NEW STUFF: WEREWOLF OF LONDON (1935)

I’m sorry, but anybody who thinks that the makeup job in this movie is superior to the iconic look they gave Lon Junior in the 1941 “The Wolf Man” is delusional. I think the glowing regard for Hull’s werewolf might be a little Pavlovian. It’s very familiar. In fact, I always thought this particular design was uncannily similar to Eddie Munster’s appearance. Eddie's makeup, which is most likely an homage to Hull's werewolf, ultimately wound up retro-actively benefiting the original image's legacy thanks to the wild popularity of "The Munsters." As for the "London" makeup's "ingenious" design, that was more of a happy accident than anything. The makeup that eventually found its way onto Lon Chaney Junior’s mug six years later was originally thought up for “Werewolf of London,” but Henry Hull was a pussy and didn’t want to endure the arduous process of dawning the appliances. And so, they wound up dialing the makeup back to accommodate Hull.

This is one of very few Universal Studios horror films I’ve never seen. I remember buying all the Universal Monsters VHS reissues from the Universal Classic Collection when they came out during the 90s, and this was one that I never was able to find. Surprisingly, this was one of the few they never showed on TV when I was a kid.