the two faces of dr jeykll (1960)

"You vile disgusting degenerate!"
Dr. Henry Jekyll (Paul Massie) proposes that inside every human is two personalities, a theory dismissed by his colleagues. So he sets out to prove it. Tied up in his work he doesn't seem to notice his wife (Dawn Addams) is having an affair with his louche friend Paul Allen (Christopher Lee). But then Jekyll finds a formula that transforms him into the confident and handsome Edward Hyde who sets out to enjoy the sordid nightlife of London...
A well worn tale told with some panache.

sherlock holmes and the deadly necklace (1962)

aka Valley of Fear.
"Is he in constant fear for his life?"
Holmes (Christopher Lee) and Watson (Thorley Walters) pit their witts against their nemesis, Professor Moriarity (Hans Söhnker), who is plotting to steal an ancient necklace supposed to have belonged to Cleopatra.
It doesn't take much deduction to realise that this is one of the lesser Holmes movies.

the burning (1967)

aka Island Of The Burning Damned. Night Of The Big Heat.
"This heat is stifling."
The island of Fara is baking in a heatwave, which is disturbing as the rest of Britain sits in the depths of winter snow. No one seems to know what is the cause, apart from a visting scientist, who theorises that it is aliens...
Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing guest star in this low budget thriller.

the revenge of frankenstein (1958)

aka Blood of Frankenstein.
"I swore I would have my revenge. They will never be rid of me!"
The Baron (Peter Cushing) escapes execution and moves to Germany, to ply his trade, cunningly renamed as Dr Stein, and with the help of Dr Kleve (Francis Matthews) he starts piecing together his new monster.
Fine gothic horror sequal to the Curse of Frankenstein.

final appointment (1954)

aka The Last Appointment.
"Not my trouble, yours!"
Reporting duo Mike Billings & Jenny Drew (John Bentley & Eleanor Summerfield) investigate a series of unsolved murders and find they are linked to a court-martial case during the war, and set out to protect the last of those involved.
A well paced and efficient detective story.

night of the big heat (1967)

aka Island of the Burning Damned. Island of the Burning Doomed.
"Surely it can't get any hotter?"
Whilst the mainland is shivering in a winter cold snap, the island of Fara is baking in the heat. No one can figure out why this is but visting scientist Godfrey Hanson (Christopher Lee) suspects aliens!
Drama that throws away its punchline, lacks any sense of horror, and under uses Peter Cushing.

the man who could cheat death (1956)

"What is death that it should be feared so much?"
Dr. Bonner (Anton Diffring) has found a way to live forever, but to do so necessitates regular human gland transplants, and when a woman who has modeled for him goes missing, people start to get suspicious about his ever youthful appearance.
A remake of 'The Man in Half Moon Street' that gathers together a number of Hammer stars, including Christopher Lee, in a rare outing as the hero, and Hazel Court as the damsel in distress. Much talk, and little action renders this a lesser, though still entertaining Hammer.

the earth dies screaming (1964)

"It's quiet as a tomb here."
People all over Britain are mysteriously dropping dead, a prelude to an invasion by robots controlled by aliens intent on conquering earth. Their method? To re-animate the dead and control them to overwhelm the survivors, led by Jeff Nolan (Willard Parker).
At under an hour in length, this has little chance to sag, and Fisher keeps this Sci-fi melodrama ticking over effectively with what little money he has.

four sided triangle (1953)

aka The Monster and the Woman.
"He was driven by a force he couldn't control."
Dr Harvey (James Hayter) relates the story of Bill, Robin and Lena (Stephen Murray, John Van Eyssen and Barbara Payton), childhood friends who develop a 'reproducer', a machine capable of duplicating any object. But problems follow when Lena marries Robin. Bill in love with Lena himself, convinces Lena to allow him to copy her, so he can have a Lena of his own. Unfortunately he does not account on the feelings of the duplicate, Helen. For she also falls for Robin.
This could have been a great film, but is far too slow in developing its central premise. The last third of the film turns out to be a small gem, but far too late in the day to help overall.

race for life (1956)

aka Mask Of Dust.
"He's finished and you know it! He should have packed up two years ago."
A 'man's gotta do' picture, where Peter Wells (Richard Conte) is a grand prix driver out of form. His wife Patricia (Mari Aldon) wants him to quit, but he cannot until he proves to everyone that he still has what it takes to win...
A small film, with big ambitions, featuring much racing footage, in an attempt to cover for a simplistic script.

the unholy four (1954)

aka The Stranger Came Home.
"That's not a sweater she's knitting - it's a noose."
A mysterious man turns up at a house party on a large country estate. He turns out to be the owner, Vickers (William Sylvester), who has been missing presumed dead for four years. His return opens old wounds and precipitates a number of murders as he tries to find out who attempted to murder him four years previously.
A low key and talky noir featuring Paulette Godard as Vickers wife. Offers promise but never really delivers on its intreging opening, despite throwing in and then ignoring a number of red herrings.

the gelignite gang (1956)

aka The Dynamiters.
“You like to live pleasantly, how would you like to go on living pleasantly?”
Insurance investigator Jimmy Baxter (Wayne Morris) is on the trail of a gang of jewel thieves. Meanwhile his young secretary Sally (Sandra Dorne) has also turned detective and finds some pertinent clues of her own…
A quota quickie, with a decent plot, and plenty to keep the punters happy.

hound of the baskervilles (1959)

"The hounds! Let loose the pack!"
Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) undertakes to protect the new Lord Baskerville (Christopher Lee) from the curse that has stalked his family for generations.
Hammer put their patented spin on the detective story, with Cushing and Lee giving their usual outstanding performances. A fine adaptation is the result.

island of terror (1966)

Night of the Silicates. The Creepers. The Night the Creatures Came. The Night the Silicates Came.
"There was no face. Just a horrible mush with the eyes sittin' in it."
cancer specialist Dr. Philips (Peter Forbes-Robertson), is undertaking his research on a remote island. When a man is found dead, the corpse being nothing more than a lump of jelly, Dr. Brian Stanley (Peter Cushing) and Dr. David West (Edward Judd) are brought in. They quickly realise that Philips may have created a living being and it has broke free of the lab.
An interesting little film, that entertains more for the inclusion of Peter Cushing in the cast than for the creatures.

the mummy (1959)

"There's something evil in there Joe, I've felt it!"
Its 1895, and archaeologists find the tomb of an Egyptian Princess which is guarded by the mummy of her high priest (Christopher Lee). Despite warnings by Mehemet Bey (George Pastell) they open the tomb and awaken the mummy of Kharis. Three years later Bey arrives in England intent on revenge. It is left to John Banning (Peter Cushing) to end the curse and protect his wife Isobel (Yvonne Furneaux), who resembles the Princess.
Having produced their version of the Dracula and Frankenstein stories its perhaps not surprising that Hammer then turned to another classic horror, this time the Mummy. Again they bring to life a Victorian Gothic horror, in full colour, but still full of moody atmosphere.

the black glove (1953)

AKA Face The Music.
"...you fool you. Why don't you leave the chicks alone?"
Brad Bradley (Alex Nicol) is a famous American jazz trumpeter, on his first trip to England. Having met a beautiful young female singer, he ends up at her apartment. The next day he finds out she has been murdered and he is the chief suspect, being as he was the last person to see her alive. As usual in these things he determines to clear his name and find the killer. First stop is her sister Barbara Quigley (Eleanor Summerfield).
Standard film noir fare, from the moody black and white cinematography, through to the protagonists voice over. But this holds the attention more than most of the quickies that Hammer produced during the period.

phantom of the opera (1962)

"I am going to teach you to sing, Christine. I am going to give you a new voice!"
A fated new opera opens, but has a run of bad luck, ending in the death of a stage hand during a performance. Then a promising young singer Christine Charles (Heather Sears) disappears. The producer (Edward de Souza) goes in seach and discovers a mystery surrounding the authorship of the opera. Could it be that it was not written by Lord Ambrose D'Arcy (Michael Gough), who claims it as his, but the missing presumed dead Prof Petrie (Herbert Lom)? And could Petrie be behind all the bad luck plaguing the performance?
Hammer takes another tried and tested classic and give it their own take, changing the location and much of the story. This version plays up the phantom character as a man pushed to the limit by an unscrupulous man, and a man who we see in a sympathetic way, playing down the horror for pathos.

the devil rides out (1968)

aka The Devil's Bride.
"I won't be back, but something will be..."
On discovering an old friend Simon (Patrick Mower) has become involved with a Satanist cult, the Duc of Richeleau (Christopher Lee) and Rex (Leon Greene) kidnap him and try to protect him from the vengeance of the cult leader Mocata (Charles Gray). Along the way they also try to help Tanith (Nike Arrighi), another rather prettier initiate than Simon.
Thus Hammer takes its first steps into the world of Dennis Wheatley and comes up with this fine adaption. Lee proves to be an athletic hero, countering the marvelously evil Gray, as the film builds to the inevitable final set piece battle. A boys own struggle of good against evil.

kill me tomorrow (1957)

Bart Crosbie (Pat O'Brien) is a washed up drunken hack journalist, who finds himself in the middle of a murder inquiry, when his editor Brook (Ronald Adam), is murdered after trying to expose a local mobster Heinz (George Coulouris). Brook's dying breath tells Bart who did it, but Bart needs lots of money fast to pay for his son's operation. So he comes to an arrangement with Heinz. For the price of the operation Bart will confess, leaving Heinz in the clear. Only one problem remains, Jill Brook (Lois Maxwell). She's Brook's niece and the person who stumbled on Bart standing over her uncle's body, gun in hand, but even so she comes to believe he's innocent. Worse of all the police believe her and they cut him loose, leaving Heinz believing he's been double-crossed, and you don't want to cross Heinz!
The actions of a desperate man as his confession crumbles, gives a nice angle. The actors fill out their parts well, and there's even room for Freddie Mills (a British boxing legend), and Tommy Steele (rocking out as himself) to pop up. All in all it makes a solid, if not a classic film noir.

the curse of frankenstein (1957)

Baron Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing), relates how he comes to be on death row, awaiting the guillotine. We flashback to Victor as a young man when he employs a tutor, Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart). Paul becomes a friend and co-scientist in their experiments which eventually lead to the resurrection of dead tissue. But Paul draws the line at grave robbing and quits. At this moment Victors cousin Elizabeth (Hazel Court) comes to live with them, with plans to marry Victor. Paul tries to warn her off, but when it is obvious that she is staying, he decides to try and protect her. Meanwhile Victor is locked in his lab successfully re-animating a grotesque being (Christopher Lee). A creature none to happy to be alive and all too eager to show everyone. It's bound to end in trouble...
This was the film that launched the Hammer horror style upon the world, gory, and sexy (for the time), adaptions of famous horrors. All in vivid colour! An historic film, and more importantly an enjoyable film for lovers of gothic horror and it has my favourite ever creature make up.