Episode 13: Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1943) & An American Werewolf in London (1981)

Welcome to episode 13 of The Horror Double Bill. This week we are exploring the horrors of lycanthropy and the legend of the werewolf, a creature that has been used for centuries as a metaphor for themes including sexual repression, puberty, male violence, insanity and the beats within.An we are starting off this week with the first horror movie that I ever saw, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman from 1943 starring Lon Chaney Jnr, Bela Lugosi, illona Massey and Lionel Atwill. Then we are jumping forward to 1981 with An American Werewolf in London from starring David Naughton, Jenny Agutter and Griffin Dunne.As well as showcasing their titular monsters, both films were, in their own ways, incredibly groundbreaking. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf man is arguably the very first movie to suggest a concept that is all too familiar today – if not a little overused which is the idea of a  cinematic universe. Meanwhile An American Werewolf In London showcases incredible practical effects work that, along with The Howling released in the same year, set the benchmark for horror transformations for years to come. Both movies also have a very personal significance for me that we will discuss as the episode continuesAlong the way we will be discussing the possible origins of the werewolf myth, historical examples of lycathropy, the somewhat renegade approach to children’s publishing in the 1970s, the life of actor Lon Chaney Junior and much more.References used: The Beaver Book of Horror by Daniel FarsonMemoirs of a Wolfman by Paul Naschy Universal Horrors, The Studios Classic Films 1931 to 1946 by Tom Weaver, Michral Bruans and John Brunas, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman The original Shooting Script from the Universal Film Scripts Series edited by Philip J ReillyAmerican Gothic, 6 decades of classic horror cinema by Jonathan Rigbylonchaney.comsilent-ology.wordpress.comclassicmonsters.comBeware the Moon - available on the arrow video special edition Blu-ray release of An American Werewolf in Londonhttps://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/aug/30/john-landis-american-werewold-london#:~:text=far%20as%20filming%20went%20,to%20shoot%20in%20Piccadilly%20Circushttps://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jun/12/how-we-made-an-american-werewolf-in-london-john-landis#:~:text=I%20wanted%20a%20weird%2C%20eerie,%E2%80%9CWhat%20the%20hell%20was%20that%3F%E2%80%9Dhttps://morbidlybeautiful.com/horror-history-american-werewolf-in-london/#:~:text=Many%20consider%20John%20Landis%E2%80%99s%20film,its%20niche%20in%20horror%20historyhttps://filmschoolrejects.com/26-things-we-learned-from-the-an-american-werewolf-in-london-commentary-451071358fcb/#:~:text=apparently%20left%20people%20clueless%20as,to%20how%20they%C2%A0operateInstagram: @thehorrordoublebillemail: [email protected]: @thehorrordoublebillartwork by Justin Parker (IG jpkr_illustration.com)