The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959)

A solid, if unspectacular, Hammer movie, The Man Who Could Cheat Death feels, in many ways, like a forerunner to the far superior Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde. There's the lead character who turns out to be a bit of a dabbling scientist, a potentially disastrous romance, and a bit of biological tinkering that leads to the death of numerous innocent women.

Anton Diffring plays the titular character. He also happens to be a celebrated artist, and travels around quite a lot. This is due to the fact that he's managed to stay surprisingly youthful for far longer than the laws of nature would dictate. He has help from Dr. Ludwig Weiss (Arnold Marle), but the main plan for the upcoming procedure needed to rejuvenate him involves Dr. Pierre Gerard (Christopher Lee). And if Dr. Gerrard doesn't play along then maybe the innocent Janine Du Bois (Hazel Court) can be used to persuade him.

Written by Jimmy Sangster, based on a play by Barré Lyndon, and directed by Terence Fisher, this is an enjoyable chiller with some great character interactions and one or two fine set-pieces. Unfortunately, it just doesn't do enough to make it memorable, even though it's not actually a BAD film.

Diffring is fine, but fans will always wonder what Peter Cushing (the first choice) would have done with the role, especially acting opposite Christopher Lee once more. And Lee is very good, in a non-villainous role. Marle is very enjoyable, and gets to deliver some great dialogue, while Court is suitably lovely. Francis De Wolff plays Inspector Legris, a man who sense that something is very wrong, but can't quite place his finger on the unbelievable truth.

It's unfair, perhaps, to say that having Cushing in the lead role would have been enough to elevate the whole movie, but it's also something that I can't quite stop considering. This is a film built around a few central characters discussing morality and mortality, and few actors could deliver any such lines better than Cushing.
As it is, The Man Who Could Cheat Death is still watchable. It's just not anything great.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Could-Cheat-Death-Skull-Blu-ray/dp/B004W6JJXC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1393854644&sr=8-2&keywords=the+man+who+could+cheat+death

The Beast Must Die (1974)

The film that anyone who has seen it remembers for one reason - The Werewolf Break - The Beast Must Die is a strange mix of whodunnit, lycanthropy and some funky blaxploitation from Amicus. Unfortunately, it doesn't get any of the elements right, leaving viewers with an amusing curio instead of a genuinely interesting, unique movie.

Calvin Lockhart plays a rich asshole who gathers a number of people to his home, with the express intention of revealing one of them as a werewolf. That's not WHY he's an asshole. No. That's just something that he's able to do because he has the money to set up a lot of surveillance equipment around his home, and he gets to invite some prime suspects. He's an asshole because of the way he then treats those guests (only ONE of whom should/could be a werewolf, bear in mind). Anyway, the guests (Peter Cushing, Charles Gray, Michael Gambon, Ciaran Madden, Tom Chadbon, and Marlene Clarke, as the wife of Lockhart's character) all get to know one another while waiting to see who gets hairy and howly because of a full moon.

Directed by Paul Annett, this is based on a story by James Blish, and it puts itself forward more as an interesting conceit than anything that can make for a fully satisfying movie. It all builds to that aforementioned werewolf break, a device that audiences are told about at the very beginning of the movie, and it's the mystery element that succeeds more than the werewolf side of things.

The wildly varied acting of the main cast doesn't really help, with the likes of Cushing and Gray acquitting themselves with aplomb alongside lesser performances from Chadbon, Gambon (he's not bad, but it's far from his best performance) and, crucially, Lockhart hamming it up in the lead role. Marlene Clark and Ciaran Madden don't really get a lot to do, although the former is suitably exasperated by her husband throughout.

Werewolf fans beware, there's also a big mark against the movie due to the fact that any shots of the titular beast are clearly just shots of a dog, and not even a big, scary dog. Nope, budgetary restraints meant that the closest thing to a werewolf would have to be . . . . . . . . . well, just see it for yourself. And have a chuckle.

The Beast Must Die remains worth a watch, especially for fans of Amicus or any of the cast members involved, but it's not one of the best werewolf movies ever made. Although it remains one of the most unique.

6/10
If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews
Or Amazon is nice at this time of year - https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/Y1ZUCB13HLJD?ref_=wl_share