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Originally Posted by Doc Faustus
I think the Wolfman has much more going for it than Freudian elements and good production values. I think Lon Chaney Jr. proves he could have been the actor his father was with this movie. Claude Rains exudes paternal tenderness (although yes, he must have married Julie Strain to have a son the size of Lon) and simultaneously shows all the elements of being the lord of a cursed house. Siodmak mentioned that this was meant to be like Greek tragedy and the civilized propriety and obsessive rationality Rains has shows the hubris of the modern patriarch trying to stand up against Artemis and Dionyssus alike. But, instead of through the eyes of a rational, Freudian Creon, we get to see through the viewpoint of a man haunted by the last vestiges of the earth's magic. The gypsy, the anima, the overlooked Cassandra ends up knowing the score and its beautiful. There's a hint of the Wicker Man in it all.
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Nice analysis. Very nice.