Cry of the Werewolf (1944) starring Stephen Crane, Nina Foch
Celeste, a Romany princess visits a paranormal museum where the curator Dr. Morris is writing the history of her werewolf mother, Marie LaTour. Shortly after her visit to the museum Dr. Morris is murdered. The police automatically suspect Elsa, his personal assistant. So the deceased Dr. Morris’s son Robert aka Bob, with Elsa’s help investigate what really happened to Dr. Morris.
Cry of the Werewolf had excellent footage, for the most part. The exceptions being extremely cheesy scenes that are in every werewolf movie. The story itself is a wonderful idea, if it had been made better it could have been a classic film. But there are reasons why this isn’t a classic film.
The Bad Side of Cry of the Werewolf
- The movie is slower than a snail. It isn’t a long film, but it felt like 3 hours. It drags on for so long it becomes boring. I was falling asleep in the middle of the day watching this film. When certain scenes should have been fast, they were slow. The ending, the only part that should not have been rushed, was.
- The script was poorly written and full of cliches. There is one touching scene I remember when Robert is talking to Elsa about when they grew up together. It was a sweet memory of childhood. But sadly rushed, if they had stayed a little longer on scenes like that I would have been emotionally invested in the characters, and their investigation.
- Lack of a decent budget. Unlike Cat People, this film could not get past its budget.
The Bright Side
- Most of the actors were amazing, but some like the leading man Robert (Stephen Crane) are less than par. As an example, Nina Foch as Celeste was a sympathetic character, despite all the crimes that the character committed. SPOILERS!! (Why is it only that the gypsies turn to actual wolves? And no I do not count Twilight as a film, I consider that a torture method.) SPOILERS!!
- The lack of special effects. Simplicity is sometimes the best special effects you can have. For example, they never show the werewolf transforming. You watch the werewolf transform with the shadows. Simple and yet mind blowing.
The movie tried to be amazing, and failed. The acting couldn’t save this film from being boring. The script should have been burned, and then rewritten. The story was a great idea but, it wasn’t used to it’s full potential. I was left yawning, and disappointed. I give this film two stars. Mainly because of the acting, filming, and storyline. This film could have been a classic, but there were too many mistakes in this film.
Cast of characters
- Nina Foch (The Return of the Vampire, An American in Paris) … Princess Celeste LaTour
- Stephen Crane (The Crime Doctor’s Courage) … Robert ‘Bob’ Morris
- Osa Massen (Rocketship X-M) … Elsa Chauvet
- Blanche Yurka(A Tale of Two Cities 1935) … Bianca
- Barton MacLane (The Big Street) … Police Lt. Barry Lane
Updated February 1, 2022