When is a Hammer film not a Hammer film? When it’s made by Planet Film Distributors of course, purveyors of low budget fare who wanted in on that horror coin and so produced Devils of Darkness (1965), an entertaining homage to their bigger brethren. If you’re plum out of Hammer’s to watch, this will do quite nicely.
Released by Planet in its native U.K., Devils of Darkness found U.S. distribution from Twentieth Century Fox as the second half of a double bill with The Curse of the Fly, and made its rounds on the drive-in circuit. Critics liked the aesthetic much like they did Hammer’s, but mostly found the story flat and convoluted. But buried within its (I think) interesting mixology of sub-genres is the story of a vampire going through a midlife crisis that I wish was explored in more depth. Oh well; what...
Released by Planet in its native U.K., Devils of Darkness found U.S. distribution from Twentieth Century Fox as the second half of a double bill with The Curse of the Fly, and made its rounds on the drive-in circuit. Critics liked the aesthetic much like they did Hammer’s, but mostly found the story flat and convoluted. But buried within its (I think) interesting mixology of sub-genres is the story of a vampire going through a midlife crisis that I wish was explored in more depth. Oh well; what...
- 8/17/2019
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
It's safe to say that The Ugly Duckling (1959), a decidedly weak Hammer films comedy, would have been utterly forgotten, except that it was rumored to be lost for decades. This always seemed both weird and unlikely for a film from the latter half of the twentieth century, and one that had been released by Columbia in the U.K. and U.S., but the film was a flop and was certainly unavailable after its initial release, which granted it a certain mystique.Though a Hammer film, directed by Lance Comfort (who would also make the more earnest horror flick Devils of Darkness), and though based on "ideas stolen from Robert Louis Stevenson"—specifically The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—this is a broad, childish comedy, without many actual laughs, but it does have historical interest, and illuminates certain tendencies of Hammer and British films and society.Hulking...
- 10/24/2018
- MUBI
Simone Simon in 'La Bête Humaine' 1938: Jean Renoir's film noir (photo: Jean Gabin and Simone Simon in 'La Bête Humaine') (See previous post: "'Cat People' 1942 Actress Simone Simon Remembered.") In the late 1930s, with her Hollywood career stalled while facing competition at 20th Century-Fox from another French import, Annabella (later Tyrone Power's wife), Simone Simon returned to France. Once there, she reestablished herself as an actress to be reckoned with in Jean Renoir's La Bête Humaine. An updated version of Émile Zola's 1890 novel, La Bête Humaine is enveloped in a dark, brooding atmosphere not uncommon in pre-World War II French films. Known for their "poetic realism," examples from that era include Renoir's own The Lower Depths (1936), Julien Duvivier's La Belle Équipe (1936) and Pépé le Moko (1937), and particularly Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938) and Daybreak (1939).[11] This thematic and...
- 2/6/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Hatter’s Castle (1942) Direction: Lance Comfort Screenplay: Rodney Ackland; from A.J. Cronin’s novel Cast: Robert Newton, Deborah Kerr, James Mason, Emlyn Williams, Henry Oscar, Enid Stamp-Taylor James Mason, Deborah Kerr Hatter’s Castle A 1942 adaptation of A.J. Cronin’s first novel, Hatter’s Castle, strips away multiple characters and subplots, thus streamlining the film into melodrama. The material, however, is still ripe for social commentary: James Brodie (Robert Newton) is a successful hatter, but a tyrant; a man who alienates family and villagers on the Firth of Clyde. He creates a small empire tolerated solely because of his financial success; he allows locals to infer the aristocratic pedigree that he projects from his recently constructed castle. When Brodie’s business ventures crumble, his vicious behavior leads to [...]...
- 4/7/2010
- by Doug Johnson
- Alt Film Guide
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