THE BOY WHO CRIED WEREWOLF (1973)

Kerwin Mathews and Scott Sealey

THE BOY WHO CRIED WEREWOLF (1973). Director: Nathan Juran.

A divorced and somwhat chauvinistic father, Robert Bridgestone (Kerwin Mathews) and his young son, Richie (Scott Sealey), take off for a cabin in the mountains for a vacation. While there Robert saves his son from an attack by a strange person who bites Robert on the arm. Richie is convinced that the person who attacked them was a werewolf, and later that his own father has become one himself. A series of gruesome dismemberment murders in the area have the police stymied, but no one will believe Richie. 

Mathews begins his transformation

The Boy Who Cried Werewolf is the last film directed by Nathan Juran, who worked with star Kerwin Mathews on two fantasy adventure pictures, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Jack the Giant Killer. The premise of this film is a good one, but not enough is done with it. A big problem is the fact that while Mathews made a fine swashbuckling hero in the aforementioned movies, in this his acting is insufficient. Little Scott Sealey gives an earnest performance and is a likable youngster, but he doesn't quite hit the mark, either. Elaine Devry is more than acceptable as the boy's mother, and there are some flavorful character performances sprinkled throughout. 

Kerwin Mathews and Elaine Devry

The movie has uneven scoring and missed opportunities, although there are some exciting action sequences, such as when the werewolf attacks a trailer and some other people and causes a great deal of havoc. A psychiatrist who accepts the werewolf explanation much too easily (even if he's right!) is savagely murdered, but unfortunately the shrill, annoying head of a hippie commune is spared that fate. The make up by Tom Burnam is good even if one might question the werewolf's pompadour. 

Verdict: A boy and his werewolf. **1/2.