Well-done werewolf flick. Filming on location at snowy Big Bear, north-east of LA, gives the horror setting a different look. Then too, the human element is effectively played up, as the authorities are torn between killing a pathetic family man and the same man who's also a homicidal werewolf. Poor Stephen Ritch, he's just an ordinary guy until a misguided professor turns him into a lycanthrope. Now loose in the mountains and running from a posse, he's suffering, knowing any moment he can become a drooling monster. Meanwhile his wife and child pose a big human problem for the sheriff and his deputy. So, which will win out-- the human side or the monster.Kudoes to pedestrian director Sears who manages some imaginative visuals. Unlike his usual steamroller approach, here he seems at times almost inspired (the jail cell shadows). Add what seems like an authentic mountain town atmosphere, and the results both visually and dramatically are unusual for the genre. Plus, actor Ritch manages what appears real anguish in what could have otherwise been an easy payday. I guess my only reservation is with the culprit professor, whose presence smacks too much of hackneyed cliché. But then, his presence heightens the moral dilemma. After all, since he's induced the lycanthropy, it's maybe possible to medically undo it. That is, if the authorities don't kill Ritch first. There's a moral depth here, unusual for its time.Anyway, the 70-minutes amounts to a near sleeper among the many tacky horror flicks of that Corman dominated decade.

Seen this at the movies in 1956! I've listed this as my favorite werewolf movie of all times (I've seen a lot them) Takes place in the Big Bear Mountain area in Calif. Filmed in the winter time with snow still on the ground. Steven Ritch gives a good performance as the poor guy who gets treated by the wrong doctors after having a car accident. This can't really be considered a horror movie since it involves radiation etc. The special affects are fine and the werewolf makeup looks good (Looks like same makeup used in "The Return of the Vampire". A couple of great scary moments - The cave scene - The scene in the police station cell - My favorite is the scene at the beginning of the movie when the werewolf comes out of the alley and confronts a little old lady (The werewolf has his back to you but scares the heck out of the lady who is facing him)! No guts or gore in this movie. Harry Lauter, always liked him, plays the main deputy. I went up to the location where the movie's finale was shot (On the bridge)! I was 9 years old when I seen this movie at our local movie house and I have the movie at home now and try to watch it a couple of times a year! Watch it if you get the chance, you just might like it!! David N.

A wandering husband and father (Steven Ritch) suffers from amnesia following a car accident. It turns out that two doctors experimenting on preventing human mutations in the event of a nuclear disaster have injected him with a serum that periodically changes him into a wolf man. Much of the movie occurs in a small woodsy town, headed by sheriff Don Megowan (who played the humanized creature in THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US), who hunts for the stranger in the snowy San Bernardino National Forest. Also in pursuit are the two doctors who started the mess, intent on killing their guinea pig before he can point a finger at them. There is a lot of stalking and hunting going on, but the sympathetic werewolf character seems much like Bruce Banner and The Hulk, usually transforming when distressed. The werewolf makeup is fair enough and the transformation process about par for the course for those days. Not an exceptional werewolf movie, but pretty good. **1/2 out of ****

This genuinely interesting and well made black-and-white horror film was a pleasant surprise, given the director and producer previously gave us "The Giant Claw" (good character scenes, ludicrous monster effects) and "Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers" (good special effects by Harryhausen, wooden, clunky and low energy "live" scenes").The "buzz" on this one is supposed to be that this was the first "scientific" werewolf on film, but I recall George Zuckoff starring in a PRC poverty row production called "Mad Monster" which was very similar in story and setting. It's OK, though - "Mad Monster" was deservedly forgotten, while this effort is considerably more fun to watch.Played with some depth and sympathy by all the main actors and some well lit and shot B&W photographu,this little parable has a nice haunting ending and is unusual in that the victim gets to see his family before meeting his fate.I liked it a lot. It seems that Sam Katzman may have been less of a hack than I previously though.