Released in 1941 and featuring Lon Chaney Jr. (son of the famous actor who originated the roles of The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, to mention but two), The Wolf Man is another success for Universal Studios and their stable of “monster” features.  Ten years had passed since the release of Frankenstein and Dracula and it was hoped this movie would further invigorate the monster genre.  Also starring in the film were Claude Rains (Casablanca, The Invisible Man) and, in an important cameo, Bela Lugosi.  The film features beautiful, foggy scenery and a truly tragic “hero”.

The movie’s director, George Waggner, likely reached his directorial peak with this feature.  Mr. Waggner came to Hollywood in the mid 1920’s and for a while was an actor before becoming a screenwriter and songwriter and then director.  He would direct theatrical films until 1951.  His final two theatrical films, The Fighting Kentuckian and Operation Pacific, starred John Wayne.  Mr. Waggner then moved to directing television episodes and became very prolific in that medium.  He directed many episodes of different TV series, including Wagon Train, Maverick, Cheyenne, The Green Hornet, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and, in his last listed directorial credit work, ten episodes of Batman.