Category Archives: retrospective

Retrospective: The Snorkel (1958)

13 Sunday Nov 2022

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1958 would prove to be an eventful year for Hammer Film Productions. Having hit the early half of the year with the iconic Dracula aka The Horror of Dracula starring Christopher Lee in the titular role, and then releasing the sequel to The Curse of Frankenstein, equally projecting their franchise with Peter Cushing returning as Baron Frankenstein having escaped the guillotine in The Revenge of Frankenstein. To round out their trilogy of cinematic releases, Hammer would work with Columbia Pictures to distribute the feature as part of a double bill contract with wartime feature The Camp On Blood Island.

The Snorkel plays out like an Alfred Hitchcock feature with its elaborate murder and macabre dealings by the murderer himself, twisting and turning to achieve his goal in financial gain. There is an element of gaslighting at play too as Paul Decker (Peter Van Eyck) who is masterful in his manipulation, wields his power over his step-daughter Candy (Mandy Miller). Candy continuously questions Paul, convinced that he is responsible for the death of her mother. The issue is that all the evidence points to suicide, not homicide.

The writing by Hammer staple Jimmy Sangster and Paul Myers from a story by Anthony Dawson (Dial M For Murder – another Hitchcock connection) is cleverly played out for melodramatic purposes but lacks in dialogue in places.

It has some choice moments and hesitantly dangles the idea of a questionably dark ending before tying up loose ends. It also had a higher budget than Hammer had dealt with but this was primarily due to shooting on location in an Italian villa. This actually plays in the films favour and grounds the narrative. 

The Snorkel has been a little forgotten over the years, masked by the Gothic features that Hammer released at the time, but warrants further attention as it’s a fun little tale of murder and suspense.

– Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958)

13 Sunday Nov 2022

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Hot off the tails of Hammer’s iconic release of Dracula aka Horror of Dracula, the British Film production company would look to follow up on the success of their other Gothic feature, The Curse of Frankenstein. That film as noted at the time had the titular Baron played by Peter Cushing (returning once more here) heading for the guillotine. His resurrection would be a simple enough with Frankenstein paying off his executioner and escaping to form an alternate identity as Dr. Victor Stein set up his own successful practice in Carlsbruck. His alias is soon uncovered however by fellow doctor and admirer of Frankenstein’s work, Hans Kleve (Francis Matthews). Hans teams up with Frankenstein, eager to learn his methods and the two set work in picking up where he last left off, with the creation of life.

As part of these scientific methods, Frankenstein is accompanied by a hunchback, Karl (Oscar Quitak) who volunteers his brain in the promise of a new body (Michael Gwynne). It wouldn’t be a Hammer film without its share of drama and conflict which comes at the hand of Karl being beaten by a janitor damaging his brain and transforming his personality into a cannibalistic, decaying frame. From here, Frankenstein’s demise is on the cards and the town will awaken to his dark deeds.

Despite having a rushed script, the final cut would do well for Hammer, pulling in enough income at the box office and would be commended for a well handled screenplay ably supported by Jack Asher’s cinematography along with Terence Fisher’s directing. This is Cushing’s film though and his poise and acidic portrayal is one that lifts The Revenge of Frankenstein marking a successful franchise return and arguably one that is seen by some as better than its predecessor.

– Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Dracula (1958)

06 Sunday Nov 2022

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It’s 1958 and Hammer Films has slowly been making its mark on the horror celluloid scene, but they are about to cement their place forever with their iconic take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula as part of a deal between Seven Arts and Universal International. Iconic in that they would produce one of the most infamous images of the titular character thanks to the commanding presence of Christopher Lee. It would also see Lee don the fangs a total of seven times for Hammer, the last being The Satanic Rites of Dracula in 1973. His blood red eyes and performance as a sexual predator would set the image of modern Dracula up for life, but it would also be one that would irk Lee over time, becoming tiresome of the watered down versions he would ultimately play.

To add weight to the original feature (entitled The Horror of Dracula in the US as Universal wanted to distinguish the British version from their own 1931 feature starring Bela Lugosi), Hammer would cast Peter Cushing to play Dracula’s foe Van Helsing. A worthy and notable performance once again which would see Cushing insisting on performing his own stunts throughout.

It would once again herald Jimmy Sangster on writing duties, and the ever-dependable Terence Fisher in the directors chair following his success with The Curse of Frankenstein.

Upon review, the film still holds up well with solid performances throughout and the sexual undertone lays heavy with palettes of red, producing some well-handled effects. It’s also of note, the omission of key character Renfield from the novel, and the amalgamation of Jonathan Harker (John Van Eyssen) and Arthur Holmwood’s (Michael Gough) role in the storyline too.  

Upon release, the film did well despite heavy criticism from certain avenues of the media, dubbing the X certificate a pale option and cries for a new classification to be ordered. Either way it didn’t stop the punters from going to see it, and paved the bloody path for Hammer to walk along for another two decades.

– Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Monolith Monsters (1957)

16 Sunday Oct 2022

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As 1957 drew to a close, so did Universal’s stories around monsters, giant creatures, and supernatural events in the science fiction realm.

It wasn’t that the production company was short on ideas, and Monolith Monsters is a testament to this, pushing the envelope away from the known and into the unknown. When a meteorite crashes and its material then grows to epic proportions once exposed to water and turns anyone that crosses its path to ash.

Grant Williams who had already starred in the successful The Incredible Shrinking Man would star as the everyman turned hero, Dave Miller. Dave happens to be the head of San Antonio’s geological office, so he’s a man with smarts and just might have the answer to saving humanity from these monumental blocks of stone.

Joining Millar is his girlfriend and teacher Cathy played by American singer Lola Albright who supported Frank Sinatra and Debbie Reynolds in The Tender Trap and was only a few years away from acting opposite Elvis Presley in Kid Galahad. For Monolith Monsters though the lead characters Dave and Cathy would use their combined knowledge along with college professor Arthur Flanders (Trevor Bardette) to find a solution to stop the threat expanding into their town.

A particular highlight is the cameo performance from William Schallert as a benign meteorologist, happily carrying out his day without the slightest notion of the impending danger that is facing humankind. Also keen viewers will note a young Troy Donahue in one of his earlier roles playing a dynamite expert.

Whilst noted for its production design and special effects plus some noteworthy performances Monolith Monsters suffers with execution. It presents a unique story but fails to manifest or produce anything out of this grain of salt idea. As such the sands of time have been unkind over the years, left as a forgotten relic from a decade of dwindling success.

– Saul Muerte

Monolith Monsters is currently available as part of a double feature blu-ray with The Deadly Mantis at Umbrella Entertainment.

Retrospective: The Land Unknown (1957)

02 Sunday Oct 2022

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As Hammer Films were reinventing Gothic horror with The Curse of Frankenstein and awakening old myths with The Abominable Snowman, Universal Pictures were still venturing into humanity striving against gigantic creatures in the sci-fi adventure films. This time around, the exploration would take them into the heart of Antarctica to unleash the fears upon our central characters. 

The Land Unknown, directed by Virgil W. Vogel from a screenplay by László Görög would suffer immensely from its low budget, putting men in  dinosaur suits or shots of monitor lizards to subject our audience with fear. The result would have a poor effect and the film struggles to lift out of the realms of quality, shifting our ability to connect with it. Even retrospectively speaking, there is little substance here of worth.

In essence we join an expedition crew consisting of Commander Harold Roberts (Jock Mahoney), helicopter pilot Lt. Jack Carmen (William Reynolds), machinist Steve Miller (Phil Harvey) and reporter Maggie (Shirley Patterson). Maggie is the token female in the movie and is symbolic of the times playing the reporter, as it gave women a hard-boiled, intelligent edge whilst still needing to be sexually alluring, something that doesn’t go amiss among the male members of the crew, particularly the Commander. Often, there are comments in the script about the differences in the gender of each species they encounter, where each plays a significant role in the survival of their terrain. When the helicopter is forced to make an emergency landing this is put to the test when they find themselves in mysterious volcanic land beneath the icy surface and one that is rich in jungle life, including the aforementioned jungle.

Not only do they have to manage this unknown topography, but they soon discover another living soul who has adapted to life there since they crashed there. Dr. Carl Hunter was the sole survivor and has been used to life on his own, making him a gruff and unapproachable man, His intimidating demeanour softening only towards Maggie.

The rest of the film centres more on these conflicts, along with the volatile land and its inhabitants to play through to the conclusion. One that is a neatly tied bow and as such fails to flicker with the audience. Looking through the retrospective lens, this is definitely one of the lesser films that Universal produced at the time and much like the land in which it is set, has been forgotten over time.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Abominable Snowman (1957)

25 Sunday Sep 2022

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Hammer Films trio of features to be released in 1957 would be complete with The Abominable Snowman. The heightened success of The Curse of Frankenstein and Quatermass 2 had made people sit up and take notice of this British film production company. TAS would see Director Val Guest team up again with one of his lead stars Peter Cushing, a formula that would be successful for this fictionalised expedition in search of the snow dwelling yeti. 

Nigel Kneale would once again take on writing duties that would pen Cushing as botanist John Rollason who agrees to join the party led by Tom Friend (Forrest Tucker), only to discover that the true intentions behind the enterprise is to capture the ape-like creature for commercial gain. 

The group are attacked by a yeti one night but one of the trappers is able to kill it, and in turn they try to use the creature to lure others of its kind to them. All of this goes against Rollasons’ moral integrity and he soon comes to believe that the yeti may indeed be of vastly greater intelligence to humankind. It is possible that they are hibernating in the mountains, waiting for humanity to reach its natural decline, before taking over as our planet’s chief primate.
The narrative will now see a turn of the tables, and the expedition must try to survive their ordeal before the terrain or the yeti’s bring about their ruin.

For a feature set in the vast open spaces through sets created by Bernard Robinson based on existing photos of shots taken in the French Pyrenees and built in the now famous Pinewood Studios, there is enough eeriness conveyed. This despite the lack of fear from the little seen yetis. It’s a strong movie with a decent plot that deserves more attention and a chance to rise out of the shadows left by The Curse of Frankenstein. The next horror feature to be released would forever cement Hammer Films’ place in the genre movie scene…

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Quatermass 2 (1957)

24 Saturday Sep 2022

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Hammer Films swift follow up feature to The Curse of Frankenstein released in the same month of 1957 would be a sequel to the previously successful The Quatermass Xperiment. Continuing with the exploits and investigations of Professor Bernard Quatermass, this time around would see the brash scientist look into the strange goings on at Winnerden Flats following a high amount of meteorite falls. What he uncovers though is a lethal toxin being experimented on and an alien infiltration that could lead to disastrous consequences for the human race.

Based on the BBC production, this time around screenwriter Nigel Kneale would oversee writing duties for the feature but much to his chagrin would see American actor Brian Donlevy take on the lead role for the second time. Kneale was much aggrieved that Quatermass was portrayed by an American, a man very much considered to be British, but also by a man that he would describe as…

a bully whose emotional range ran from annoyance to fury

Marcus Hearn & Alan Barnes – The Hammer Story: The Authorised  of Hammer Films.

It doesn’t help that Donlevy was allegedly on the sauce throughout filming and apparently read off what is commonly known as idiot boards to recite his lines.

The film itself feels remarkably different from its predecessor, tapping into a more action, thriller style of exposition and one that in my opinion, goes against the grain of my high-held expectations. In this instance, I identify with Kneale’s plight about the casting of Quatermass, and find little to connect to, but admittedly I may be being biassed, as I much prefer Andrew Keir’s take in follow up Hammer film, Quatermass and the Pit.

Val Guest however does cut a fine take as director to the government, alien conspiracy flick, tying into the paranoia surrounding a post-war paranoia. It’s the beating heart of the feature and one that led some to believe that it was ahead of its time.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)

17 Saturday Sep 2022

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For me, The Curse of Frankenstein would mark the official change of the guard in horror films from Universal to Hammer. Not only did it revamp the now stagnant monster franchise, but propelled a new identity in the Gothic scene thanks to the vision of its director Terence Fisher; its two leads Peter Cushing in stoic form as the titular Baron Frankenstein and the heavily made up Sir Christopher Lee as the creature; but also the X factor charged with and championed by the films’ producers, setting a tone that would be replicated for another couple of decades to come. It also would have in its company writer Jimmy Sangster and composer James Bernard, who would both be part of Hammer’s signature. Above all else though, it would be Hammer’s first colour creature feature; one that would highlight all the blood, gore, and extravagant costumes with a vibrancy not seen on the big screen before.

Cushing and Lee would also prove to be a formidable duo before the camera for Hammer, for another 7 times with varying degrees of success. Lee would have to endure two to three hours in the makeup chair as Phil Leakey crafted the final, repulsive look from mortician’s wax, cotton wool, and rubber. The look deliberately steered away from Universal’ previous incarnation due to legal rights, allowing Hammer to present a unique spin on Mary Shelley’s classic tale. 

The narrative is told in flashbacks as Baron Frankenstein awaits a trip to the gallows,  but never wavers from his pursuit of achieving and creating life beyond the grave. What is starkly different from its predecessor is the cold and meticulous manner that Frankenstein’s actions are driven to in order to attain his goal. It is this characterisation and Cushing’s portrayal that offers a darkly disturbing version and one that is explored further throughout the various instalments that follow, most notably Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed which Cushing and fellow star Veronica Carlson believed crossed the boundaries of good taste.

The British press would initially turn up their noses to Hammer’s adaptation, with a general feel that it was purely for sadists. Both the British and American public would lap it up, which may or may not say something about our society. Regardless, it was enough of a reaction that was considered huge for its time that it would cement the foundations for Hammer Films and pave the way for their success to follow. It would also spawn a cult following and be an inspiration for many filmmakers to come. 

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

11 Sunday Sep 2022

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1957 would turn out to be one last hurrah for Universal (for the time being at least) as they produced a number of movies that year. Some were better than others and I would name The Incredible Shrinking Man as one of their more successful outlets, looking back at it for the Surgeons of Horror retrospectives.

Part of this appeal, I believe, is down to the penmanship of Richard Matheson, who would go on to write I Am Legend; A Stir of Echoes; and Hell House, to name but a few. TISM would be his first venture into  screenwriting duties, and as such, would share the screenplay credits with Richard Alan Simmons; a gun for hire at the time.

Jack Arnold would once again take on directing duties, being called upon to repeat his scifi horror genre flicks success bearing the Universal name: It Came From Outer Space; Creature From The Black Lagoon; Revenge of the Creature; This Island Earth; and Tarantula!

The latter would prove to have its merits as once again our protagonist would come up against a giant from which to defed himself. 

Our protagonist in question is Scott (Grant Williams) who is coated one day in a mysterious mist; a macguffin for the film and serves as the agent of Scott’s mysterious shrinking. At first, it’s the small things, such as his waist size, and losing a few inches of height which he notices when standing next to his wife, Louise (Randy Stuart). Over time things get steadily worse, and Scott becomes smaller and smaller, at one stage living in a doll house and fighting off the house cat, before being swept away down the basement and presumed to be dead.

The smarts behind this feature come from the psychological trauma that this has on Scott and to some degree Louise. Scott battles constantly trying to deal with his bizarre affliction, even straying away from Louise at one point when he meets a ‘circus freak’, Clarice (April Kent), who has dwarfism, seeking solace in someone who may understand him. His ailment continues however and he must once again face up to his torment and try to make peace with his woes. It is this rather gloomy aspect to the film that would hang heavy on cinema goers at the time, but one that smacks of a realistic portrayal of the ‘what ifs?’ Scenario that is presented. I am often drawn to movies that leave you feeling disconnected and a star reminder of how small we are in the grand scheme of things, and TISM is the epitome of this example and why I believe it ironically stands head and shoulders above its equivalent features of the late 50s. 

It certainly heralds an impact worthy enough to hold discussions about a potential remake. John Landis himself had one in production which unfortunately didn’t manage to see the light of day. 

Its resonance is still strongly felt though in the genre community and I wouldn’t be surprised to see something of similar ilk come about eventually. 

Unlike Scott, the film is unlikely to disappear into uncertainty, especially among film scholars and science fiction lovers.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Deadly Mantis (1957)

03 Saturday Sep 2022

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Ever since I saw Kamacuras stalking around in the Kaiju movie Son of Godzilla, I’ve had a deep dread of this (let’s face it) fairly timid mantises. Whenever I watched the movie, I must have been at that impressionable age where this triangular headed insect embedded into my mind. Its essentially one of the things that initiated my aerozoophobia.

So imagine my trepidation upon learning that amongst Universal Pictures scifi horror canon during the mid fifties is movie entitled The Deadly Mantis.

Set in the South Seas, a volcanic eruption unearths a 200 foot long praying mantis that has been frozen in ice for hundreds of years.

When one of the remote Canadian outposts fails to return any calls, Col. Joe Parkman (Craig Stevens) is sent into investigate. Upon his arrival, Parkman discovers no sign of life and strange marks imprinted in the snow.

Later, an Air Force plane is grounded by the giant insect and Parkman notices the same slash marks he’d witnessed from the outpost. Only this time who also finds a five foot long spur. Fuelled by curiosity, he hires his top scientist to work our its origin but without success. So, in steps paleontologist Nedrick Jackson (William Hopper) who traces it to the praying mantis species.

When another attack happens at an Inuit village in the Arctic, the press become interested and magazine editor Marge Blane (Alix Talton) talks her way into joining the expedition posing as a photographer.

Its indicative of the time when Marge turns up to the base, all the men are instantly smitten by her presence, but its out hero Parkman that is the most taken by her, and the feeling is mutual between them. As with most trauma based narratives, these events often draw people together and as the the story unfolds between military and mantis attacks, their bond becomes further united.

The films conclusion smacks of earlier giant creature movies, most notably King Kong and Them, where the military bombard the monster with aero dynamic arsenal, this time forcing the Deadly Mantis into the Manhattan Tunnel. Trapped inside, Parkman takes a number of troops inside to kill it once and for all, armed with rifles and chemical bombs.

The feature didn’t live up to its gigantic proportions in the box office however, and failed to ignite massive interest. Looking back at it now, one can’t help but identify with this reaction as i struggled to connect with the plight, nor any fear that it tried to invoke, despite my own animosity.

Much like other sci-fi features of the era it would find itself subject to ridicule in Mystery Science Theatre 3000, a symbol of how these movies were received and the fall from grace that Universal was starting to find itself in.

  • Saul Muerte