I Was a Teenage Werewolf

Those rock 'n' roll-loving teens in the '50s sure must have loved this movie. It tied old-style horror flicks with the modern youth culture. High school student Tony Rivers (Michael Landon) has a chip on his shoulder and seeks help from a psychiatrist. The only problem is, the therapy turns him into...well, the title explains it. "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" seems a little dated nowadays, but it's still a good way to pass the time. But I just have one question: why did the bell ringing turn him into a wolf in that one scene? If he'd just gotten sexually aroused (I sure did), it would have made a little more sense. Oh well, it's still worth seeing, if only as a cultural reference.

I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) *** (out of 4) AIP classic about a troubled teen (Michael Landon) who goes for hypnosis to cure his anger but the crazy doctor (Whit Bissel) turns him into a werewolf. This has many of the same elements of other "teen" horror films of the drive-in era including stupid music, dumb dialogue and dorky kids but the real key to this films success is the performance of Landon. He gives a terrific performance as the trouble teen and doesn't just try and do a James Dean impersonation. Also check out I Was a Teenage Frankenstein and How to Make a Monster.

Memorable drive-in horror of the 50's is a golden oldie of the genre. When teenage boy starts having anger issues, he begins to see a doctor, who is slowly turning him into a werewolf! As delightfully hokey as it sounds, I Was a Teenage Wolf is a camp horror film that's really carried by its young star. Young Michael Landon makes for a tragic and heart-felt character. The supporting cast is decent enough, although their performances are a bit uneven. The makeup FX are dated, but they manage to be pretty good considering the era. Over all, this one is for the B fans. *** out of ****

Gene Fowler Jr. directed this famous hybrid of horror and juvenile delinquency that stars a young Michael Landon as troubled teenager Tony Rivers, who is ordered to undergo therapy to control his anger issues(he gets in a lot of fights at high school) Unfortunately, his doctor(played by Whit Bissell) is quite unscrupulous, using Tony in his hypno-regression therapy that causes him to become a murderous werewolf! Barney Philips plays the investigating detective looking into the murders. While by no stretch a good film, Michael Landon gives a sympathetic performance, and there is some effectively tense direction and good makeup, though this never quite manages to rise above its silly title. Not yet on DVD either, which is a shame.

I first saw this when I was about 14 and I immediately felt it was one of the best horror movies I had ever seen! Forget that- I thought it was one of the best MOVIES I had ever seen. I saw it again at around 50 and couldn't believe I felt that way! But I do recall that I totally related to the "angst" and mental torment Michael Landon's character expressed- the alienation from everyone, especially parents and older people, the intensity, loneliness and longing for...something. Landon's moodiness and range in something other than "Little Joe" or "Little House on the Prarie" romanticized optimism roles showed he had more to offer than we typically saw. It definitely was one of the best of the "I was a teenage..." genre.

This is one of the best low budget horror movies ever made. Directed by one of the top film editors of his day, Gene Fowler Jr, with cinematography by academy award winner Joseph LaShelle (for LAURA) raises this movie above many other low budget films of it's kind. The werewolf makeup is one of the better ones from pre-Howling-American Werewolf days. The acting is uniformly good all around with Landon and Bissell standouts. Some critics complaint about having actors in their 20's and 30's playing teenagers in IWATW are baseless since in critically praised films like WEST SIDE STORY the same thing occurs. Only weak part of the film is the "rock song" by Kenny Miller. AIP should have had a real rock song in the movie and since Yvonne Lime was dating Elvis about this time, it would have made the film more famous if it had included an Elvis song.

This is a decent fifties horror movie. Its selling point today is that Michael Landon appeared in it. He plays your basic delinquent and parent's nightmare (that is if they had a daughter). He is under the gun because he has a hair-trigger temper and has been getting into fights his whole life. He finally seeks help when he beats up a guy at a party; the guy just startled him with a trumpet. Unfortunately, of all the counselor he could have gone to, he picks a nut who wants to send people back to their primitive selves, to release the id so so speak. Of course, Landon becomes a werewolf and the rest is pretty clichéd. The special effects are right out of all the Universal wolf man movies. He is a sad victim who only wanted to change. Unfortunately, what he changed into was a werewolf.