I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)

I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)

“When the evil eye is on you, the savage beast somehow gets inside and controls you — makes you look and act like a wolf, makes you hunt down your victim and kill it like a wolf!”

Synopsis:
The angry, troubled teenage son (Michael Landon) of a hard-working widower (Malcolm Atterbury) visits a malicious psychiatrist (Whit Bissell) who uses hypnosis to regress him into a werewolf.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Horror Films
  • Mind Control and Hypnosis
  • Teenagers
  • Werewolves

Response to Peary’s Review:
Peary argues that this “satisfying low-budget horror film” — “aimed at the fifties drive-in crowd” — features a “sympathetic performance” by Michael Landon as a “well-meaning high school kid who gets into constant trouble because he can’t control his violent impulses”. He notes that “Landon, who wears a leather jacket, looks great in his wild werewolf get-up”, and points out that director Gene Fowler, Jr. — who helmed I Married a Monster From Outer Space (1958) the following year — “develops his usual outsider/paranoia themes.” I’m less a fan of this MST3K-spoofed flick than Peary: while it’s well-directed and Landon is convincing, Bissell’s motivations are silly (why exactly is it in humankind’s best interest to regress to a more primitive state?), and many scenes (i.e., the Halloween party) feel laughably dated.

Redeeming Qualities and Moments:

  • Michael Landon as Tony Rivers
  • Some creative camera work and atmospheric cinematography


Must See?
No; feel free to skip this one.

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One thought on “I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957)

  1. This is another (hilarious) winner for the MST3K gang – it’s the perfect way to see this movie. In other words, it’s the only way to see this movie.

    Landon gives a “sympathetic performance”? Seriously? 😉

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