Moon of the Wolf
Encyclopedia
Moon of the Wolf is an American
made-for-television Gothic horror film first broadcast on September 26, 1972 on ABC Movie of the Week
. It starred David Janssen
, Barbara Rush
, Geoffrey Lewis and Bradford Dillman
, with a script written by Alvin Sapinsley (based on Leslie H. Whitten's novel of the same name). The film was directed by Daniel Petrie
and filmed on location in Burnside, Louisiana
.
Bayou
town of Marsh Island as two farmers(Royal Dano
) discover the mauled, dead body of a local resident, an attractive young girl. Sheriff Aaron Whitaker (David Janssen
) is called in. The victim's temperamental brother Lawrence Burrifors (Geoffrey Lewis) arrives at the crime scene and jumps to the conclusion that the girl's lover committed the murder, a man whose very name her brother does not know. The town's Dr. Drutan (John Beradino
) examines the body and pronounces the girl died of a severe blow to the head caused by a human hand. He tells Sheriff Whitaker, "It looks like you have a murder on your hands." The sheriff replies, "Just what I needed."
The sheriff continues to investigate the crime and interviews people who knew the victim. Local residents have a variety of theories, including the belief she was killed by wild dogs. A posse soon forms to track down the wild dogs with little success. Burrifors continues to insist the killer to be his sister's mysterious lover while the sheriff, in turn, is suspicious of him. The girl's sick and dying father Hugh Burrifors (Paul R. DeVille), interviewed by the sheriff, warns him of the "Loug Garog". The sheriff does not understand the French term and local Cajun
residents are unable to interpret it.
The sheriff's investigation soon takes him to the plantation home of the wealthy Andrew Rodanthe (Bradford Dillman
) and his sister Louise (Barbara Rush
). They are the last of a local family dynasty with a history stretching back over a century. Andrew, who the sheriff suspects had an affair with the victim, claims to have been suffering an attack of malaria
the night the girl was killed.
The sheriff, suspicious of the temperamental brother Lawrence after he assaults the town doctor (who turns out to be the mysterious lover), soon arrests him and puts him in jail. While there, the full moon rises again and Lawrence and the sheriff's deputy are killed in a vicious attack as the steel bars of the cell are torn from the wall.
With the town's terrified residents turning into an angry mob and the sheriff now without assistance, Andrew Rodanthe volunteers to become deputy. Andrew and the sheriff return to Hugh Burrifor's house and discover the old man has created a voodoo
potion that gives off a vapor meant to repel the "Loug Garog". Rodanthe inhales the potion and goes into what appears to be an epileptic seizure. He is taken to the hospital.
While there, Andrew's sister Louise tells the sheriff she can speak French fluently and would like to talk to Hugh Burrifor about the unexplainable term "Loug Garog." While speaking with the old man, Louise solves the puzzle. "Loug Garog" is a mispronunciation of "Loup-Garou." Translated into English the term means "werewolf
." The next scene shows Andrew turning into a werewolf, revealing him to be the elusive killer.
Transformed into a werewolf, Andrew violently escapes the hospital and becomes the subject of a man-hunt. Louise talks to Sheriff Whitaker about werewolf folklore. She reveals a family secret that her grandfather used to suffer from unusual spells of sickness, implying he was also a werewolf and Andrew's curse was inherited.
Louise returns to her plantation home and is alone when Andrew, still in his werewolf form, quietly enters the house. A frightened Louise attempts to corner the werewolf in a burning barn and eventually shoots the creature with what she assumes are blessed bullets. The sheriff arrives on the scene in time to see Andrew return to his human form before dying.
such as the victim's father's paranormal
powers of perception and his voodoo potions. This is before the werewolf appears on camera. The film is also set up as a traditional mystery
.
does everything that Sheriff Whitaker does, including hunting for clues, interviewing suspects, making deductions and chasing villains. The difference is the villains are supernatural creatures. The detective confronts the creatures in the fashion of a crime drama. Sheriff Whitakar is one of a long line of similar detectives popular during this era. Other examples include The Norliss Tapes (1973) with Roy Thinnes
as a reporter investigating the supernatural; Fear No Evil
(1969) and its sequel, Ritual of Evil (1970), starring Louis Jourdan as psychologist David Sorrell; The World of Darkness (1977) and its sequel, The World Beyond (1978), starring Granville Van Dusen
as a man who battles the supernatural following his own near death experience
; and a British production, Baffled!
(1973) starring Leonard Nimoy
and Susan Hampshire
as a pair of ghost hunters. One of the most enduring characters from this period was Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin
), the hero of the short-lived television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker
. The series was created after the popular success of the original film The Night Stalker
(1972) and its sequel The Night Strangler (1973), both of which originally premiered on ABC Movie of the Week
. More recently The X-Files
has continued similar themes.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
made-for-television Gothic horror film first broadcast on September 26, 1972 on ABC Movie of the Week
ABC Movie of the Week
The ABC Movie of the Week is a weekly television anthology series, featuring made-for-TV movies, that aired on the ABC network in various permutations from 1969 to 1975.-History:...
. It starred David Janssen
David Janssen
David Janssen was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive , the starring role in the 1950s hit detective series Richard Diamond, Private Detective , and as Harry Orwell on Harry O.In 1996 TV Guide...
, Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
, Geoffrey Lewis and Bradford Dillman
Bradford Dillman
-Early life:Bradford Dillman was born on April 14, 1930 in San Francisco, California, the son of Josephine and Dean Dillman, a stockbroker. He studied at Town School for Boys and St. Ignatius High School. Later he attended the Hotchkiss boarding school in Connecticut, where he became involved in...
, with a script written by Alvin Sapinsley (based on Leslie H. Whitten's novel of the same name). The film was directed by Daniel Petrie
Daniel Petrie
Daniel Mannix Petrie was a Canadian television and movie director.Petrie was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada, the son of Mary Anne and William Mark Petrie, a soft-drink manufacturer. He moved to the United States in 1945...
and filmed on location in Burnside, Louisiana
Burnside, Louisiana
Burnside, Louisiana is an unincorporated community in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. It was founded by French and German settlers in 1726. It is the location of three places listed on the National Register of Historic Places: The Houmas, St. Joseph's School, and Tezcuco....
.
Plot
The film begins following a moonlit night in the LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
Bayou
Bayou
A bayou is an American term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. The name "bayou" can also refer to creeks that see level changes due to tides and hold brackish water which...
town of Marsh Island as two farmers(Royal Dano
Royal Dano
Royal Edward Dano was an American film and television character actor.-Early life:Dano was born in New York City to Mary Josephine , an Irish immigrant, and Caleb Edward Dano, a printer for newspapers. He reportedly left home at the age of twelve and at various intervals, lived in Florida, Texas...
) discover the mauled, dead body of a local resident, an attractive young girl. Sheriff Aaron Whitaker (David Janssen
David Janssen
David Janssen was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Kimble in the television series The Fugitive , the starring role in the 1950s hit detective series Richard Diamond, Private Detective , and as Harry Orwell on Harry O.In 1996 TV Guide...
) is called in. The victim's temperamental brother Lawrence Burrifors (Geoffrey Lewis) arrives at the crime scene and jumps to the conclusion that the girl's lover committed the murder, a man whose very name her brother does not know. The town's Dr. Drutan (John Beradino
John Beradino
John Beradino was an American infielder in Major League Baseball and an actor. Known as Johnny Berardino during his baseball career, he was also credited during his acting career as John Baradino, John Barardino or John Barradino.-Early life and education:He was born Giovanni Berardino in Los...
) examines the body and pronounces the girl died of a severe blow to the head caused by a human hand. He tells Sheriff Whitaker, "It looks like you have a murder on your hands." The sheriff replies, "Just what I needed."
The sheriff continues to investigate the crime and interviews people who knew the victim. Local residents have a variety of theories, including the belief she was killed by wild dogs. A posse soon forms to track down the wild dogs with little success. Burrifors continues to insist the killer to be his sister's mysterious lover while the sheriff, in turn, is suspicious of him. The girl's sick and dying father Hugh Burrifors (Paul R. DeVille), interviewed by the sheriff, warns him of the "Loug Garog". The sheriff does not understand the French term and local Cajun
Cajun
Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles...
residents are unable to interpret it.
The sheriff's investigation soon takes him to the plantation home of the wealthy Andrew Rodanthe (Bradford Dillman
Bradford Dillman
-Early life:Bradford Dillman was born on April 14, 1930 in San Francisco, California, the son of Josephine and Dean Dillman, a stockbroker. He studied at Town School for Boys and St. Ignatius High School. Later he attended the Hotchkiss boarding school in Connecticut, where he became involved in...
) and his sister Louise (Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
). They are the last of a local family dynasty with a history stretching back over a century. Andrew, who the sheriff suspects had an affair with the victim, claims to have been suffering an attack of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
the night the girl was killed.
The sheriff, suspicious of the temperamental brother Lawrence after he assaults the town doctor (who turns out to be the mysterious lover), soon arrests him and puts him in jail. While there, the full moon rises again and Lawrence and the sheriff's deputy are killed in a vicious attack as the steel bars of the cell are torn from the wall.
With the town's terrified residents turning into an angry mob and the sheriff now without assistance, Andrew Rodanthe volunteers to become deputy. Andrew and the sheriff return to Hugh Burrifor's house and discover the old man has created a voodoo
Louisiana Voodoo
Louisiana Voodoo, also known as New Orleans Voodoo, describes a set of underground religious practices which originated from the traditions of the African diaspora. It is a cultural form of the Afro-American religions which developed within the French, Spanish, and Creole speaking African American...
potion that gives off a vapor meant to repel the "Loug Garog". Rodanthe inhales the potion and goes into what appears to be an epileptic seizure. He is taken to the hospital.
While there, Andrew's sister Louise tells the sheriff she can speak French fluently and would like to talk to Hugh Burrifor about the unexplainable term "Loug Garog." While speaking with the old man, Louise solves the puzzle. "Loug Garog" is a mispronunciation of "Loup-Garou." Translated into English the term means "werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
." The next scene shows Andrew turning into a werewolf, revealing him to be the elusive killer.
Transformed into a werewolf, Andrew violently escapes the hospital and becomes the subject of a man-hunt. Louise talks to Sheriff Whitaker about werewolf folklore. She reveals a family secret that her grandfather used to suffer from unusual spells of sickness, implying he was also a werewolf and Andrew's curse was inherited.
Louise returns to her plantation home and is alone when Andrew, still in his werewolf form, quietly enters the house. A frightened Louise attempts to corner the werewolf in a burning barn and eventually shoots the creature with what she assumes are blessed bullets. The sheriff arrives on the scene in time to see Andrew return to his human form before dying.
Gothic Horror Conventions
The term "Gothic Horror" implies horror from a dark imagined past. There is always a feeling of something unnatural that has a history reaching far back into the past. That is where the hints about Louise and Andrew's grandfather comes in. Another convention in use in "Moon of the Wolf" is the dark and mysterious plantation home with its long history, serving the same function as a castle in other stories of the genre. It is the historic center of royalty that has seen more fruitful days. In addition to this mood piece, there are elements of the supernaturalSupernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
such as the victim's father's paranormal
Paranormal
Paranormal is a general term that designates experiences that lie outside "the range of normal experience or scientific explanation" or that indicates phenomena understood to be outside of science's current ability to explain or measure...
powers of perception and his voodoo potions. This is before the werewolf appears on camera. The film is also set up as a traditional mystery
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
.
Occult detectives
An occult detectiveOccult detective
Occult detective stories combine the tropes of the detective story with those of supernatural horror fiction. Unlike the traditional detective the occult detective is employed in cases involving ghosts, curses, and other supernatural elements...
does everything that Sheriff Whitaker does, including hunting for clues, interviewing suspects, making deductions and chasing villains. The difference is the villains are supernatural creatures. The detective confronts the creatures in the fashion of a crime drama. Sheriff Whitakar is one of a long line of similar detectives popular during this era. Other examples include The Norliss Tapes (1973) with Roy Thinnes
Roy Thinnes
Roy Thinnes is an American television and film actor best known for his portrayal of lonely hero David Vincent in the ABC 1967-68 television series The Invaders. He also played Alfred Wentworth in the pilot episode of Law & Order...
as a reporter investigating the supernatural; Fear No Evil
Fear No Evil
Fear No Evil is a made for television movie. It and Ritual of Evil are both unsold pilots for a proposed television series which would have been called Bedeviled. Both starred Louis Jourdan as David Sorrell, a psychologist and authority on the occult who became involved in supernatural...
(1969) and its sequel, Ritual of Evil (1970), starring Louis Jourdan as psychologist David Sorrell; The World of Darkness (1977) and its sequel, The World Beyond (1978), starring Granville Van Dusen
Granville Van Dusen
Granville Van Dusen is an American stage, screen, and voice actor who portrayed Race Bannon in the 1986 television series The New Adventures of Jonny Quest, Jonny's Golden Quest, Jonny Quest vs...
as a man who battles the supernatural following his own near death experience
Near death experience
A near-death experience refers to a broad range of personal experiences associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations including detachment from the body; feelings of levitation; extreme fear; total serenity, security, or warmth; the experience of absolute dissolution;...
; and a British production, Baffled!
Baffled!
Baffled! is a 1973 television movie intended as a pilot for a television series. The story is part of the occult detective sub-genre.Race car driver Tom Kovack suddenly begins to experience psychic visions. He meets Michelle Brent , an expert on the paranormal, and the two form an unlikely...
(1973) starring Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
and Susan Hampshire
Susan Hampshire
Susan Hampshire, Lady Kulukundis, OBE is an English actress, best-known for her many television and film roles.-Early life:Susan Hampshire was born in Kensington, London, the youngest of four children. She had two sisters and one brother...
as a pair of ghost hunters. One of the most enduring characters from this period was Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin
Darren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
), the hero of the short-lived television series Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974-1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly ones law...
. The series was created after the popular success of the original film The Night Stalker
The Night Stalker (telemovie)
The Night Stalker is a made for television movie which aired on ABC on January 11, 1972. It is about an investigative reporter, played by Darren McGavin, who comes to suspect that a serial killer in the Las Vegas area is in fact a vampire.-Plot:...
(1972) and its sequel The Night Strangler (1973), both of which originally premiered on ABC Movie of the Week
ABC Movie of the Week
The ABC Movie of the Week is a weekly television anthology series, featuring made-for-TV movies, that aired on the ABC network in various permutations from 1969 to 1975.-History:...
. More recently The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
has continued similar themes.