The Cast:     Michael Landon, Yvonne Lime, Whit Bissell, Tony Marshall, Dawn Richard, Barney Phillips, Ken Miller and Guy Williams. Produced by Herman Cohen and Directed by Gene Fowler Jr. Screenplay by Ralph Thornton (Aben Kandel) and Herman Cohen. Make-up by Philip Scheer. Running time 76 minutes. (Working titles: "Blood Of The Werewolf" and "I Am A Teenage Werewolf.") Belgian poster titles: LES GRIFFES DU LOUP GAROU and DE KLAUWEN VAN DE WEERWOLF (THE CLAWS OF THE WEREWOLF); in Mexico the title is YO FUI UN HOMBRE LOBO (I WAS A WEREWOLF); In Sweden, the title was changed to "UNG DESPERADO" (YOUNG DESPERADO) when it was released in February 1961. The German title was DER TOD HAT SCHWARZE KRALLEN (DEATH HAS BLACK CLAWS) in 1962. The best of the teenage monster movies. The movie cost about $82,000 to make and grossed over $2 Million in 1957 when ticket prices were much less than today. The police dog used in the film was a stand in for Rin Tin Tin and accoring to publicity, was afraid to go near Landon in his werewolf makeup. Another amazing fact is that Dawn Richard, who plays Theresa, the gymnist killed by the werewolf, had posed for Playboy magazine back in May 1957. This film made popular the term "I Was A Teenage". Landon's salary was only $1,000. I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF was the 10th top-grossing film of 1957. Some of its exterior scenes were shot in Griffith Park.

          The Plot:     Tony Rivers, a teenage student at Rockdale High, is brilliant in his studies but deficient in his deportment. He is moody, tempermental, hypersensitive, fights at the drop of a wrong word, and above all, cannot stand for anyone to startle him with either sudden touch or sudden noise. At the combined suggestions of his school principal, and a kindly detective, Sergeant Donovan, who feels that unless Tony learns to adjust he will be in trouble with the law, and after an explosion of temper at a teenage Halloween party, Tony consents to accept medical assistance from Dr. Alfred Brandon, an anaylist who has volunteered to cooperate with both police and school authorities in aiding maladjusted students. This decision is greeted by relief and joy by his girl friend, Arlene, who now feels more secure in their future.
          But, instead of helping Tony, Dr. Brandon uses him as the subject of an experiment in regression. And after a few sessions, under the influece of hypnosis, diabolically implanted auto-suggestion and an injection of a secret drug, he succeeds in taking Tony back in time to a primitive, animal period in his evolution.
          As a result, Rockdale is shocked by a series of brutal, unpremeditated murders of teenagers, which finally point to Tony as the perpetrator. (One of the victims is Theresa, the girlfriend of his friend Jimmy, in the school gymnasium).
          In a suspenseful scene, Tony in his guise as werewolf, seeks and implores help from Dr. Brandon to restore him to his normal life. When this is refused, Tony, in a shattering climax, kills both the doctor and his assistant and destroys all evidence of his transformation and its methods. His savage existence is mercifully ended by police bullets and in death, he returns to the normal, human appearance of a teenage student.

          Considering the budget and the fact it was filmed in a week, I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF is an amazing movie. Whit Bissell is excellent as Dr. Brandon and Michael Landon gives a terrific performance in the dual-role of Tony and the werewolf. Gene Fowler Jr., an academy award winning film editor, does a very fine job in directing his first film, one which he had second thoughts about doing at first. And I think Philip Scheer's werewolf makeup is one of the better ones created before THE HOWLING and AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON revolutionized the concept. The regression storyline seems a bit far-fetched today, but in the 1950's it was used quite often based on the book "The Search for Bridey Murphy" by Morey Bernstein, a businessman and amateur hypnotist. Bernstein claimed that he used hypnosis on Virginia Tighe to regress her to a 19th century woman in Ireland named Bridey Murphy. The reincarnation boom in American publishing had begun.
      Some critics complained that some of the actors playing teenagers were obviously well past their teen years (and many were in their 20's and early 30's) but this was been done frequently in Hollywood. It should be noted that in films like WEST SIDE STORY, which also had older actors playing teenagers, the critics overlooked the same criticism since they praised the film. A lot of adults back in 1957 looked down on movies made for the teenage crowd and panned films like this one. TV comedians poked fun at the title, and the senate even held hearings trying to find a link between all the movies aimed at the teenage moviegoer as being a cause of juvenile delinquency. No connection was found. These films were produced to entertain and to make money for American International Pictures, which it did on both counts.
          I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF is one of my favorite movies and is still considered a cult classic.

          The complete review from Variety, June 1957:
          Summary: Tease-titled science-fictioner, okay upper half of exploitation package. (Hollywood, July 5.) American-International release of a Herman Cohen production. Stars Michael Landon, Yvonne Lime, Whit Bissel, Tony Marshall; features Dawn Richard, Barney Phillips, Ken Miller, Cindy Robbins, Michael Rougas, Robert Griffin, Joseph Mell. Directed by Gene Fowler Jr.; story-screenplay, Ralph Thornton; camera, Joseph La Shelle; editor, George Gittens; music, Paul Dunlap. Previewed July 3, 1957. Running time, 76 Mins.

Tony                    Michael Landon 
Arlene                  Yvonne Lime 
Dr. Alfred Brandon      Whit Bissell 
Jimmy                   Tony Marshall 
Theresa                 Dawn Richard 
Detective Donovan       Barney Phillips 
Vic                     Ken Miller 
Pearl                   Cindy Robbins 
Frank                   Michael Rougas 
Police Chief Baker      Robert Griffin 
Dr. Hugo Wagner         Joseph Mell      
Charles                 Malcolm Atterbury   
Doyle                   Eddie Marr
Pepi                    Vladimir Sokoloff   
Miss Ferguson           Louise Lewis 
Bill                    John Launer 
Chris Stanley           Guy Williams 
Mary                    Dorothy Crehan 

REVIEW:       Another in the cycle of regression themes is a combo teenager and science-fiction yarn which should do okay in the exploitation market. American-International will topbill pic with the not-so-good "Invasion of the Saucer-Men" as a horror package.
Only thing new about this Herman Cohen production is a psychiatrist's use of a problem teenager who comes to him for help using the youth for an experiment in regression, but it's handled well enough to meet the requirements of this type film. There are plenty of story points which are sloughed over in the Ralph Thornton screenplay, but good performances help overcome deficiencies. Final reels, where the lad turns into a hairy-headed monster with drooling flangs, are inclined to be played too heavily.
Michael Landon delivers a first-class characterization as the high school boy constantly in trouble, and has okay support right down the line. Yvonne Lime is pretty as his girl friend who asks him to go to the psychiatrist, and Whit Bissell handles doctor part capably, although some of his lines are pretty thick. Barney Phillips is competent as a detective trying to straighten out Landon, as is Robert Griffin in role of police chief and Dawn Richard as one of Landon's victims.
Gene Fowler Jr's direction is up to standards of the script and Joseph La Shelle's photography leads technical credits. (Whit.)

"I Was A Teenage Werewolf" video captures

Disclaimer: I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF was copyright 1957 by Carmel Productions; released by American International Pictures and renewed in 1985 by Selma Enterprises. All rights reserved. No rights given or implied. Do not use any material on this website without permission. Current copyright owner is Susan Nicholson-Hofheinz and Academy Pictures Corporation. All rights reserved. No rights given or implied. Used here for historical, educational and nostalgic purposes with reviews, comments, cast and credits.

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