Tonight we finally watched one of the classics of 1950s Horror : "I Was A Teenage Werewolf"(1957), starring the late, great Michael Landon as the youthful lycanthrope. I have no answer for why it took us so long to see it. Maybe it's because it has "Teenage" in the title. Prior to our pandemic-inspired venture into the public domain, I didn't take such movies seriously. But then we saw "Teenagers From Outer Space", an idiosyncratic and original look at the flying saucer genre, and we discovered that, while there were teenagers in the movie, the word was used mostly as a marketing tool to get teenagers into the theater. In other words, it was a really good movie and not just for kids. That led us to watch "I Was A Teenage Frankenstein", which we found when we began to use Youtube lists as sources of available pictures. We thought it was exceptionally well done. Whit Bissell was downright demonic as the Mad Doctor. In fact, we called it one of the best Frankenstein movies we'd ever seen. So, with the success of that film, the clock was ticking on "Teenage Werewolf". It was only a matter of time before we saw it, and now we finally have.
Landon plays "Tony", a troubled teen with a hair-trigger temper. He gets in fights at school, so often that the principal calls in a policeman to settle him down. The cop tells Tony he needs help. "Y'know, we've got a doctor who works with us on his days off. He's really good. He's helped a lot of kids in your shoes and he listens. You should talk to him, son".
This only sets Tony off. "Oh....so he's that kind of doctor? A headshrinker? Listen mister, no shrink is gonna brainwash me"! He storms off and that's the end of it, for now.
Tony is dating "Arlene" (Yvonne Lime), a nice girl from the same high school. One night, when he goes to pick her up, he honks his horn from the street. This doesn't sit well with Arlene's father, who tells her to ask Tony in. "I'd like to see if he has any manners". He actually does - Tony is polite - but he can't stand being told what to do. On this occasion, he barely tolerates the interrogation from Arlene's Dad. "Bring her back by midnight.....understand"? Tony nods and leaves with Arlene.
They go to a Halloween party where everyone is having a blast. This scene is an absolute classic of 1950s sock hop nostalgia. All the kids are in costume, they all have that '50s "gee whiz" exuberance, they're ready to break out into song and dance ala "West Side Story", and - being high schoolers - they all share a love of pranks, which they play on one another as the party continues. Tony joins in the fun and seems to relax. He laughs at the practical jokes, but when he becomes the target his mood changes. In an instant his joy turns to fury and he's beating the tar out of his best friend. This does it. Arlene can't take his anger any more. Tony agrees to see the "headshrinking" doctor in order to save the relationship.
I hate to say it folks, but the doctor is Whit Bissell. Now, we saw the movies backwards, the sequel first, so we have the benefit of knowing what a total psycho he is. Tony doesn't have that advantage. He's going in cold. And even though Bissell isn't playing Doctor Frankenstein this time (he's "Dr. Alfred Brandon"), he's basically the same character - a megalomaniacal researcher, ruthless and devoid of compassion. After giving Tony a brief interview, he leaves the room to talk to his assistant : "Quickly, prepare a shot of scopolamine"!
I have to cut in to ask, "What's up with the scopolamine"? That's the second time it's been used this week, first by Vincent Price in "Shock" and now here. Word must be getting around, I dunno, but it's definitely trending. Anyway - be warned! Don't let anyone inject you with this stuff , especially Whit Bissell.
Whereas Price used the drug to erase memory, Bissell wants to use it on Tony to test out a pet theory of his : the possibility of de-evolution through hypnotic regression. Bissell, much like his Dr. Frankenstein in the sequel, believes that humanity has passed the point of no return. Human behavior has deteriorated into world wars, and now the escalating threat of apocalypse. "Our only hope is to start over", he says, and to do that he wants to experiment with regression, to take a subject back in time, not merely to birth but far beyond - to the dawn of man. He believes that by doing this, he can bring out man's latent animal nature - even change his dna! - so that mankind can start over from scratch, and be directed away from violence by all-knowing experts like himself. I mean.....it's a nice notion, but.......
Did I mention he was a Total Psycho? Ahh, yes.
When the assistant balks at preparing the scopolamine, Bissell berates him. "How dare you stand in the way of science! We've got a perfect guinea pig! This boy has a record of being in trouble, his only relative is his father, who's rarely home. No one will know. Now do as I tell you! This is why you're still an assistant, you're too timid"!
With the drug running through his veins, Tony is hypnotised by Dr. Bissell, who takes him back to a time when he sees himself running through the wild. It looks like Griffith Park. Happy with the results, Bissell brings him out of it. "That's enough for today. I'll see you same time tomorrow". But apparently, one session is enough to do the trick, because that night, after another party, one of the friends is savagely murdered while walking home through the park, on the same trail Tony saw during hypnosis.
The school janitor, an elderly European man, tells the cops it was a werewolf. "I am from the Carpathian Mountains where we have seen such things". The cinematic Law of Rational-Minded Police Officers, however, prevents them from believing him. But then, the next day, another murder occurs, this time at the high school, where a gymnast is killed while practicing her routine. This time, the kids identify Tony by his letterman's jacket. But they also see his face, which is covered with hair, and his sharp, protruding teeth. "It didn't look like Tony, but it had to be him"! Now the police are taking the janitor more seriously.
A manhunt ensues through Griffith Park. Tony manages to evade the police and by morning he has reverted to his normal self. Knowing something is very wrong, he heads immediately to Bissell's office. "Doctor, I woke up in the woods just now. I don't know how I got there. You've got to help me"! With the experience fresh in Tony's mind, Bissell hypnotises him one more time, to get it all on tape. He wants evidence of Tony's regression, to present it to the American Psychiatric Association so they will acknowledge his genius. But he's gone to the well too many times. The scopolamine has an instant effect. Tony transforms into the werewolf right before Bissell's eyes, and you can guess the rest.
While "I Was A Teenage Werewolf" doesn't have the complex plot of it's sequel ("Teenage Frankenstein"), it does give us a deeper character study of the protangonist. This is the movie that made Michael Landon into a star, and he's very good as Tony, the rebel without his claws (sorry, couldn't resist). In fact, he could easily have starred in the James Dean vehicle, such is the quality of his portrayal of teen angst in this film. Apparently. some critics saw his transformation as a metaphor for violent youth as a looming threat to society, and wrote their objections in their reviews. "Avoid this movie, which attempts to give the impression that our young people are Monsters"! At least they were stickin' up for the kids, but they got it wrong. If anything, the filmmakers are warning us about the evils of out-of-control psychiatric practices, which at the time included lobotomies, electroshock "therapy", and the use of such horrible drugs as scopolamine and thorazine, all on a regular basis. All you have to do is read about the career of Ewen Cameron, who was president of the American Psychiatric Association for crying out loud (which made him the #1 Shrink in the country), to see how evil their practices were. Which is not to say that psychiatry is evil in it's entirety - far from it, I'm sure it's helped a lot of people - but a great many of them resorted to truly horrific procedures on helpless people, just to "experiment" with new techniques. Buncha sick mofos, which is what Whit Bissell is playing here.
The plot is simple but it's a no-fat film, with a perfect little script, and while the budget is low, there's some exceptionally good camera work, involving nice tracking shots and good overall fluidity. And, as mentioned, it all has that 1950s "Happy Days" aura, except when Tony starts killing people, of course.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and give it Two Huge Thumbs Up, just because it's got all the ingredients to make it a classic, and even though it's simple it would hold up to repeat - and even annual - viewings, like on Halloween night for instance. It's one of the best werewolf movies ever made, as well as a top entry in the "teen angst" genre. You've probably seen it, but just in case you haven't, it's highly recommended, a must see for horror fans.
(R.I.P, Michael Landon, who we used to see all the time when I worked at MGM. He had an office on the lot, and he parked his red Ferrari by the door. At around 6:30 every day, he'd drive home, and if us lab workers happened to be out front on a break, he'd wave. He was a cool guy.) /////
That's all for now. I had another nice hike today. 'Twas a hot one, but I love it. I went to the store for a watermelon, which is chillin' in the fridge as we speak. Gonna have me a slice in a just a minute here. Hooray for Summer! See you in a little while, at the Usual Time.
Tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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