As the third Tyburn feature in one year, 1975's "Legend of the Werewolf" brought back all the personnel from "The Ghoul," including director Freddie Francis, screenwriter Anthony Hinds (as John Elder), and star Peter Cushing, less a remake of Hammer's "The Curse of the Werewolf" (also scripted by Hinds) than a second adaptation of Guy Endore's 1933 "The Werewolf of Paris" (even set in a British equivalent of Paris). The basic elements are recycled however: a difficult childbirth on Xmas Eve, the death of the mother, the youth's bestial side held in check until adulthood, the tragic end to a love denied. Some details differ, such as the infant taken in by a pack of wolves, later adopted by a small time circus troupe as their star attraction, the now grown Etoile (David Rintoul) appropriately finding employment at a run down Paris zoo, which several ladies of the evening frequent during their afternoons off. Needless to say, once Etoile falls in love with Christine (Lynn Dalby), completely unaware of her vocation, things begin to get a little hairy, and police surgeon Paul Cataflanque (Peter Cushing) finds himself trying to keep up with a growing number of savaged corpses. Terence Fisher had the benefit of a strapping, magnetic Oliver Reed at an incredibly youthful 22, one of the screen's most feral monsters; makeup man Roy Ashton recreates his work here but to much lesser effect. An air of finality hangs over the picture, producer Kevin Francis hardly blazing new trails for Tyburn, simply 'more of the same' in the Hammer tradition at a time when even Hammer was played out (only "To the Devil a Daughter" and "The Lady Vanishes" lay ahead for Michael Carreras). It's a pleasure to see many familiar faces making the rounds at this stage, like Michael Ripper as a doomed sewerman, Hugh Griffith the circus ringmaster, Roy Castle a timid photographer, even legendary figure model Pamela Green, rarely seen since her classic turn in Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom." As a werewolf picture it's mostly a bland washout, Cushing easily the standout performer in his official capacity, not above a bit of fun in exposing the pomposity of his stuffy superiors, not surprised that the ineffective prefect of police, being a frequent visitor to the local brothel, wants to prematurely close the case. His climactic encounter with Etoile below the streets of Paris had the makings of something different, the monster able to reason that Cushing is not his enemy, but the extremes of pathos and ferocity just isn't present for Rintoul as it had been for Oliver Reed. From here on, Tyburn would remain essentially dormant, only a brief flicker of extravagant life 10 years later to allow Peter Cushing a final bow as Sherlock Holmes opposite John Mills' splendid Watson in "The Masks of Death," followed by a 1989 documentary, "Peter Cushing: A One Way Ticket to Hollywood."
Review of Legend of the Werewolf
