SHE-WOLF OF LONDON
MOVIE REVIEW

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E.C. McMullen Jr.
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BULLET

"'Some People' ... may be the standout story in the book."
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E.C. McMullen Jr.
WILLOW BLUE

"'Willow Blue' will burrow under your skin and stay there long after you've put the book down."
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IN OTHER BOOKS
E.C. McMullen Jr.'s
short story
CEDO LOOKED LIKE PEOPLE
in the anthology
FEAR THE REAPER

"This Ray Bradbury-esque is one of the most memorable and one of the more original stories I've read in a long time."
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HORROR 201:
The Silver Scream

Filmmaker's Guidebook
featuring
RAY BRADBURY,
JOHN CARPENTER,
WES CRAVEN,
TOM HOLLAND,
E.C. McMULLEN Jr.,
GEORGE A. ROMERO,
and many more.

Extensively quoted in

PHANTASM
EXHUMED
The Unauthorized Companion

And In
CINEMA
E.C. McMullen Jr.
Head Production Designer

MINE GAMES
(Starring:
JOSEPH CROSS,
BRIANA EVIGAN,
ALEX MERAZ,
ETHAN PECK)

Dept. head
Special Effects Make-Up
(SFX MUA)

A SIERRA NEVADA
GUNFIGHT
(MICHAEL MADSEN & JOHN SAVAGE).

Production Designer

UNIVERSAL DEAD
(DOUG JONES,
D.B. SWEENEY,
GARY GRAHAM)

Art Director

THE CRUSADER
(COLIN CUNNINGHAM,
GARY GRAHAM)

Review by
E.C. McMullen Jr.

SHE-WOLF OF LONDON

- 1946
USA Release: May 17, 1946
Universal Pictures
Ratings: USA: N/A

London at the turn of the century --- The legend of the Allenby Curse was almost forgotten until ---

Yes, until Scotland Yard's Inspector decides to personally get to the bottom of all this tommy rot about a werewolf attacking a man in the park.

Timid Detective Latham (Lloyd Corrigan: THE MANTRAP, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE [1962]) and the gruff Inspector Pierce (Dennis Hoey: PHANTOM SHIP, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN, THE SPIDER WOMAN, TERROR BY NIGHT), ride through the park and pass by two horse riding people, one of whom is Barry Landfield (Don Porter: NIGHT MONSTER, THE NORLISS TAPES) and the other who is... Phyllis Allenby (June Lockhart: BURY ME DEAD, DEADLY GAMES, STRANGE INVADERS, C.H.U.D. II: BUD THE CHUD)!

Barry and Phyllis start getting romantic (with each other - not with the cops), but Phyllis gets spooked when she overhears the two policemen talking about werewolves.

Back at the Allenby Estate, her cousin Carol Winthrop (Jan Wiley: THE LIVING GHOST, THE BRUTE MAN) gets a dressing down by her mother Martha (Sara Hayden), because she loves a young, adorable, cute as a button, starving artist. Mother Martha won't hear of such a thing and tells her why. Carol can't possibly support her unemployed boyfriend because all of the money belongs to Phyllis. They aren't actually blood-related to Phyllis, but Shhh! It's a secret!

And actually it's a good thing. Because Carol and her mother aren't subject to the Allenby Curse.

So once a month, Phyllis wakes up with blood on her hands and mud on her slippers. Her Aunt Martha brushes her fears aside, though Phyllis thinks she's either turning into a monster at night or losing her mind. Aunt Martha won't hear of such nonsense. Now come down to breakfast and don't tell Carol. We wouldn't want her to get upset.

Mother Martha is fielding a whole bunch of secrets.

Phyllis is so upset that she never wants to see Barry again. So Martha gives him a phoney story to keep him at bay. But after a few days, Barry pushes the issue. The story he gets from both Phyllis and Aunt Martha only puzzles him more. So it's off for a buggy ride with Carol.

Meanwhile, Detective Latham visits the house as part of his investigation into the park murders. Martha seems to be more adept at getting answers to her questions than Latham is in getting answers from her. So much so that he nearly spills the beans about his pet theory. You know, that these crimes are being committed by a Werewo... uh... er... a madman.

That night, Martha's watchdogs are barking their fool heads off and it sets Phyllis on edge. Cousin Carol and Aunt Martha take their turn at trying to set her mind at ease, but it's no use.

Tonight the park is crawling with Constables and Detective Latham, who is fast losing respect among his underlings for his balmy werewolf theory.

In returning to the Allenby story with SHE-WOLF OF LONDON, Universal Pictures ran two werewolf franchises simultaneously and there are some interesting differences based on cultural concepts.

When American (raised) Lawrence Talbot turns into a werewolf, he rips his clothes, destroys his shoes, and goes off on a tear.

When a British gentleman or lady turn into a werewolf, they first dress appropriately for the evening, before going out to commit bloody mayhem.

Written by George Bricker (SH! THE OCTOPUS, THE DEVIL BAT, THE BRUTE MAN, MAN IN THE DARK) from a story by Dwight V. Babcock (DEAD MAN'S EYES, HOUSE OF HORRORS, THE DEVIL'S MASK), and tightly directed by Jean Yarbrough (THE DEVIL BAT, KING OF THE ZOMBIES, HOUSE OF HORRORS, THE BRUTE MAN, THE CREEPER, HILLBILLYS IN A HAUNTED HOUSE) SHE-WOLF OF LONDON is not so much a Horror Thriller as a mystery. You'll likely figure it out in the first reel, but like the best Columbo episodes, the interest isn't in whodunit, but how they are caught. At 62 minutes it won't waste your time.

Three Shriek Girls.