Curt Siodmak

Curt Siodmak was a screenwriter who was associated with Universal Pictures. He is mostly remembered for his contributions to the Wolf Man franchise. According to movie historian Tom Weaver, Siodmak is almost single-handedly responsible for bringing the lore of the werewolf into modern American pop culture. He spent several years researching German folklore concerning werewolves, but ultimately came away unsatisfied. When scripting The Wolf Man, he instead decided to create his own folklore including a werewolf's anathema to wolfbane and their vulnerability to weapons made of silver. He also authored the gypsy poem that has become synonomous with The Wolf Man.

Even a man who is pure in heart And says his prayers by night ''May become a wolf When the wolfbane blooms And the Autumn moon is bright

The exact lines of the poem have varied depending upon the speaker, sometimes substituting "by night" with "at night" and "the Autumn moon is bright" with "the moon is full and bright".

Prior to coming to the United States, Siodmak had drafted material for several German films, but the rise of the National Socialist Party and the anti-semetic propoganda perpetuated by Nazi officials like Joseph Goebbels, forced Siodmak to abandon the country of his birth. After a brief stint in Great Britain, he came to the United States where he continued to develop his literary style first as a newspaper reporter, and then as a screenwriter.

Curt Siodmak passed away from natural causes in Three Rivers, California on September 2nd, 2000.

Notes & Trivia

 * Outside of the horror genre, Siodmak is also known as the author of the 1942 science fiction novel, Donovan's Brain, which became an instant cult classic and had been made into a film in 1953.