The Werewolf Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Werewolf Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 10, 2021

Note: This film is available on Blu-ray as a part of Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman.

Sam Katzman's name may frankly not be held in the same general esteem as some other famous Golden Era producers like David O. Selznick or Adolph Zukor, but for sheer number of films produced and perhaps especially in cost to profit ratio, Katzman might eclipse more ostensible luminaries than you might expect. While Zukor, as the head of Paramount Pictures, got literally hundreds of "presents" credits, his actual producing credits (according to the IMDb) number fewer than a hundred, and Selznick logs in with even fewer than that. Of course both Selznick and Zukor tended to enjoy much more fulsome budgets and more glittering marquee stars than Katzman, a hardscrabble guy who started working in the film industry when he was barely a teenager, and who then climbed the ranks to work at a number of studios, including "poverty row" centers like Monogram, but also 20th Century Fox, Metro Goldwyn Mayer and Columbia, ending up with (again according to the IMDb) 239 credits as producer. The four Katzman produced efforts Arrow Video has aggregated in this appealing collection may arguably not be from Hollywood's "real" Golden Era, with, as the title of the collection may hint at, these films all emanating a mid- fifties ambience that sought to attract younger viewers in particular away from the hypnotizing influence of that confounded television invention, often courtesy of plots that included science fiction and/or horror.

It's probably facile to casually dismiss Sam Katzman's mid-fifties output as "mere" B-movie fare, but I would suggest those considering just such an assessment need look no further than The Werewolf to begin to appreciate how Katzman's productions were often not just palpably moody, but also (at least at times) suffused with some really interesting subtext. In that regard, as commentator Lee Gambin mentions in his enjoyably wide ranging analysis of the film, this film is pretty much drenched in a sense of the "other" that needs to be controlled and/or eliminated in some way. There's also an unexpectedly touching if disturbing aspect to this story in that the titular beast, a hapless amnesiac guy whose name is later disclosed to be Duncan Marsh (Steven Ritch, in a nicely nuanced performance), has a wife named Helen (Eleanore Tanin) and young son named Chris (Kim Charney), who end up figuring prominently in the tale.

There are some fascinating subplots woven into the screenplay by Robert E. Kent and James B. Gordon, including the ultimate revelation that it was actually scientists, not a traditional wolf bite, who caused Marsh's predicament, and their reason for doing so, which won't be spoiled here, aligns perfectly with this film's mid-fifties atmosphere. That whole scientific aspect is hinted at in the film's very opening narration, which gives a bit of background on "lycanthropy" in both (ostensible) fact and fiction. The entire film is suffused with an almost palpable melancholy, and the scenes of an isolated rural town confronting a kind of implied mortality gives things an almost apocalyptic air at times.

The Werewolf Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Werewolf is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Arrow actually provides two insert booklets with this release, but there's very little information granted about the transfer, other than that "restored masters were produced by Sony Pictures". Of course Sony has long been one of the more reliable curators of even its less well known catalog, and The Werewolf is often a very striking looking feature in this high definition presentation. Director Fred F. Sears and cinematographer Edward Linden are probably not overly well known and consigned to that oft-derided "journeyman" category, but as can perhaps be gleaned by some of the screenshots accompanying this review, framings are often very interesting (see screenshot 3), and this transfer boasts excellent contrast, with some nicely inky blacks that help the overall chiaroscuro moodiness of the piece. Fine detail is typically quite good throughout the presentation. There are some slight downturns in clarity in some of the outdoor location work, and the optical dissolves featuring the "transformation" into the titular beast are not especially artful. Grain resolves naturally throughout the presentation. My score is 4.25.

The Werewolf Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Werewolf features an LPCM Mono track that provides capable support for the film's dialogue, along with a higher than usual assortment of outdoor ambient environmental effects, given the "wilderness chase" aspect of some of the story. This is another Katzman effort whose score looks like it was culled from stock libraries, but the sound is remarkably consistent throughout. Dialogue and elements like the opening narration are all presented cleanly and clearly, without any noticeable age related wear or tear. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Werewolf Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction by Kim Newman (HD; 13:55) can be accessed under the Play Menu. The disc is authored to move on automatically to the feature after the introduction (there's an option to simply play the feature without the introduction as well).


• Commentary by Lee Gambin


• Beyond Window Dressing (HD; 23:35) is an interesting and occasionally rather funny visual essay by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas examining the way female characters are presented in these Sam Katzman films aggregated in this set.


• Super 8 Version (HD; 7:33)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:57)


• Image Gallery (HD)

The Werewolf Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As patently ridiculous as it may sound, and especially since this is "just" a Sam Katzman production, The Werewolf is in some ways a thinking man's take on this oft-told story. This iteration has some particularly interesting "personal" content courtesy of the fact that the titular character is a family man, but there's also some really interesting mid-fifties subtext suffusing the film. Technical merits are solid and as usual with Arrow's releases, the supplementary package is very well done. Recommended.