Greetings,
Thirty years ago, I read a set of essays by Hollings College Professor R.H.W. Dillard. One of the essays was entitled "The Way You Walk is Thorny." This consideration of The Wolf Man, still stands as one of the most insightful appraisal of one of our favorite Universal Horrors.
Professor Dillard offered some very interesting observations of the 1941 film, and I have never read them discussed in this forum. I will retell some of these pieces, and would appreciate replies regarding fellow participants' responses to the ideas.
First, Dillard suggested that Lon Chaney, Jr's. clothing darkens in color as he descends into the nightmare of lycanthropy. Observe Larry in the opening sequence. He is dressed in light clothes, and rides in an open automobile. Following his encounter with Bela, Larry's suits darken in color. By the time Sir John binds his son to the chair in his room, he no longer wears a white dress shirt, but the dark casual shirt into which the Wolf Man changes. When Larry visits Gwen for the last time, all his attire is dark.
Also, Dillard noticed that when Larry visits Gwen for the first time in the anitique shop, he straightens his tie before an advertisement for "Saneman Products," as if to signal that our hero is a self-actualized individual. By contrast, when Larry tosses pebbles at Gwen's window prior to telling her he is leaving, and seeing the Pentagram in her palm, he once again stands before the advertisement, but the word
"Saneman" is obscured by shadows.
Whether or not it was an effort to outfox the Breen Office, there is also an allusion to why Gwen was attracted to Larry when she was engaged to Frank. When Frank, in a seemingly rude affront, fails to shake Larry's proffered hand in friendship, Gwen's suiter replies "I couldn't take my eyes off that walking stick of his."
Dillard's thesis casts Larry as an innocent abroad. He is a man who must make sense of lycanthropy in terms of one who must have hands-on relationships. Larry fails to make sense of his fate, because it is so foreign to him. His experience has not prepared him for the mysteries of an older world.
As Maleva says, "May you have peace for a moment, my son."
And, after Larry offers Gwen the amulet of protection, she, not willing to accept an unreciprocated gift, offers Larry a penny.
Larry relplies, "It isn't enough."
While Larry may have the pleasure of Gwen's kiss, he must endure the curse of lycanthropy until he meets Professor Edelmann.
Please reply with observations.
With every best wish,
Andy in Vancouver.
Thirty years ago, I read a set of essays by Hollings College Professor R.H.W. Dillard. One of the essays was entitled "The Way You Walk is Thorny." This consideration of The Wolf Man, still stands as one of the most insightful appraisal of one of our favorite Universal Horrors.
Professor Dillard offered some very interesting observations of the 1941 film, and I have never read them discussed in this forum. I will retell some of these pieces, and would appreciate replies regarding fellow participants' responses to the ideas.
First, Dillard suggested that Lon Chaney, Jr's. clothing darkens in color as he descends into the nightmare of lycanthropy. Observe Larry in the opening sequence. He is dressed in light clothes, and rides in an open automobile. Following his encounter with Bela, Larry's suits darken in color. By the time Sir John binds his son to the chair in his room, he no longer wears a white dress shirt, but the dark casual shirt into which the Wolf Man changes. When Larry visits Gwen for the last time, all his attire is dark.
Also, Dillard noticed that when Larry visits Gwen for the first time in the anitique shop, he straightens his tie before an advertisement for "Saneman Products," as if to signal that our hero is a self-actualized individual. By contrast, when Larry tosses pebbles at Gwen's window prior to telling her he is leaving, and seeing the Pentagram in her palm, he once again stands before the advertisement, but the word
"Saneman" is obscured by shadows.
Whether or not it was an effort to outfox the Breen Office, there is also an allusion to why Gwen was attracted to Larry when she was engaged to Frank. When Frank, in a seemingly rude affront, fails to shake Larry's proffered hand in friendship, Gwen's suiter replies "I couldn't take my eyes off that walking stick of his."
Dillard's thesis casts Larry as an innocent abroad. He is a man who must make sense of lycanthropy in terms of one who must have hands-on relationships. Larry fails to make sense of his fate, because it is so foreign to him. His experience has not prepared him for the mysteries of an older world.
As Maleva says, "May you have peace for a moment, my son."
And, after Larry offers Gwen the amulet of protection, she, not willing to accept an unreciprocated gift, offers Larry a penny.
Larry relplies, "It isn't enough."
While Larry may have the pleasure of Gwen's kiss, he must endure the curse of lycanthropy until he meets Professor Edelmann.
Please reply with observations.
With every best wish,
Andy in Vancouver.
