With the release of director Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man remake, the spotlight has again shined upon the movie it’s based on: 1941’s The Wolf Man. This film presents the iconic tragedy of Larry Talbot when he is cursed to transform into a ravenous werewolf at night. Though this classic Universal movie has been considered one of the best werewolf movies ever made, repeated viewings reveal that, like many beloved movies, The Wolf Man has flaws.

Since The Wolf Man was released several decades ago, it’s no surprise that some aspects of the film haven’t aged well, especially compared to 2025’s Wolf Man. However, the former features several glaring plot holes and underdeveloped characters that keep it from being a perfect movie. While The Wolf Man has served as a gold standard for countless werewolf movies, the harsh reality is that it has many questionable parts that would’ve made it a panned film if it had premiered in the present.

5

Larry’s Brother Is All But Forgotten Too Soon

Larry Moves On From His Brother’s Death Way Too Quickly

The whole reason the events of The Wolf Man took place was because Larry’s brother had died, allegedly from a hunting accident before the film began. His pᴀssing drove Larry to return to Llanwelly and reconcile with his father, John. But after a few minutes, there’s zero reference to Larry’s brother for the rest of the film. As The Wolf Man’s story focuses more on Larry and how he is cursed to be a werewolf, the death of his brother seems like an afterthought.

The death of Larry’s brother hardly adds anything to the protagonist’s character or journey throughout The Wolf Man. Ultimately, his demise comes across more as a convenient way to make Larry come to Llanwelly and set the film in motion. Had The Wolf Man explored more of Larry and John’s relationship with the former’s brother throughout the film, the characters could have put greater emotional weight on the main story.

4

Larry Spied On Gwen And Still Got A Date

Gwen Would Not Find Larry Charming In The Modern Age

When Larry returns to his childhood home in Llanwelly, Wales, he uses the house’s telescope and notices Gwen across town. He finds her attractive, so Larry continues to spy on Gwen with the telescope as she puts on her earrings. He even uses it to locate where she works so he can flirt with her using his knowledge of her earrings. This sets off the duo’s forbidden romance in The Wolf Man, and this subplot has aged very poorly.

Larry spying on Gwen from afar is creepy and questionable enough, which makes it difficult to root for him so early in The Wolf Man‘s story. However, Larry told Gwen he was spying on her, and she still went on a date with him anyway, which was incredibly off-putting. Larry’s invasion of privacy wouldn’t fly in the present day in the post-#MeToo era, and Gwen certainly wouldn’t be attracted by some stranger watching her in secret. Plus, she’s engaged to be married.

3

Gwen’s Character Could’ve Been Written Better

Gwen’s Character Showed Greater Potential In 1941’s The Wolf Man

Old Hollywood isn’t known for writing good female characters, and The Wolf Man‘s Gwen is no exception. She essentially serves as Larry’s love interest and the traditional link to his dwindling humanity after inheriting the Wolf Man’s curse. When Larry turns into a werewolf at the end of the film, Gwen is relegated to the role of the damsel in distress whom the male characters rescue from the Wolf Man’s wrath.

Gwen’s character in 1941’s The Wolf Man displayed greater potential in the story presented on film. Since Bela Lugosi’s Wolf Man killed her best friend Jenny and the town blamed her for this death, Gwen could’ve done more to redeem herself and stop the werewolf’s rampage. Instead, the film mainly shows Gwen grieving while putting Larry’s struggle with his werewolf curse in the foreground. Overall, Gwen has very little agency in the story and hardly displays any growth from her harrowing experiences in The Wolf Man.

2

Larry Giving Gwen The Silver Charm Made No Sense

Larry Could’ve Protected More People By Keeping His Silver Charm

The Wolf Man shows Maleva giving Larry a silver charm to prevent him from transforming into a werewolf, but Larry gives it to Gwen to protect her from himself. This decision causes Larry to once again transform into a werewolf in The Wolf Man, putting Gwen in danger anyway. If Larry wanted to keep Gwen safe, holding onto the silver charm instead of giving it to her would’ve been much more effective. Though Larry claimed he was unsure if it would work, the chance it could makes keeping the silver the most logical tactic.

Likewise, Larry had very little reason to doubt Maleva. She knows firsthand how to deal with werewolves, given that her son Bela is the beast who bit Larry. Plus, giving Gwen the silver wouldn’t have protected everyone else from Larry as a werewolf. Clearly, the writers of The Wolf Man were trying to have Larry keep on turning into a werewolf. However, having Larry give away his silver charm the way he did displays very little logic and causes him to do more harm than good.

1

Maleva Could’ve Given Bela A Silver Charm

Bela Didn’t Want To Hurt Anyone, And He Didn’t Have To

Since Maleva had a silver charm that could’ve prevented Larry from turning into a werewolf, it is unclear why she didn’t give it to Bela. She knew that he was a werewolf and that the curse could’ve been pᴀssed on to someone else by biting them. Also, it’s clear she empathized with Larry after he gained the werewolf’s curse, so she didn’t want him to hurt others as a vicious creature of the night. However, if she wanted to stop the curse, she could’ve done it a long time ago.

Bela also clearly didn’t want anyone else to get hurt in The Wolf Man, as he feared his vision of Jenny’s death at the hands of his werewolf form. Maleva had the silver he needed to suppress Bela’s curse, but there was zero reason why she didn’t give it to him. Bela and Maleva could’ve spared everyone from this curse as they wanted if they had kept it contained with their silver. It also could’ve allowed Maleva to save her werewolf son from being killed by Larry early in the film.