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The Wolf Man is a 1941 horror film written by Curt Siodmak and produced and directed by George Waggner, starring Lon Chaney, Jr., Claude Rains, Evelyn Ankers, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles, Bela Lugosi, and Maria Ouspenskaya. It introduced a character that stands alongside Frankenstein and Dracula as one of the most recognized of the Universal Monsters and has had a great deal of influence on Hollywood's depictions of the legend of the werewolf. A remake is due in 2009. L. David Mech is an internationally recognized wolf expert, who is a senior research scientist for U.S. Department of the Interior (since 1970) and an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota in St. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 387 Ã 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (500 Ã 775 pixel, file size: 55 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Poster for the film The Wolf Man This image is of a film poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned...
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Curt Siodmak (1902â2000) was a novelist and screenwriter, author of the novel Donovans Brain, which was made into a number of films. ...
Lon Chaney, Jr. ...
Claude Rains (November 10, 1889 â May 30, 1967) was a British-born theatre and film actor, who later held American citizenship, best known for his many roles in Hollywood films. ...
Warren William (2 December 1894 - 24 September 1948) was a Broadway and Hollywood actor, born Warren William Krech in Aitkin, Minnesota. ...
Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 â November 29, 1991) was a Tony Award-winning American actor with a career spanning sixty-two years. ...
Patric Knowles Patric Knowles (November 11, 1911 â December 23, 1995) was an English born film actor who appeared in films of the 1930s through the 1970s. ...
Bela Lugosi as Dracula United States stamp. ...
Maria Ouspenskaya (July 29, 1876 - December 3, 1949) was a Russian born actress who achieved success as an stage actress as a young woman in Russia, and as an elderly woman in Hollywood films. ...
Evelyn Ankers (b. ...
Universal Pictures is the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal. ...
is the 346th day of the year (347th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, released in 1943, is an American horror film produced by Universal Studios. ...
For other uses, see 1941 (disambiguation). ...
âHorror Movieâ redirects here. ...
Curt Siodmak (1902â2000) was a novelist and screenwriter, author of the novel Donovans Brain, which was made into a number of films. ...
This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...
Lon Chaney, Jr. ...
Claude Rains (November 10, 1889 â May 30, 1967) was a British-born theatre and film actor, who later held American citizenship, best known for his many roles in Hollywood films. ...
Evelyn Ankers (b. ...
Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 â November 29, 1991) was a Tony Award-winning American actor with a career spanning sixty-two years. ...
Patric Knowles Patric Knowles (November 11, 1911 â December 23, 1995) was an English born film actor who appeared in films of the 1930s through the 1970s. ...
Bela Lugosi as Dracula United States stamp. ...
Maria Ouspenskaya (July 29, 1876 - December 3, 1949) was a Russian born actress who achieved success as an stage actress as a young woman in Russia, and as an elderly woman in Hollywood films. ...
This article is about the 1818 novel. ...
This article is about the novel. ...
Universal Horror DVD cover showing horror characters as depicted by Universal Studios. ...
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For other uses, see Werewolf (disambiguation). ...
Film overview
Title card from The Wolf Man Lawrence Stewart "Larry" Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) returns to his ancestral home in Llanwelly, Wales to reconcile with his father, Sir John Talbot (Claude Rains). While there, Larry becomes romantically interested in a local girl named Gwen Conliffe (Evelyn Ankers), who runs an antique shop. As a pretext, he buys something from her, a silver-headed walking stick decorated with a wolf. Gwen tells him that it represents a werewolf (which she defines as a man who changes into a wolf "at certain times of the year".) Image File history File links The_Wolf_Man. ...
Image File history File links The_Wolf_Man. ...
Lon Chaney, Jr. ...
This article is about the country. ...
Claude Rains (November 10, 1889 â May 30, 1967) was a British-born theatre and film actor, who later held American citizenship, best known for his many roles in Hollywood films. ...
Evelyn Ankers (b. ...
This article is about the chemical element. ...
A walking stick (or two) is a tool used by many people to ease pressure on the legs when walking. ...
Wolf Wolf Man Mount Wolf Wolf Prizes Wolf Spider Wolf 424 Wolf 359 Wolf Point Wolf-herring Frank Wolf Friedrich Wolf Friedrich August Wolf Hugo Wolf Johannes Wolf Julius Wolf Max Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf Maximilian Wolf Rudolf Wolf Thomas Wolf As Name Wolf Breidenbach Wolf Hirshorn Other The call...
For other uses, see Werewolf (disambiguation). ...
Throughout the film, various villagers recite a poem that all the locals apparently know, whenever the subject of werewolves comes up: - Even a man who is pure in heart
- and says his prayers by night
- may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
- and the autumn moon is bright.
That night, Larry attempts to rescue Gwen's friend Jenny from what he believes to be a sudden attack by a wolf. He kills the beast with his new walking stick, but is bitten in the process. He soon discovers that it was not just a wolf; it was a werewolf, and now Talbot has become one. A gypsy fortuneteller named Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) reveals to Larry that the animal which bit him was actually her son Bela (Bela Lugosi) in the form of a wolf. Bela had been a werewolf for years and now the curse of lycanthropy has been passed to Larry. Species See below Aconitum (known as aconite, monkshood, or wolfsbane) is a genus of flowering plant belonging to the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). ...
Languages Romani, languages of native region Religions Christianity, Islam Related ethnic groups South Asians (Desi) The Romani people (as a noun, singular Rom, plural Roma; sometimes Rrom, Rroma) or Romanies are an ethnic group living in many communities all over the world. ...
For prophecy in the context of revealed religions see Prophet. ...
Maria Ouspenskaya (July 29, 1876 - December 3, 1949) was a Russian born actress who achieved success as an stage actress as a young woman in Russia, and as an elderly woman in Hollywood films. ...
Bela Lugosi as Dracula United States stamp. ...
Look up Curse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
In folklore, lycanthropy is the ability or power of a human being to undergo transformation into a wolf. ...
Sure enough, Talbot prowls the countryside in the form of a two-legged wolf. Struggling to overcome the curse, he is finally bludgeoned to death by his father with his own walking stick. As he dies, he returns to human form. The poem, contrary to popular belief, was not an ancient legend, but was in fact an invention of screenwriter Siodmak. The poem is repeated in every subsequent film in which Talbot/The Wolf Man appears, with the exception of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and is also quoted in the later film Van Helsing, although many later films change the last line of the poem to "And the moon is full and bright". Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (onscreen title: Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein) is a 1948 comedy/horror film directed by Charles Barton and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. ...
This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long. ...
The original Wolf Man film does not make use of the idea that a werewolf is transformed under a full moon. Gwen's description and the poem imply that it happens when the wolfbane blooms in autumn. The first sequel, though, made explicit use of the full moon both visually and in the dialog, and also changed the poem to specify when the moon is full and bright. Presumably this is what popularized the full-moon connection in the 20th century. The sequel visually implies that the transformation occurs as a result of direct exposure to light from the full moon. Other fiction has assumed the transformation is an inescapable monthly occurrence and does not examine whether it is caused by light, tidal effects, or some cycle that happens to coincide with the moon's phases. For other uses, see Werewolf (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see Full Moon. ...
Special effects In the original film, Chaney did not undergo an on-screen transformation from man to wolf, as featured in all sequels. The lap-dissolve progressive make-ups were seen only in the final ten minutes, and then discretely: Talbot removes his shoes and socks, and it is his feet which are seen to grow hairy and transform into huge paws (courtesy of uncomfortable "boots" made of hard rubber, covered in yak hair. In the final scene, the werewolf does gradually become Larry Talbot through the standard technique. The transformation of Chaney from man into monster was laborious. A plaster mold was made to hold his head absolutely still as his image was photographed and his outline drawn on panes of glass in front of the camera. Chaney then went to makeup man Jack Pierce's office, where Pierce, using grease paint, a rubber snout appliance and a series of wigs, glued layers of yak hair to Chaney's face. Then Chaney would return to the set, line himself up using the panes of glass as reference and several feet of film were shot. Then the make-up was removed and a new layer was applied, showing the transformation further along. This was done about a half-dozen times. Talbot’s lap dissolve transformation on screen only took seconds, while Chaney’s took almost ten hours. For other uses, see Yak (disambiguation). ...
For the 1968 stage production, see Hair (musical), for the 1979 film, see Hair (film). ...
A lap dissolve (sometimes called a cross-fade, mix or simply a dissolve) is a technical term in film editing, most often used in the United States, applying to the process whereby the fading last shot of a preceding scene is superimposed over the emerging first shot (fade in) of...
According to ballyhoo from Universal's publicity department, World War II was responsible for the brevity of Chaney's hirsuit appearance in the last serious sequel, House of Dracula (1945). According to a small blurb in that film's press book, a nationwide lack of yak hair from the Orient prevented the character from appearing in more scenes. Given that the script was written with the Talbot character as a hero, this sounds like the work of a publicity flack trying to make an excuse. The Wolf Man does, however, appear with bare, non-hairy hands in one shot of House of Frankenstein, (1944) but this was an on-set gaffe; no "lack of yak hair" publicity accompanied this film. Binomial name Hemiramphus brasiliensis {{{author}}}, {{{date}}} The Ballyhoo ( hemiramphus brasiliensis ) is a baitfish. ...
Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...
The term the Orient - literally meaning sunrise, east - is traditionally used to refer to Near, Middle, and Far Eastern countries. ...
American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft warfare, or air defense, is any method of engaging military aircraft in combat from the ground. ...
Themes
As Larry Talbot AKA the Wolf Man, Lon Chaney, Jr, writhes in agony after being caught in an animal trap As in most of Universal’s classic monsters, the appeal of the Wolf Man lies in the humanity beneath the horror. Lawrence Talbot was tormented with the knowledge that he became a savage beast with a lust to kill; he is the quintessential reluctant monster. Only death could set him free but, as the sequels proved, death is only temporary in monster movies. Image File history File links Wolf_Man. ...
Writer Curt Siodmak has written that he was heavily influenced by Greek Mythology while drafting the script for this film.
Sequels The Wolf Man proved popular, and so Chaney reprised his signature role in four more Universal films, though unlike his contemporary "monsters," Larry Talbot never enjoyed the chance to have a sequel all to himself. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) had Talbot’s grave opened on a full moon night, causing him to rise again (making him, in the subsequent films, technically one of the undead). He seeks out Dr. Frankenstein for a cure, but finds the monster (Bela Lugosi) instead. The two square off at the climax, but the fight ends in a draw when a dam is exploded and Frankenstein’s castle is flooded. In House of Frankenstein (1944), Talbot is once again resurrected and is promised a cure via a brain transplant, but is shot dead with a silver bullet instead. He returns with no explanation in House of Dracula (1945), and is finally cured of his condition. But he was afflicted once again, in the comedy film Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). This time the Wolf Man is a hero of sorts, saving Wilbur Grey (Lou Costello) from having his brain transplanted by Dracula (Bela Lugosi) into the head of the Monster (Glenn Strange). Grabbing the vampire as he turns into a bat, the Wolf Man dives over a balcony into the sea. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, released in 1943, is an American horror film produced by Universal Studios. ...
Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Undead is a collective name for mythological beings that are deceased yet behave as if alive. ...
Bela Lugosi as Dracula United States stamp. ...
House of Frankenstein was an American horror film produced in 1944 by Universal Studios as part of its ongoing series of monster films. ...
Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
House of Dracula was an American horror film released by Universal Studios in 1945. ...
Year 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...
Comedy film is genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humor. ...
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (onscreen title: Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein) is a 1948 comedy/horror film directed by Charles Barton and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. ...
Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo; March 6, 1906 - March 3, 1959), was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott. ...
Glenn Strange (August 16, 1899 - September 20, 1973) was an American actor who appeared mostly in Western movies. ...
Remake In March 2006, Universal Pictures announced the remake of The Wolf Man with actor Benicio del Toro in the lead role. Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker was attached to the screenplay, developing the original film's story to include additional characters as well as plot points that would take advantage of modern visual effects. In February 2007, director Mark Romanek was attached to helm The Wolf Man.[1] An autumn start to filming is planned.[1] Rick Baker also signed on to do the make-up effects of the Wolf Man.[2] In April 2007, Anthony Hopkins entered negotiations with the studio to portray the Wolf Man's father.[3] The film was scheduled for a November 12, 2008, before being pushed back to early 2009 in September 2007.[4] On October 10, 2007, it was announced that the film would be released on February 13, 2009.[5] Universal Pictures is the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal. ...
Benicio Monserrat Rafael Del Toro Sanchez (born February 19, 1967, in San Germán, Puerto Rico) is an Academy Award winning Puerto Rican actor. ...
Andrew Kevin Walker (born August 14, 1964) is an American BAFTA-nominated screenwriter. ...
Mark Romanek (born September 18, 1959) is an award-winning American music video director who has also moved into directing theatrical films. ...
Richard A. Rick Baker (born December 8, 1950 in Binghamton, New York, USA) is a Hollywood special makeup effects artist known for his realistic creature effects. ...
For the composer, see Antony Hopkins. ...
is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (common) era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ...
is the 283rd day of the year (284th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
is the 44th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
// LR: Limited release in select cities WR: Wide-release to theaters IMAX: Release to IMAX theaters Beverly Hills Cop IV The Hobbit Interstellar Magneto (film) Smooth Criminal : The Michael Jackson Story Temeraire Tales from Earthsea - December 18 LR - Buena Vista Distribution - Goro Miyazaki (director) The Lost Tomb: A Neopets Adventure...
Legacy It was The Wolf Man that introduced the concepts of werewolves being vulnerable to silver (in traditional folklore, it is more effective against vampires), the werewolf's forced shapeshifting under a full moon, and being marked with a pentagram (a symbol of the occult and of Satanism). These are considered by many as part of the original folklore of the werewolf, even though they were created for the film. Unlike the werewolves of legend, which resemble true wolves, the Universal Wolf Man was an extension of the previous 1935 Werewolf of London in which both primary characters are a hybrid creature unlike the traditional interpretation. The Wolf Man stood erect like a human, but had the fur, teeth and claws and savage impulses of a wolf. This article is about the chemical element. ...
Philip Burne-Jones, The Vampire, 1897 Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings that subsist on human and/or animal lifeforce. ...
For other uses, see Shapeshifting (disambiguation). ...
A pentagram A pentagram (sometimes known as a pentalpha or pentangle or, more formally, as a star pentagon) is the shape of a five-pointed star drawn with five straight strokes. ...
For other uses, see Occult (disambiguation). ...
Satanism can refer to a number of belief systems depending on the user and contexts. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Werewolf of London was the first Hollywood werewolf movie, filmed in 1935 by Universal Pictures and featuring Henry Hull as Wilfred Glendon, a scientist bitten by a werewolf (played by Warner Oland) in Tibet. ...
This article is about a biological term. ...
The Wolf Man has the distinction of being the only classic Universal monster to be played by the same actor in all his classic 1940s film appearances. Lon Chaney, Jr. was very proud of this, frequently stating in interviews: "He was my baby." Chaney would go on to play a wolf man (if not the Wolf Man) in very similar makeup in the 1959 Mexican film La Casa del Terror and a famous 1962 episode of TV's Route 66 titled Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing, which also starred Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein Monster. Nearly a decade later, even though he was seriously ill at the time, Chaney managed to conjure up his original energetic gestures while masked in a quasi-wolfish rubber mask for one scene in his last (and most unfortunate) film, 1971's Dracula vs. Frankenstein. Lon Chaney, Jr. ...
La Casa del Terror is a 1959 Mexican monster horror/comedy film. ...
Alternate meanings of Route 66: New Jersey State Highway 66, Interstate 66, and a company named after the route US Highway 66 or Route 66 was and is the most famous road in the United States highway system and quite possibly the most famous and storied highway in the world. ...
Dracula vs. ...
The Wolf Man was not Universal's first werewolf film. It was preceded by Werewolf of London (1935), starring noted character actor Henry Hull in a quite different and more subtle werewolf makeup. Interestingly, the original Jack Pierce make-up for Hull was nearly identical to the later one on Chaney. Hull apparently objected to having his face entired covered in hair, and a less-hirsuit, more devilish version was used in the film. The film was not a huge box office success, probably because audiences of the day thought it too similar in many ways to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, for which Fredric March had won an Oscar three years before. Some latter-day critics prefer Jack Pierce's earlier werewolf to Chaney's, which was described in Carlos Clarens's book An Illustrated History of the Horror FIlm' as "... looking like a hirsuit Cossack." Werewolf of London was the first Hollywood werewolf movie, filmed in 1935 by Universal Pictures and featuring Henry Hull as Wilfred Glendon, a scientist bitten by a werewolf (played by Warner Oland) in Tibet. ...
Henry Hull (1890-1977) was an intense American character actor with a unique voice, most noted for playing the first screen werewolf in Universal Picturess classic Werewolf of London (1935). ...
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. ...
Fredric March (August 31, 1897 â April 14, 1975) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actor. ...
Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ...
Jack Pierce (May 5, 1889 in Greece â July 19, 1968), born Janus Piccoulas, was a Hollywood make-up artist most famous for creating the iconic make-up worn by Boris Karloff in Universal Studios 1931 adaptation of Mary Shelleys Frankenstein. ...
Carlos Clarens (1930-1987) was a film historian and writer on the cinema particularly noted for his sensitive, pioneering Illustrated History of the Horror Film. ...
The Wolf Man is one of only three Universal Studios monsters without a novel to accompany its movie appearances, although written long after the fact. The others are The Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. In the 1970s, novelizations of the original films were issued as paperback originals as part of a series written by "Carl Dreadstone," a "house name" pseudonym for a several writers, including British horror writer Ramsey Campbell). John Ramsey Campbell (born January 4, 1946 in Liverpool) is a British writer considered by a number of critics to be one of the great masters of horror fiction. ...
Other characters referred to as "the Wolf Man" appear in Van Helsing, Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School, The Monster Squad, Mad Monster Party, Monster Mash: The Movie and Waxwork. This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long. ...
Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School is a 1988 TV-movie about Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, and Scrappy-Doo becoming teachers at a school for daughters of famous monsters. ...
This article is about the film. ...
Mad Monster Party (sometimes listed as Mad Monster Party?) is a movie that was made in 1967 by Rankin/Bass. ...
The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ...
Cast Lon Chaney, Jr. (Larry Talbot) Claude Rains (Sir Talbot) Warren William (Dr. Lloyd) Ralph Bellamy (Montford) Maria Ouspenskaya (Maleva) Evelyn Ankers (Gwen) Patric Knowles (Frank Andrews) J.M. Kerrigan (Charles Conliffe) Fay Helm (Jenny) Forrester Harvey (Twiddle) Bela Lugosi (Bela)
Universal Legacy Collection DVD The DVD collection also included the following bonus features: Werewolf of London was the first Hollywood werewolf movie, filmed in 1935 by Universal Pictures and featuring Henry Hull as Wilfred Glendon, a scientist bitten by a werewolf (played by Warner Oland) in Tibet. ...
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, released in 1943, is an American horror film produced by Universal Studios. ...
She-Wolf of London is a 1946 horror film produced by Universal Studios. ...
This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long. ...
Stephen Sommers on the Prague set of Van Helsing Stephen Sommers (born March 20, 1962) is an American movie director/writer best known for the 1999 blockbuster The Mummy, its sequel The Mummy Returns, and the action/horror film Van Helsing. ...
John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American movie actor, director, writer, and producer. ...
Trivia - This film was #62 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
This article is about the U.S. cable network. ...
References This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
is the 256th day of the year (257th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
is the 105th day of the year (106th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
is the 136th day of the year (137th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Variety is a daily newspaper for the entertainment industry. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...
For other uses, see 5th October (Serbia). ...
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