An American Werewolf in London
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
John Landis
David Naughton
Jenny Agutter
Griffin Dunne
John Woodvine
Joe Belcher
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
The tale of an American tourist whose stay in London is disrupted when, after being bitten by a wolf, he turns into a werewolf.
Director
John Landis
Cast
David Naughton
Jenny Agutter
Griffin Dunne
John Woodvine
Joe Belcher
Linzi Drew
Susan Spencer
Dennis Fraser
Claudine Bowyer
Paul Kember
John Altman
Paula Jacobs
Alan Ford
Cynthia Powell
Mary Tempest
Cohn Fernandes
Lucienne Morgan
Rufus Deakin
Geoffrey Burridge
Lila Kaye
Nina Carter
Frank Ox
Bob Babenia
Brian Glover
Mark Fisher
Albert Moses
Jim Henson
David Schofield
Christopher Scoular
Christine Hargreaves
Denise Stephens
Sydney Bromley
Johanna Crayden
John Salthouse
Rik Mayall
Peter Ellis
Frank Oz
Roger Rowland
George Hilsdon
Chris Bailey
Elizabeth Bradley
Ken Sicklen
Georgia Bailey
Michael Carter
Gypsy Dave Cooper
John Landis
Anne-marie Davies
Lance Boyle
Keith Hodiak
Gerry Lewis
Gordon Sterne
Brenda Bristols
Lesley Ward
Donald Mckillop
John Owens
Sean Baker
Paddy Ryan
Crew
Roy Alan
Vic Armstrong
Rick Baker
Ken Barker
Simon Batersby
Elmer Bernstein
Dave Bickers
Marc Boyle
Malcolm Campbell
Michael Chinich
Michael Clifford
Sam Cooke
Sue Crosland
Leslie Dilley
Russel Dodge
Sadie Eden
John Fogerty
George Folsey
Dennis Fraser
Dennis Fraser
Ray Freeborn
David Garfath
Robin Grantham
Peter Guber
Fred Haggerty
Lorenz Hart
Joyce Herlihy
Ian Hickinbotham
Nick Hobbs
Arthur Howell
Alf Joint
Dave Jordan
John Landis
Beryl Lerman
Malcolm Macintosh
Pamela Mann
Robin Mcdonald
Debbie Mcwilliams
Gareth Milne
Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Michael Murray
Deborah Nadoolman
Robert Paynter
Robert Paynter
Barry Peake
Jon Peters
Greg Powell
John Poyner
Jennie Raglan
Barry Richardson
Doug Robinson
Richard Rodgers
Don Sharpe
Ken Shepherd
David Tringham
Bobby Vinton
Simon Wakefield
Betty Walsh
Dee Dee Wehle
Paul Weston
Nick Wilkinson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Wins
Best Makeup
Articles
Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004)
Elmer Bernstein, who was not related to Leonard Bernstein, was born on August 4, 1922, in New York City. He displayed a talent in music at a very young age, and was given a scholarship to study piano at Juilliard when he was only 12. He entered New York University in 1939, where he majored in music education. After graduating in 1942, he joined the Army Air Corps, where he remained throughout World War II, mostly working on scores for propaganda films. It was around this time he became interested in film scoring when he went to see William Dieterle's The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), a film whose score was composed by Bernard Herrmann, a man Bernstein idolized as the ideal film composer.
Bernstein, who originally intended to be a concert pianist and gave several performances in New York after being discharged from military service, decided to relocate to Hollywood in 1950. He did his first score for the football film Saturday's Hero (1950), and then proved his worth with his trenchant, moody music for the Joan Crawford vehicle Sudden Fear (1952). Rumors of his "communist" leanings came to surface at this time, and, feeling the effects of the blacklist, he found himself scoring such cheesy fare as Robot Monster; Cat Women of the Moon (both 1953); and Miss Robin Caruso (1954).
Despite his politics, Otto Preminger hired him to do the music for The Man With the Golden Arm, (1955) in which Frank Sinatra played a heroin-addicted jazz musician. Fittingly, Bernstein used some memorable jazz motifs for the film and his fine scoring put him back on the map. It prompted the attention of Cecil B. De Mille, who had Bernstein replace the ailing Victor Young on The Ten Commandments (1956). His thundering, heavily orchestrated score perfectly suite the bombastic epic, and he promptly earned his first Oscar® nod for music.
After The Ten Commandments (1956), Bernstein continued to distinguish himself in a row of fine films: The Rainmaker (1956), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Some Came Running (1958), The Magnificent Seven (a most memorable galloping march, 1960); To Kill a Mockingbird (unique in its use of single piano notes and haunting use of a flute, 1962); Hud (1963); earned a deserved Academy Award for the delightful, "flapper" music for the Julie Andrews period comedy Thoroughly Modern Mille (1967), and True Grit (1969).
His career faltered by the '80s though, as he did some routine Bill Murray comedies: Meatballs (1980) and Stripes (1981). But then director John Landis had Bernstein write the sumptuous score for his comedy Trading Places (1983), and Bernstein soon found himself back in the game. He then graced the silver screen for a few more years composing some terrific pieces for such popular commercial hits as My Left Foot (1989), A River Runs Through It (1992) and The Age of Innocence (1993). Far From Heaven, his final feature film score, received an Oscar® nomination for Best Score in 2002. He is survived by his wife, Eve; sons Peter and Gregory; daughters Emilie and Elizabeth; and five grandchildren.
by Michael T. Toole
Elmer Bernstein (1922-2004)
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States August 1981
Released in United States Summer August 21, 1981
Re-released in United States on Video May 9, 1995
Re-released in United States on Video April 23, 1996
Re-released in United States on Video January 17, 1997
Formerly distributed by Vestron Video.
John Landis has a bit part in the film.
Released in United States August 1981
Released in United States Summer August 21, 1981
Re-released in United States on Video May 9, 1995
Re-released in United States on Video April 23, 1996
Re-released in United States on Video January 17, 1997