Least scary werewolf ever... - The Return of the Vampire (1943) Discussion

[–] liquidgardener 13 years ago

I believe Columbia was actually prevented from duplicating the Universal makeup (Jack Pierce?) and created something that needed to look different. I've often heard it described as a puppy dog :p

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[–] xdayton 13 years ago

Werewolves shouldn't speak. Or carry wrapped packages around after doing the shopping.

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[–] speedolitec 13 years ago

"Werewolves shouldn't speak."

Unless it's a Teen Wolf movie.

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[–] R_Kane (15828) 2 years ago

A Teen Wolf movie is not a werewolf movie.

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[–] CrabgrassWilly (1616) 2 years ago

But it's totally rad

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[–] Deplorable_Squad 7 years ago

^^^This, xdayton.

DoomsdayMachinehttps://youtu.be/iD9o0OWYHRo?t=155

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[–] fdellostritto 13 years ago

There is another aspect to the werewolf makeup. Briefly seen in the movie is Lady Ainsley's dog--and it looks just like Andreas!!! A coincidence--maybe, but I prefer to think that something else is afoot. Armand Tessla enslaves Andreas; Lady Ainsley is trying to domesticate him.

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[–] Dream_Demon 13 years ago

I didn't mind the Werewolf. I thought it was just another version of Lon Chaney's version of The Wolfman.

Welcome to my Nightmare- Freddy Krueger

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[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Skye_Reynolds 10 years ago

He looks less like a werewolf and more like a were-Yorkshire terrier with a wet nose.

---
"In literature, it's called plagiarism. In the movies, it's homage" ~ Roger Ebert

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[–] liverboyjoe179 10 years ago

I think this was intentional. According to a documentary I saw (Nightmares in Red, White and Blue), producers were toning down horror movies in the '40s because of WWII. They wanted films that were more uplifting, and horror movies as a result were less about scary antagonists and more about likable antiheroes (like Andreas).

Obviously, it might be difficult for moviegoers in the '40s to relate to or root for a horrific-looking werewolf, and might be more inclined to sympathize with one that was more akin to a domesticated dog.

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[–] first-things-first 9 years ago

But this may be the first time on film that a werewolf is controlled by a master vampire.

If we can save humanity, we become the caretakers of the world

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[–] simeon_flake 9 years ago

Yes, Matt Willis' Andreas probably goes down as one of the sorriest specimens of werewolf to prowl through a Hollywood movie. In fact, I think his part could just as easily been played as a totally "human" lapdog to Lugosi--but I think in light of that "Wolf Man" character that was raking in dough over at Universal Pictures, someone at Columbia decided this movie needed a "Wolf Man" character as well.

I'm guessing in a werewolf on werewolf fight, Lon Chaney would have ripped Andreas to shreds...



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[–] porfle 8 years ago

Andreas was intended to be a pathetic, obsequious slave, not a scary Wolf Man on the same level as the Lon Chaney, Jr. version.

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[–] jjk50 8 years ago

Andreas was supposed to be a sympathetic character that was forced to do what he did because he was controlled by the Vampire not because he was a murdering beast. That set up the ending where his good human side came through.

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[–] greenbudgie (2355) a year ago

When I looked at the poster, for a moment I thought Lon Chaney Jr. was going to be in this. That does look like him rather than Bela Lugosi.

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[–] ElectricWarlock 8 years ago

I personally didn't consider him a real werewolf. Just a creature who happens to resemble one.

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