!!!

RECOMMENDED
Although this is now somewhat dated, it's a good "watch"!

SCORE
7 squeaks out of 10

SCOOBY SNACKS
Black pudding.
If you don't know what that is, google it!!!