Deep in the Canadian Forests the Ford Logging Company has hired a new field boss, Dick Bannister (George Chesebro). Near-by the Consolidated Lumber Company is also working the area and is in competition with any other logging company. Consolidated is not above using tricks and sabotage to advance its interests. Consolidated is run by Jules Deveroux (Roy Watson).
Jacques Lebeq (Milburn Morante) is the local bootlegger. He is a rebel and a half breed. Lebeq’s best customer is the Ford Logging Company guard Pop Hadley (Frank Clark). When Dick finds him drunk and asleep on the job, Pop knows his job is in jeopardy. When other loggers start buying from Lebeq, Dick throws him out of the camp.
There have been many accidents at the camp. Dick was forced to start a make shift hospital to care for the men who have been injured. His frustration with being responsible for everything forces him to reach out to the owner of the Company. Dick contacts the manager and informs him of what is going on at the camp. The owner of the company is Edith Ford (Marguerite Clayton); her uncle (Jack Cosgrave) is the manager. Dick tells him that the owner needs to come to the camp to see what is happening and to bring a doctor.
Edith, Dr. Eugene Horton (Ray Hanford) and Edith’s uncle go to the mining camp to take care of all the problems. When Dick finds out that the owner of the logging company is a beautiful young woman he becomes smitten. Unfortunately Edith is engaged to Dr. Horton, the doctor she brought with her. Slowly Edith and Dick begin to fall in love.
When Dick gets injured in a fight with Deveroux he is found by Dr. Horton. Horton takes him to the closest cabin he can find. It happens to be Lebeq’s cabin. Horton tells Lebeq that Dick needs a transfusion and wants him to donate his blood. Lebeq is pissed off at Dick for throwing him out of the camp and so refuses. He instead offers the blood of his pet wolf. Eventually Dick finds out about the transfusion. He begins having dreams where he is running with wolves. When Deveroux is killed by wolves, everyone begins to believe that Dick is a werewolf, and so does Dick.
“Wolf blood” AKA “Wolfblood: A Tale of the Forest” was released in 1925 and was directed by George Chesebro and Bruce Mitchell. Chesebro also stars in the film. It is based on a story by Dr. C A Hill. The movie is the oldest existing werewolf film and a silent movie. A film called “The Werewolf”, made in 1913, was the oldest, however, that film is considered lost today.
“Wolf blood” could use a decent restoration. It’s a little dirty and scratchy. There are still some really good effects in the film. The dream sequences where the wolves are running through the forest are done using double exposure and are actually well done. Most of the tinting of the film is also there depending on what print you have. There are some prints out there that don’t have the tinting.
You’re not going to see any transformation in this film. Also, it takes a long time to get to the werewolf part of the movie. As a matter of fact, it’s not much of a horror movie or of a werewolf movie at all. Most of the film is the romance building up between Dick and Edith. I’d call it a romantic melodrama more than anything else. The movie is OK but to label it the oldest existing werewolf movie is a bit of a stretch.
Can you use animal blood as a substitute for human blood in a transfusion? It depends. Called Xenotransfusion (from Greek xenos- strange or foreign) certain animal blood can be used and others can’t without making the human really sick. There are also ethical questions that arise as well. Under certain circumstances pig’s blood is the closest to human blood. There have also been transfusions of ape and lamb’s blood that have been done successfully. Again, under certain circumstances. Dog or wolf blood is not a good idea. The lugworm, however, appears to be a universal donor.