Larry Talbot’s silver wolf’s head cane featured in both the 1941 werewolf horror film The Wolf Man
In the 1941 film the cane was a prominent feature of the film and was the very weapon used to kill the werewolves in the film. In the 2010 remake the cane is featured more as a homage to the original.
The original wolf’s head prop was created by special effects technician Ellis Berman. He made the wolf’s head out of cast rubber and painted it silver. Bob Burns, known for owning one of the largest collections of movie props in the world, started his collection with the original wolf’s head prop. You can read the full story of how Bob Burns came to take possession of the prop at Hollywood Lost and Found.
There are only a handful of prop replica’s of the original silver wolf’s head cane that are available to collectors and that have been based off of the original prop now owned by Bob Burns. Few, however, feature an actual silver wolf’s head. Most are designed to convey a silver appearance but use chrome plating to achieve the desired result.
Factory Entertainment are about to release a new prop replica that will also be adorned with a chrome-plated replica of the original wolf’s head (pictured at the start of this article). It’s a limited edition item of 400 pieces released under the Universal Monsters banner. The cane itself is made of solid wood and measures 38-inches long. It was made under the guidance Bob Burns himself. This version is due to arrive in December 2013. If you want to order one of those it’ll cost you $398.99. You can pre-order now via the link below:
Factory Entertainment Ltd Ed THE WOLF MAN Larry Talbot’s Cane Prop Replica (via Entertainment Earth)
In the 1990’s Wolfs Head Productions (Delbert Winans and Henry Alvarez) released three different limited edition versions that are now extremely rare. Here’s the original advert (via Universal Monster Army):
The Wolf’s Head Productions versions were museum-quality level and came available in three different formats: bronze, silver-plated and sterling silver. So it is with great interest that one of these is available via a seller on Ebay right now for auction at a starting bid of $500. An image of the replica and a link to check it out are below:
Wolf’s Head Productions THE WOLF MAN Larry Talbot’s Cane Prop Replica (Ebay auction)
Interestingly, I notice the above replica is advertised as having a resin wolf’s head that is chrome-plated. The seller may be correct about that but I’m not entirely certain. I would have thought this was a bronze cast that has been plated. I could be wrong of course, so if you want to know for sure, I recommend a quick check with the seller before placing a bid.
If, however, you really want a silver plated replica of the cane then you can take a look at the Unique Canes silver plated replica. Their replica is advertised as “Quadruple Silver Plated using .999 Pure Silver” and is plated over heavy polished brass. It comes assembled on a Black Lacquer Solid Hardwood Shaft with both a chrome tip for display and steel reinforced rubber tip for actual use. Measures approximately 36″ length with a full size handle of 6.5″ x 1.5″ x 3.5″.
Take a look at the Unique Canes version:
Note that the Unique Canes version is not an exact replica based off the original Ellis Berman sculpt. It is hand-crafted and so variations are apparent. It is, however, high quality and also practical, so that’s pretty damn cool. It’s also cheaper than the Factory Entertainment or Wolf’s Head Productions versions coming in with a Buy It Now of $349, so there’s that too. If you want one of these, the link you need for that is below:
Unique Canes THE WOLF MAN Silver Wolf’s Head Cane Prop Replica (via Ebay)
Incidentally, the above cane from Unique Cane’s is a new version and not the same as their original releases a few years ago, which you can see showcased in this video:
There are also other cheap knock-off’s but let’s not talk about those.
Want to see the cane in the film? Grab the DVD at the link in the first line of this article or check out the original trailer. You an see the cane held at the 1:05 mark. Yes, it’s blurry, but its still very nostalgic.