She Wolf of London

Aaaaoooooo

Werewolf of London

This song is all I could think of when watching this film. I know, I'm sorry, I can't help who I am. She Wolf of London dir. Jean Yarbrough (1946).

I had never seen this movie before and was really pleasantly surprised by it. The movie sets up a lot of possible endings and has a cool (maybe kind of predictable twist) ending.

We follow protagonist Phyllis Allenby through her panic of thinking she's a werewolf. The movie starts with the mention of an "Allenby curse" without telling much more of what it's about. Obviously the curse is the Allenbys turning into werewolves.

Early on, Aunt Martha explains to her daughter Carol that Phyllis is not her cousin but a family friend, and the house they live in belongs solely to her. Seems boring and unimportant but you know it's coming back later. Oh, there's also the housekeeper who's always good and nice named Hannah.

Phyllis wakes up with blood on her hands and mud on her shoes, the hem of her dress wet as though she had been walking through dewy grass. Of course, she thinks she has fallen victim to the Allenby curse and wants to turn herself in, Aunt Martha won't let her, and she sinks into a deep depression refusing to see her fiance, Barry.

There are a lot of red herrings in this movie, like Phyllis's wholehearted belief that she was a were-woman, a detective who is adamant the murders come are of mystical origin, and a hooded woman leaving the Allenby estate without giving the audience access to her face. I say red herrings because this movie was NOT about a werewolf!!

Aunt Martha was trying to frame Phyllis to drive her crazy, set Carol up with Barry, and keep the house to herself. She drugs Phyllis, confesses the plan, and good ol' Hannah overhears everything! Evil Aunt Martha falls down the stairs and stabs her damn self, happy ending, aaaaand scene.

I really enjoyed this movie because it toyed with the monster movies happening around the time. You're fully expecting the suspicious detective to be right, Phyllis to be a werewolf, etc etc. I applaud the thrilling twist ending.