Too much of everything

A Major Disappointment

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I really liked this film as a kid and it's still fun to watch as a grownup.The idea of a female werewolf was a totally different horror concept in 1944 and Nina Foch was quite effective in her portrayal of the character. This movie boasts one of the most solid casts of any horror film of the 1940's with talented actors such as the wonderful Blanche Yurka, John Abbott, Fritz Leiber, Barton MacLane, and the delightfully ghoulish Milton Parson uplifting the proceedings. Osa Massen is eye catching if not a bit overwrought as the damsel in distress. The whole thing is shot down by Stephen Crane's inept attempt to play the leading man. He defines the cliché of the bland, boring, and ineffectual pretty boy and his performance is amateurish. Screenwriter Griffin Jay was a craftsman and quite dependable at providing screenplays for these hour long chillers and his script is economical with no frills. Director Henry Levin was an old pro at mysteries, drama, and adventure films but this was his only foray into the horror genre and he filmed it as more of a mystery and suspense piece the a true horror film. The special effects are minimal and were created more by the editor then the make up or camera crews. During WWII, the Hollywood Studio's were cranking out movies at a factory assembly line pace. Most films were produced with an eye towards keeping on schedule and within budget. The also kept the studio film makers busy and earning their paychecks. If they turned out to be well done, so much the better.Cry of the Werewolf was a film that was intended to be a neighborhood theater crowd pleaser that would be released and spend a few weeks making the rounds and move on.It's not a great film but it's a fun one to watch.

Cry of the Werewolf (1944) * 1/2 (out of 4) A gypsy woman is cursed by being a werewolf in this Columbia film. After five minutes I had to pause this film so that I could pass out candy and I must say that this was a lot more fun (and scary) than watching this film, which is incredibly dull and it's quite shocking that this would come from a major studio. The werewolf transformation scenes are laughable and the story seems to be about everything except for the actual werewolf. The cast is extremely dull and lifeless and the direction isn't any better. I had seen this years ago but forgot just about everything so that's why I watched it again and I've got the feeling that I'll have forgotten the movie by morning. Check out The Undying Monster instead.

I enjoyed this film precisely due to the reasons that another reviewer DIDN"T! It was interesting to have a woman as a werewolf, there was no werewolf costume used, and there was an element of mystery in the proceedings.I enjoyed the Val Lewton-ish scene in the mortuary basement where the hero is being stalked by the werewolf!I myself am glad that the werewolf transformation scene was done in shadow (the Val Lewton touch), as the special effects of the time were far removed from today's slick computer-created animations. Anything other than the way it was done would've looked SILLY.A nifty, seldom-seen film! Norm(PS. Hull's makeup looks MUCH more "wolfish" than Cheney Jr's!).

I can't believe these User Comments! Sheesh! This one has GOT to be one of the worst travesties and wastes of time in my book! What's up with Stephen Crane? Terrible actor! He's attacked by the werewolf and then stands up calmly, brushes himself off and says: "Yeah..I'm okay..." This is the best that Lana Turner could do? The whole piece of garbage looked like it was made for about twenty bucks. Nina Foch must have gone home a gotten drunk every night. The "wolf" was the only natural actor in the movie! Fritz Leiber's wooden performance brings new meaning to the expression "bad actor"! And Osa Massen? I couldn't get Inga from Young Frankenstein out of my mind!