The final film in Hammer studios Frankenstein series brings back peter Cushing as the naughty doctor and teams him up with a young admirer and emulator of his work(Shane Briant). The monster is played by David Prowse who among other hulking monsters over the years would go on to famously play Darth Vader. Taking place in an insane asylum this is a decent enough watch though I often find the endings to these Hammer monster movies a bit of a letdown and this one is no exception there. It also leaves the ending open for more adventures of our wacky mad scientists which sadly didn't happen.
Played in England on a weird double bill with a Shaw Brothers kung fu flick from 2 years prior:
So this newlywed couple get into a car crash before the title even pops up, from there our husband character(Ronald Lewis) develops an uncontrollable urge to kill his wife. In steps one weirdo psychiatrist(Claude Daphin, who you might recall as the president of Earth in BARBARELLA) and then there's a bunch of psychological mumbo-jumbo and maybe a love triangle developing? This one is pretty different from your usual Hammer studios horror film and plays out more like a thriller/drama. The main characters, besides Diane Cilento who is pretty easy to look at, come off as pretty unlikeable which makes for a long haul. The plot itself is interesting enough and does build suspense towards the end just try and disregard the ridiculous psychiatry on display. Also, at 109 minutes, this was Hammer's longest film up until this date and it sure feels it.
AKA THE FULL TREATMENT, which was also the name of the book this was based on:
This is kind of a goofy one for Hammer studios because it deals with a monster from Greek mythology coming back from the dead and possessing a woman, oh and then turning people into stone and killing them. No, not Medusa, but her sister Maguera, the lesser known of the three Gorgon sisters(in actual Greek mythology the 3 gorgon sisters were Euryale, Stheno and Medusa, so I'm not sure where they got this name from but it is slightly easier to pronounce. Maybe they borrowed it from that giant Japanese robot in THE MYSTERIANS). As usual Hammer makes everything look great(except those very fake-looking snakes in Maguera's hair) and you get to see Christopher Lee in a rare heroic role. Also since the Gorgon only appears during a full moon it all plays like a weird female version of a werewolf tale which is cool.
Not being a super big fan of any of the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde films I've seen(though DR. BLACK & MR. HYDE is pretty groovy!) I wasn't expecting too much from this one and I wasn't disappointed. It's a Hammer Studios version of the familiar tale so the sets are amazing, you get to see dancing girls underwear and a snake-dancer lady but it's generally all pretty pedestrian stuff.
The Mr. Hyde here is actually a handsomer and less hairy version of Dr. Jekyll he just doesn't have any conscience to speak of which makes him the de facto "monster". Of course the people in Jekyll's life, including his friend Paul(Christopher Lee) who's sleeping with Jekyll's wife, are no great shakes either.
The original U.S. release of this edited some of the harsher language out because I guess Americans in 1960 couldn't handle hearing "trollop" in a theater. AKA JEKYLL'S INFERNO and HOUSE OF FRIGHT
Solid mystery thriller by Hammer studios. Known in England as TASTE OF FEAR this one is clearly inspired by Alfred Hitchcock in the way it twists and turns and keeps you guessing until everything is revealed in all it's grimy details. Christopher Lee is, as always, great in this and we get to see him in an unusual role here that I will not spoil for anyone that hasn't viewed this yet. Shot exceptionally well complete with some creepy moments involving a corpse that pops up at unfortunate times. A good one for fans of more classy less graphic spooky mystery-type stuff.
This is a weird Hammer horror flick that seems more like an Alfred Hitchcock film with it's twisty-turny mystery plot and characters that are never quite what they seem to be. There are a couple of genuinely creepy bits, including a very disturbing mask, though the majority feels more like a family drama. Oliver Reed plays a fairly unlikeable spoiled rich alcoholic type and he seems custom made for this role. I'm not sure if hardcore Hammer fans would like this one but I found it to be a pretty solid offbeat watch.
THE HALLUCINATORY WORLD OF ASHBY?? Spanish poster:
The 3rd movie in Hammer studio's FRANKENSTEIN series(though that doesn't really matter since it's not really a sequel to any of the previous entries and just retells Frankenstein's origin). Strange that they called this one THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN since Dr. Frank isn't particularly evil here and is shown being treated like crap right from the beginning. He also gets taken advantage of by a drunken hypnotist, fellow with the awesome name of Zoltan(Peter Woodthorpe), who uses the creature(British Pro-wrestler Kiwi Kingston) for his own nefarious purposes. It's all a pretty by-the-numbers film. The monster looks like a crappy version of the Universal Karloff design, a deaf-mute gal who looks like Bjork becomes his only friend and the monster's downfall, humorously, has to do with him very quickly becoming a raging alcoholic. Peter Cushing does his usual great acting as the obsessed doctor but I can see why Christopher Lee wouldn't have been interested in being in this.
The whole Hammer FRANKENSTEIN series:
1. THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957)
2. THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1958)
3. THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (1964)
4. FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN (1967)
5. FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1969)
6. THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN (1970)
7. FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL (1974)
While Hammer studios' HORROR OF DRACULA and THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN were great and kicked off the resurgence in monster movies in the late 50s my personal favorite is this Oliver Reed-starring wolfman saga. The reinvention of the whole werewolf mythos(based on a 1930s novel) is pretty refreshing and Reed does a great job with imbuing the suffering monster with some expected pathos. While the transformation scenes are nothing amazing and were done better in the 30s the monster itself is pretty impressive-looking. The whole film also has a great fairy-tale-feeling to it and with the always amazing setpieces that Hammer used really stands out as a special classic horror film. While I wouldn't put this above the Chaney WOLFMAN it's a pretty close second and one of my favorites form Hammer studios line of monster films.
French poster!:
Italian poster!(except for the U.S. it looks like they tried to hide what the monster looked like):
On a double-bill with a Hammer film I've never seen:
Tallulah Bankhead was a big deal back in Hollywood's golden age but more so for her stage acting and being a real character than any big movies she was in. I know of her mostly from her appearances on TV in things like I LOVE LUCY and the BATMAN program. She also was allegedly a very free spirit when it came to sex and nudity way back before the hippies came along and made that kind of stuff a little more culturally acceptable.
After WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? was such a big hit a lot of these older female stars found roles in horror (or thrillers as this one is more of) films and this is Tallulah's. The character she plays is about as far removed from what I know of the real Miss Bankhead in that she's a super religious nut who kidnaps her late son's fiance and holds her captive until she see's the light. Murder and catfights ensue. Tallulah does a great job as expected since you kind of feel sympathy for her character even though she's a really terrible person. Sadly this was her last film appearance but she would go on to be The Black Widow on BATMAN so that's a pretty cool ending. AKA FANATIC
The Misfits added an extra "Die" cuz that's the kinda guys they are!:
Not to be confused with the 80s slasher movie or that 30s movie where they rip out a cat's eyeball, this is the Hammer studios MANIAC. The movie starts right out with a dad getting some sweet revenge with an acetylene torch after his daughter is attacked(and apparently raped but this is 1960 so this is never made all that crystal clear) by some creep. Unfortunately he takes things too far and is thrown in an asylum and branded a "maniac". Then for a long time it becomes a boring love triangle story between our maniac's wife and his daughter and some American dude. Then it gets weird when the imprisoned maniac's wife convinces her new lover to break her husband out of jail and he agrees to this for some bizarre reason? This part made very little sense to me. It all ends with a few twists and that's nice and all but I think my main problem with this is that the guy who's dubbed a maniac seems pretty justified in his initial revenge. I mean sure you shouldn't torture anyone with a welding torch but the man's daughter was just viciously attacked. Who wouldn't be a tad peeved off over this? Then this American fella comes along and hits on his wife and daughter? This villain doesn't seem all that bad of a guy to me in his initial reaction and on the other hand this American doesn't seem like much of a hero in the story. Hammer would head into mostly more monster and gothic stuff after this and that seems to have been their strong suit and a better idea than trying to do their version of PSYCHO.
On the bottom of a double-bill with a William Castle directed Hammer remake:
I'd never heard of this movie until seeing it on a Hammer films box-set that I picked up recently. The idea of a Hammer movie about a child-molester seems pretty strange to me since when I think of that studio, Dracula and other gothic horror is what mainly springs to mind. Something this based in reality, and a pervy sick-o reality at that, is quite far removed from all that stuff. Being made in 1960 things never get too graphic outside of what is talked about, and that mainly concerns little girls dancing naked in front a dirty old perv-o. Overall this is a really well-made film that uses it's black & white palette very effectively to create some tense moments and makes some social commentary about power and wealth and corruption. It does turn into a courtroom drama for a while which is not my favorite genre but it all ends on a pretty shocking note and I'm sure it was especially shocking at the time it was made. Give it a watch for something from Hammer that's very different from what you would expect. AKA NEVER TAKE SWEETS FROM A STRANGER
Working my way through The Hammer Horror DVD set this is one that I'de never heard of but it's pretty good. This mostly has to do with Peter Cushing and Oliver Reed who are always excellent and the fact that the film moves along pretty briskly unlike many other Hammer films from this era. If you're looking for an actual horror film though this one barely qualifies being more of a dramatic tale of booze smuggling villagers (and pirates) and the king's army who are out to stop them. The titular "Night Creatures"(who reminded me of those bullies in THE KARATE KID who wore the skeleton pajamas) are not really a main focal point and the original British title of CAPTAIN CLEGG is more fitting, if not as exploitative. To sum it all up a good film that's not exactly a good example of Hammer horror but worth a look for something slightly different from the famous studio.
Somewhat dull Hammer flick that deals with a young lady(Jennie Linden) who sees her mom go nutzoid and stab her dad to death. She then has recurring nightmares and sees things that may, or may not, actually be there and goes a bit wacky herself. There's a couple of twists and turns that really reminded me of an old EC comic story. You know those ones where evil is punished at the end and justice is served. As is always the case with Hammer everything looks great, even in black and white, and the acting is fine but it's probably not one I would go back to rewatch anytime soon. AKA HERE'S THE KNIFE DEAR: NOW USE IT
Shock show double-feature with this Hammer FRANKENSTEIN epic!:
Hammer studios horror involving a cult of vampires who set their sites on a honeymooning couple. As with many of these old Hammer flicks this one is pretty dull. You do get all the classy stylish Hammer touches and vampire chomping action you would expect and there's a big ending involving angry bats that was cool. Uniquely there is a way to be saved after being bitten by a vamp according to this movie. It involves a magical seance and a priest and if you can't get those two thing apparently you can just burn the bite marks right away and you will be just fine. Maybe it's all just a little too stodgy and classy for me, and there's no Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing to be found, but I'm sure all the old-time horror fans still love this one.
There is a supposedly longer version of this titled KISS OF EVIL.
The follow-up to Hammer's 1st Dracula movie. In this one Dracula is already dead so we don't get any Christopher Lee returning instead we get a Baron Meinster(David Peel(not to be confused with the New York hippie singer David Peel)) as our lead vampire and a bunch of his lady-vampires. So I guess technically this should be titled THE BRIDES OF MEINSTER but who the hell is gonna watch that? Anyway we do get Peter Cushing back as Van Helsing and since it's a Hammer film everything looks really great including the sets and the leading ladies. This doesn't really live up to the first film and doesn't get as sexy as the latter films but still a decent monster romp for a Saturday afternoon.
Paired on an unlikely double-bill with this film about the perils of teenage pregnancy!:
This is the 7th film in Hammer's Dracula series and while I like the idea of Dracula Vs. swingin' 70's British hippies, this movie, for the most part, is pretty dull. Many Hammer films are slow and talky and often the old-timey setting is pretty unexciting. This time they set it in the modern-day(1970's) so at least you get an acid-rock band and some partying acid-heads. The whole Dracula part though is so predictable and standard that it's really hard to get into the film on any level. It starts with a flash-back which wasn't in the previous movie(SCARS OF DRACULA) and then ends in a pretty similar way. Hammer couldn't have come up with something at least a little bit original here? Pretty disappointing despite the presence of Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, some super red blood and a couple of scantily-clad English birds including most notably the lovely Caroline Monroe.
In Denmark this is known under the title VAMPIRE HUNTER HOTPANTS which might be one of the most amazing titles ever!:
In some European countries this didn't come out until 1973:
This along with CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and all their various sequels ushered in a new era of monster movies which led to stuff like FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND magazine becoming popular and THE MUNSTERS being a hit TV program. So these films are historically important and are basically remakes of the old Universal monster flicks but with some ultra-red blood thrown in and much more British-ness. As I kid watching these movies on TV I found the parts without Drac to be a real drag but now I can appreciate the building of tension and atmosphere a lot more. Christopher Lee portrays the title monster and while he's no Bela Lugosi he's certainly more athletic and cuts a pretty imposing figure. AKA DRACULA and DRACULA 1958
There's a slightly longer Japanese cut that was released a couple of years back that I've yet to see.
