Though we may be a little late, with the Super  Blood Wolf Moon having appeared earlier this week, we still have a feature connected to the wolf- if NOT to the full moon part of  legend- as we present, for the very first time on our show- “The Werewolf”!

This 1956 bit of werewolfery begins with a man stumbling through the dark streets of  small rural town Mountaincrest- and visiting a local tavern, where he seems somewhat confused and disoriented- asking the bartender Hoxie if he knows who he is- with no luck! Flashing some money as he pays for his drink, he’s followed out onto the almost deserted street by a ne’er-do-well -intent on robbing him of his cash. Things don’t quite turn out as he’d planned- as they tussle in an alley- and only one of them emerges- spotted by an old lady who lets out a shriek, as the one person- or whatever he is- hightails it out of town!

The locals investigate and find the would-be robber looks like he was attacked by a wild animal! The sheriff Jack Haines drops the body off at Dr. Gilchrist’s place- then heads out with a deputy and posse to look for whatever did such damage.

Unfortunately, the deputy ends up getting a little damage himself- and ends up at the same doctor’s office, where the doc and his nurse tend to his wounds- again, appearing to be caused by some animal. From the deputy’s description- the sheriff begins to think that it’s – a wolf man! The doctor scoffs- but seems to come around to agreeing with the lawman.

The next day- the confused fellow who fled town comes to the doctor’s office- revealing that he has no recollection of who he is- or how he got to the town. He vaguely recalls being with two doctors after an auto accident- and believes he killed a man- but, when the medical folk try to give him a sedative to calm him down- he reacts violently- not trusting them because he thinks those other two doctors did something awful to him! He runs away- and the nurse Amy calls the sheriff to fill him in on what just happened.

Sheriff Jack establishes a full-fledged posse to hunt for this man- but, meanwhile, we see the two doctors who are responsible for his condition. They’ve seen newspaper reports of  the strange “animal” attacks- and conclude that the responsible party is the man who had an auto accident- that they injected with the experimental serum they are trying to perfect- “for the good of mankind” ( oh, really?) They decide that they must find the man before the authorities do- to keep their secret safe by killing their subject!

Just before they leave- they get a visit from the man’s wife- who found out her hubby-Duncan Marsh- had been at this doctor’s place. The doctors pretend they have no idea where he might be, and after she and her son leave- the two doctors head to Mountaincrest, intent on rubbing out Marsh!

Things get tense with Marsh transforming back and forth from human to a werewolf- while the Sheriff and his friends- along with the shady doctors- hunt for him. Then, his wife and son end up in town- and the fate of the werewolf teeters between humanity and destruction!

This movie is a departure from the usual werewolf lore, since it takes a science fiction tack  rather than the supernatural- it’s a wolf man created by science, so- no adhering to the old “full moon” rules. The werewolf make-up may look familiar- and we’ll tell you why, as well as introducing the cast- which includes one actor you’ve seen before in the Gill Man series- though you’d never recognize him from that! We also have a new song- and a commercial for a beverage that could have you baying at the moon!

“The Werewolf” premieres tonight on MeTV at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central, or, for time and channel where you are, check your local listings or at www.metv.com.  We’ve been trending high nationally on Twitter again- so feel free to join the other “tweeters” posting during the show- and use the hashtag #svengoolie . Chicago area viewers  get a a second date with “Dracula’s Daughter” at 11 am on  WCIU, the U.

Though, with the weather in many parts of the country already providing a chill, we’ll chill you a little more with “The Werewolf” tonight!