Hammer Films: The Icons of Suspense Collection
Studio: Sony/Columbia
Years: 1958-1963
Rated: Not Rated
Program Lengths:
The Snorkel 90 minutes
Never Take Candy from a Stranger 81 minutes
Stop Me Before I Kill! 107 minutes
Cash on Demand 80 minutes
These Are the Damned 95 minutes
Maniac 86 minutes
Aspect Ratios:
The Snorkel 1.66:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Never Take Candy from a Stranger 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Stop Me Before I Kill! 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Cash on Demand 1.66:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
These Are the Damned 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Maniac 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Languages: English Dolby Digital 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
The Program
Hammer Films is best-known for its horror and sci-films, but in the late fifties and early sixties the British company also produced a number of conventional thrillers. Sony has compiled six of them, all in black & white, for Hammer Films: The Icons of Suspense Collection. For the most part they are modest productions without major stars, but they are also effective and original films which will please fans of the genre.
The Snorkel (1958)
Paul Decker (Peter Van Eyck) is a cunning and ruthless man who married a wealthy woman and then figured out an ingenious way to murder her and make it look like a suicide. The authorities are satisfied, but Paul’s stepdaughter Candy (played by British child star Mandy Miller) is convinced that Paul is responsible for her mother’s death. When Candy begins to figure out how Paul did it, he decides that one way or another he has to get rid of her as well. The film has a very clever and satisfying resolution.
Never Take Candy from a Stranger (aka Never Take Sweets from a Stranger) (1960)
This film is not quite as horrifying as the title suggests, but it is chilling and still timely. Peter Carter (Patrick Allen) has been hired as a school principal in a small town in Canada, a town which in effect is controlled by the wealthy Olderberry family. Carter and his wife have a young daughter named Jean (Janina Faye) who loses her candy money while playing with her friend, Lucille (Frances Green). Lucille tells Jean that they can get candy from the old man who lives in the big house nearby. When Jean gets home she tells her parents that the old man, Mr. Olderberry (Felix Aylmer), gave the girls candy after first insisting that they take off their clothes and dance for him. Although the police captain and the people of the town insist that nothing really happened to the girls, the Carters insist on filing a criminal complaint. Olderberry’s son (Bill Nagy) knows that his father is a pervert, but he hires a high-powered attorney to defend him, and things turn even uglier. The film is based upon a play by Roger Garis, whose parents were the ghostwriters of many of “The Bobbsey Twins” books and whose father, Howard Garis, created the beloved children’s character “Uncle Wiggily.”
Stop Me Before I Kill! (aka The Full Treatment) (1961)
Alan Colby (Ronald Lewis) sustains a serious head injury in an accident on his wedding day which leaves him mentally unstable. He undergoes psychiatric treatment with Dr. Prade (Claude Dauphin) because he finds that he has an urge to strangle his wife Denise (Diane Cilento) whenever they make love. During the course of treatment, the psychiatrist begins to lust after Denise. When Alan discovers what is going on, Dr. Prade tries to convince him that he is hallucinating. This one was produced and directed by the prolific Val Guest.
Cash on Demand (1961)
One of Hammer’s better-known stars, Peter Cushing, heads the cast of this rather average yarn about a bank robbery. Cushing plays Mr. Fordyce, a by-the-book and unpopular bank manager whose wife and son are kidnapped by a man named Hepburn (Andre Morell). Hepburn then tells Fordyce that he will release his victims if Fordyce helps him to rob the bank. Things get complicated when Fordyce’s employees, who greatly dislike him, begin to figure out what is going on.
These Are the Damned (aka The Damned) (1963)
This is a very strange film, directed by Joseph Losey. Simon Wells (MacDonald Carey) is an American tourist in England who falls in love with Joan (Shirley Ann Field). Unfortunately for Simon, Joan’s brother is King (Oliver Reed), the sadistic head of a “Teddy Bear” motorcycle gang. King has an incestuous interest in his sister and, in a fit of jealousy, he and his gang assault Simon. At this point what starts out as a brutal biker film turns into a bizarre sci-fi flick involving zombie-like children (able to survive a nuclear attack!) who are being raised by mad scientist Bernard (Alexander Knox). The history of this film indicates that it was butchered to 77 minutes for its initial release in the U.K. but ultimately was restored to the 95-minute version which is shown here.
Maniac (1963)
Set in France, this film tells the story of Georges Beynat (Donald Houston), who is sentenced to life in an insane asylum after killing a man who raped his daughter Annette (Liliane Brousse). A few years later an American artist named Geoff Farrell (Kerwin Matthews) is seduced by Annette’s stepmother, Eve (Nadia Gray). Eve then persuades Geoff to help her break Georges out of the asylum. What could possibly go wrong with that plan? This is an interesting thriller with a number of plot twists, which apparently was inspired in part by Psycho.
The Video
The video quality of this DVD set is excellent. The black and white films are generally very sharp, with solid blacks and very good contrast. An appropriate level of film grain has been retained in all six features, with more grain visible in The Snorkel than the other films. All six films have been nicely restored and no significant flaws were noticed. Both the two 1.66:1 films and the four 2.35:1 films appear to have accurate framing. It does not look like any excessive DNR has been applied and the result is six satisfyingly film-like presentations.
The Audio
The Dolby Digital audio is nothing to get excited about, but it does the job with clear, intelligible dialogue and no noticeable distortion. Check out the groovy theme song to These Are the Damned (“Black leather, black leather, rock rock rock”).
The Supplements
Each film in this collection is accompanied by its original theatrical trailer. There are no other extras.
The Packaging
The six features are spread over three discs, two films per disc. The discs are encased in what looks from the outside to be a standard DVD keep case. However, whoever made the decision to package the discs like this deserves to be whipped with chains by a motorcycle gang. The three discs are stacked on top of one another, and I found it nearly impossible to release them without getting fingerprints on them. The center button has to be pressed hard with one hand while using the other hand to pry the discs loose. They may not get scratched this way, but you will want to keep a cloth handy to wipe off your prints.
The Final Analysis
Hammer Films: The Icons of Suspense Collection is an entertaining set of relatively obscure British suspense films from the late fifties and early sixties. At a street price of less than $4.00 per film, it is hard to go wrong, the poor packaging notwithstanding.
Equipment used for this review:
Toshiba HD-XA-2 DVD player
Panasonic Viera TC-P46G15 Plasma display calibrated to THX specifications by Gregg Loewen
Yamaha HTR-5890 THX Surround Receiver
BIC Acoustech speakers
Interconnects: Monster Cable
Release Date: Available Now (released April 6, 2010)
That's too bad. I wonder which "fan favorites" are being referred to...
