Scream of the Wolf, Made for TV Horror

Nothing says 1970s ABC made-for-TV better than Jo Ann Pflug. In her defense, she is good looking. Sure, she's no Cheryl Ladd or Tanya Roberts...but she still is a catch. Match her up with the aging Peter Graves, and we have carnal sparks fly all over the place. Okay, I'm overstating it. We have a wooden dating relationship in which, if we're lucky, we'll see them kiss. Or, maybe not. Wolf?  Werewolf?  Sure, there is that too. But 1974's "Scream of the Wolf" isn't a horror movie, it's a love story.  No! That's silly! It's a werewolf story. Don't you hate when filmmakers say that about their horror movies.  Directed by Dan Curtis, our feature today is also a nice mystery.

A beast murders some schmuck (Tom Dever) in the woods. The poor guy is all chewed up and ripped apart. Weird tracks are found near the body. Sheriff Vernon Bell (Philip Carey) calls in former hunter, and current novelist, John (Graves) to help out. He's perplexed. Both the sheriff and John ask Byron (Clint Walker) to help out. Byron is a current big-game hunter and John's former best friend. Byron? He's busy. Doing what? Busy. Over the next few nights, more people are ripped to shreds by the monster. John really tries to get Byron on board...but he's busy. Byron tells John to look on the bright side, "Only in mortal danger are we alive." I know what you're thinking. Is Byron the werewolf? Guess what! John left hunting when him and Byron tracked a wolf in Canada. The wolf got a jump on Byron and tore him up pretty bad before John killed it. Right...Byron was bitten...so he's the werewolf!  Everyone thinks so, but not John.

In fairness, John doesn't come across as that bright. He starts dating Sandy (Pflug) and the two are quite dull.  Pre-marital sex? Not even a kiss. At one point she makes him coffee...just like Lana Turner did for John Garfield in "The Postman Always Rings Twice." Sandy hates Byron.  Afterall, she thinks he is a werewolf. Women can be so judgmental. John still isn't convinced even after drinking Sandy's coffee. Soon, it is apparent that Byron is playing John...but why? More killings...more vagueness as to what Byron is busy doing.

Is Byron a werewolf, or is that too easy?  Will John and Sandy at least suck some face or is Peter Graves too old to remember what to do in that situation?  Is there some sort of weird relationship between Byron and John stemming back from the wolf attack many years ago? This is a mystery, and we are most intrigued by Clint Walker's character, who looks like he could give Sandy a better roll in the hay than John could...if our minds were to go there. See "Scream of the Wolf" for some neat Made-For-TV horror...or whatever you want to call it.