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One of the Most influential independent Horror films ever made! Feb 08, 2009
This film is another classic that I haven't seen in awhile,but reviewing it again has not soiled it's reputation.
I Was A Teenage Werewolf(1957) has something of a campy title,but under that title is one of the most well made Monster movies of the 1950s.
A trend is started with this film,the first to properly focus on youth as protagonists in a Horror picture and rely on there problems and frustrations,which this film does better than alot of there contemporaries did.
Taking the legend of the Werewolf,this film changes the concept from legend to science and has the werewolf spring forth as the result of repressed anger and sexual frustration.
Michael Landon is a compelling lead who is alternately sympathetic and frightening as the angry Tony,who seeks psychiatric help from a ego-maniacal doctor in the form of Sci-Fi regular,Whit Bissel,who lets the teenager revert to his animal self through hypnosis!
There are many surprisingly tense moments within the film including a creepy walk through the forest as Tony acquires his first victim and one of the most subtle examples of brooding sexuality in the Horror film,that being the scene where Toby eyes the babe doing gymnastics in the gym and turns into a wolf(literally).
The film's power lies in the theme of adults trying to shape teenagers into what they want them to be,by control and abuse,without aiding a real hand to help and having to suffer the consequences.
The make-up for the werewolf is quite good,and the film despite being firmly set in the 1950s,still resonates with kids today,and still stands today as a great Horror film and one of the best Werewolf films ever made.
Led to follow-ups in the form of I was a Teenage Frankenstein(1958) and Blood of Dracula(1958),which could not begin to approach this original.
It's a real shame there is still no DVD release for this classic.
A Super Classic Horror Film! Dec 15, 2008
This is one of our favorite classic horror films, and I was so happy to find a used copy (in VERY GOOD CONDITION) here on Amazon. It was a gift for a classic horror fan, and it went over as well as I thought it would, if not better! Thanks Amazon!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Drive-In bagatelle actually generates mood. Sep 12, 2007
Despite its apt but risible title, "I Was a Teenage Werewolf," surprises in both the sincerity of its playing, as well as by its accomplished technical credentials. Campy confessional title notwithstanding, there is nothing about the screenplay that is deliberately parodic.
Effectively photographed by distinguished cinematographer Joseph La Shelle, and bolstered by an excellent musical score, the film thus provides a solid showcase for both its scenario and the performances of its young principals.
More importantly, (and this is what gives the picture a leg up on others of its ilk) the film is moodily under-lit, giving much of it a film noir ambiance. This is most evident in the hypnosis sequences, (the best in the film) which are staged and photographed in a way very reminiscent of Lewton's "Cat People."
Anyone doubting the value of the change purse aesthetics at work here need only consult the negligible results attained in such schlock as "Blood of Dracula" or the pre-Poe Corman films, which make "Teenage Werewolf" look like David Lean by comparison. Here the sincere effort of the technical crew shows: an unsettled, fatalistic brooding mood is generated, taking equal measure from the sense of doom hanging over the protagonist and expressed in shadows everywhere, even in mid-day living rooms and psychiatrist's offices.
Mr. Landon brings a sensitive intensity to the role that is wholly convincing, and he is ably abetted by all in support. Mr. Sokoloff is fine in his masculine reprise of the Maria Ouspenkaya role from Lon Chaney's "The Wolfman," and a pre Zorro Guy Williams shows up effectively as a policeman.
While admittedly done on a modest budget, this limitation is actually an asset, inasmuch as it prevents the art direction from going over the top in its very effective depiction of proletariat domestic interiors, (Miss Lime's character even has Archie and Edith Bunker type parents.) Thus, the homes, teen club, principal's office etc. are "right on the money."
Even so, sharp eyed viewers will note that a leather sofa does double duty in both the police detective's and Miss Fergusan's office. Similarly, Dr. Brandon's and Miss Fergusan's respective office's are the same set, re-arranged, and re-dressed.
For his part, Mr. Landon, flush with his TV western success, and (equipped with accompanying footage), lampooned his role in the film in a 1969 guest appearance on the Jerry Lewis TV show.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Teenage Werewolf Jan 11, 2007
Purchased for a work colleague. Not available in UK. Long time must have for now owner. This guy was over the moon to finally get this film.
In his words "GGGGGGRRRRRREEEEEEAAAAAATTTTTT got it at last"
This guy lives and breathes for Horror movies so must be great.
 Great 50s movie title Jan 09, 2007
Michael Landon, who went on to bigger and better things, stars as Tony, a mixed up teenager who gets into fights and flies into angry rages for no reason. He gets sent to a doctor, played with arrogant assurance by Whit Bissel, for treatment. Bissel treats him with hypnotherapy and by injecting him with something the doctor whipped up in his spare time. The doctor believes he can revert someone back to their evolutionary beginnings. Why you would want to do this is beyond me, but it works. Tony becomes a werewolf and begins attacking his fellow high school students. Eventually, as the police are hunting him, Tony returns to the doctor for help. Instead of helping, he injects Tony yet again. Predictably, Tony becomes the werewolf, kills the doctor's assistant and the doctor and is then shot by the police.
The acting in this film is better than some other 1950s horror movies, but the writing is pretty dull. The whole plot is thin and has to be stretched to make a full length film. There is no real point to the doctor's experiments. There is no suspense or frights when Tony attacks. You know well beforehand who is going to get it. As with a lot of other low budget 50s movies, it's enjoyable for the laughs.
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