Cry Wolf (1980) - Is It Online ANYWHERE?

[Catalogue Trousers]

Cry Wolf is a black-and-white short film spoof of old Jekyll & Hyde/Werewolf movies, and was a support film to Airplane! on the latter's initial UK release, and stars Paul Maxwell as scientist Dr Jack Russell (geddit?), who finds himself transforming into a furry alter ego with hilarious consequences. (Well, corny but fairly amusing consequences.)

I first caught it as a Sunday afternoon TV filler in the mid-1980s, and have spent a good few years wanting to see it again. But it's not to be found on YouTube, Dailymotion, or Vimeo, as far as I can find. I don't think that it's had any sort of DVD release, either.

So, would any of you lovely people know where it may be found (online or otherwise)? My deep gratitude is yours if you can help. Thanks!

[Fat Jesus]

I've looked around but with no success. I see that it is a fairly well-remembered short, with others looking for it too.

I think the BFI would be a good place to contact to see if it can get any sort of re-release. Firstly, they have their own BFI Player which has a selection of films, including shorts, experimental films and features from
British cinema history, which would provide a good outlet for "Cry Wolf." Secondly, they release a selection of Blu-ray & DVD combo packs which usually feature interesting supplemental features, including short films
which relate to the main film or its director or lead cast members. A subset of these is the 'Flipside' series, which also strikes me as a potentially useful outlet if they release a related film. Unfortunately I don't think
director Leszek Burzynski or writer Stan Hey are likely to have any of their works issued by them, but maybe a film featuring one of the cast will? Or a collection on similar themes (werewolves, etc)?

Either way I think it would be a good idea to suggest the film to them - their contact details are on this page. It would also be a good idea to contact Vic Pratt and William Fowler (founders and curators of the Flipside
label) to see if they can help. They're on Twitter @Vic Pratt and @williamjefowler.

Finally, the BBFC site is worth searching periodically; if it gets re-released it'll probably be resubmitted.

I must add a disclaimer: I have nothing to do with the BFI or BBFC, nor anyone really; this is just an attempt to help you track down the film. There are probably plenty of other organisations or people who could help
further. Anyway, I hope this isn't all stuff you know or have tried already.

Best of luck!

[Small Man Big Horse]

It's not on Cinemagaeddon or Myspleen sadly. That's an excellent post by Fat Jesus above though, and probably your best hope.

[Harry Badger]

I'm just amazed they were still showing support features as late as 1980. When did that practise die out?

[Catalogue Trousers]

Fat Jesus, you beaut! Thanks for that - I'll give the BFI a whirl.

[kaprisky]

I'm just amazed they were still showing support features as late as 1980. When did that practise die out?

The Orchard End Murder (Flipside 035, I think) was a supporting feature to Dead and Buried and later A Nightmare on Elm Street (so that would date it to as late as '84 at least): https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/orchard-end-murder-forgotten-world-programme-filler.

Tax breaks in the form of the Eady Levy made production sustainable, the length of the film dictating the percentage of return from the box office takings. A film of more than 40 minutes counted as a 'long short-feature' and qualified for up to 50% of the profit generated by the headline title.

I think David Wilkinson on one of the extras claimed the tax breaks ended in the mid-80s hence the lack of a need to produce more.

[Keebleman]

I'm just amazed they were still showing support features as late as 1980. When did that practise die out?

When I saw Hannah and Her Sisters in 1986 it was supported by a short film about the Greek Islands written, directed by and starring (in multiple roles) Nicholas Parsons.  Well, I say 'short' but it felt like it lasted as long as a holiday in the Greek Islands, only without any enjoyable bits.

I remember seeing Cry Wolf as a support to Airplane.  Even though it was only a short it made it into Halliwell's Film Guide, where he said that it matched the style of a 50s British B-movie so closely whole scenes went by when it seemed to forget that it was meant to be a comedy.  Certainly the 12 year old me was a little puzzled by it.  The only jokes I remember were the actual design of the 'monster' and his predilection for stealing Winalot.

[JesusAndYourBush]

I remember seeing a film (early to mid 80's) and the supporting picture was listed as "Jerry And The Goldfish" and we're wondering what it's going to be about and it only turns out to be a 5-minute Tom & Jerry Cartoon!

[another Mr. Lizard]

I saw CRY WOLF twice - with AIRPLANE! at a cinema on the east coast (Skegness, I think; possibly Yarmouth) in 1980, and on a late night ITV broadcast a few years later. No sign of it since. I wrote a book/monograph earlier this year called 'Short Sharp Shocks' (which Catalogue Trousers has a copy of), all about short supporting films shown in U.K. cinemas and which has a paragraph or two on the movie. Arrow released the Burzynski feature TRAPPED ALIVE recently, but didn't include CRY WOLF as an extra on the Blu-ray - I wonder if they tried to track it down and failed?

A short called WINGS OF DEATH supported A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET in 1985 and was the last of its kind that I saw (i.e. a short screened in support of a major feature in commercial UK cinemas as part of a standard bill).

THE ORCHARD END MURDER, mentioned above, is known to have played with DEAD AND BURIED, SUPERSTITION aka THE WITCH, THE HIT, and RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD between 1980 and 1986.

[another Mr. Lizard]

(Double post)

[Keebleman]

A short called WINGS OF DEATH supported A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET in 1985 and was the last of its kind that I saw (i.e. a short screened in support of a major feature in commercial UK cinemas as part of a standard bill).

Wings of Death!!!  My God, I remember that!  Crikey, when was the last time I even thought about it?  I can't recall ever searching for it online.  It impressed me a lot: I had just read Danny Peary's first Cult Movies book and I remember thinking that, even though it was a short, it would fit with the book's ethos nicely.

Having said that, there is very little about the movie I can recall.  I remember the title appearing against a background of slowly falling hypodermics, and there was a moment when the hero lifted off the top of his skull.  Not much otherwise.

[another Mr. Lizard]

Wings of Death!!!  My God, I remember that!  Crikey, when was the last time I even thought about it?  I can't recall ever searching for it online.  It impressed me a lot: I had just read Danny Peary's first Cult Movies book and I remember thinking that, even though it was a short, it would fit with the book's ethos nicely.

Having said that, there is very little about the movie I can recall.  I remember the title appearing against a background of slowly falling hypodermics, and there was a moment when the hero lifted off the top of his skull.  Not much otherwise.

It's on Vimeo in its entirety if you fancy catching up with it again.

[Keebleman]

It's on Vimeo in its entirety if you fancy catching up with it again.

An interesting watch.  I remembered the slatternly landlady, and the overall tone of the film was pretty much as I recalled.  Clearly the directors had seen Eraserhead and, er, Michael Jackson's Thriller video, and there's a lot of that magic realism style which was so common in 'serious' British cinema of the time.  Odd that nothing further was heard of them (by me at any rate).