Posts Tagged ‘Hammer Film’


The Abominable Snowman

May 6th, 2011 | article by | 1 Comment »
Tags: , , , , , ,
Year: 1957    Runtime: 86′   Director: Val Guest
Writers: Nigel Kneale  Cinematography: Arthur Grant   Music: Humphrey Searle
Cast: Peter Cushing, Forrest Tucker, Maureen Connell, Richard Wattis, Arnold Marlé, Robert Brown, Michael Brill

Botanist Dr. John Rollason (Peter Cushing), his wife and colleague Helen Rollason (Maureen Connell), and his friend and colleague Peter Fox (Richard Wattis) are spending time in a monastery in the Himalayas to catalogue the local plant life. That the whole botanical business isn’t the only reason for Rollason’s stay becomes clear when another small expedition, led by the very American Tom Friend (Forrest Tucker), arrives.

John has been hiding from his wife that he’s been in contact with Friend to help him in an expedition to the least explored parts of the mountain to find one of John’s hobby horses there – the Yeti. Helen is less than amused by her husband keeping this dangerous climbing trip a secret from her until there’s no way to keep it secret anymore, especially because the last large scale climbing John took part in nearly killed him and caused him to swear off mountaineering completely. It doesn’t help John’s case that Helen doesn’t believe in the Yeti at all.

Continue Reading »



Quatermass and the Pit

June 30th, 2009 | article by | No Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

a.k.a. FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH
Hammer Film Productions [1967] 97′
country: United Kingdom
director: Roy Ward Baker
cast: James Donald, Andrew Keir,
cast: Barbara Shelley, Julian Glover

Order this film from:
Amazon.com
| Amazon.co.uk

When a construction crew working on the expansion of the London Underground uncovers a number of humanoid skeletons, it wastes no time in calling in the archaeological department of the Museum of Natural History – headed by Doctor Roney [Donald].  The military becomes involved when Roney’s dig uncovers what appears to be an unexploded warhead left over from the last World War.  Leading the military investigation into the bomb, which becomes increasingly suspicious as more of it is excavated, is Colonel Breen [Glover], who has very recently been put in charge of the rocket group headed by Professor Quatermass [Keir].  Quatermass, at first uninterested, changes his tune when the supposed missile is revealed to be hollow, aside for a closed off chamber in the front end.  What’s more, intact remains of more of the humanoids are discovered inside of it, implying that they were within it when it first landed.  Given that the skeletons are fully five million years old, finding them inside the thing throws something of a wrench in the idea that it is a defective German weapon from WWII.

Continue Reading »



These are the Damned

September 17th, 2008 | article by | No Comments »
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

a.k.a. THE DAMNED
Hammer Film Productions [1961] 96′
country: United Kingdom
director: JOSEPH LOSEY
cast: ALEXANDER KNOX, MACDONALD CAREY,
cast: SHIRLEY ANNE FIELD, KENNETH COPE

THESE ARE THE DAMNED (or, as released in 1965 in the USA, THE DAMNED) is an oft overlooked genre outing from blacklisted director Joseph Losey that, thanks to a few recent theatrical screenings and at least one television broadcast via Turner Classic Movies, is beginning to receive some of the positive reception it so richly deserves. Originally produced in 1961, the film encountered some trouble in its attempts to be distributed, eventually appearing in the UK in 1963 and the United States two years after that, albeit parred down to 87′ (or less, in some cases). More recently, Sony has taken to restoring the film to its original 96 minute running time and playing it on a very small scale theatrically and, as already mentioned, on television.

Continue Reading »