The Terror Of The Tongs (1961)

While there are ridiculous elements in this Hammer movie, it gets beyond an unsteady start to become a surprisingly solid revenge flick. This is Death Wish before people had heard of Death Wish.

Geoffrey Toone is the hero of the piece, Captain Sale, a man launched on a mission by the murder of his beloved daughter. This murder was arranged by the dastardly Tong crime family (led by Christopher Lee). They are, basically, an early 20th century, Hong Kong version of the yakuza and will do anything to protect their identities. Sale starts to upset the Tongs, picking fights with people he suspects will lead him up the chain of command and stubbornly refusing to die, and the stage is set for a confrontation that Sale is unlikely to walk away from.

Directed by Anthony Bushell and written by Jimmy Sangster, this is a colourful and exotic movie, with visuals, tension and thrills taking precedence over things like plausibility and historical accuracy. It doesn't even show that much of Hong Kong, so I don't want people mistakenly thinking they could watch it as some travelogue time capsule. Oh no, all that's shown is all that needs to be shown. Just a few sets and no major exterior shots (well, none that come to mind anyway).

Toone is good enough in the main role, he's believably strong and brave, while Lee does fine in the role of the main villain. It has to be said, however, that this is one of those movies from a past era, with the majority of the Chinese characters being portrayed, unfortunately, by the British actors that Hammer could enlist to work for them. The main female character, a woman named Lee, is actually played by the gorgeous Yvonne Monlaur, a French actress (see picture below). Roger Delgado, Charles Lloyd Pack, Ewen Solon and many others populate the Hong Kong shown onscreen, while the ubiquitous Burt Kwouk lends his authentic ethnicity to a minor role.

This may not be one of the best from Hammer, but it's still decent entertainment if you're in the right mood for it.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Terror-Of-Tongs-Region/dp/B008ADDWU4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379941097&sr=8-1&keywords=the+terror+of+the+tongs+dvd

The Brides Of Dracula (1960)

While this is the second movie from Hammer to use the Dracula name it doesn't actually feature Dracula himself. But we're still in Transylvania and there are still fanged threats around, mainly thanks to the dapper Baron Meinster (David Peel), and when a young travelling woman (the lovely, though not overly endowed with acting talent, Yvonne Monlaur) finds herself in trouble she is more than a little relieved to be given a helping hand by the great Dr. Van Helsing (played again by the great Peter Cushing). But things don't stop there and it's not long before Van Helsing realises that there is more than one vampiric beast he needs to lay to rest in Transylvania.

Directed by Terence Fisher, and written by a quartet of people, The Brides Of Dracula may not quite manage to make you forget that you wanted to see Christopher Lee appearing in the title role but it certainly manages to make its own mark thanks to a mix of great atmosphere, spooky imagery and moments of originality (Van Helsing dealing with a bite wound springs immediately to mind).

Cushing is as good as he always is, Monlaur is very pretty, Peel tries hard with the character he's given and Martita Hunt and Freda Jackson do very well with their screen time. There's also a very small role for Michael Ripper as a coachman and the beautiful Andree Melly makes a great impression as Gina but this is all about the dread and foreboding ladled over everything and it works very well in that respect.

The finale may not be quite as intense and exciting as some other releases from the studio but it again impresses with a bit of originality and I enjoyed the use of that Gothic horror staple - the creaky old windmill - immensely. There's really only one thing I can hold against it, but it's a biggie, and that's the fact that the title is a big, fat lie.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brides-Dracula-DVD-Martita-Hunt/dp/B000W22234/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350321904&sr=8-1