Scream of the Wolf

Scream of the Wolf (1974)

The Plot: People are being killed by some wild animal, could it possibly be the work of.....a werewolf?

  It's 1974. You are Peter Graves. Normally, you're most difficult decision you have to make is what turtleneck should I wear? The blue one? or the slightly lighter blue one? But then, people start mysteriously being killed by some sort of wild animal. Graves throws on the slightly lighter blue turtleneck, hops into his Corvette and is off to find the killer!
The turtleneck game is strong on this one

  Peter Graves (Airplane!) plays former hunter turned writer John Weatherby who is recruited to get to the bottom of the mystery by the LAPD as they seem to be in over their heads. Ponch and Jon must have been unavailable to help, because surely a werewolf killer seems like something they would've certainly investigated on CHIPS. Weatherby soon realized he is in over his head too as the tracks at the crime scene seem to show a wolf starting on all fours then moving to walking upright to finally human tracks. He recruits his friend and legendary big game hunter Byron Douglas, played by Clint Walker (The Dirty Dozen).

  Byron is a man's man. Killer of wild animals, keeper of rabid German Shepherds, wearer of turtlenecks and wrestler of arms. That's right. He is obsessed with arm wrestling. It's teh only way to measure the true worth of a man. He only offers to help Weatherby should he be able to hold off Byron's arm wrestling hold for one minute. Weatherby fails, but luckily Byron relents and helps him out. 
There's only one way to settle our differences....ARM WRESTLING!


  Byron is totally played as the werewolf so it's a totally disappointment when it turns out <SPOILER ALERT FOR 45 YEAR OLD MOVIE!> that Byron is not really a werewolf but rather let's his rabid German Shepherd do all the dirty work and then he plants the tracks to make it look like a werewolf. He does this because he feels the only way to truly feel alive is when death in the form of a rabid dog is attacking you. That's one way of looking at being alive, I suppose. Luckily, even after losing his arm wrestling match to Byron, Weatherby succeeds in exposing the truth and killing Byron to save the day.

  I think the producers missed the boat here. This should have been a TV series starring Peter Graves as Weatherby, a man with no on screen first name. everyone would simply refer to him as Weatherby as he solves supernatural crimes. Sort of like a paranormal hunting Columbo. Sadly, the world was not ready for that awesomeness in 1974.
Weatherby! Solving supernatural crimes is his game


  I give Scream of the Wolf 4 turtlenecks

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