moonspinner55 Britain's Hammer Films proved to be the training ground for an abundance of future talents; here, it's young Oliver Reed's turn, rather amusedly cast as the cursed son of a mute servant girl who was raped by a beggar when both were imprisoned by a cruel Marquis in Spain. Turgid thriller written by John Elder (a.k.a. Anthony Hinds), from Guy Endore's novel "The Werewolf of Paris", is more than just geographically confused--it never finds an appropriate tone, nor do the actors find a comfortable way around the leaden dialogue. For Reed's fans, impatience may set in early as he doesn't appear for nearly 50 minutes into the movie's running time. *1/2 from ****

Scott LeBrun If you're only going to make one werewolf story, you might as well make it one to remember. So it goes with Hammer Studios' rich, meaty tale, an adaptation of Guy Endores' novel "The Werewolf of Paris". Reset in Spain, it touches upon subjects such as the power of love, the cruelty of fate, and the nature of human beings at both their best and their worst. Much like many good werewolf fables, it's an utter tragedy, and it's populated with characters about whom you *do* care and for whom you *do* root.As elaborately fashioned as anything in the studios' repertoire, it begins as a beggar (Richard Wordsworth) is mocked and abused by a nasty and heartless Marques (Anthony Dawson). The beggar is locked up in the dungeon & forgotten, and once reduced to an animal like state, he rapes a mute servant girl (Yvonne Romain). She gives birth to a boy, Leon (played as a child by Justin Walters, and as an adult by Oliver Reed), who, according to superstition, is utterly doomed by being an unwanted child born on Christmas Day.If you are able to get past the idea of these supposed Spaniards having British accents, you'll find that the performances are sublime. Everybody gets an A+ for their efforts. Reed has one of the most sympathetic parts of his career, and he knocks it out of the park. Clifford Evans (playing Don Alfredo) and Hira Talfrey (playing Teresa) are endearing as the two people who give Leon the best care and attention that they can during his formative years. Catherine Feller is sweet and charming as Cristina, the woman whom Leon loves. Dawson is deliciously evil as the depraved Marques, and there are some great bits by the likes of Michael Ripper (a recurring player in the Hammer filmography), Warren Mitchell, John Gabriel, George Woodbridge, Ewen Solon, and Peter Sallis.Touching, suspenseful, sometimes gory, and beautifully filmed, this is fine entertainment indeed. Director Terence Fisher holds off on showing off the werewolf makeup / transformation until the final 10 minutes. The fact that co-star Reed doesn't show up until the film is half over is indicative of how expansive the story is. The music by Benjamin Frankel is wonderful.After revisiting this one tonight, this viewer will be sure to put "The Curse of the Werewolf" on his list of the top productions in this sub genre.Eight out of 10.

Dan1863Sickles CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF is a movie that rocked my world when I first saw it on television more than forty years ago. I was just ten years old, and I'd never seen anyone as beautiful as Yvonne Romaine. She stole my heart as the beautiful, mute servant girl. And when she died, my heart broke. That was when I fell madly, hopelessly in love!So I made myself a promise, at ten years old. A promise that someday I would write a werewolf story where the beautiful, strong-willed Spanish servant girl does not die! Instead she stands up to the werewolf, finds her destiny, and ends up married to the most amazing older man, who by the way is fabulously rich, wise and kind. And who totally worships the ground she walks on! Well, after forty years the wait is over. JULIANA AND THE WOLF by Carol Storm is on sale now at Mystic Books. Or you can just go to the Kindle store on Amazon. But this is not just a book plug. This is me, paying tribute to Yvonne Romaine and all the ways her beauty has inspired generations of film goers. In these short pages you will see the adventures that doomed servant girl might have had. You'll see Juliana grow up, from a chubby little baker's daughter to a desperate runaway to a loving and mature woman with amazing courage. Along the way, you'll meet fun-loving army cadets, sneering evil noblemen, sexy French servant girls, a monk with a secret, a beautiful dying boy, and one dirty old man who gets exactly what he deserves. I really tried to bring the whole colorful panorama of Old Spain to life, AND tell a good old-fashioned werewolf story with a beautiful love story tucked inside.And this time, the servant girl lives happily ever after!

ricardodevictor This is, by far, the best werewolf movie ever. It not only explores the myth in mature fashion, but manages to deliver truly horror images due to a well structure and profound script served by director TERENCE FISHER at his best. Special mention for the perfect casting - notably OLIVER REED- who steals the show and makes the title character his own. This film was made when HAMMER FILMS were at his peak of his creative power. In Argentina, the film was released in 1961 with no cuts and rated for public under 18 years old. Now that seems rather extreme for today standards but in that particular time it was very violent, with some explicitness and strong innuendos in sexual issues. Because of that restriction- I was 13 when released- I had to wait a few years to see it. I have a copy in DVD and it did not lost non of the impact. I recommend this film- for horror fans and others- very strongly