The Shadow Of The Cat (1961)

Mixing together elements of Poe, Hammer and also classic Ealing Studios fare (I, for one, felt a bit of a Kind Hearts & Coronets vibe running through the whole thing), The Shadow Of The Cat is a real treat for fans of the macabre.

Andre Morell plays the main role, a schemer who is shown killing his wife, and then burying her, at the start of the movie. He is helped in this matter by the butler (Andrew Crawford) and maid (Freda Jackson). There are no witnesses to the crime, except the cat owned by the deceased. While everyone involved tries to feign innocence and ignorance as the police investigate the disappearance of the victim, the cat starts to cause tension, and even seems to be deliberately plotting against the dastardly trio.

Written by George Baxt, and directed by John Gilling, this is standard stuff in many ways. The house in which all of the action takes place is full of dark corners and creaking floorboards, the assembled characters are, for the most part, not very nice, and the one true innocent (played by Barbara Shelley) takes a hell of a long time to realise that all isn't quite as it seems. The only main difference is the fact that revenge is being planned by a cat. That should make the whole thing quite laughable and ridiculous, but ends up making it quite amusing and brilliant.

Morell is as wonderful as he usually is in his role, and the scenes featuring him alongside Crawford and Jackson are all pretty great. Shelley is as lovely as ever, Conrad Phillips does his best to help her as the dependable Michael Latimer, a young man helping out the police in their investigation. Richard Warner, William Lucas and Vanda Godsell all do just fine as the other family members who arrive at the house to ensure that they're going to receive some inheritance, and Catherine Lacey plays the ill-fated cat owner for a minute or two at the start of the movie.

Well worth your time, The Shadow Of The Cat is an unjustly neglected slice of macabre fun that deserves to keep delighting fans who stumble across it.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shadow-Cat-dvd-UK-Release/dp/B00IORRBN0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394309535&sr=8-1&keywords=shadow+of+the+cat

The Gorgon (1964)

A Hammer horror movie starring both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. People who know me will know that as soon as The Gorgon started I suspected that I was on to a winner.

Cushing plays Dr. Namaroff, a man who has seen a number of strange deaths in his village. He's not, however, doing anything to draw attention to those deaths, despite the protests of his assistant, Carla (Barbara Shelley). As the villagers, and local law enforcement (led by Inspector Kanof, played by Patrick Troughton), stay on edge, more bodies start to turn up. Bodies of people who have been turned to stone. Richard Pasco plays a young man who may be next in line to get petrified, literally, but he might do okay if he heeds the advice from the visiting Professor Karl Meister (Christopher Lee).

Written by John Gilling (based on the story by J. Llewellyn Devine), The Gorgon is a pleasant surprise for a number of reasons. First of all, let's be upfront here, it should be ridiculous. A movie that's possibly about a gorgon in more modern times - well, it's set in the early 20th century - is something that viewers shouldn't be able to just watch without using all of their energy on the suspension of disbelief. But Gilling just keeps things rattling along so enjoyable, with enough ambiguity, that picking it apart is never a priority.

Terence Fisher directs with his usual style and technical competence. He makes the most out of every set (which are all up to the high standards set by the better movies in the Hammer horror filmography) and creates a nice blend of the melodramatic and the ethereal as the plot unfolds.

As for the cast, Cushing and Lee are both fantastic. The only downside is that they don't share the screen together for more than a minute or two. Shelley is a delight in what may be her best role from the many she was given by Hammer, and Pasco is a decent enough, if slightly bland, potential hero. Troughton is consistently brilliant as the Inspector obeying orders weighted by money more than the law of the land.

The Gorgon falls just short of greatness, simply because the premise is, as a Monty Python character might say, "a bit silly" but it's well worth your time and surprisingly entertaining from start to finish. If you end up hating it then I'll accuse you of being made of stone (*badump-tsshhhhh*).

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Gorgon-DVD-Christopher-Lee/dp/B003AWMWH4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381698986&sr=8-1&keywords=the+gorgon

Quatermass And The Pit (1967)

I loved Quatermass And The Pit when I saw it as a young lad, when it really creeped me out, and I still love it today. It remains one of my favourite Hammer movies and a jewel in the company's crown, as far as I'm concerned.

Things start getting a bit strange when a mysterious object is revealed while workmen dig up parts of a London underground station. At first thought to be an unexploded WWII missile, it soon becomes apparent that the object is something far more mysterious . . . . and possibly far more dangerous. Luckily, Professor Bernard Quatermass (played with great gusto by Andrew Keir) is on hand to put forward a theory or two involving scientific explanations of events that seem far removed from our realm of understanding.

Helped by a fantastic cast of folk who may not have had GREAT fame, but who were all very good in their roles (James Donald and Barbara Shelley are particularly good, while the likes of Julian Glover and Duncan Lamont and Bryan Marshall all do great work in smaller roles), this movie retains such an impact and ability to impress thanks largely to the writing of Nigel Kneale.

Roy Ward Baker does just fine in the director's chair, but any drama we see is always small-scale stuff even while it's hinting at a larger "shockwave". So it's up to our own suspension of disbelief and imaginations to fill in the details just at the very edges of such a broad canvas and, because of the tone and grounding of it all by Kneale, this is easily done. The story unfolds like a standard mystery tale with things seeming very implausible at the beginning and then slowly becoming more and more believable as viewers are drawn into the world and also offered some genuinely interesting scientific theories/background on the situation.

A fantastic TV series turned into a fantastic movie.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Ultimate-Hammer-Collection-Disc/dp/B000HN31KQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370333378&sr=8-1&keywords=hammer+boxset

Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966)

Don Sharp directs this hugely entertaining movie based on the script by Anthony Hinds that certainly doesn't aim for historical accuracy, but captures the sheer overpowering charisma and presence of a legendary figure from the past.

The main man is played by Christopher Lee, in a performance positively brimming with electric energy, menace and a lust for life and all its earthly pleasures (to be admitted to in confession). Finding himself unpopular after an incident of self-defence gone awry, despite his healing hands, Rasputin moves from his abbey and looses himself on some fine Russians, manipulating and controlling those who can help him manoeuvre into a position of power. A position that could see him ultimately controlling all of mother Russia from behind the scenes.

Anyone wanting the facts about the extraordinary life of Grigori Rasputin should not be using this movie as any kind of primer. This film is not an account of a reality, by any stretch of the imagination, but it captures the essence of an infamous individual. To roughly phrase a popular saying . . . . "between the truth and the legend, print the legend".

The cast are all great, and familiar to many from Hammer movies and elsewhere. This is Lee's show all the way but we also get very good performances from the likes of Barbara Shelley, Suzan Farmer and Richard Pasco, who stands out as the put-upon Dr. Zargo.

The direction may be unspectacular but that's not really a major concern when the look of the finished movie is so pleasing and the focus remains on the towering presence of Lee, whether he's hypnotising unwitting ladies or dancing some magnificent, frenetic, Russian dancing. It's a bravado performance that picks up the entire movie and carries it over the finish line as a winner.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rasputin-The-Mad-Monk-Blu-ray/dp/B0085MXQ7Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1368516850&sr=8-1&keywords=rasputin+the+mad+monk

Dracula: Prince Of Darkness (1966)

The third movie from Hammer in the Dracula fold, this actually follows on more from the end of Dracula than has anything to do with The Brides Of Dracula and, as such, can be accepted almost as a direct sequel in itself.

Directed by Terence Fisher, and with Jimmy Sangster also involved, I was hoping for great things and found myself, sadly, a little disappointed. The story sees our sharp-toothed count laying on some hospitality for weary travellers while he rests in piece until, about halfway through the movie, the resurrection can occur. And what a glorious, crimson-covered resurrection it is - a definite highlight in a movie I found somewhat lacking in other areas. Once Christopher Lee is back on screen it's all the usual Hammer style (i.e. keep distressed damsels safe while the silent Count tries to get his wicked way, in a manner of speaking). And there's a memorable finale that fans will recall when it appears, if not beforehand, though I won't spoil it here.

There's no Van Helsing this time around. Instead, that role is taken over by the presence of Father Sandor (played by Andrew Keir). Keir is okay in the role but I always feel, just my personal preference, that any of the Hammer Dracula or Frankenstein movies not featuring Peter Cushing automatically start with a deficit to make up. As for the rest of the cast; Lee is as good as ever with his mute performance (all bared teeth and staring, bloodshot eyes), Philip Latham is excellent as the Count's manservant and thoroughly dodgy bloke, Thorley Walters is quite amusing as a Renfield-ish type who resides in the Father's care and Barbara Shelley gets some good screen moments in the latter half of the movie. Nobody else really makes much of an impression, to be honest. Suzan Farmer is a little adorable cutie with little to do except look in peril while Francis Matthews and Charles Tingwell play the buttoned down, stiff-upper-lipped lead gents just fine.

There's just something missing here and I can't quite put my finger on what it is. The pacing isn't a problem because, despite Dracula himself not appearing till round about the halfway mark, we have the usual Hammer moments including a tavern scene, a scared coach driver, the exploration of a seemingly empty castle, etc. The script isn't that memorable, the direction seems rather "safe" (that halfway highlight aside) and everything just stands out by dint of it not standing out. Maybe I expected too much but maybe, as I personally feel to be the case, this is simply one of the average Hammer horrors. After all, not every one can be a winner eh.

6/10

This is yet another Hammer title available in this wonderful, bargain box set - http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Ultimate-Hammer-Collection-Disc/dp/B000HN31KQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351094407&sr=8-1