“Despite evidence to the contrary,” comments British radio drama producer Dirk Maggs, “I try to
avoid doing work with a direct filmic equivalent, but I could not refuse the opportunity to rework
a classic by one of my favourite movie directors. The fact that John Landis was also enthusiastic
to haveAn American Werewolf in Londonreworked for radio was the key. He was kindness
personified and got personally involved to see that we got permission to make this.”
“Due to the horror content and some bad language,An American Werewolf in Londonwas first
broadcast in three-minute segments in a late night BBC Radio 1 slot, again mixed by Paul Deeley
in superb Dolby Surround Sound. To create the guttural wolf sounds, a pig and English badger
noises were used in the mix. Eric Meyers was recorded using a stereo capsule on a boom so that
there would be the feeling of frantic movement.”
“We recorded Eric Meyers using a stereo capsule on a boom so he could throw himself around
the studio and we could follow - he had no voice and a lot of bruises afterwards.
“This one had nothing to do with the cinematic release ofAn AmericanWerewolf in Paris, that
was pure coincidence. Eric Meyers suggested the idea to me very early on, about 1995, but it took
two years to clear. The concession to the nature of the beast was that it aired in the Mary Ann
Evans (? apologies to the DJ, I can't remember the name) show, late nights weekdays. I do
remember I sensed we were coming to the end of our Radio 1 heyday; the people at the show
didn't seem crazy about having to play a three-minute episode every night. Later on they warmed
up a bit when they heard it. But Matthew Bannister was leaving the network and I had a feeling -
which turned out to be correct - that the new regime was going to dump us. Which was a pity
because we were one of the good things they had at that time... we were going places, then they
stiffed us.
“Of the original cast I only ever went for Jenny Agutter, Brian Glover and John Woodvine; they
were the important characters and they were accessible. I knew that Eric Meyers and Bill Dufris
would play David and Jack really well. Jenny told me she did it only because John Landis told her
I was a good bloke, which was sort of reassuring! Jenny was delightful - obviously she's still dead
sexy and all that, but she has a great sense of humour and was enormous fun to have around,
which isn't true of all actresses who are also big stars. John Woodvine had a very dry sense of
humour. One time I apologised for a slightly clumsy line I had written for him and he said, 'Don't
worry Dirk, I'm sure I can improve it somehow!' Of course it was Brian Glover's last ever acting
job (I believe), he died a couple of months later. He was terrific, sick as he was; he came to the
studio on the bus, refusing a car, said he needed the exercise. And he turned in a very powerful
performance. I dedicated the Talkie Award we won to him. A lovely man and a truly great actor.
“For the additional scenes I was looking for a backstory for the werewolf. Who was he before he
was killed on the Moors? Why were the villagers in The Slaughtered Lamb protecting him? Brian's
character was so vehement about protecting the secret. I reasoned he must have a family
connection. But at the same time I thought that Dr Hirsch must have some kind of secret
knowledge of the situation. He is such an establishment figure, yet believes in werewolves. How
could I reconcile those elements? I though maybe he too came from the area, and I wondered if
maybe there could be some kind of Eastern European settlement there - in the style of
Transylvanians coming here ... not exactly relatives of Count Dracula, but from the village! And
blow me down, as I was starting to write the scripts, on theTodayprogramme there was a piece
about Eastern European migrants to the North of England in the 18th Century - perfect! So that
gave me a link, which I followed up. It was fun to try and tie these element up a bit.
“His updated version of John Landis's An American Werewolf in London for BBC Radio 1 won
the 1997 Talkie Award for Best TV/Film Adaptation. This was the third year in succession that
Dirk won a Talkie; in 1996 his Independence Day UK won the 1996 Talkie for Best Production,
and his productions of BBC Radio 1’s 80-episode (honest!) Judge Dredd won the 1995 Talkie for
Best Production.”
“Like Dirk Maggs’ previous Radio 1 dramatisations, the pace and production values are simply
terrific.” (KEN GARNER,The Express, 7 April 1997)
“The beast was brought triumphantly back to life ... thanks to expert direction from Dirk Maggs
...” (STEPHANIE BILLEN,The Observer, 13 April 1997)
“The hip language, vivid sound effects, insistent music and Dolby Surround bear witness to Dirk
Maggs.” (PAUL DONOVAN,Sunday Times, 7 April 1997)
“... Dirk Maggs adds new twists and grizzly sounds to John Landis’s movie ... Recommended.”
(RADIO CHOICE,Daily Mail, 7 April 1997)
“... an excellent job - congratulations!” (JOHN LANDIS (An American Werewolf In London, The
Blues Brothers) April 1997)
Batman: Knightfall, The Human Torch
inThe Amazing Spider-Man, and David here) went to college in the US with the brother of John
Landis (the director of the original 1981 film). He thought it might be a good idea for Dirk Maggs
to do the story for radio. Dirk met with John Landis to talk about the project; he was emerging
from the Abbey Road studios after recording music and a voice-over for his film The Stupids.
With him was veteran actor Christopher Lee, and Dirk got to meet them both for the first time.
Initially, Dirk was reluctant to take on what was essentially a recycled movie; it wasn't what he
considered his Audio Movies to be all about (people still approach him and say, "You do radio
versions of films." which is not the case. There has only been one: this one.). A successful meeting
changed Dirk's mind, however. Landis was keen for this to go ahead and gave Dirk permission to
flesh-out and extend the story with original material, which eventually ran to more than fifteen
percent of the running time. Landis also did everything he could topush through clearances.
“The acting talents of Jenny Agutter, Brian Glover and John Woodvine (Woodvine's rich voice
would be perfect for audio book narratives, if he hasn't already added that to his repertoire) were
secured to reprise their film roles and bring continuity to the project. Also turning in sterling
performances as David and Jack, the American backpackers, are Eric Meyers and William Dufris
(Judge Caligula inJudge Dredd - The Day The Law Died, and the title character inTheAmazing
Spider-Man) respectively. William Dufris has made it known that this project is one of his career
works he's most proud of.
“As in the film, the best humour comes courtesy of the conversations between David and his
dead friend Jack. For example: "It looks like I'll have to get used to entertaining corpses. Take a
seat." "I'd better stand. I seem to leave bits of myself behind when I sit." Another example is: "I
came to see you." "You've seen me, now go away and decompose somewhere else. I will not be
threatened by a walking meatloaf!" In the brand new opening sequence there is a clever exchange
between a Inspector Villiers and his subordinates: "There's enough blood. Where's the body?"
"Over here. And over there." "Another bit over here, sir." Another powerful moment, particularly
because there are no other actors to play off of, is the scene when David is left alone in Alex's flat
on the night of his first transformation. He tries out the TV: "ITV - soccer match, BBC1 - insipid
documentary, BBC 2 - insipid documentary, Channel 4 - insipid documentary presented by
midget transvestites..." And he checks his appearance: "Everything looks the same in the mirror.
No insipient werewolf characteristics. Snarl! Growl! Grr!"
“Due to the horror content and some bad language, An American Werewolf in London was first
broadcast in three-minute segments in a late night BBC Radio 1 slot, again mixed by Paul Deeley
in superb Dolby Surround Sound. To create the gutteral wolf sounds a pig and English badger
noises were used in the mix. Eric Meyers was recorded using a stereo capsule on a boom so that
there would be the feeling of frantic movement.
“The dramatisation was released in its 110 minute entirety on cassette and CD later in 1997.
Sales were respectable, but feedback was surprisingly quiet. However, the industry obviously
appreciated the piece as Dirk's script was nominated for the Writers' Guild Award for Best
Dramatisation, and the production won the 1997 Talkie Award for Best TV or Film Adaptation. A
slightly truncated version of the complete Audio Movie aired on 13th September 2003 on the BBC
World Service as its Play of the Week, during the themed Monster Season. The BBC World Service
has a global audience of 150 million.
asylum, he witnesses the man, Talbot, undergo a horrifying transformation. The attendant is
brutally torn apart and Talbot escapes. On the Yorkshire Moors two young American men are
backpacking. Hitching a ride to East Proctor, they call at a small pub called The Slaughtered Lamb
where a frosty reception awaits them, especially when they question the pentagram and candles
on the wall. Unwelcome, they are dispatched back out on to the Moors with only a single warning
to stay on the path. Faced with a seven mile walk to the next town in torrential rain, matters
deteriorate further when they hear the sounds of a predatory animal circling them. Jack in
attacked by a wolf and David is injured before the special constable, George Hackett, one of the
unsociables at the pub, kills the beast with a shotgun. Before falling unconscious David sees that
what was a wolf is now a naked man.
“David wakes up in a hospital in London to be told by Doctor Hirsch and Nurse Alex Price that
his friend Jack is dead. He is sedated after becoming hysterical, but later contradicts the police
report that the attacker was an escaped madman. As far as David is concerned it was definitely a
wolf. The police learn that Talbot's real name was Hackett, the same as East Proctor's special
constable. Meanwhile, David's parents are on board an aircraft approaching Heathrow Airport
when it is taken over by the people's Liberation Front. When his father tries to protest, he is shot.
This scene within a scene turns out to be another in a series of nightmares surrounding death
which David experiences in the hospital. To make matters worse his dead friend Jack appears to
him in a state of decomposition and tells him they were attacked on the Moors by a lycanthrope, a
werewolf. Jack explains that he is cursed to walk the Earth in limbo until the bloodline is broken
and the last werewolf is destroyed. David is told he is that last werewolf; he must kill himself.
“When David is discharged from hospital, the attractive and sympathetic Nurse Alex gives him a
place to stay, and very soon they are a couple. From limbo Jack watches them make love in the
shower. He is urged by Larry, one of many undead from the werewolf line, to persuade David to
kill himself quickly so that they can pass on. Larry, he discovers, is the werewolf that killed him on
the Moors ("I'm really pissed off at you for killing me, Larry!" "I've said I'm sorry, haven't I?").
This time when Jack appears to David, he tells his disturbed friend that the next day at the full
moon he will become a werewolf. Needless to say, David thinks he is losing his mind. Intrigued by
his ex-patient's werewolf delusions, Dr Hirsch pays a visit to The Slaughtered Lamb pub in East
Proctor, where he receives a very cool reception from George Hackett and the other patrons. The
urgent warnings of a young villager are abruptly cut off by the special constable.
“Meanwhile, David is left alone while Alex goes to work the nightshift at the hospital. He
eventually undergoes a hideous transformation and disappears into the night. Dr Hirsch and
Alex, concerned about David's mental state, attempt to contact him without success. That night a
series of gristly murders are reported in and around Central London. In East Proctor the patrons
of The Slaughtered Lamb press George Hackett into taking action, as the dark secret has now
extended beyond their community. David wakes up the next morning naked and in the wolf
enclosure at London Zoo. After persuading a little boy to lift a woman's fur coat from a park
bench, he makes his way back to Alex's flat. He feels fit and invigorated, like a new man.
“When Dr Hirsch learns that David has returned he instructs Alex to bring him straight to the
hospital, but when the taxi driver starts to talk about the brutal killings of the night before David
realises he was responsible. He separates himself from Alex, telling her he's not safe to be with.
Jack makes a final appearance, beckoning David into a seedy Leicester Square porno cinema.
David is introduced to his victims from the night before. One more time they try to persuade him
to commit suicide, but the full moon rises causing David to under his metamorphosis. Although
the police arrive on the scene, the werewolf David breaks through the barriers created at the
cinema and causes havoc through the streets around Piccadilly Circus.
“Dr Hirsch and Alex arrive at the scene half-believing the werewolf story. Apparently, Hirsch's
ancestors from Eastern Europe were very big on legend and superstition. It turns out that 200
years before, the people of East Proctor migrated from Eastern Romania. The werewolf David
enters a theatre, but is then cornered in an alley by the police. Alex manages to slip through
unseen into the alley, where she attempts to protect the beast. However, George Hackett turns up
with a shotgun and puts an end to the curse. With Alex at his side, the werewolf turns back into
David. He is dead... and free.”
Radio 1, London (BBC).
April ?-May ??, 1997.
Wilfred Acosta (music), Paul Deeley (recording engineer, mixer), Dirk Maggs (adapter,
scriptwriter, director).
Jenny Agutter (Alex Price), David Bannerman (Inspector Villiers), William Dufris (Jack Goodman),
Brian Glover (George Hacket), Eve Karpf (Nurse Gallagher), Mark Lowin (The Kid), Eric Meyers (David
Kessler), Michael Roberts (Larry Talbot), Mervyn Stutter (Sergeant McManus), John Woodvine (Doctor
Hirsch).
All 40 episodes.
[
April ?, 1997
The Sanatorium”
Beast Hunt”
Backpacking”
East Proctor”
The Slaughtered Lamb”
No Room at the Inn”
Beware the Moon”
Werewolf Attack”
Rescue”
Embassy Man”
The Police”
I Killed Bambi”
Feeding Time”
Visions”
Nightmare”
The Murder File”
Jack’s Back”
The Warning”
The Flat”
Night Talk”
Up North”
Out You Go”
I’m Not Hungry”
Metamorphosis”
First Victims”
Suspicions”
First Night”
Radio One”
Balloon Thief”
Mister Nancy Boy”
Bad News”
Arrest Me!”
Phone Me”
Blue Movies”
Kill Yourself”
Cinema Siege”
Break Out”
Cornered Beast”
Farce Slaughter”
I Love You, David”
[
September 13, 2003“An American Werewolf in London”
aired on 13th September 2003 on the BBC World Service as its Play of
the Week,”
Dirk Maggs Brian Glover, Jenny Agutter and John Woodvine