December 2021 Update

It's been quiet over this way, mainly because pretty much everything I've been covering as of late has fallen well within the remit of Spooky Isles, where you can find my most recent articles.

After many hours spent in darkness with Brian Clemens' brilliant creation, my Thriller episode guide finally reaches its end with series six reviewed in depth at https://www.spookyisles.com/thriller-episode-guide/

A far shorter lived ITV venture came from Granada for Christmas 1974, and I'm looking at the two episodes produced for their eerie Haunted strand at https://www.spookyisles.com/haunted-episode-guide-1974-anthology/

Meanwhile, a couple of my film recommendations for 2021 you may have missed...

The Green Sea reviewed at https://www.spookyisles.com/the-green-sea-2021-review/

The Power reviewed at https://www.spookyisles.com/the-power-2021-review/

I take a whistle-stop tour around the world with 10 overseas posters from the golden age of Hammer Horror, at https://www.spookyisles.com/hammer-horror-posters/

Finally, we said farewell to late-period Hammer star Shane Briant: My obituary is at https://www.spookyisles.com/shane-briant-obituary/.

Hope you've all had the best Christmas possible, and wishing you a peaceful, prosperous and safe 2022.

MOVIE: The Quiet Ones (2014)

UK/US 2014, 98m, Exclusive/Hammer/Travelling Picture Show Company
Blu-Ray: Lionsgate (UK), Cert 15.

England, 1974. An Oxford University lecturer enlists the assistance of some students, hoping to cure a girl of what appears to be a form of possession, which the professor refutes. In attempting to disprove dark forces, he unwittingly unleashes them...

The 21st Century model of Hammer follow up the roaring success of the admittedly flawed but actually pretty good The Woman In Black with a change in period for this tale of possible possession set in the early 1970's.

You can tell it's the 70's because Slade and T. Rex are on the radio (although an anachronistic cover of Hawkwind's Silver Machine blows the gaffe somewhat). They also appear on the soundtrack in VERY LOUD BURSTS. Much as I love the tones of Noddy Holder, there is a limit.

You can also tell it's the 70's because everyone seems to smoke a lot (in university lectures!), and has dodgy fashion sense. At least the makers stop short of having the cast bouncing around on Spacehoppers and eating Spangles, but you get the general idea. Meanwhile, Erin Richards' get-up of flowery dress and cigarette holder may have been striking on Carnaby Street for a short period in 1967, but in 1974? Really?

The story must have looked promising on paper, and it's hard to work out how it could have gone so wrong in reaching the screen. I personally suspect a rewrite too many might be partially responsible. Then, there's the casting. You can't help feeling that the actors were chosen to improve chances of US distribution, rather than for any actual suitability for the roles. I fear the dreaded "demographic research" has been at work again. I can see the marketing people saying "Hey, Mad Men is popular, and the kids love The Hunger Games, let's just cast someone from each flick. We can't lose!"

Indeed... This transatlantic casting trick may have helped the company in making b-features in the 1950's, but it looks all too calculated these days. The usually reliable Jared Harris hams it up, whilst Sam Claflin just doesn't convince as the nominal hero. Only Olivia Cooke as the tormented Jane Harper really makes a mark.

The scares frequently fail to register, mainly because you'll anticipate any shock moments a good couple of seconds before they happen (the irritating, dischordant sounds cranked up to 11 really don't help). Dress it up all you like, but regardless of how retro you make it appear, that found footage look is really wearing thin now, and the other cliches never stop. Despite the very nicely rendered period trappings, it all falls rather flat.

The Quiet Ones strives to emulate the likes of 70's TV drama The Stone Tape and its ilk, whilst failing to get a grip on what made such productions tick. Funnily enough, The Stone Tape was directed by Hammer alumnus Peter Sasdy. It's a pity that nobody involved with this disappointing endeavour asked him for some pointers...

It's not the worst film you will see this year - beautifully made from a visual and technical point of view, the cinematography and colour palette are quite reminiscent of the kind of film stock used in the period. The real problem is that The Quiet Ones falls woefully short of the high standards you should expect from the Hammer brand, whose current owners would do well to remember that they can't trade on goodwill from fans forever...



If you want to see what the film was supposedly inspired by (VERY loosely, I might add), find out more here.

COMMERCIAL BREAK: Dracula Has Risen From The Grave - TV Spot (1968)

Following my recent piece on Hammer's Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (which you can read over at SpookyIsles.com by clicking the image above), I came across this vintage TV spot.

It was created by Warner Bros-Seven Arts to promote the original theatrical release on US television back in 1968. Quite bizarre, yet strangely enjoyable, it would certainly make me want to go and see the movie, although the humourous tone does the movie a disservice somewhat. It's an interesting timepiece nonetheless...

With thanks to YouTube user Ash595 for the upload...

FOOTNOTE: Yes, you heard that right - The MPAA rated this film G - General Audiences, All Ages Admitted. Go figure...

MOVIE: The Witches (1966)

After an uncomfortable encounter in Africa with the occult, an English schoolteacher takes up a post in a quiet country village, only to find that the locals may be practicing black magic as well...

Gwen Mayfield (Joan Fontaine) takes up her new position, and starts to become aware that all is not as it seems. One of the girls in the class seems to have an overbearing grandmother, who has taken a great disdain to her growing relationship with a boy in the same class So has most of the village, come to that.

The locals are outwardly friendly, but there is something not quite right. Local journalist Stephanie Bax (Kay Walsh), seems to be a voice of reason in the cast of local eccentrics, but even that may be a mask. Meanwhile, Stephanie's brother Alan (Alec MacCowan) incongruously harbours a desire to be a priest... 

A somewhat curious entry in Hammer's catalogue. Joan Fontaine had bought the rights to the novel The Devil's Own in 1962. Written by Norah Lofts (better known for her historical novels), it had been published under the pseudonym of Peter Curtis, to differentiate it from her usual work. Fontaine had hoped it would be the ideal project to re-launch her film career, and following an adaptation by Nigel Kneale it went into production at Hammer's Bray Studios.

Director Cyril Frankel, better known for his work on several ITC series of the period, does a good job for the most part (note that I say most part), creating an unsettling atmosphere as strange things start to occur in the community and the teacher starts to think that either something sinister is afoot, or she is losing her mind. So far, so good

But, oh dear. The last ten minutes... This is one of the few Hammer films to have a credit for choreography, and that's exactly the problem with the climax. It looks far too choreographed, like a demented West Side Story. It unfortunately makes a mockery of what has come before (the director blamed the screenwriter, and vice versa.), but fortunately it's not enough to spoil the film completely. At its best, The Witches interestingly presages the atmosphere of Brit-classics The Prisoner and The Wicker Man in the village scenes and it has some fine set pieces. If the film is ultimately a failure, it is in comparison with Hammer's usual standards. Sadly, the disappointing box office results would fail to meet Fontaine's hopes that it would reboot her cinema career.

Blu-Ray Notes: It's another nice transfer in StudioCanal's series of archive Hammer releases. The lack of extras, however, is telling of its status in their filmography. The Blu-ray has been advertised on some sites as containing a commentary, but this was nowhere to be seen on the copy I rented. There is, however a very enjoyable documentary called Hammer Glamour, featuring the ladies who graced the studio's output. With contributions from Valerie Leon, Caroline Munro, Martine Beswick, Madeleine Smith, Jenny Hanley and Vera Day (but sadly not Veronica Carlson), it's an enjoyable and interesting programme, which would be the ideal basis for a more thorough feature-length documentary on its subject. It certainly helps make this release a more desirable purchase.



UK 1966 -Hammer/ABPC

aka: The Devil's Own

91 Minutes

Certificate - X (UK, original release), 12 (UK, Blu-Ray)

Blu-Ray/DVD: StudioCanal (UK)

Original Theatrical Trailer

OBITUARY: Anthony Hinds - Legendary Hammer Horror Producer

Anthony Hinds

19th September 1922 - 30th September 2013

A very sad day at The Purple Patch, with the news that one of the leading figures of the legendary Hammer studio has passed away, just days after his 91st birthday.

Anthony Hinds was the son of co-founder Will Hinds, whose stage name of Will Hammer gave the company its name. On Will's passing, Hinds the younger took on the family share of the company, and would come up with the idea of renting large country houses to make films, a pivotal decision which would eventually lead the company to their Bray Studios base.

Hinds would initially produce a wealth of the studio's early output, mostly quickie thrillers, before taking the reins on The Quatermass Experiment, Quatermass II, X - The Unknown, The Curse Of Frankenstein and Dracula. Many more would follow.

Under the pseudonym of John Elder, Hinds would additionally pen many scripts for the company, ranging from Dracula and Frankenstein sequels to the classic Curse Of The Werewolf.

Sadly, his production duties ended with the TV series, Journey To The Unknown, when the American backers installed Joan Harrison as producer over his head and he was reduced to an assistant role. He left Hammer as a result. However, he would continue to write scripts for them under the Elder nom-de-plume, the last film screenplay being Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell.

Later scripts for Tyburn followed (The Ghoul, Legend Of The Werewolf, Sherlock Holmes And The Masks Of Death), but in his later years Hinds seemed happy to talk about his time with Hammer for documentaries and to attend fan events. His last such interview was for Mark Gatiss' A History Of Horror in 2010.

Anthony Hinds' passing severs yet another link with Britain's glorious Gothic cinematic past, but he left behind him a wealth of work which will live on for as long as movies are shown. His contribution, not just to UK horror, but to a great British cinema success story is immeasurable.

COMMERCIAL BREAK: Hammer Horror Girls in TV Ads...

Yes, it's the 70's, and as these ads demonstrate, political correctness has not yet been invented. Two of Hammer's most popular ladies of horror (and both Bond girls to boot) are in action, as Madeleine Smith extols the virtues of Supersoft shampoo, whilst Valerie Leon puts sales of Hai Karate after shave through the roof...

Just one question - why is the guy in the Hai Karate ad trying to fight her off? ;-)

PICTURE THIS: On the set of Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968)

Dracula Has Risen From The Grave: (c) Hammer Film Productions/Warner Bros.

At Pinewood studios in the spring of 1968, director Freddie Francis (right) talks Veronica Carlson and Barry Andrews through a scene, whilst Hammer stalwart Michael Ripper looks on in the background. For Hammer's first Dracula picture after their move away from Bray Studios, Terence Fisher was originally intended as director. When he pulled out after an injury, Francis stepped in.

Hammer's newest discovery at the time, Veronica Carlson was spotted by studio head James Carreras when he saw a photo of her in a newspaper, and offered her the role of  Maria. Barry Andrews played her suitor Paul - he would later appear in the brit-horror classic Blood On Satan's Claw (1970).

Christopher Lee was making his third appearance for the company as Count Dracula, and he is seen here with Carlson in a posed publicity photo.

Dracula Has Risen From The Grave: (c) Hammer Film Productions/Warner Bros.

Photos originally sourced from Horror Films by Alan Frank (Hamlyn, 1977)

MOVIE: The Brides Of Dracula (1960)

Time has passed since Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) destroyed Count Dracula. He now finds himself facing one of the vampire cult's disciples, one Baron Meinster (David Peel), who has been kept chained up by his mother (Martita Hunt) in an effort to curb his nocturnal activities. When an unsuspecting visitor (thinking him a cruelly treated victim) releases him, he is on the loose. It's up to Van Helsing once again to take care of matters...

Some of Hammer's greatest individual moments appear in The Brides Of Dracula. The sequence in which Van Helsing deals with the possibility of becoming one of the undead himself remains one of the most powerful in the English Gothic cinema, and the fiery climax is a visual feast. The final denouement is ingenious and still looks superb. There is also (intentionally or otherwise) a subtle sexual/freudian/oedipal undercurrent to proceedings. However, I would suggest that more has been made of this in the passing years than director Terence Fisher ever intended. I would also suggest it isn't overt enough to justify placing it in the Gay/Lesbian film category that my online rental service chose to...

All the ingredients which make a great Hammer horror are here. Superstitious villagers, the village inn, comic turn from a peripheral character (in this case Miles Malleson as the local doctor), ghostly vampire brides clawing their way out of their graves, an appearance from Michael Ripper... Whilst I wouldn't go quite as far as some in declaring it their greatest effort (there's some serious plot holes resulting from a series of rewrites for one thing, and the bat still looks a bit ropey), it's still top tier stuff.

Blu-Ray Notes: The high-def transfer in the Final Cut release looks very good if not the most striking HD presentation I've seen. The original film grain is intact, if occasionally overpowering. I don't think we're dealing with a first generation source here - Universal's master was apparently lost in a fire, so this is probably as good as it's gonna get for now. As has now become de rigeur for any Hammer BD release, the aspect ratio used will be sparking debate all over the internet. The ratio used here is probably correct for the film's original US outing, but not for its European release. Some picture information has been lost from the lower portion of the screen. Whilst the option to see a European ratio version would have been nice, this edition does look pretty damn good all in all. Extras are a trailer, photo gallery and a very good making-of documentary.



UK 1960 - Hammer/Universal

85 Minutes

Certificate - X (following cuts, original UK release); 12 (uncut, for this release!)

Blu-Ray: Final Cut Entertainment (UK) (previous DVD from Showbox Entertainment)

  

Original Theatrical Trailer

An aside: A favourite anecdote of mine relates to The Brides Of Dracula. Film writer and critic Alan Frank (who I must credit with getting me interested in vintage horror movies on an academic level) was standing by Terence Fisher during a conversation with some Belgian film journalists where they were discussing the film. The interviewers were very excited by one scene in the film and the camera angles used. Alan said, “Terry says you could only put the camera in one position. When they built the set, it was the only place left for the camera! It was easy for the critic to see something that was never intended.”

Thanks to SpookyIsles.com for this story - you can read their interview with Alan Frank here

MOVIE: The Evil Of Frankenstein (1964)

After being hounded out of his home by local villagers after his experiments with a newly laid-out corpse, Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) goes back to his ancestral home in the hope of continuing his work. Here, he finds that the Frankenstein name is still mud as far as the locals are concerned, but undeterred he carries on...

Always the unloved runt of Cushing's Frankenstein outings, time has been relatively kind to The Evil Of Frankenstein. Whilst not in the top division of the studio's output, it respectfully stands tall in the second tier, a fascinating one-off fusion of Hammer's then radical overhaul of the Gothic film and Universal's approach from their golden age horror cycle. The collaboration between the two results in the only Hammer birthed creature to bear any resemblance to Jack Pierce's make up for Boris Karloff. Sadly, one of the unfortunate side effects of the hi-def treatment is that it shows up more than ever the inadequacies of the monster design. Designer Roy Ashton was under considerable pressure and working against the clock as the producers struggled to choose a design for the creature's face, and in this edition it shows more than ever, like a crude papier-mache mask and certainly not up to Ashton's usual standards. The film looks and feels stylistically different too. The previous writer/director team of Jimmy Sangster and Terence Fisher is here replaced by producer Anthony Hinds (under his nom-de-plume of John Elder) and Freddie Francis, making his first Gothic-horror for Hammer following a couple of psychological thrillers. 

Then there is the rewrite of the series back-story. Whilst 1958's The Revenge Of Frankenstein picked up nicely where 1956's The Curse Of Frankenstein had left off, this installment starts from scratch with an entirely new past being created for the Baron. Here, we are told that an earlier attempt at making a creature simply led to him being banished from his village, rather than sent to the gallows. This allows the creature to be rediscovered, preserved in ice! Playing the creature, New Zealand born wrestler Kiwi Kingston does pretty much what is expected of him, generally lumbering around and causing mayhem, albeit without the pathos of other creations in the canon.

Make-up and continuity aside, there is still plenty to enjoy. The Evil Of Frankenstein hasn't been given the kind of makeover afforded The Curse Of Frankenstein, but it's a nice enough transfer considering the unrestored source material. Especially striking is the machinery used to bring the creature to life, which gives more than a nod to Kenneth Strickfaden's crackling generators of Universal's 1931 classic. If the film is ultimately a failure in some ways, it's always an interesting one. After all, as one of Britain's greatest ever cinematographers, did Freddie Francis ever direct a film that wasn't pleasing to look at?

In short, if you separate The Evil Of Frankenstein from the Fisher-directed entries in Hammer's catalogue and treat it as a stand-alone film, what you are left with is a very enjoyable 84 minutes. Peter Cushing was always pretty much brilliant whatever he was in, and he certainly helps to bring this one up a notch or two. Meanwhile, Cushing and Terence Fisher would get things back on track in 1967's Frankenstein Created Woman

Blu-Ray Notes: The UK BD release from Final Cut Entertainment adds trailer, photo gallery and a very good 30 minute making-of documentary. As mentioned before, the source hasn't been given a full-blown restoration, but it's quite a nice transfer considering. The aspect ratio will doubtless cause controversy (is there a vintage Hammer BD release which hasn't?). It isn't in the original European projection ratio, but is formatted to match the film's original US release. It would have been nice to include the extra footage inserted for the US TV version as an extra (available over on YouTube!), but other than that it's a nice package overall.



UK 1964 - Hammer/Universal

84 Minutes

Certificate - X (following cuts, original UK release); 12 (uncut, for this release!)

Blu-Ray: Final Cut Entertainment (UK) (previous DVD from Showbox Entertainment)

Original UK trailer: