Universal' s second attempt at lycanthropy, more successful than WEREWOLF OF LONDON, became the definitive work of the sub-genre! With the aid of another great Jack Pierce makeup masterpiece, Lon Chaney Jr., supported by a sterling cast, created his most memorable monster role as the unfortunate Lawrence Stewart Talbot, an ordinary mortal who is bitten by a werewolf (Bela Lugosi), and becomes one himself! Chaney would reprise the role in four more films, honing the haunted, hunted Talbot to perfection! Maria Ouspenskaya of the Moscow Art Theater created another immortal genre character, the old Gypsy woman, Maleva (Bela's mother), one of the screen' s leading authorities on lycanthropy! Most of the night exteriors are shrouded in studio fog, generating plenty of foreboding atmosphere! Curt Siodmak's script builds to an exciting, tragic finale!
