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Rating:  - It is an Odd Pairing
Unlike others in reviewing this strange pair of films, I liked She-Wolf of London better than Werewolf Of London. Both are Ok, neither are great but the story of the she-wolf engrossed me. It is not a monster movie but a murder mystery but I enjoyed all performances and June Lockhart was very engaging as the troubled young woman. Werewolf of London is truly a monster movie. A man is attacked by a werewolf in Tibet and then brings it home to his family. Werewolves in this movie always try to kill the people he loves best so he is very rough on his wife.
Rating: - ONE WOLF AND ONE WOOF!
WEREWOLF OF LONDON is a good movie in spite of Henry Hull's hammy acting style.The direction seems stagey at times but the story moves along at a reasonable pace. The werewolf is more of an extreme Jeckyl & Hyde character than what viewers may be used to but Jack Pierce's make-up is excellent in conveying an evil, fiendish appearance. The most memorable thing for me about the movie is that I think it may have the most soulful, dramatic and effective music score of any of the old Universal horror movies, and that's saying a lot. Karl Hajos is credited with the score. If you're so inclined, check out music clips from 1930s Universal horror films at Tony LoBue's Flash Gordon web site. As for She-Wolf of London, it should be called She-WOOF of London...
Rating: - ONE GOOD HORROR FILM AND ONE OK MURDER MYSTERY!
This is deceiving double bill as only one film features a werewolf and they are not related to each other. The first one 'The Werewolf Of London' is an early werewolf story and is very good. The other is a murder mystery which is OK. Both these films can be found on the Wolfman Legacy Collection DVD set included with two other werewolf films. The transfers are very good and there are some interesting extras.
Rating:  - Miss Lockhart alone justifies the effort.
Apart from excellent settings and costumes, not to mention the always reliable pulchritude and charm of June Lockhart, this Val Lewton wannabe is mainly a misfire.
More's the pity too, since it abounds in shadowy night scenes, fog, and much cloak and daggery, including a final act complete with tilted camera angles, and poisoned milk, (a la Hichcock's "Suspicion").
But there is no real grue and no real tension, and what we are left with is a lame, (though slickly produced) thriller whose main interest accrues from its interesting cast and glossy staging.
Still, given the paucity of Victorian melodramas at your local cineplex--you could do much worse.
Rating: - Two unrelated films: one interesting, the other forgettable
Despite Universal's claim on the DVD that this is a "Wolf Man Double Feature," neither of these films have any connection to the series of movies starring Lon Chaney Jr. as the werewolf-cursed Larry Talbot. The two films also have no connection to each other, but Universal apparently couldn't pass up the similarity of their titles to create this double-feature DVD. The films couldn't be farther apart. "WereWolf of London" was released in 1935, near the peak of Universal's first horror cycle that includes "Dracula," "Frankenstein," "The Mummy," "The Invisible Man," and "The Bride of Frankenstein" (also 1935). "She-Wolf of London" made it to theaters in 1946, just as Universal's horror films were about to die completely, and is more a traditional, bland murder mystery than horror film.
"WereWolf of London" is probably the least talked about original horror film from Universal's classic era. It has some excellent points, such as Jack Pierce's clever makeup, interesting visual effects, and some well-done sequences, but overall it's a sluggish film. Stage actor Henry Hull plays scientist Dr. Wilfred Glendon, who gets a werewolf bite while he is searching for a bizarre rare plant in Tibet (which looks strangely like Southern California). He starts transforming at night and tries to kill the thing he loves most, in this case his wife (played by seventeen-year-old British actress Valeria Hobson, who played Elizabeth in "The Bride of Frankenstein" that same year). The blooms of the rare plant are the only thing that can stop the transformation, but a mysterious Dr. Yogami (Warner Oland, most famous for playing Dr. Fu Manchu and Charlie Chan, even though he's Swedish) tries to steal the flower buds for his own purposes. Hull hams up his part too much, and the continuous 'comedy' involving drunk old British ladies gets annoying very quickly. Oland and Hobson, however, are quite good in their roles. Originally Bela Lugosi was attached to play Dr. Yogami, but Oland brings a subtlety to the part that is genuinely creepy -- especially since everyone else goes over the top. The werewolf makeup is subdued because Hull didn't want his features too obscured, but makeup wizard Jack Pierce did a nice job at giving Hull wolfish features. This is, however, an incredibly polite werewolf: he never forgets to put on a hat, coat, and scarf before he goes on one of his rampages!
"She-Wolf of London," is dull, dull, dull...and not much of a horror film at all. Supposedly taking place in London at the turn of the century (or so the title card tells us), the design looks fairly modern and many of the actors have not the slightest trace of an English accent ("WereWolf of London" got that right at least). The ending is also a terrible cheat that defeats the whole point of watching the movie in the first place. The story follows heiress Phyllis Allenby (June Lockhart, of TV's "Lassie" and "Lost in Space"), who wished to marry Barry Lanfield (Don Porter), but believes she is the victim of a family curse that turns her into a murdering werewolf at night. When corpses start piling up, Phyllis thinks she is responsible. There are no makeup effects, scares, action, or even attempts at comedy in this film; it trudges along like a boring parlor drama. Even at 61 minutes, it takes too long to get through. The only interesting aspect of this film is it gives viewers a chance to see a true B-programmer from the 1940s. Few of these movies ever make it DVD, and I'm surprised this one did.
Werewolf fans and Universal horror buffs will want to see this disc. Casual viewers might find some entertainment in "WereWolf of London," but probably won't make it through "She-Wolf of London"...but even Universal horror nuts will find this film slow going.
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