And His Hair was Perfect- “Werewolf of London”! Tonight!

Tonight on Me-TV- he’s the hairy-handed gent- who ran amuck in Kent…pardon my Warren Zevon, but, I’m happy to be able to bring you, once again, Universal’s FIRST werewolf- before Mr. Talbot’s Wolf Man- it’s the “Werewolf of London”! Things start out looking like an exploration/adventure movie- as a search party heads to a treacherous stretch of mountainous country in Tibet- the only known place that a strange, night blooming flower can be found! Dr. Glendon ( Henry Hull) manages to find the elusive plant- but- as he’s about to take the specimen- a strange creature attacks him, biting his arm! He manages to escape, and brings the plant back to his laboratory in London- but has difficulty making it bloom. His pretty young wife tries to get him away from his obsessive study of the plant, but he keeps returning to it, determined to force it to bloom, using various types of light that simulate moonlight! Meanwhile, he is visited by a Dr. Yogami, who shows great knowledge of the plant he is experimenting with-as well as, as he puts it,”werewolfery”! The doctor warns Glendon that the plant is essential to cure any man who becomes a wolf when the moon is full. When Glendon starts to feel strange, and notices some odd hair growth when he puts his hand under a light that simulates full moonlight, he studies up on lycanthropy (the state of turning into a werewolf)- but, before he can do more research- the full moon causes him to transform into the hairy man-beast of legend! When he recalls that the plant should help him, he goes to his lab- and discovers that someone has already cut off the blooms that could save him! This sends him out into the night- in search of prey… Before long, London is in the grip of panic about some strange, beastly killings- and Glendon is living in fear of the particular part of the werewolf legend that states the wolf man will always attempt to kill-the one he loves the most! This 1935 film is a tremendous old school Universal horror flick-with the traditional mix of fright and comic relief. You’ll recognize the actress Valerie Hobson, who plays Mrs. Glendon, from another major Universal horror movie- as well as Warner Oland, who plays Dr. Yogami, but had greater fame as a movie detective- we’ll tell you all about them, as well as how Hull rejected the first version of his werewolf make-up- and where it was used later on. You’ll also catch an actress who had a big hit in an early TV sitcom. Is there Sven shtick, you ask? But, of course- we once again do some sketching, where you have to guess correctly what I’ve drawn to sound out the secret word-and- you'll get a look at a fun costume contest that I hosted! “Werewolf of London” beams across the country- and into select parts of Canada, as well- tonight at 10 pm eastern, 9 pm central time (check your local listings for your time!) on the Me-TV network. In Chicago, you get another look at “This Island Earth” at 11 am on WCIU, the U! While we're at it, let's make the werewolf- whether it's Henry Hull, Lon Chaney Jr, or Michael J. Fox (original Teen Wolf, anyone?) our "Halloween Horror of the Day"! The tortured soul who transforms from human to beast every full moon is always considered one of the cornerstones of horror cinema- and is deserving of the title "Halloween Horror of the Day"- even if the moon isn't full yet... Please check out the full Sven appearance information for today under our “appearances” tab- I’ll be at Parker’s for “Bark-o-ween”, on WGN radio again after 6 pm, and-tonight- crowning “Miss Zombie 2012” and signing autographs at “Nightmare on Chicago Street” in Elgin! Plus, more fun in upcoming days- more on that in the next blog…