I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF was one of those horror films I have fond memories of watching when I was a kid. This film along with its follow up films I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN and the very quirky HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER were the perfect Saturday afternoon viewing adventure for a young nerd. Of course, these viewing took place after already nearly OD'ing on all those Saturday Morning Cartoons of a previous generation.
When I first viewing the films on UHF TV, they were already 20+ years old. Yet, they seemed to have taken place in an America that was far removed from the one of the turmoil of the late 1970's. Perhaps, this nostalgia was part of its appeal. This is ironic since the film was very atypical of other films made during the time period.
I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF was a (pardon the pun) monster hit for AIP in 1957. The success of the film was a shock to the film industry as horror had been considered a dead genre in the late 1950's. "Old school monsters" ceased being scary thanks to the atomic bomb and the hipper sci-fi films that debuted in the aftermath of World War Two.
Surprisingly, in the late 1950's, the horror genre made a HUGE comeback that lasted strong until the death of the drive-ins and the independent theater in 1987. What brought horror back?
The number one reason was the release of the old horror movie films of the 1930's and 1940's to syndicated TV. This created the "Monster Boom" that re-invigorated the genre. This lead to numerous theatrical re-releases as well as cottage industry of local horror movie hosts around the USA that kept the genre's fires burning well into the 1970's.
The other top reasons were:
--Hammer Films' huge hits with CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and HORROR OF DRACULA.
--The publication of the magazine FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND
--And the release of I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF and I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN
Even more amazing as far as cinema history goes is the fact that the success of I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF really put American-International Pictures (AIP) on the map. AIP was THE main distributor of drive in films from 1957 - 1976 delivering 1,000's of classics including the Billy Jack debut film, THE BORN LOSERS, COUNT YORGA - VAMPIRE, the cold war classic THE FORBIN PROJECT and the Godzilla monster fest DESTROY ALL MONSTERS.
As the legend goes, AIP president Sam Z. Arkoff was miffed that some of his critically acclaimed releases were not drawing well. Realizing that a huge segment of the film going audience was teenagers Arkoff figured a film directed at teens would be a hit. But, when it was revealed that he wanted a film about a teenage werewolf most people thought the idea was utterly idiotic.
As history shows, I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF was a massive hit.
I first saw I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF in the late 1970's or the early 1980's. I remember that the old PHILADELPHIA BULLETIN'S Sunday edition would come out on Saturday Night. In it would be the TV book and I would immediately turn to the listings for next Saturday's horror films. I distinctly remember seeing the listing for I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF. Now, the BULLETIN discontinued publication in January of 1982.
Which is all a round about way of saying I am getting old.
And it is also my harkening back to the days when Saturday Afternoon and Evening Creature Feature films made watching Saturdays a special day for young horror fans. I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF was a recurring film in the cycle of horror movies that aired on local UHF. (Sorry - Can't remember if it was channel 17 or 48 in Philly that was the station it aired on)
Our family did purchase our first VCR in January of 1984 and I remember I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF being one of the first films I taped on an old clamshell case Maxell. Honestly, for the life of me, I do not remember watching this film at all between 1984 and last week when I received a copy of the DVD.
In watching it today what really blows me away about the film is that the secret to its success was not the monster, but the themes of alienated youth. If the film was just a cheesy rendition of teenager becomes a monster you'd end up with B-Movie fair such as I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN or the thoroughly goofy FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER.
Instead, you get a very powerful film about angry, alienated youth with the monster being a symbol of the alienation and rage.
This is not to say the film is anything other than uneven. 1/2 of it is expertly written and 1/2 of it is ultra-schlock. Whit Bissell's motivation for turning Michael Landon into the werewolf is about as dumb as it gets. He believes that the world is headed towards nuclear war and the best way to prevent it is to completely devolve humanity to its primitive self. Yes, all by his lonesome the good doctor will turn the entire world into werewolves. All werewolves = no atomic warfare. Makes sense. Perhaps they figured a Cold War angle was needed because Cold War themes were a fixture in 1950's sci-fi. These themes would remain so in one form or another throughout the decades although their presence in horror films would mostly diminish. Regardless, it is next to impossible not to laugh when they discuss this dopey dialogue and it rendered the doctor's character into a one note mad scientist.
Then, there are the truly frightening and quirky aspects of the film.
Probably one of the strangest (and most famous scene) in the film depicts the werewolf's attacks on the girl gymnast. The sexual subtext here is difficult to hide. The girl is dressed in a one piece swimsuit and per 1950's cinema this is meant to titillate. The fact that Michael opts to lean against the wall and ogle the young girl precedes his transformation into the werewolf is no coincidence either. Yes, they mask what sets off his transformation into the wolf via the school bell ringing. But make no mistake about it...Michael is transformed into the werewolf due to his sexual arousal and the murder of the gymnast is really a metaphor for sexual assault.
Much of this ties into the alienation of the loner student/disaffected youth. It ties into desires that he can not fulfill leading to the pent up internal rage that releases it self in the form of the murderous werewolf. Yes, the werewolf is the teen id hiding beneath the surface ready to explode.
