Is it ironic for a gravedigger to be killed while on the job?

It seems that some films have certain released dates established simply by the type of film they are.  Christmas movies are released at the holidays while action films are summer and horror for fall.  Although this is not a strict code, it is often followed fairly closely.  It has not always been the case.  The 1947 version of Miracle on 34th Street was released in May and who thought to release The Wolf Man in December?  Either way, both films found an audience and became classics regardless of the horrible timing or their release dates.

After learning of his brother's death, Larry Talbot returns from America to his family estate in Wales. He has his eyes on a local girl, Gwen, who runs an antique shop.  He takes her on a date.  Along with another girl, Jenny, they visit a gypsy camp to get their fortune read.   Jenny is attacked right afterwards by a werewolf, who also happens to be the gypsy, Bela, who read Jenny's palm.  Larry attacks the werewolf in defense of Jenny, killing the beast but not before being bit.  

Bela's mother, Maleva, tells Larry that he will now become a werewolf at each full moon.  "Whoever is bitten by a werewolf and lives becomes a werewolf himself."  Maleva is a bit scary in her own way.

Although at first he believes her story is rubbish, he soon finds out the truth on the next full moon.  Larry tries to tell his father what has happened but his story is dismissed as nonsense.  His father calls for a doctor who says, "I believe a man lost in the mazes of his own mind may imagine that he's anything."   On a night of a full moon, Larry's father joins a hunt to kill the wolf they believe is responsible for a couple of recent killings.  Gwen is likewise in the woods that foggy night.

This is a horror film from those classic Universal monster movies.  It stands out because of the cast.  Claude Rains was a major star and they were usually not cast in horror films.  It also featured the rare casting of both Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi, even though they never share the same scene. 

The 2010 remake follows this one fairly closely.  Both include a scene with a fight between father and son.  Although this one only has one werewolf.   Both have a scary setting featuring woods, cemeteries and an endless supply of fog.  Although it never shows any blood, The Wolf Man still provides a great atmospheric haunt.

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