Several murders have been committed in a London park and the victims have been savagely clawed about the throat. The police believe that a woman is a killer, and perhaps she is a (she) werewolf. Heiress Phyllis Allenby, fears she is the criminal, based on the family legend of the "Allenby Curse" which was the belief that members of the family at times assumed the form of a wolf. Her aunt's constant reminders to her of the "Allenby Curse" only serves to keep her niece's fears alive. Written by
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Chuck Straub from Mansfield, CT USA
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When watching the She – Wolf of London, don't expect to see a female version of the Wolf Man, This should not be classed with the Wolf Man, Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy or any of their offshoots. It's an enjoyable movie but it should be considered not so much a horror movie but more of a mystery. If you are looking for a good horror movie, this isn't it. The acting is good, sets are good, plot a bit weak. It's a good chance to see June Lockhart playing a major role early in her career. I found that the movie did keep my interest but the horror factor never really came into play. Although it wasn't what I expected, I still enjoyed it. It certainly isn't a must see movie, but it isn't a waste of your time either.
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Chris Gaskin from Derby, England
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Despite its title, She-Wolf of London contains no werewolves, but I still enjoyed this movie. It is more of a mystery than a horror.
A series of murders take place, all at night, around London. The nature of these murders suggest they have been committed by a werewolf. A young woman thinks she is responsible as her family has connections with werewolves and thinks she is one herself. But she certainly isn't the murderer as she nearly becomes a victim herself...
The movie is nicely shot in black and white and some of the foggy night scenes are very atmospheric.
The cast includes a young June Lockhart (who went on to play Maureen Robinson in Lost In Space), Don Porter and Sara Haden.
Watching She-Wolf of London is an ideal way to spend an hour one dark evening.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
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Jose Luis Rivera Mendoza (jluis1984) from Mexico
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As it is always marketed as a horror film, and part of the Universal Classic Horror Films, the disappointment it causes in horror fans is very understandable. "She-Wolf of London" is not, despite its name, a horror movie in the classic sense of the word, it is more a typical "whodunit" mystery and an ancestor to the psychological thrillers of today.
In London, a mysterious series of murders is creating fear in the population and confusion in the police department as people speak of a killer werewolf. The news create shock in young Phyllis Allenby (a beautiful young June Lockhart), who beliefs she is the responsible as an ancient family legend states that the Allenby clan is cursed with Lycanthropy, the werewolf's curse. She isolates herself and denies watching everyone, even breaking her relationship with her boyfriend Barry Lanfield (Don Porter). Her aunt Marta Withrop (Sara Haden) takes advantage of this and tries to force her daughter Carol (Jan Wiley) to marry the wealthy Barry.
All this interesting plot gives room to a lot of development, sadly, the movie doesn't move too far away from the established formula and therefore we don't have a lot of chance to get empathy for the characters. This is its main problem, since what we have are two-dimensional characters and a lot of potential wasted.
The sets are outstanding and the movie is brilliantly photographed, the trademark of the Universal Studios at that time without a doubt; nevertheless, this technical features does not help to improve a movie that feels incomplete or undeveloped. The pacing is slow and the very few things happen making the experience boring and tiresome at times.
The acting is above average, but with so few development there are not many things to do with that material. June Lockhart looks amazing and beautiful, but her character is not fully explored in the script and she has no real chances of showing her talents. A real shame, since she as the main character should be the focal point of the movie.
Don Porter is unconvincing as the hero and his performance feels a bit wooden. Same thing with Jan Wiley. Nevertheless, Sara Haden does an outstanding job and truly gives a lesson of acting in her performance. Along the technical aspects, her acting is probably what makes the movie worthy.
Overall an average movie that also suffers from bad marketing, since it is really not a horror movie, but a classic "whudunit" mystery that while entertaining, it is really nothing impressive. 5/10. Quite average time killer.
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tamstrat from United States
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This is certainly not a great movie but is not bad for the Universal movies back in the 1940s. June Lockhart plays a young heiress who believes a series of murders in London is her fault, seems there is a family history of family members turning into werewolves. There is lots of atmosphere and the black and white photography sets the mood for this movie. Not the best I have ever seen, but certainly far from the worst. The ending came as somewhat of a surprise and the characters drew me in. I would recommend anyone who is a fan of the old Universal horror films to see this. June Lockhart is lovely as the young heroine. She went on to play the mom on the Lassie series and also the mom on Lost in Space.
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sddavis63 (revsdd@gmail.com) from Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada
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I was quite surprised to see the relatively low rating this movie receives here, and the only explanation I can come up with for that is the likelihood of unrealized expectations. The title leads one to believe that this is going to be a horror movie - I watched it myself as part of a collection of classic Universal werewolf movies (its inclusion in that collection leads to that expectation) and thought that the concept of a female werewolf (there really haven't been many that I can think of) would be an interesting twist to the usual werewolf stories. As it turns out, this isn't a werewolf movie. It's a psychological suspense/thriller type of story about a young woman (played by June Lockhart) who believes she's a werewolf and thinks she's responsible for a series of murders in a local park - and, frankly, if you can let go of the werewolf expectation and rate this movie on its own merits, it's really quite well done.
You do wonder throughout if there is a werewolf, and the identity of the killer was never really clear to me until it was brought out into the open near the end. There are a variety of possibilities; the only thing you can be sure of is that not everything is as clear as it seems to be.
There are a couple of plot holes to this. The police seemed to suggest that the killer would have had to had immense strength to have perpetrated the attacks. Frankly, Martha (Sara Haden) didn't seem to be overly strong. At her confession, Martha also seems to indicate that her killing spree began with the young boy, and yet there were killings before the boy was killed. Given the strange attacks that were happening in this park, it also seemed to me to be passing strange that so many people still hung out there at night! Plot holes aside, though, I thought this was very well done and deserves to be thought more highly of. 8/10
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Claudio Carvalho from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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In the turn of the century in London, the aristocratic lawyer Barry Lanfield (Don Porter) proposes to marry the heiress Phyllis Allenby (June Lockhart) and she accepts. Phyllis lives in the family manor with her "aunt" Martha Winthrop (Sara Haden), her pseudo-niece Carol Winthrop (Jan Wiley) and the housemaid Hannah (Eily Malyon).
Out of the blue, dreadful murders happen in a nearby park and Detective Latham (Eily Malyon) believes that they are victims of a werewolf or a she-wolf, but his superior Inspector Pierce (Dennis Hoey) says that they are victims of an animal. Meanwhile, Phyllis finds blood on her hands, and her shoes and clothing dirty and she believes that she may be killing people under the influence of a family curse. Who might be the serial-killer?
"She-Wolf of London" is an entertaining mystery movie but with neither horror nor she-wolf as the title suggests. The dramatic story is not bad but frustrates fans of horror movies. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "A Mulher-Lobo de Londres" ("The She-Wolf of London")
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BrentCarleton
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Apart from excellent settings and costumes, not to mention the always reliable pulchritude and charm of June Lockhart, this Val Lewton wannabe is mainly a misfire.
More's the pity too, since it abounds in shadowy night scenes, fog, and much cloak and daggery, including a final act complete with tilted camera angles, and poisoned milk, (a la Hichcock's "Suspicion").
But there is no real grue and no real tension, and what we are left with is a lame, (though slickly produced) thriller whose main interest accrues from its interesting cast and glossy staging.
Still, given the paucity of Victorian melodramas at your local cineplex--you could do much worse.
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sbibb1 (sbibb1@aol.com) from New York, NY
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I was expecting this film to be a Werewolf film in the same vein as the other Universal Studios horror films. This movie is not a werewolf film, but a mystery film. I will admit though, that despite being disappointed in the film and what I thought it was going to be, the plot turn at the end had me surprised.
Sara Haden plays very well the nasty step-mother, and I have to admit that I was waiting for her to be among the first killed by the Were-Wolf, but to no avail.
June Lockhart plays the main character, and she does a good job with one of her early and starring roles. The sets in this film are great, especially the estate where the main characters live.
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Dik Meyer (doc_muzik@geocities.com) from St. Clair, Pennsylvania
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There's not a whole lot to recommend about this film. It is a Universal Horror...though at the end of all the major horror series at the studio. It does have June Lockhart in an early role...along with Martin Kosleck in a ambivalent rather than evil role, and Dennis Hoey playing a surprisingly adept Scotland Yard inspector (he must have finally won a bet with a studio executive and got away from the bumbling Lestrade of the Rathbone/Bruce Sherlock Holme's movies). The movie has great sets, though I assume they are redressed from some other Universal horror film...they do look somewhat familiar.
On the other hand, this movie is dull...and the plot is easy to figure out after about fifteen minutes. If you've seen Curse of the Cat People, you've got a start on the plot of this movie.
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Rob-120 (lindsayrs@msn.com) from Renton, WA
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"She-Wolf of London" is an okay film for what it is. I imagine that horror fans were disappointed, asking "Where's the Werewolf?" (Why Jack Pierce is credited as the makeup man in the opening credits I don't know, since I can't see any place in the film where his special makeup talents were employed.) The story: In Victorian London, a series of murders takes place in a public park, where the survivors report being attacked by a female werewolf. A young woman, Phyllis Allenby (June Lockhart), suspects that she might be a werewolf in question. Supposedly, it is a family curse, "the curse of the Allenbys." Phyllis wakes up in the morning to find blood on her clothes and dirt tracks on the floor of her bedroom.
More, I won't say, since it will spoil the mystery for those who haven't seen the movie.
"She-Wolf" is more of a Gothic thriller than a monster movie. It has elements of George Cukor's "Gaslight," and Hitchcock's "Rebecca" and "Suspicion." If they had spent a bit more exposition time on the plot, it might have been a classic thriller. Nevertheless, it still does okay as a nice, eerie, foggy-gaslit melodrama.
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AKAs Titles:
Certifications:
Finland:K-7 (2004) / Finland:(Banned) (1947) / Germany:6 / UK:U / USA:Passed (National Board of Review) / USA:Approved (PCA #11426)
Movie Details:
640x464 (25.000 Fps - 1 694 Kbps)
MOVIE
