The Curse of the Werewolf – 1961

A Hammer Film production released by Universal Pictures
Copyright MCMLXI by Universal Pictures Company Inc. – All rights reserved
MPAA Approved Certificate
The characters and incidents portrayed and the names used herein are fictitious and any similarity to the names characters or history of any person is entirely accidental and unintentional
RCA Sound Recording
Produced at Bray Studios England
Technicolor 88 mins
Storyline
Spain: A wandering beggar falls foul of the sadistic Marques Siniestro and is flung into a dungeon, where he remains for years, virtually forgotten. Then a young mute servant girl also upsets the Marques and, to teach her a lesson, she is put in the cell with the beggar, who rapes her and promptly dies. The girl kills the Marques and escapes, but now she is pregnant by the beggar. It seems that her baby will be born on Christmas Day and local legend has it that there is only one fate in store for an unwanted child conceived in such circumstances and born on the Lord’s birthday…
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Crew
Function | Credited | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Productions | |||
click a link for more info | Credited | Uncredited | Total | ||||||
Art Director | Don Mingaye | 32 | 1 Jan 1929 | 8 Nov 2017 | 88 | 26 | 14 | 40 | |
Associate Producer | Anthony Nelson-Keys | 49 | 13 Nov 1911 | 19 Mar 1985 | 73 | 41 | 41 | ||
Ast. Director | John Peverall | 30 | 1 Jan 1931 | 3 Oct 2009 | 78 | 21 | 21 | ||
Based on the novel by | Guy Endore | 60 | 4 Jul 1900 | 12 Feb 1970 | 69 | 1 | 1 | ||
Camera Operator | Len Harris | 44 | 19 May 1916 | 21 Feb 1995 | 78 | 52 | 1 | 53 | |
Casting | Stuart Lyons | 33 | 1 Jan 1928 | 23 Feb 1998 | 70 | 8 | 8 | ||
Continuity | Tilly Day | 58 | 1903 | 1994 | 91 | 13 | 1 | 14 | |
Director | Terence Fisher | 57 | 23 Feb 1904 | 18 Jun 1980 | 76 | 31 | 31 | ||
Director of Photog. | Arthur Grant BSc | 46 | 1915 | 1972 | 56 | 30 | 30 | ||
Editor | Alfred Cox | 36 | 1 Jan 1925 | 1 Jan 2005 | 80 | 21 | 4 | 25 | |
Executive Producer | Michael Carreras | 33 | 21 Dec 1927 | 19 Apr 1994 | 66 | 82 | 3 | 85 | |
Hair Stylist | Frieda Steiger | 57 | 29 Dec 1903 | 19 Aug 1993 | 28 | 28 | |||
Make-up Artist | Roy Ashton | 52 | 16 Apr 1909 | 10 Jan 1995 | 85 | 36 | 4 | 40 | |
Music Composed by | Benjamin Frankel | 55 | 31 Jan 1906 | 12 Feb 1973 | 67 | 3 | 3 | ||
Producer | Anthony Hinds | 38 | 18 Sep 1922 | 30 Sep 2013 | 91 | 84 | 1 | 85 | |
Production Designer | Bernard Robinson | 48 | 28 Jul 1912 | 2 Mar 1970 | 57 | 46 | 3 | 49 | |
Production Manager | Clifford Parkes | 34 | 1927 | 2014 | 87 | 12 | 12 | ||
Screenplay | Anthony Hinds | 38 | 18 Sep 1922 | 30 Sep 2013 | 91 | 84 | 1 | 85 | |
Sound Editor | Alban Streeter | 31 | 1 Jan 1930 | 93 | 7 | 7 | |||
Sound Recordist | Jock May | 56 | 1 Jan 1905 | 8 Jan 1991 | 86 | 30 | 1 | 31 | |
Special Effects | Les Bowie | 47 | 10 Nov 1913 | 27 Jan 1979 | 65 | 32 | 11 | 43 | |
Supervising Editor | James Needs | 41 | 17 Oct 1919 | 4 Feb 2003 | 83 | 110 | 1 | 111 | |
Wardrobe Mistress | Molly Arbuthnot | 52 | 19 Dec 1908 | 31 Oct 2001 | 92 | 48 | 4 | 52 | |
Uncredited | |||||||||
Art Direction | Thomas Goswell | 70 | 28 Mar 1891 | 1982 | 90 | 5 | 5 | ||
Charge-hand Props | Peter Allchorne | 36 | 1925 | 98 | 9 | 9 | |||
Clapper Loader | Alan McDonald | 23 | 1938 | 85 | 14 | 14 | |||
Composer: Stock Music | Leonard Salzedo | 39 | 24 Sep 1921 | 6 May 2000 | 78 | 7 | 1 | 8 | |
Construction Manager | Arthur Banks | 18 | 29 | 47 | |||||
Focus Puller | Harry Oakes | 40 | 16 Jan 1921 | 11 Dec 2012 | 91 | 53 | 53 | ||
Gargoyles | Margaret Robinson | 41 | 31 Jan 1920 | 3 Oct 2016 | 96 | 4 | 4 | ||
Make-up | Colin Garde | 45 | 16 Jul 1915 | Dec 1990 | 75 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
Second Ast. Director | Dominic Fulford | 41 | 19 Aug 1919 | 23 Apr 2007 | 87 | 1 | 5 | 6 | |
Set Rigger | Ronald Lenoir | 37 | 1924 | 1998 | 74 | 4 | 4 | ||
Still Photog. | Tom Edwards | 1999 | 26 | 26 | |||||
Stunts | Jack Cooper | 38 | 1923 | 2010 | 87 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
Cast
Character | Actor | Age at Release | Birth | Death | Age | Hammer Productions | |||
click a link for more info | Credited | Uncredited | Total | ||||||
Alfredo | Clifford Evans | 49 | 17 Feb 1912 | 9 Jun 1985 | 73 | 2 | 2 | ||
Beggar | Richard Wordsworth | 46 | 19 Jan 1915 | 21 Nov 1993 | 78 | 4 | 4 | ||
Chef | Charles Lamb | 60 | 20 Nov 1900 | 19 Mar 1989 | 88 | 4 | 4 | ||
Cristina | Catherine Feller | 22 | 1 Jan 1939 | 84 | 1 | 1 | |||
Dominique | George Woodbridge | 54 | 16 Feb 1907 | 31 Mar 1973 | 66 | 9 | 1 | 10 | |
Don Enrique | Peter Sallis | 40 | 1 Feb 1921 | 2 Jun 2017 | 96 | 2 | 2 | ||
Don Fernando | Ewen Solon | 43 | 7 Sep 1917 | 7 Jul 1985 | 67 | 5 | 1 | 6 | |
Footman | Desmond Llewelyn | 46 | 12 Sep 1914 | 19 Dec 1999 | 85 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
Gaoler | Denis Shaw | 40 | 7 Apr 1921 | 28 Feb 1971 | 49 | 4 | 3 | 7 | |
Isabel | Joy Webster | 27 | 1 Jan 1934 | 89 | 2 | 2 | |||
Jose | Martin Matthews | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Leon | Oliver Reed | 23 | 13 Feb 1938 | 2 May 1999 | 61 | 9 | 9 | ||
Marques Siniestro | Anthony Dawson | 44 | 18 Oct 1916 | 8 Jan 1992 | 75 | 1 | 1 | ||
Marquesa | Josephine Llewellyn | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Old Soak | Michael Ripper | 48 | 27 Jan 1913 | 28 Jun 2000 | 87 | 34 | 2 | 36 | |
Pepe Valiente | Warren Mitchell | 35 | 14 Jan 1926 | 14 Nov 2015 | 89 | 4 | 1 | 5 | |
Priest | John Gabriel | 46 | 27 Sep 1914 | 28 May 1998 | 83 | 1 | 1 | ||
Rico Gomez | David Conville | 31 | 4 Jun 1929 | 24 Nov 2018 | 89 | 2 | 2 | ||
Rosa Valiente | Anne Blake | 52 | 4 Nov 1908 | 27 Jan 2000 | 91 | 3 | 3 | ||
Senora Zumara | Serafina Di Leo | 48 | 7 May 1912 | 23 Oct 2007 | 95 | 1 | 1 | ||
Servant Girl | Yvonne Romain | 23 | 17 Feb 1938 | 85 | 3 | 3 | |||
Teresa | Hira Talfrey | 34 | 14 Sep 1926 | 3 Oct 2011 | 85 | 1 | 1 | ||
Vera | Sheala Brennan | 30 | 1 Jan 1931 | 92 | 1 | 1 | |||
Young Leon | Justin Walters | 9 | 1952 | 1978 | 26 | 1 | 1 | ||
Yvonne | Renny Lister | 26 | 24 May 1934 | 88 | 1 | 1 | |||
Uncredited | |||||||||
1st Customer | Rodney Burke | 28 | 13 Jul 1932 | 90 | 4 | 4 | |||
2nd Customer | Alan Page | 38 | 3 May 1922 | 5 Jul 1987 | 65 | 1 | 1 | ||
2nd Footman | Gordon Whiting | 42 | 9 May 1918 | 21 Feb 2002 | 83 | 1 | 1 | ||
3rd Customer | Richard Golding | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Angry Mob | Hubert Hill | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||
Angry Villager in Mob | Fred Wood | 39 | 26 Oct 1921 | 25 Jan 2003 | 95 | 19 | 19 | ||
Another Farmer | Stephen Scott | 33 | 8 Feb 1928 | 95 | 1 | 1 | |||
Bar Customer | John Adams | 4 | 4 | ||||||
Bearded Customer | Francis De Wolff | 48 | 7 Jan 1913 | 18 Apr 1984 | 71 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
Cantina Patron | Victor Harrington | 51 | 27 Aug 1909 | 23 Jul 1980 | 70 | 7 | 7 | ||
Cheeky Farmer | Max Butterfield | 29 | 10 Jun 1931 | 1991 | 59 | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Cook | Emille Stemmler | 50 | 1911 | 6 | 6 | ||||
Farmer in Cantina | Michael Peake | 42 | 13 Oct 1918 | 1 Apr 1967 | 48 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
Gardener | Frank Sieman | 52 | 7 Aug 1908 | 9 Mar 1992 | 83 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Irate Farmer | Howard Lang | 50 | 20 Mar 1911 | 11 Dec 1989 | 78 | 2 | 2 | ||
Landlord | Hamlyn Benson | 50 | 1911 | 11 Feb 1968 | 57 | 1 | 1 | ||
Midwife | Kitty Atwoood | 59 | 28 Jun 1901 | 1991 | 89 | 2 | 2 | ||
Official | Ray Browne | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Page | Michael Lewis | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Patron | Bill Rooney | 3 | 3 | ||||||
Policeman | John Bennett | 32 | 8 May 1928 | 11 Apr 2005 | 76 | 2 | 2 | ||
Policeman | Alister Williamson | 42 | 17 Jun 1918 | 19 May 1999 | 80 | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
Servant Girl as Child | Loraine Carvana | 1 | 1 | ||||||
Stunts | Joe Dunne | 25 | 27 Oct 1935 | 14 Jan 2022 | 86 | 2 | 2 | ||
Villager | George Spence | 4 | 4 | ||||||
Villager | Jimmy Charters | 7 | 7 |
Production
FILMING BEGAN | 12 October 1960 | |
UK RELEASE | 1 May 1961 | |
STUDIO | Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England | |
LOCATION | Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England | |
Callow Hill Sandpit, Virginia Water, Surrey, England | ||
Sand and Gravel Quarry, Wapseys Wood, Gerrard's Cross, Buckinghamshire, England |
Footnotes
Before this film was made, Hammer planned to make one about the Spanish Inquisition, but there were rumours that the Catholic Office would take a very dim view of such a movie and try to have it banned. The project was therefore abandoned, but not before Bernard Robinson’s sets had been constructed. Not a company to waste resources, Hammer transferred the action of Guy Endore’s novel “The Werewolf of Paris” to Spain and Anthony Hinds wrote the script for “The Curse of the Werewolf”, the first of many screenplays written by him under the pseudonym John Elder.
Welsh actor Clifford Evans returned to Hammer in 1963 to star as the vampire-killer in “The Kiss of the Vampire”.
Details were complied viewing the actual film.
Source of viewing copy – The Hammer Graveyard Collection