Villain(s)  Werewolf

Actor(s):  June Lockhart, Don Porter, Sara Haden, Eily Malyon

Brief Description  She-Wolf of London is a 1946 Universal Pictures mystery-horror film directed by Jean Yarbrough. It stars June Lockhart as Phyllis Allenby, a young London heiress who fears she is a cursed werewolf committing brutal murders in a nearby park. Directed by Jean Yarbrough, the 61-minute film is a psychological "whodunnit" thriller rather than a supernatural monster movie. It subverts typical werewolf tropes by grounding its terrors in real-world human malice rather than physical transformations.

Plot:
The story unfolds around the fictional Gower Park in London, where a series of gruesome, nighttime murders have left victims with their throats savagely slashed. Scotland Yard is completely baffled, and local rumors suggest a ferocious beast or a werewolf is on the loose. Phyllis Allenby (June Lockhart) is a wealthy, kind-hearted young heiress living at the Allenby estate near the park. She lives with her maternal aunt, Martha Winthrop (Sara Haden), her cousin Carol, and the family maid, Hannah. Phyllis is happily engaged to a prominent barrister named Harry Severn (Don Porter).

However, Phyllis begins waking up in the morning with muddy shoes, blood-soaked hands, and no memory of her nocturnal activities. Seizing on her vulnerability, her aunt Martha reminds her of the "Allenby Curse," convincing the fragile young woman that her family suffers from hereditary lycanthropy. Driven by immense guilt and fearing she is the "she-wolf" butchering innocent people, a heartbroken Phyllis breaks off her engagement to Harry to protect him from herself. Refusing to believe that the woman he loves is a monster, Harry launches his own investigation. Suspicion shifts when a local artist surviving an attack reveals that a human-sized figure, not a wolf, assaulted him.

The mystery unravels when Carol discovers clues pointing away from a supernatural curse and toward a cruel hoax. When Carol threatens to go to the police, Martha's true nature is exposed. Martha drugs Phyllis and confesses her plot: there is no werewolf curse. Martha committed the horrific park murders herself, dressed in a disguise, specifically to drive Phyllis insane. Her motive was pure greed—by institutionalizing Phyllis, Martha would retain full control over the massive Allenby fortune and estate.

Before Martha can finish off Phyllis, the maid Hannah catches her. In a panicked attempt to silence the eavesdropping maid, Martha chases her, loses her footing, and plummets down a massive flight of stairs to her death. Harry arrives immediately after to find Phyllis safe, vindicated, and free from the psychological torment of the fake curse. Unlike classic films like The Wolf Man, June Lockhart never undergoes a physical transformation. Makeup legend Jack Pierce worked on the film, but his skills were utilized for standard period cosmetics rather than monster prosthetics.