A lot of harm could be averted in horror films if only parents and teachers did a better job of teaching people to read silently, without moving their lips.
Made in the wake of The Curse Of Frankenstein and Dracula, when Hammer was the hot new thing and genuinely terrifying audiences, The Mummy also came along at a point when British attitudes to Egyptology – and specifically the pilfering of tombs – were on the cusp of change. It begins when a group of pith-helmeted archaeologists enter a tomb in defiance of warnings about a curse, to steal the sarcophagus of the beautiful Princess Ananka, once Karnak’s high priestess. The mission is, superficially, a success, but reading aloud the Scroll of Life inadvertently leads to the resurrection of her male counterpart (played by a bandage-swaddled Christopher Lee), who is subsequently smuggled to England by devotee Mehemet Bey (George Pastell) to wreak.
Made in the wake of The Curse Of Frankenstein and Dracula, when Hammer was the hot new thing and genuinely terrifying audiences, The Mummy also came along at a point when British attitudes to Egyptology – and specifically the pilfering of tombs – were on the cusp of change. It begins when a group of pith-helmeted archaeologists enter a tomb in defiance of warnings about a curse, to steal the sarcophagus of the beautiful Princess Ananka, once Karnak’s high priestess. The mission is, superficially, a success, but reading aloud the Scroll of Life inadvertently leads to the resurrection of her male counterpart (played by a bandage-swaddled Christopher Lee), who is subsequently smuggled to England by devotee Mehemet Bey (George Pastell) to wreak.
- 8/28/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
“Kali bids us to Kill! Kill!” A full review of Indicator’s Hammer Volume 3 Blood and Terror collection will follow, but CineSavant jumps the gun to highlight Terence Fisher’s 1959 mass murder shocker. It adds up to more than exploitative and racist cheap thrills: it’s one of the key films to describe the roots of contemporary terrorism. David Zelag Goodman’s screenplay lets Hammer for once say something relevant about the Colonial past, even if it’s a case of mixed signals — and sex.
The Stranglers of Bombay
Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1959 / B&W / 2:35 Strangloscope (Megascope) / 81 min. / The Strangler of Bengal / available as part of the Hammer Volume 3 Blood and Terror disc collection with The Camp On Blood Island, Yesterday’s Enemy, and The Terror of the Tongs, at Powerhouse Films UK / Street Date July 30, 2018 / £44.99 (the set)
Starring: Guy Rolfe, Allan Cuthbertson, Marie Devereaux, Andrew Cruickshank, George Pastell, Marne Maitland,...
The Stranglers of Bombay
Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1959 / B&W / 2:35 Strangloscope (Megascope) / 81 min. / The Strangler of Bengal / available as part of the Hammer Volume 3 Blood and Terror disc collection with The Camp On Blood Island, Yesterday’s Enemy, and The Terror of the Tongs, at Powerhouse Films UK / Street Date July 30, 2018 / £44.99 (the set)
Starring: Guy Rolfe, Allan Cuthbertson, Marie Devereaux, Andrew Cruickshank, George Pastell, Marne Maitland,...
- 7/24/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Here’s a spicy hot take—I’m as far as one could get from excited for Universal’s new film The Mummy. This isn’t exactly the movie’s fault, per se, as much as it is the world the movie inhabits, a sort of bizarro realm where a Brian Tyler-scored Tom Cruise action spectacle that’s meant to lay the groundwork for a Marvel-style cinematic universe, complete with Dr. Jekyll in the role of Nick Fury, is the most commercially viable way to make a movie about an ancient mummy’s curse. Now, I can see why the film’s being made, and you can’t exactly fault a studio for wanting to chase the money train that is the McU, but personally, I couldn’t care less about the picture being released. Because when I think of mummies, I don’t think of Tom Cruise, or Brendan Fraser,...
- 6/9/2017
- by Perry Ruhland
- DailyDead
By Tim Greaves
Between the early 1950s and mid 1980s the Children's Film Foundation was a non-profit making establishment behind dozens of films aimed at a young audience, most of them screening as programme constituents at Saturday morning 'Picture Shows'. I didn't catch many of these during my own childhood. But I do recall a couple of particularly enjoyable ones that I did get to see in the early 1970s: Cry Wolf (1969) and All at Sea (1970), both of which are conspicuously absent from the half dozen or so collections issued on DVD to date. Many of the Cff’s films had a run-time of around an hour, although there were also a number of serials in their catalogue. Masters of Venus was one such production. Comprising eight 15-minute instalments, it arrives on DVD in the UK in a restored release from BFI.
On the day prior to mankind's first mission to Venus,...
Between the early 1950s and mid 1980s the Children's Film Foundation was a non-profit making establishment behind dozens of films aimed at a young audience, most of them screening as programme constituents at Saturday morning 'Picture Shows'. I didn't catch many of these during my own childhood. But I do recall a couple of particularly enjoyable ones that I did get to see in the early 1970s: Cry Wolf (1969) and All at Sea (1970), both of which are conspicuously absent from the half dozen or so collections issued on DVD to date. Many of the Cff’s films had a run-time of around an hour, although there were also a number of serials in their catalogue. Masters of Venus was one such production. Comprising eight 15-minute instalments, it arrives on DVD in the UK in a restored release from BFI.
On the day prior to mankind's first mission to Venus,...
- 7/26/2016
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Robert Mitchum all but snoozes through this promising war-espionage thriller that pits lazy Gestapo agents against clueless partisans in occupied Greece. It's got great locations and a good cast, but director Robert Aldrich seems off his feed -- there's not a lot of excitement to be had. The Angry Hills DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1959 / B&W / 2:35 enhanced widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date February 16, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Robert Mitchum, Stanley Baker, Elisabeth Mueller, Gia Scala, Theodore Bikel, Sebastian Cabot, Donald Wolfit, Marius Goring, Jocelyn Lane, Kieron Moore, George Pastell, Marita Constantinou, Alec Mango. Cinematography Stephen Dade Film Editor Peter Tanner Production Design Ken Adam Original Music Richard Rodney Bennett Written by A.I. Bezzerides from the novel by Leon Uris Produced by Raymond Stross Directed by Robert Aldrich
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Director Robert Aldrich had come through with successes for Burt Lancaster's production company (Apache, Vera Cruz...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Director Robert Aldrich had come through with successes for Burt Lancaster's production company (Apache, Vera Cruz...
- 5/31/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Warners answers the call for Hammer horror with four nifty thrillers starring the great Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. The transfers are immaculate -- Technicolor was never richer than this. The only drawback is that Chris Lee's Dracula has so few lines of dialogue. On hi-def, Cushing's Frankenstein movie is a major re-discovery as well. Horror Classics: Four Chilling Movies from Hammer Films Blu-ray The Mummy, Dracula has Risen from the Grave, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, Taste the Blood of Dracula Warner Home Video 1959-1970 / Color / 1:66 - 1:78 widescreen / 376 min. / Street Date October 6, 2015 / 54.96 Starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux, George Pastell, Michael Ripper; Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson, Barbara Ewing, Barry Andrews, Ewan Hooper, Michael Ripper; Peter Cushing, Veronica Carlson, Freddie Jones, Simon Ward, Thorley Walters, Maxine Audley; Christopher Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Linda Hayden, Isla Blair, John Carson, Ralph Bates, Roy Kinnear. <Cinematography Jack Asher; Arthur Grant; Arthur Grant; Arthur Grant.
- 10/6/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Hammer horror fans are in for a treat, as respective collections of five William Castle films and five Hammer horror movies are coming out on Blu-ray in August, and The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant has been set to come out on Blu-ray.
The William Castle and Hammer horror collections will respectively come out on DVD August 18th from Mill Creek. The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, meanwhile, is slated for release later this year by Kino Lorber. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for further updates.
From Mill Creek: "Iconic horror director William Castle created a simple, but winning formula for his films: a little comedy, a lot of scares, a preposterous gimmick, and a clear sense that fright films should be fun. This even meant Castle would, like Alfred Hitchcock, appear in his trailers and even the movies themselves. Though his career spanned 35 years and included everything from westerns to crime thrillers, he'll...
The William Castle and Hammer horror collections will respectively come out on DVD August 18th from Mill Creek. The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, meanwhile, is slated for release later this year by Kino Lorber. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for further updates.
From Mill Creek: "Iconic horror director William Castle created a simple, but winning formula for his films: a little comedy, a lot of scares, a preposterous gimmick, and a clear sense that fright films should be fun. This even meant Castle would, like Alfred Hitchcock, appear in his trailers and even the movies themselves. Though his career spanned 35 years and included everything from westerns to crime thrillers, he'll...
- 7/31/2015
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
★★★☆☆ "He who robs the graves of Egypt...dies." It's sage advice oft proffered to enthusiastic archaeologists and rarely taken heed of. Unsurprisingly, it proves as valuable as the wise words from a stranger that discourage visiting that ominous Transylvanian castle, or investigating the abandoned cabin in the woods. It's the laughing-off of such a recommendation by an affable, well-dressed Englishman in rich Technicolor that assures audiences that they're about to enjoy the recognisable comforts of Hammer Horror's The Mummy (1959). No sooner has he dismissed the warning he's scared into a coma.
The tomb of Princess Ananka, a high priestess of Karnak, seems a haunted place to John Banning (Peter Cushing), son of the fabled and now committed treasure hunter (Felix Aylmer). After his father's collapse, he and his uncle (Raymond Huntley) seal off the tomb, but the mysterious Mehemet Bey (George Pastell) seems hell-bent on wreaking a terrible revenge on...
The tomb of Princess Ananka, a high priestess of Karnak, seems a haunted place to John Banning (Peter Cushing), son of the fabled and now committed treasure hunter (Felix Aylmer). After his father's collapse, he and his uncle (Raymond Huntley) seal off the tomb, but the mysterious Mehemet Bey (George Pastell) seems hell-bent on wreaking a terrible revenge on...
- 10/15/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Digital Spy readers named David Tennant as Doctor Who's greatest ever Doctor - now, with just 10 weeks to go until the 50th anniversary, DS is embarking on a new quest... to list the top 10 Who stories of all time.
We kicked off proceedings with William Hartnell classic 'The Aztecs', while Jon Pertwee's 'The Daemons' filled the number 9 spot. This week, we're heading into the Patrick Troughton era for a stone cold classic once thought lost forever...
8. The Tomb Of The Cybermen (1967) - Four episodes - written by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis
Series 5 of Doctor Who is often referred to as one of the show's all-time great runs, but it would have been so easy for Patrick Troughton's first full series as the Doctor to get off to a rocky start. While 'The Tomb of the Cybermen' saw the return of fan favourites the Cybermen, it also...
We kicked off proceedings with William Hartnell classic 'The Aztecs', while Jon Pertwee's 'The Daemons' filled the number 9 spot. This week, we're heading into the Patrick Troughton era for a stone cold classic once thought lost forever...
8. The Tomb Of The Cybermen (1967) - Four episodes - written by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis
Series 5 of Doctor Who is often referred to as one of the show's all-time great runs, but it would have been so easy for Patrick Troughton's first full series as the Doctor to get off to a rocky start. While 'The Tomb of the Cybermen' saw the return of fan favourites the Cybermen, it also...
- 9/30/2013
- Digital Spy
The new restoration of Hammer’s original take on that staple of traditional horror, the vengeful Egyptian mummy, does a fine job of enhancing the lavish visuals and quality production design of the 1959 chiller. While the film itself is by now as much of a historical artefact as the shady relics that drive its lightweight plot, it can still be evocative and enjoyable for a contemporary audience.
Set in the late nineteenth century, the film follows a family of knowledge-hungry Egyptologists, including Hammer regular Peter Cushing (slightly wasted on a bland protagonist role) as John Banning, a dutiful son who finds himself and his nearest and dearest menaced by an ancient curse. After Banning’s father and uncle trespass in the tomb of a long-dead princess (who happens to double up as the High Priestess of an obscure but vindictive Egyptian god), and tamper with the sorcerous Scroll of Life,...
Set in the late nineteenth century, the film follows a family of knowledge-hungry Egyptologists, including Hammer regular Peter Cushing (slightly wasted on a bland protagonist role) as John Banning, a dutiful son who finds himself and his nearest and dearest menaced by an ancient curse. After Banning’s father and uncle trespass in the tomb of a long-dead princess (who happens to double up as the High Priestess of an obscure but vindictive Egyptian god), and tamper with the sorcerous Scroll of Life,...
- 9/16/2013
- by Peter Shelton
- Obsessed with Film
“My name is Bond - James Bond". That classic introduction to the cinema’s greatest secret agent is as famous as “I am Dracula, I bid you welcome.” When the box office success of Dr No (1962) turned the unknown Sean Connery into a movie legend, Hammer was never far away from the franchise. With their own films running parallel to the Bond series, Hammer and Eon Productions often made use of the same talent.
Dr No also marked the debuts of Bernard Lee (the first of 11 films as M) and Lois Maxwell (the first of 14 as Miss Moneypenny). Lee had a brief turn as Tarmut in Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973) and despite never starring in a Hammer horror, Maxwell turned up in their early fifties thrillers Lady in the Fog (1953) and Mantrap (1954).
As doomed double-agent Professor Dent, Anthony Dawson is best known as the vile Marquis in Curse...
Dr No also marked the debuts of Bernard Lee (the first of 11 films as M) and Lois Maxwell (the first of 14 as Miss Moneypenny). Lee had a brief turn as Tarmut in Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973) and despite never starring in a Hammer horror, Maxwell turned up in their early fifties thrillers Lady in the Fog (1953) and Mantrap (1954).
As doomed double-agent Professor Dent, Anthony Dawson is best known as the vile Marquis in Curse...
- 6/1/2011
- Shadowlocked
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