Oh, wow, you liked two
of my faves.
The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) was so fascinating and Anton Diffring, an actor who usually is stuck playing Nazis, was most interesting as
the lonely sculptor-scientist. Christopher Lee was able to be both icy and dashing as his nemesis. (Have you ever seen
the Nils Asther version called
The Man in Half Moon Street (1945) made at Paramount? It is very good and even has Helen Walker in it too). I loved
The Gorgon (1964) in particular with
the Greek myth angle and
the real eerieness
of certain scenes and effects. I also liked
the '65 version
of She with Ursula Andress as
the eternally beautiful and regal woman-goddess so evocative
of the H. Rider Haggard novel. Peter Cushing was very droll as
the stuffy, blase British professor in that one--though Bernard Cribbens almost stole
the movie with his earthiness, comments and expressiveness. I also have a soft spot for
the Brit noir dramas such as
the outstanding
Hell Is a City (1960) and
the "Diana Dors meets George Brent" movie
Man Bait (1952). Adaptations
of classics that Hammer did were often quite good, including a very good version
of The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959).
I thought that
the best director and writer team that Hammer films ever had was Terence Fisher and Jimmy Sangster, who did such a great job blending horror, character, humor, and
the occasional misunderstood loner in some strange Victorian world on film.
Looking over
the list
of films cranked out by this little studio found
here, I realize I have an awful lot
of their movies to check out someday!
