“London at the turn of the century—The legend of the Allenby Curse was almost forgotten until—“
This is a horror movie that is not a horror movie. It is suspense, because the audience is in on the joke, and is waiting for the other riding boot to fall. Phyllis Allenby (a very young, fresh-faced June Lockhart) is a naive and reluctant heiress, engaged to be married to the town stud, Barry Lanfield (Don Porter), who may be the only person in her life that cares about her. When she marries, she will inherit a vast fortune and large manor in which she grew up, provided her duplicitous Aunt Martha (Sara Haden) does not drive her crazy first.
A series of gruesome murders are being conducted in the nearby park by someone the police suspect is a “she-wolf” — I guess there are feminine-looking claw marks in the backs of these poor people? I can’t believe these are real cops. Aunt Martha is slyly and subtly trying to convince Phyllis (through drugged tea and milk and dirt on her fingers) that somehow, she is responsible for this. She wants to keep Phyllis infirm (and eventually make her insane enough to be committed to an asylum) so that Martha will continue to live in the house and control the property. People will do anything for money.
This is essentially a parlor room melodrama with shades of Rebecca and Sherlock Holmes. Indeed, the sets look exactly like the later Universal sets for the American-made film series starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Since most of the actors in the movie are American, they’re playing British almost to the point of an insulting stereotype (pip-pip, cheerio, the portly constable with smoking pipe in hand).
Lockhart is stunning. I did five seconds of research and discovered she was 20 years old (same as her character) when she made She-Wolf of London. She’s young, yes, but she possesses a strange wisdom. Her enormous eyes betray the maturity just under them. She can also portray the balance on the razor-sharp edge between madness and sanity. Very impressive for an actress younger than Zendaya, Jenna Ortega, Inde Navarrette, or Anya Taylor-Joy from these times. Lockhart would, of course, be best remembered for her role as Maureen Robinson on Lost in Space. She aged out of the business as an ingenue in 1957 and shortly thereafter, she took character actor roles on television. She completely carries this movie.
October 22, 2026 (Dictated, not read,)
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