Lee & Cushing

 

 (imdb)

THE CREEPING FLESH-1973-Overzealous scientist Emmanuel Hildern (Peter Cushing) finds an unusual skeleton in Asia and brings it back to London. The doctor has been keeping a secret from his daughter Penelope (Lorna Heilbron) who believes her mother dead. However, Hildern receives a letter from his brother James (Christopher Lee), head of an insane asylum where his wife has been kept for many years and has just died. James is envious and resentful of his brother and tells him so. Later while examining the skeleton, a bony finger seems to grow flesh. Meanwhile James seems to be doing experiments of his own when one of his patients escapes. When Penelope finds out mom's secret, dad goes a little crazy and injects her with the blood from the skeleton finger. She starts to pick up mom's bad habits and winds up killing a sailor. While escaping from an angry mob she hooks up with the escaped lunatic who she later pushes to his death. She's captured and carted off to uncle's asylum. After snooping, James discovers what has happened to Penelope. Then he has the skeleton stolen. A rainstorm wrecks this endeavor and the reanimated skeleton comes looking for its finger. 

 (imdb)

A weird twist ending highlights this story. Michael Ripper has a small role. Often mislabeled a Hammer film, this independent English production shows promise but kind of never really gets going. Cinematographer Freddie Francis replaced Don Sharp as director right before filming started. Francis had directed several Hammer and non-Hammer films including THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (1964), DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965), TORTURE GARDEN (1967) and DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968).

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Hammer Mummy

 

 (tcm.com)

THE MUMMY'S SHROUD-1967-After a lengthy intro about the death of an Egyptian boy king, pompous rude Stanley Preston (John Phillips) and his wife (Elizabeth Sellars) arrive in Cairo intent on locating a missing expedition he funded. The lost group is headed by Sir Basil Walton (Andre Morell), along with his assistant Claire (Maggie Kimberly), Harry (Tim Barrett) and Preston's son Paul (David Buck). They are looking for the tomb of the young prince. 

Preston's group finds the expedition but Basil is bitten by a snake. They find the mummy and the elder Preston proceeds to hog the spotlight and take all the credit. When they get back to Cairo, he even has Walton committed to an insane asylum. A fortune teller's son, Hasmid (Roger Delgado) revives a different mummy and it kills Walton who has escaped the asylum. The second victim is Harry who has acid poured on him and is set on fire. Next is Preston's long-suffering assistant Longbarrow (Michael Ripper) who is thrown out a window. When Preston tries to illegally leave the country (deserting his wife & son) the mummy gets him. Later while trying to apologize to the mummy Hasmid sics the mummy on Claire who with help from David and the chief of police (Richard Warner) says the words of death and the mummy crumbles.

 This Hammer production is a pretty standard horror film, not offering anything new. Director John Gilling (THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES (1966)) wasn't happy with the results. It's the last movie made by Hammer in their Bray Studios. The Mummy is played by Eddie Powell, Christopher Lee's “Dracula” stunt double.

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It's the Pirate Life for Lee

PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER-1962-Huguenot John Standing (Kerwin Matthews) is sent to a penal colony after being convicted of adultery. He breaks stones, is whipped and hung by his wrists. He escapes but is picked up by a band of pirates lead by LeRosch (Christopher Lee with eye patch and French accent). His crew includes Peter Arne, Michael Ripper and Oliver Reed. John takes the pirates back to his village and no sooner do they get there when they kill one of John's friends. The pirates want to take over the village (where Andrew Keir plays a town elder) and the residents put up a good fight until the pirates capture the women and children. A treasure is found and John and his friend Henry (Glenn Corbett) team up to stop the invaders. Later the pirates revolt against LeRosch and he winds up impaled. No pirate ship is ever seen. 

This color Hammer production was directed (and co-written) by John Gilling who went on to make THE REPTILE and THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES for Hammer. And despite the fact that there's no sea faring this was a big hit in England. Hammer followed this with THE DEVIL SHIP PIRATES (also with Lee, Keir nad Ripper).  

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Hammer Zombies

THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES-1966-Hammer teamed up with 7 Arts to release this eerie horror film. While on vacation a curmudgeonly doctor Sir James Forbes (Andre Morrell) is summon to Cornwall by his ex-pupil Peter (Brook Williams) to check out the "strange malady" afflicting his wife Alice (Jacqueline Pearce from BLAKE'S SEVEN). After a not so nice welcome, Alice dies and Sir James' daughter Sylvia (Diane Clare who was in THE HAUNTING) is harassed by a group of fox hunters under the charge of Squire Hamilton (John Carson), a weird guy who talks like James Mason. He tries to act gentlemanly by she isn't buying it. While Sylvia is walking home sees a zombie like guy dump Alice's body down a hill. Meanwhile Sir James and Peter are arrested for grave robbing but they get off when the coffin they dug up is empty! Apparently Hamilton is the leader of a Voodoo blood cult that turns folks into zombies and makes them work in the local tin mine. Hamilton wants to zombify Sylvia. Guys in robes wearing masks that have "Daredevil" horns attack a vicar. Later pasty faced zombies rise from the grave but it seems to to a dream sequence. Somehow after nearly being buried alive Sir James saves his daughter and makes the zombies turn against their master and destroy his plans. The best scene is when Alice suddenly becomes a zombie and Sir James decapitates her with a shovel. Michael Ripper is very good as one of the constables who helps out.

Like a lot of Hammer films it takes time to get going but delivers some great scenes. The under rated (at least in America) Morrell is great in the lead role. Director John Gilling also made THE REPTILE the same year. Hammer teamed with 7 Arts to make THE WITCHES the same year too.

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Calling Prof. Quatermass!

QUATERMASS AND THE PIT-1958-This is the third Professor Quatermass serial produced by the BBC. Despite a lot of talk and non-action it's very well done. In a London district, an archeological dig led by Prof. Roney (Cec Linder; Felix Leiter in GOLDFINGER) find evidence of a new hominid and later discover a huge metallic object. 

Roney brings in his friend Prof. Quatermass (Andre Morell) to investigate. Quatermass' war department nemesis the pompous Colonel Breen (Joseph Bushell who later directed TERROR OF THE TONGS for Hammer) gets involved as well. 

When an air tight compartment in the object is finally opened a bunch of dead insect like creatures are found. This leads Quatermass to the theory that the creatures are from Mars and 5 million year ago they came to Earth and experimented on early man! Of course the government will have none of it. A haunted house, telekinesis, ancient myths and a weird machine that can record “visual impressions inside the brain” all figure into this ambitious ahead of it's time story which if it sounds familiar was later re-made by Hammer as the full length film 20 MILLION YEARS TO EARTH. The final speech by Quatermass really rings true!

Also with Christine Finn (the voice of “Tin-Tin” on THE THUNDERBIRDS) & John Stratton. Michael Ripper portrays a army sergeant in the first five segments. Morrell was in THE GIANT BEHEMOTH around this time and played Dr. Watson to Peter Cushing's Sherlock Holmes in Hammer's THE HOUND OF THE BASERVILLES in 1959. 

 

Screenwriter Nigel Kneale had written the feature length film ENEMY FROM SPACE (where American actor Brian Donlevy was the professor) in 1957 and later did screenplays for movies like LOOK BACK IN ANGER, THE ENTERTAINER and FIRST MEN IN THE MOON. Director Rudolph Cartier had a long career in BBC TV.

 

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Mad Monk!

RASPUTIN: THE MAD MONK-1966-Christopher Lee plays the title role in this very entertaining but historically inaccurate Hammer production.

The drunken and gluttonous Rasputin is first introduced at an inn where he saves the life of the owner's young son. They then throw a party where he does a wild dance, seduces the owner's daughter and cuts off the hand of an older son. Later he wins a drinking contest and takes up with a drunken disbarred doctor (Robert Duncan). Barbara Shelley is Sonia, the Czarina's lady in waiting who comes under the mad monk's thrall and causes an "accident" that gets him in good with the ruling class. When he grows tired of Sonia he makes her commit suicide and sets his sights on Vanessa (Suzan Farmer) another lady. Sonia's brother tries to take revenge but is killed with acid. Eventually the doctor and Vanessa's boyfriend (Richard Pasco, also in THE GORGON) do away with him in a nice finale. Also with Joss Ackland and Michael Ripper.

Lee is great as the crazy but self assured Rasputin with his long hair and beard and piercing eyes. He and Shelley had just been in DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS the year before and some of the sets were re-used here. Director Don Sharp made several movies with Lee including 2 in the Fu Manchu series, DEVIL SHIP PIRATES and BEAR ISLAND.

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Early Hammer

X-THE UNKNOWN-1956-This early Hammer production is a sequel to the previous year's THE QUARTERMASS XPERIMENT (known as ENEMY FROM SPACE in the US). Like it's predecessor it also stars an American actor in the lead role. While doing radiation exploration in Scotland, the British army discovers a "bottomless hole" from which an unseen entity has emerged. Later on, the being which survives on energy roams various locales burning victims with radiation. Dean Jagger is Dr. Royston, a brilliant scientist trying to figure out what the X is. Leo McKern is an energy inspector who helps Royston out. Edward Chapman is Royston's pompous director. Anthony Newley and future MONTY PYTHON director Ian MacNaughton are army guard victims. The monster is a big (animated) blob. The climax involves the detonation of a cobalt bomb. Also with Michael Ripper, Williams Lucas and Frazier Hines.

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