LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF (1975)
Directed by Freddie Francis
Starring Peter Cushing and Ron Moody
A so-so, forgotten British werewolf film from the 1970s, this borrows liberally from the Hammer production "The Curse of the Werewolf," profiling the life of a "wolf boy" and later werewolf from childhood to adulthood.
Cushing plays a doctor in historic Paris who becomes fascinated by a series of brutal killings that, naturally, police believe were performed by a wolf. In fact, a disgruntled and impoverished young man who happens to have a job in a zoo where he takes care of a few domesticated wolves is also a werewolf. His crush on a local prostitute only seems to exacerbate his lycanthropy problem. He generally kills people who frequent the brothel where his love interest works.
Like "Curse" this is about an proletarian wolf man frustrated by the arrogance of the bougeouis in his town. Ultimately his poverty prevents him from getting laid and finding love, the only antidote that can save a wolfman.
But the movie doesn't work nearly as well as "Curse" did. The make-up effects are actually worse, despite the fact that came out about a decade later. It is fun to see Peter Cushing in action and the film's opening, detailing the upbringing of a werewolf, is upliftingly Hammer-like. But all in all the movie just isn't that good. Given the fact it came out in the 1970s, the movie is unforgiveably low on explicit content.
In short you may want to pass on this one, which is long out of print on video, but has been known to turn up from time to time on Ebay and may be collecting dust on an old video store rental shelf somewhere near you.