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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
‘Wolf Man’ reflected writer's wartime Jewish experience
By
Susan King
The history behind the horror flick
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
"Even a man who is pure in heart
And says his prayers by night
may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
and the autumn moon is bright"
—Curt Siodmak, "The Wolf Man"
———
Screenwriter Curt Siodmak was a German Jew of Polish descent who fled Europe for Hollywood in the 1930s to escape persecution from the Nazis. So there's little wonder that his 1941 Universal horror classic "The Wolf Man" parallels the experiences of Jews in Europe before and during World War II.
"The Wolf Man" revolves around an everyman, Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), who arrives at his father's mansion in England after years of living in America. One evening, he's bitten by a werewolf in the forest and finds himself turning into a vicious beast whenever the moon is full.
Filled with self-loathing for what happened to him, Talbot fears not only what he might do to his friends and family but also being hunted down and killed.
Siodmak "understood drama and pathos," says Constantine Nasr, producer of the documentaries on the new two-disc DVD of "The Wolf Man," which came out Tuesday in conjunction with the Feb. 12 release of Universal's new version starring Benicio Del Toro as Talbot.
"The original title was 'Destiny' because he believed it was the story of an outsider whose destiny was cursed by forces he could not control," Nasr says. "There was going to be no way out for him."
Even the pentagram in Talbot's hand signifying a werewolf is a "very obvious substitute for the Star of David, and if you had that symbol you were going to be cursed," Nasr says.
"That is not how Siodmak felt as a Jew but how he felt others perceived him. Larry Talbot was an interesting substitute for what was going on with the Jewish people in the early 1940s."
From 1925, Universal had been the major monster movie factory in Hollywood beginning with Lon Chaney in "The Phantom of the Opera" and continuing with 1931's "Dracula" and "Frankenstein," 1932's "The Mummy," 1933's "The Invisible Man" and 1935's "The Bride of Frankenstein." But in 1936, Universal founder Carl Laemmle and his son Carl Jr. were forced out and the horror genre went dormant.
But the new regime, realizing that horror films were big box office, resurrected the genre in 1939 with "Son of Frankenstein" and soon began to make sequels to its popular characters.
"The Wolf Man" was the first original monster movie the studio produced in the 1940s. Though its other famous monsters were based on books and plays, "The Wolf Man" came from the imagination of Siodmak.
Scott Essman, the author of the book and DVD project on the famed Universal makeup artist, "Jack Pierce — The Man Behind the Monsters," says "The Wolf Man" was "an aberration for the studio at the time because it was an original."
The studio had produced a werewolf movie, though, in 1935 called "Werewolf of London" with Henry Hull as the man bitten by a wolf. There had also been a werewolf project in the works for the studio's superstar Boris Karloff, but it had been scuttled.
By 1941, Universal resurrected the idea. Siodmak was under contract to the studio and given the task. "It was all the magical kind of thing where all the elements came together in one film," Essman says. Siodmak established the werewolf lore on screen, including pentagrams, wolfbane, the full moon and that a werewolf can be killed only by a silver bullet.
Director George Waggner got great performances from his cast, including Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Bela Lugosi as the gypsy werewolf who bites Talbot, and Maria Ouspenskaya. Pierce supplied the brilliant makeup, which included yak hair, fangs and a rubber snout.
The film made a star out of Chaney, son of the Man of a Thousand Faces, who starred in Universal's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and "Phantom of the Opera."
Though he hated the grueling hours in the makeup chair, Chaney Jr. relished the role of Talbot.
"He called it his baby," says the actor's grandson, Ron Chaney.
In fact, he was the only actor to play the role at Universal, resurrecting Talbot four more times at the studio. Years later, he played a werewolf in the 1960 monster/horror comedy "House of Terror," and in 1962 Chaney reprised the Wolf Man for a "Route 66" episode.
Ron Chaney loves to tell of his father's relationship with Moose, a big shepherd mix owned by the night watchman at Universal. Chaney insisted the hound be cast as the wolf who bites Talbot.
The scene was shot in the shadows, so it's really a fake dog that attacks Chaney in the close-up. So there were no hard feelings between them. In fact by the time the film was completed, Ron Chaney noted, "the dog had switched his alliance to my grandfather. He purchased Moose from the night watchman."
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© 2010, Los Angeles Times.
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