The Wolf Man (1941)

The American gothic horror film, The Wolf Man (1941), was both written by Curt Siodmak and produced and directed by George Waggner. Larry Talbot makes his way back to his ancestral home in Llanwelly, Wales, to attend his brother’s funeral and mend his relationship with his distant father, Sir John Talbot. During his time there, he becomes enamored with a local girl named Gwen Conliffe who owns an antique shop. To get closer to her, he purchases a walking stick adorned with a silver wolf’s head. This propels Gwen to tell him about the legend of the werewolf – a man who transforms into a wolf ‘during certain times of the year’ – and how it is always accompanied by a pentagram on the next victim’s palm. Throughout the village, townspeople recite a familiar poem whenever werewolves are mentioned.

Despite Gwen’s refusal to accept Larry’s advances for a date, they ultimately meet up that evening as planned, along with her friend Jenny, to seek out their fortunes. As the Romani fortuneteller, Bela, examines Jenny’s palm, he sees a pentagram and becomes frantic. He hastily sends her away while Larry and Gwen go for a stroll, awaiting their own readings. During their walk, Gwen reveals that she is engaged. However, their peaceful moment is interrupted by screams coming from Jenny, who is being attacked by a wolf. Without hesitation, Larry rushes to rescue her and uses his new walking stick as a weapon to kill the wolf. In the process, he sustains a bite on his chest. When the police arrive at the scene later on, they find Jenny dead and Bela also murdered with Larry’s walking stick as the apparent murder weapon.