When it comes to fusing horror with comedy, few films do it better than 1981's An American Werewolf in London. The fifth film in a successful run by director John Landis that included Animal House and The Blues Brothers revolves around two American tourists on a walking tour of Britain who are attacked by a werewolf. The movie has received positive reviews since its release and has gained something of a cult status, influencing other comedy/horror directors such as Tim Burton and Edgar Wright.

Update October 19, 2023: For Halloween, this article has been updated with even more facts about An American Werewolf in London you might not have known.

However, despite being a Halloween favorite for over 40 years, there are still lots of things about the film's production that even the most loyal of fans might not know. There are even some major facts about the movie after its release. So, here are 15 killer facts about An American Werewolf in London.

Landis Conceived the Idea 12 Years Earlier

John Landis was barely old enough to vote when he first came up with the idea for An American Werewolf in London. 18-year-old Landis was working as a production assistant on 1970's Kelly's Heroes when he conceived the idea, but nobody wanted to make his script throughout the following decade. It wasn't werewolf films experienced somewhat of a renaissance in the '80s with the success of titles such as Teen Wolf, The Howling, and Full Moon High, that Landis was able to move forward with the project.

The Title is a Reference to Two Other Films

While An American Werewolf in London has become a cult classic since its release, what many people won't know is that its catchy title is actually a cross between two classic films: An American in Paris and Werewolf of London. The former is a 1951 musical starring Gene Kelly and centering on a love triangle between three friends, while the latter is a 1935 horror credited as the first feature-length werewolf film. Overall, a pretty nifty idea for a title.

It Almost Starred Dan Aykroyd

Prior to the release of An American Werewolf in London, Landis had made a name for himself as a director of comedies, such as 1980's The Blues Brothers. Following that film's success the previous year, Universal Studios executives were keen for Landis to cast its stars, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi, as the characters of David and Jack. Landis refused, though, wanting to cast relative unknowns in the lead roles. Eventually, David Naughton - who was mostly known as the face of Dr. Pepper's "Be a Pepper" ads - and Griffin Dunne got the parts. Nevertheless, in some parallel world somewhere, there's a version of the film that stars Aykroyd and Belushi.

The Blues Brothers Did Play a Part, Though

The success of the writer/director's acclaimed comedies was instrumental in getting the movie made, and The Blues Brothers helped in another more direct way, too. London's bustling Piccadilly Circus wasn't exactly friendly to movie productions. So Landis arranged a free screening of the music-driven comedy and invited 300 local police officers.

Next thing he knew, he had permission to shoot there for a few hours across two nights and even to briefly stop traffic three times. A set was constructed off-site for the crew to rehearse so they could be ready to get multiple takes of the big crash without losing too much time tearing down and setting up again. Landis has a quick cameo during the Piccadilly Circus scene as a pedestrian hit by a car.

A James Bond Producer Was Almost Involved

Landis originally wanted legendary James Bond film producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli to be involved with the project, after Landis had done some uncredited rewrites on 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me. Unfortunately, Broccoli was less keen and, upon reading the script, bluntly told Landis "Hell no, it's weird!". It's possible the producer went on to regret this.

The Yorkshire Moors Were Actually Wales

Despite its title, the first part of An American Werewolf in London is actually set in Yorkshire, with the two main characters, David and Jack, backpacking across the famous moors. This is where they first encounter a werewolf. What many people won't realize is that filming never took place anywhere near Yorkshire and that the supposed mores are actually the Black Mountains in Wales. If you know your UK geography, you know that these are two very different places. Furthermore, the fictional village of East Proctor is actually the Welsh village of Crickadarn in Powys. To hide the fact that it wasn't actually Yorkshire, a fake tree was used to cover a Welsh-language sign.

See You Next Wednesday is a Recurring Joke

Toward the end of the film, David and Jack attend an adult movie cinema showing a fictional porno cheekily entitled, "See You Next Wednesday". Scenes from the fake film, which can be seen in the real film, were actually shot by Landis himself and make up a recurring joke that has run through several of Landis's works. The poster for "See You Next Wednesday" is first shown in Landis's debut feature, Schlock, where it is also mentioned twice.

References to it then popped up in The Kentucky Fried Movie, The Blues Brothers, Trading Places, the Michael Jackson Thriller video, and others. All in all, there have been nods to the fictional adult film in no less than 16 Landis projects. The joke even pops up in non-Landis films, as a theater with "See You Next Wednesday" can also be seen in Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.

A Young One Had a Cameo

Raiders of the Lost Ark and Reds were shooting in London around the same time, thanks to a tax-break. Frank Oz and Jim Henson were in town, and they took Landis to the Comedy Store, where he saw future The Young Ones stars Ade Edmondson and Rik Mayall. Landis offered to create parts for both of the young talents, though only one of them showed up. "I don't think they really believed me because Ade didn't turn up, but Rik did," Landis later recounted. "He was right, I didn't actually have a part for him, but I loved his face, so we sat him down in the Slaughtered Lamb pub for the opening scene, and his presence really helps establish the mood of the movie."

Certain Songs Couldn't Be Used

Most fans are aware that the movie is stuffed with classic songs with "moon" in the titles, like Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" and Van Morrison's "Moondance." What's lesser known is that two of Landis' requests were denied: Cat Stevens' "Moonshadow" and Bob Dylan's version of "Blue Moon." In the Beware the Moon documentary included on the Full Moon Edition Blu-ray, Landis says Dylan said "no" for religious reasons, and Cat Stevens believed werewolves are real.

Landis Got Away With Showing Execs the Same Movie Twice

In a story that will be familiar to many record producers and filmmakers, elsewhere in the documentary, Landis says he showed executive producers the exact same version of the movie they'd seen before after they'd asked him to tone down the gore. He says the unwitting execs declared the supposed new cut, 'Much better!".

Cuts Had to Be Made

Getting an R-rating was, unfortunately, a bit more difficult. Test audiences were so shocked at one scene where a group of homeless people were attacked that it was cut entirely. In order to appease the MPAA, Landis also cut back on the sex scenes and tossed a moment where a piece of toast falls out of Griffin Dunne's throat. It's said that Landis later regretted making these changes.

It Won an Oscar

No CGI was used to create the look of the werewolf and achieve the famous transformation sequence. Instead, it was all down practically and overseen by make-up artist and F/X master Rick Baker. For his work on the film, Baker was rightfully nominated for an Academy Award for Best Makeup at the 54th annual ceremony, which he subsequently won, becoming only the third person to do so.

It Led to Michael Jackson's Thriller

Michael Jackson called Landis personally to tell him how much he loved An American Werewolf in London and asked to work with Rick Baker, who had recently won his Oscar for his work on the movie. The end result was the music video for "Thriller," which almost didn't see the light of day after the singer had a last-minute Bob Dylan-style "religious" objection to the content. This is why the video aired with a disclaimer from the King of Pop assuring fans that he did not endorse "the occult."

The Sequel Was a Flop

Sixteen years after An American Werewolf in London hit cinemas, a sequel entitled An American in Paris was released. Unsurprisingly, it follows an American tourist who finds himself turned into a werewolf while on a trip to Paris and stars Tom Everett Scott and Julie Delpy. Despite writing the first draft of a sequel himself, Landis had nothing to do with the film that was eventually released. This is just as well because An American Werewolf in Paris was a commercial and critical failure, managing to only just break even at the box office and earning an extremely low score of 7% on Rotten Tomatoes.

One of Two High Profile Werewolf Movies in 1981

Something about werewolves was in the zeitgeist of 1981. In one year, two of the most iconic werewolf movies of all time were released. American Werewolf in London was released on August 21, 1981. Six months prior, The Howling opened in theaters on March 13, 1981. American Werewolf in London was the clear winner that year, grossing $62 million against The Howling's $17.9 million. Nonetheless, horror fans and werewolf fans were certainly the winners as they got two of the best films in the genre that year.