Bei Vollmond Mord (1961)
44KBei Vollmond Mord: Directed by Paolo Heusch. With Barbara Lass, Carl Schell, Curt Lowens, Maurice Marsac. At a girls’ school, several students are murdered by a snarling, wolf-man-like creature. Suspicion falls upon a newly arrived teacher.
“Just last week, I finished reading Guy Endoreu0026#39;s classic 1933 novel u0026quot;The Werewolf of Paris,u0026quot; a highly intelligent, insightful look at this legendary creature of modern-day folklore. Last night I watched the 1961 Italian/Austrian coproduction u0026quot;Werewolf in a Girlsu0026#39; Dormitory,u0026quot; a film that is hardly classic, overly intelligent or insightful, but that did come as a nice treat for me anyway. To my great surprise, this is not the teenage lycanthrope panty raid that I had been expecting, or the camp fest that the title would lead one to anticipate. The film deals with a series of brutal murders in a young womenu0026#39;s reformatory school in what is supposed to be the U.S. but feels distinctly European. To its credit, the movie boasts some pretty creepy atmosphere, effective music, very passable Bu0026amp;W photography, and very decent acting (although itu0026#39;s hard to tell for sure about that last with the terrible dubbing). It feels like a cross between a monster flick and an early Italian u0026quot;giallo,u0026quot; with a dash of mystery thrown in. Who IS the werewolf? Is it the new, hunky blond professor with a secret in his past? The lecherous old teacher whou0026#39;s being blackmailed by one of the students? Or howzabout the Igor-like, handicapped handyman? Most viewers will never guess; I know I didnu0026#39;t! The Maltin book inexplicably gives this film its lowest u0026quot;BOMBu0026quot; rating, but I think the editors there are being way too harsh. Although u0026quot;Werewolf in a Girlsu0026#39; Dormitoryu0026quot; is nothing great, it still deserves some respect for the effective and well-put-together thriller that it is.”
