Starring Don Megowan, Steven Ritch, Joyce Holden, Eleanore Tanin, Kim Charney
Directed by Fred F. Sears
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A small alpine town is shaken by a murder which the sheriff discovers was committed by a werewolf, but the man behind the beast is as much a victim, transformed by a doctor's cruel experiment.
This werewolf film from Columbia Pictures and producer Sam Katzman borrows quite a bit from The Wolf Man and other earlier films focusing on lycanthropy, but has a heart all its own, embodied in the sympathetic performance of Ritch as the man-beast. Megowan, as the town sheriff also is quite likable, playing a weary but noble man, who's more than willing to listen to arguments to be understanding in hunting his quarry. Robert E. Kent & James B. Gordon's screenplay offers an intelligent blending of science fiction and stirring pathos with the horror tale, and Edward Linden's cinematography showcases the wide open spaces of the town and surrounding mountainside to illustrate the difficulty of the search of the werewolf. The creature makeup even gives a unique look to the beast. I don't think the film can compete with The Wolf Man, but it is still a compelling tale with good performances.
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