RAW MEAT

RAW MEAT (aka Death Line/1972). Director: Gary Sherman. 

When an important dignitary vanishes from a London subway station, Inspector Calhoun (Donald Pleasence of Halloween) questions American student Alex Campbell (David Ladd) and his girlfriend, Patricia (Sharon Gurney), who discovered the man unconscious (he later disappears). You learn very early on from Inspector Richardson (Clive Swift of Keeping Up Appearances and Frenzy) that before the turn of the century some male and female workers were trapped in a cave-in while scooping out a new station nearby. Apparently they managed to survive via cannibalism. Now the last survivor (Hugh Armstrong) of the descendants of this group is plucking hapless people from the subway to become his supper, and the latest would-be victim is poor Patricia -- Alex goes in search of her. 

Raw Meat benefits from some highly atmospheric and creepy underground settings (and some gross, explicit and well-done make-up effects), but suffers from very, very somnambulistic pacing. Virtually every scene and shot goes on for far too long. Because you know exactly what's happened to the people who disappeared almost from the very first, there's absolutely no suspense. In fact, the film is pretty tedious until the final few minutes. Donald Pleasence is also hard to take, playing his character in a fashion that is meant to be humorous but is merely obnoxious. The best performance in the film comes from Christopher Lee, who shows up for five minutes as an understandably condescending (to Pleasence) member of MI5. Gary Sherman also directed Dead and Buried, which is much better than this. 

Verdict: Nice idea but poor execution. **. 

TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER

TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER (1976). Director: Peter Sykes.

Author John Verney (Richard Widmark), who frequently writes on the occult, is importuned by a frightened man named Beddows (Denholm Elliott) to look after his daughter, Catherine (Nastassja Kinski), after she arrives in London. Catherine is a nun who belongs to the Church of the Children of the Lord, a sect that worships Astaroth. The leader of the church, Father Michael (Christopher Lee), is anxious to get his hands on Catherine because of certain bloody rites that must be performed. Initially sweet and compliant, Sister Catherine eventually becomes a danger to Verney's friends, including his literary agent Anna (Honor Blackman) and her boyfriend David (Anthony Valentine). Catherine makes her way to Father Michael as her own father writhes in terror and Verney learns what he can do to fight against the god -- or devil -- Astaroth's entry into earth via Catherine (or something like that). 

To the Devil a Daughter is a co-release of Hammer Studios but don't expect a Hammer classic with this atrocious movie. Most of the actors give it their all (one suspects Widmark wishes he had stayed in America) but they're fighting a losing battle with a hopelessly erratic script and sequences that are so bad they have to be seen to be believed. The last quarter of the film is hilarious, especially a sequence when a character is embroiled in fire and reduced to ashes so quickly that it is more comical than frightening. A bit of business in which a woman commits suicide by draining all of her blood into those special plastic bags turns hysterical when Chris Lee intones with consummate understatement: "she gave her life's blood." An orgy sequence is equally laughable. It's hard to imagine how anything could have been made out of this awful movie, which even Chris Lee can't save. 

Verdict: One of the worst Hammer movies ever made. *1/2. 

THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM

THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DR. SADISM (aka Die Schlagengruber und das Pendel/1967). Director: Harald Reinl. 

35 years ago Count Regula (Christopher Lee) murdered 12 virgins in an attempt to gain immortality. For his trouble, he was drawn and quartered as his two chief accusers stood watching. Now the descendants of these people, Roger Mont Elise (Lex Barker) and Baroness Lillian (Karin Dor), have received an invitation to the crumbling old Castle Regula, both unaware of what transpired in the past. Accompanying them by coach are Lillian's maid Babette (Christiane Rucker) and the rather shady Father Fabian (Vladimir Medar). 

The first half of the film is a protracted journey through a creepy forest in which trees have limbs growing out of them and skeletons are hanging from nooses. At the castle the group run into the long-dead Anatol (Carl Lange), the count's major domo, who plans to bring the count back to life. Wanting his revenge, the revived count places Roger under a slowly descending pendulum even as Lillian is nearly thrown into a pit full of writhing snakes. Yes, this is a very loose adaptation of Poe's classic The Pit and the Pendulum. 

Pitiful victim of "Dr. Sadism"

Although one could certainly quibble with some aspects of the screenplay, Torture Chamber not only holds the attention but has some classy and macabre art direction and is colorful in every sense of the word. Lex Barker appeared in several West German films and eurospy movies after he wrapped up his run as Tarzan. Karin Dor was a German actress who appeared with Barker more than once and was also in You Only Live Twice. Christopher Lee only appears in the prologue and at the very end and probably did all of his scenes in a couple of days  -- he appears to be the only actor who isn't dubbed. Carl Lange certainly makes an impression as Anatol.

Verdict: Fun horror film from West Germany that has some of the qualities of Italian horror features. ***. 

NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT

Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee

NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT (1973). Director: Peter Sasdy.                                                            

A number of trustees of the Van Traylen Orphanage on the island of Bela are dying in suspicious accidents. Then a bus crash puts one of the orphans, Mary Valley (Gwyneth Strong), in the hospital, where she is ministered to by Dr. Haynes (Keith Barron) and a reporter named Joan (Georgia Brown), both of whom have to contend with the girl's abusive and crazy mother, Anna (Diana Dors). Eventually Colonel Bingham (Christopher Lee) of the police and Sir Mark Ashley (Peter Cushing), a concerned doctor, head for Bela to find out exactly what is going on in the orphanage and check up on Mary. But the homicidal Anna is heading there as well, yet Mrs. Allison (Shelagh Fraser) and the other staff take it, strangely, in stride and even refuse special police guards. Bingham and Ashley discover that what's going on in the orphanage is even more horrible than they suspect ... 

Georgia Brown and Peter Cushing

With its two special stars, an adept supporting cast (especially Valley, Brown and Dors), an interesting premise, not to mention a skilled director in Peter Sasdy, Nothing But the Night -- which is not a Hammer production, unfortunately -- should be much better than it is. Unfortunately, the movie is lethargic -- there is no tension or suspense and you find yourself merely watching to see what happens instead of getting caught up in the events. There is a fairly exciting climax when all is revealed, but by then it's too late. Too bad. Georgia Brown, who is very good in this, first made her mark playing Nancy in the musical Oliver in both London and New York, but she wasn't in the film adaptation. Cushing and Lee were frequently teamed together, such as in Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, The Curse of Frankenstein, and The Skull, among several others.

Verdict: An interesting failure. **. 

FILMS I JUST COULDN'T FINISH ROUND 3

FILMS I JUST COULDN'T FINISH ROUND 3.

These are not reviews, per se, but notes on films that I watched or suffered through until I just gave up on them for one reason or another. Sometimes I skipped to different sections just to get a sense of what was going on or to see if the film became more entertaining. Not all of these pictures are necessarily bad, they just didn't hold my attention. If you see one on the list that you think deserves another look, let me know.

Forbidden Jungle (1950) has a hunter coming to Africa to search for a boy who was lost in a plane crash and is now living, Tarzan-like, in a village with a kindly older man and a native girlfriend. Half of this dull flick was more than enough.

Seeing that it starred Dennis Morgan, Richard Denning and Paula Raymond -- in a western directed by William Castle, no less -- I figured that The Gun That Won the West (1955) would certainly be of some interest. Alas, this tale of the Army and a few civilians versus the Indians never amounts to much. It's all professionally done, just mediocre and dull.

Secret of the Red Orchid (1962) is a dubbed version of a West German Edgar Wallace adaptation about gangsters ordering wealthy people to pay up or die. I started watching this because Christopher Lee and Klaus Kinski were in the cast, both of whom are dubbed. Lee plays, of all things, an American FBI agent! The movie was simply too dull to watch for more than half an hour.

Cave of the Living Dead aka Night of the Vampires (1964) is actually a dubbed West German-Yugoslavian import (Der Fluch der grunen Augen) about an Inspector investigating the murders of young women in a small village. There is some atmosphere, but not much suspense because you find out what's happening pretty early on. Not terrible, but not good enough to waste time on the second half.

Succubus (1968) is another horrible film directed by Jess Franco. His fans consider this one of his best, which -- judging from this claptrap -- certainly isn't saying much. The plot, such as it is, has to do with an actress who has violent and sexual fantasies. Due to its advertising campaign, it made a lot of money in the U.S., but I pity anyone who actually had to pay for a ticket. I gave up on this dull, slow, pseudo-artsy and pretentious mess after about twenty minutes.

The Wildcats of St. Trinian's (1980) is, I believe, the third sequel to The Belles of St. Trinian's -- after Blue Murder at St. Trinian's and Pure Hell of St. Trinian's -- but I could hardly get through a quarter of it despite the fact that it had the same director as the original. There is no Alistair Sim in this, and a much, much less interesting cast.

Christmas Evil (aka You Better Watch Out/1980) features a demented man who works in a toy factory and goes on a rampage. The whole look and pacing of the film got me to stop watching after about half an hour.

The Curse (1987\) is a version of H. P. Lovecraft's The Colour Out of Space with a meteorite in a small town causing mutations. It was directed by actor David Keith. The movie didn't seem entirely worthless but the poor production values and pacing put me off of it pretty quickly. The first adaptation of this story starred Boris Karloff and was entitled Die Monster, Die. It was also poor.

Call Me (1988) stars Patricia Charbonneau as a woman who goes to a bar for a rendezvous with a man she thinks is her boyfriend, and winds up witnessing the murder of a drag queen in a bathroom. Unfortunately, this got less interesting the farther into it I got, which I admit wasn't very far.

The Oxford Murders (2008) is a mystery film about murders involving a professor and author (John Hurt) and a young man (Elijah Wood) who wants to study with him. But then the professor's elderly friend (Anna Massey), with whom Wood is boarding, is found murdered and the professor thinks there will be more killings by an unknown assailant. Sounds good, but who cares? The characters are uninteresting, the story uninvolving, and I couldn't even care who the murderer might turn out to be so I only made it about halfway through this. Hurt and Massey are wasted.

The Colour Out of Space aka Die Farbe (2010) is a German film version of H. P. Lovecraft's excellent novella of the same title, previously filmed as the aforementioned Curse and Die, Monster, Die. The story has been transplanted from New England to Germany, which doesn't work at all, but even worse is the slow pacing and the sparse style which is the complete opposite of the great Lovecraft's florid, Victorian, emotional, atmospheric, and terrifying approach to the material. There is some impressive black and white photography, but I found this so tedious I watched it in spurts. It just wasn't compelling enough to hold the attention.

The Privileged (2013) has a young man and his wife visiting his supervisor and his wife at their home where the former begs to keep his job. An intruder breaks in and gets shot, and the violence escalates as a cover-up begins. This is by no means a terrible movie -- it is well-acted and well-shot -- but it's predictable and minor, and I confess I skipped ahead to the very depressing conclusion.

The Monkey's Paw (2013) is a variation of the famous story that doesn't do nearly enough with the idea and was a bit too slow to hold my attention, despite such talented cast members as Stephen Lang.

There were two spy spoofs that I just couldn't make it through, a 1965 Japanese production entitled Ironfinger and the 1964 American film Spies a Go Go (aka The Nasty Rabbit). I could only make it a quarter of the way through the first one, which seemed as stupid as any American spy spoof, and only a few minutes of the second one, which simply seemed too cheap and moronic to bother with; I skimmed through some of it to my regret.

THE VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU

Chris Lee as Fu

THE VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU (1967). Director: Jeremy Summers.

Fu Manchu (Christopher Fee) has not only decided to bring together all sorts of international criminals, including American gangsters, to form a group that he will lead, but has also concocted a diabolical scheme for revenge against his British nemesis, Nayland Smith (Douglas Wilmer of Unman, Wittering and Zigo) of Scotland Yard. Smith has concluded that a group to be called Interpol should be formed to unite law officers from various countries and combat the criminal scourge. But he is unaware that Fu Manchu has created a double of Smith whose actions will destroy his reputation even as Smith himself is taken captive by his enemy. Dealing with the zombie-like double are FBI agent Mark Weston (Noel Trevarthen of Escort for Hire) and Smith's long-time friend and colleague, Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford).

Horst Frank, Christopher Lee, Lin Tang

The Vengeance of Fu Manchu is the third of five films starring Lee as the notorious Chinese doctor, but he already seems a trifle bored with the role. A bigger problem is a script that never takes advantage of the pulp horror atmosphere of Sax Rohmer's novels. While the Fu Manchu books were never out and out horror novels, they generally had very macabre elements that the film adaptations unwisely omit. Vengeance is simply a prosaic thriller, not too well put together, that could have had any antagonist. Because of the popularity of spy films we also get a Shanghai cop, Inspector Ramos (Tony Ferrer), who employs judo and karate. (Ferrer also starred in several Filipino spy movies.) Lin Tang is back as Fu's nasty daughter, and Horst Frank [Cat O' Nine Tails] plays a gangster who is sent from America as an emissary of mob interests. The script is full of implausibilities, even for this kind of thriller, such as an Asian man's face being turned into a duplicate of Nayland Smith's in 48 hours (!), and the Smith double being sentenced to death when he is clearly mentally disturbed. Followed by The Blood of Fu Manchu. The first film in this series was The Face of Fu Manchu.

Verdict: Disappointing Fu movie you might want to say "foo!" to. **. 

DRACULA AND HIS PALS

DRACULA AND HIS PALS,

This week Great Old Movies looks at films starring the venerable old baddie, Dracula. You can already find reviews of the original 1931 Dracula with Bela Lugosi, as well as posts on Dracula's Daughter; the first Hammer Dracula film starring Christopher Lee, The Horror of Dracula; and one of the best follow-ups, the excellent Dracula, Prince of Darkness; among many others. Just type in "Dracula" in the search bar above.

Now this week we have Francis Lederer in The Return of Dracula; Jack Palance doing his version of the count for Dan Curtis; Ingrid Pitt doing a turn as Countess Dracula; and even William Marshall as Blacula. There is also Italian director Dario Argento's version of the classic story; among others. Just scroll down to enjoy. And feel free to leave a comment whether you agree with my assessment or not.

Thanks for reading!

DRACULA A.D. 1972

New Blood: Christopher Neame as a young vampire

DRACULA A.D. 1972 (also known as Dracula A.D./1972). Director: Alan Gibson.

A prologue set in 1872 shows the deaths of both Dracula and Van Helsing after a final, furious battle, then the film jumps ahead 100 years in this first of Hammer's 20th century Dracula flicks. Lorrimer Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) is the grandson of the great vsmpire hunter, living in modern London with his granddaughter, Jessica (Stephanie Beacham of Schizo). Jessica is friends with a man named Johnny Alucard (Christopher Neame), who is apparently the reincarnation of one of Dracula's human slaves. Johnny enlists his friends in a black mass, the sole purpose of which is to revivify the ancient, blood-sucking count (Christopher Lee). Dracula snacks on several of Johnny's nubile friends and turns a decidedly willing Johnny into a vampire, but Drac wants revenge on the Van Helsing family and sets his sights on Jessica ... Dracula A.D. 1972 with its jazzy score is like a pop version of Dracula but it mostly works, primarily because of a fast pace and some excellent acting. Cushing and Lee give their usual classy and committed performances, and Neame is a real find as the dynamic and evil Alucard. Michael Coles makes an effective Inspector Murray and Caroline Munro [The Spy Who Loved Me] is fine as one of the count's first victims. The action sequences are well-staged by director Gibson. The vampire folklore in the film is confusing, as Dracula turns people into vampires with one bite without their dying first, and his other victims never rise from the grave. The group Stoneground perform the catchy enough "Alligator Man" in a party sequence. Neame has amassed nearly 100 credits and is still working today. Followed by The Satanic Rites of Dracula.

Verdict: Fun Dracula flick with excellent performances. ***.

THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA

Christopher Lee as Dracula

THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA (1973). Director: Alan Gibson.

Dracula (Christopher Lee) is alive and well and masquerading as the Howard Hughes-like millionaire recluse Denham. When his nemesis, Van Helsing (Peter Cushing), learns that Dracula has joined together a group of prominent men into a satanic cult, and that one of them, Professor Keeley (Freddie Jones of Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed) has grown cultures of bubonic plague -- the "Black Death' -- he postulates that Dracula wants to end all life on earth and realize final peace. By Van Helsing's side are his granddaughter Jessica (Joanna Lumley) and Inspector Murray (Michael Coles), who break into a sinister estate from which the cult operates and find themselves in a cellar full of slavering vampire women! The Satanic Rites Of Dracula, which takes place in modern times, is one of the better latter-day Hammer Dracula offerings, with both Lee and Cushing expert in their portrayals, and with top-notch supporting performances as well. This is bolstered by an intriguing plot line, although the use of nasty motorcycle thugs as the cult's assassins and the like is a notion that doesn't always work too well. As much as I love Bela Lugosi, I think Lee makes the more commanding Dracula. This was Lee's last appearance as the traditional Dracula in a Hammer film, although he also played the Lord of the Undead in the 1976 comedy Dracula and Son. Alan Gibson also directed the thriller Crescendo.

Verdict: Pretty terrific Hammer flick. ***.

THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN

Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr

THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN  (1969). Director: Joseph McGrath.

Wealthy Sir Guy Grand (Peter Sellers) has no son and heir, so he picks up a tramp he calls Youngman (Ringo Starr) and adopts him. Grand and son enjoy seeing how much people will do for money, and it turns out to be quite a lot. The last third of the film takes place on the title ocean liner, where there are riotous -- but, unfortunately, not very funny -- proceedings on board. The climax has Guy putting cash in a pool of literal crap and watching men dive for the loot while Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air" plays over the action. Meant to tackle sacred cows of the period, The Magic Christian is merely awful and tedious, although there are times when you just can't turn your eyes away. The picture has the distinction of being the one Peter Sellers movie in which he clowns around but just isn't funny, and Starr, while adequate, is just along for the ride. There's a lot of homo-eroticism in the picture -- such as two dancing gay bodybuilders, and two boxers who begin making out instead of punching one another (for such a "daring" movie it's strange the way the camera cuts away before they actually kiss) -- and, alas, Leonard Frey of The Boys in the Band is forced to play a character named Laurence Faggot (pronounced Fag- go). What's meant to be shocking and sarcastic is just silly and asinine. Wilfrid Hyde-White [The Browning Version] is fine as the captain of the Magic Christian; Laurence Harvey [Life at the Top] seems to be having fun doing what might be called a Shakespearean striptease; Raquel Welch wields a mean whip in a galley scene; and Patrick Cargill and John Cleese are somewhat amusing as discombobulated employees of Sotheby's. Christopher Lee even shows up wearing his Dracula teeth and threatening to put the bite on a lady passenger. But the best cameo hands-down goes to Yul Brynner [Westworld], who is frankly astonishing as a somewhat odd-looking songstress warbling Noel Coward's "Mad About the Boy" in a cocktail lounge. Otherwise, this is a criminal waste of time! The whole film looks as if everyone involved was completely stoned all during filming.

Verdict: One of the worst movies ever made -- aside from a "fabulous" Brynner. *.

THE HAMMER VAULT

THE HAMMER VAULT: Treasures from the Archives of Hammer Films. Marcus Hearn. Titan; 2011. Revised and Updated Edition.

This beautiful over-sized coffee table book is a compendium of photos and memorabilia relating to the famous -- some might say infamous -- Hammer studios, who chiefly made horror films but branched out to other genres from time to time as well. Hammer studios made a name for itself with its new, bloodier versions of Dracula and Frankenstein, and made stars of such as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Some of the filmmakers most associated with the studio include Val Guest, Terence Fisher, and Jimmy Sangster, among others. The book is chock full of production stills, behind-the-scenes shots, annotated shooting scripts, posters, drawings, press books, letters, publicity kits, and all manner of esoterica relating to the studio. The book covers all of the output of the studio from the very early days (The Quatermass Xperiment) to more recent films such as The Woman in Black, providing a fairly complete history of Hammer. You can also read about Hammer projects that were announced or conceived but never came to fruition.

Verdict: A must for the obsessive Hammer enthusiast. ***.

THE FACE OF FU MANCHU

Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu: check out those nails!

THE FACE OF FU MANCHU (1965). Director: Don Sharp.

A number of bodies turn up dead in the Thames, and Sir Denis Nayland Smith (Nigel Green) of Scotland Yard figures his old adversary, Fu Manchu (Christopher Lee), is responsible.  Fu has developed a poison from the Black Hill poppy, a holy flower in Tibet, and uses it to kill off the entire population of a town. (This has an effective scene when two likable soldiers in the town suddenly drop dead.) This is just a demonstration of what he is capable of. In his HQ near the Thames Fu has a "drowning chamber" where he places people he wishes to kill or extract information from. His daughter, now called Lin Tang (she was Fah Lo Suee in the novels) and played by Tsai Chin, is arguably nastier than he is, and seems anxious to whip any employee who disobeys her or her father's orders. Other characters include Professor Muller (Walter Rilla of the Dr. Mabuse films) who works on the poppy formula; his daughter, Maria (Karin Dor of You Only Live Twice); her boyfriend Carl Janssen (Joachim Fuchsberger of Dead Eyes of London); Dr. Petrie (Howard Marion-Crawford); and a museum director (James Robertson Justice, less irritating than usual), who insists that his establishment is impregnable, even to Fu Manchu; of course he's wrong. As usual, Sax Rohmer's famous character is less dimensional than in the novels, and Christopher Lee, oddly, makes absolutely no attempt to play him as an actual Oriental. At the very beginning of the film, Fu Manchu escapes justice by substituting someone else to be beheaded, a notion carried over from Fantomas. Whatever its flaws, The Face of Fu Manchu is fast-paced and entertaining, and has the correct period setting. Lee is suitably creepy, and the versatile Nigel Green makes an excellent Nayland Smith. The movie doesn't quite capture that certain fiendish atmosphere of the books. This was the first of five Fu Manchu/Lee films produced by Harry Alan Towers. Followed by The Brides of Fu Manchu.

Verdict: Reasonably suspenseful fun. ***.

DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS

Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing

DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965). Director: Freddie Francis.

In this horror anthology from Amicus, the fortune teller Dr. Shreck (Peter Cushing) entertains fellow travelers on a train by using his cards to tell their futures, none of which look especially bright. All of the tales that follow employ very familiar concepts. Architect Jim Dawson (Neil McCallum) goes to work at the old house and discovers a werewolf with other, bloody plans for him. Inspector Hopkins (Bernard Lee) investigates when a very strange and intelligent plant begins killing people. A musician (Roy Castle) incurs the wrath of a voodoo god when he uses a West Indian chant from a religious ritual for one of his songs. Art critic Franklyn Marsh (Christopher Lee) is so humiliated by painter Eric Landor (Michael Gough) when the former praises a painting actually done by a chimp, that he runs Landor over -- and the latter's disembodied hand begins following him everywhere. Dr. Carroll (Donald Sutherland) discovers the surprising identity of a vampire who is on the loose. The only really memorable segment in this is the one with the severed hand, and that's primarily because of the performances of Lee and Gough, who make marvelous antagonists. Peter Cushing and others in the cast are all quite good, including Jennifer Jayne [They Came from Beyond Space], who loses herself in the characterization of Carroll's French wife, Nicole; Sutherland [The Split] is also excellent. That same year there appeared a much better "killer plant" story on TV's The Avengers, "The Man-Eater of Surrey Green."

Verdict: Not much originality in this, but it's entertaining and well-acted. **1/2.

THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD

Jon Pertwee tries out his cloak

THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (1971). Director: Peter Duffell. Screenplay by Robert Bloch.

"Dracula -- the one with Bela Lugosi, of course, not this new fellow." -- Paul Henderson

A well-known actor in horror films has disappeared from an old house he had rented, and this leads into the telling of four tales centered around this creepy domicile. In "Method for Murderer" a fiction writer's creation, a maniac (Tom Adams of The 2nd Best Secret Agent in the Whole Wide World), seems to come to life to cause havoc for which the writer (Denholm Elliott) is blamed. In "Waxworks," two men (Peter Cushing; Joss Ackland of Crescendo)  become obsessed with the wax figure of Salome, who reminds each of them of a lost love, whom -- you might say -- they lose their heads over. In "Sweets to the Sweet" the stern John Reid (Christopher Lee of The Horror of Dracula) hires a nanny (Nyree Dawn Porter) for his strange little girl, Jane (Chloe Franks), with terrible results. The fourth tale, "The Cloak," is an amusing black comedy in which actor Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee) finds a cloak in a shop which turns him into a vampire each time he puts it on; Ingrid Pitt is Anderson's female lead in this and is fine. But the best performances come from Cushing, Lee, Pertwee, and little Franks. The House that Dripped Blood is very entertaining, and is one of the best of the horror anthologies, not lame as some of Bloch's other screenplays.

Verdict: Chills and laughs all served up with relish. ***.

SHE (1965)

SHE (1965). Director: Robert Day.

In 1918, Leo Vincey (John Richardson), upon discovering that he looks exactly like an ancestor named Killikrates, journeys with his friend Major Holly (Peter Cushing) and pretty Ustane (Rosenda Monteros), to the lost desert city of Kuma in the "Mountains of the Moon." There they encounter the cruel, immortal Ayesha or "She" (Ursula Andress), who wishes Leo to join her in the flame that will give them both life everlasting. Holly and Ustane, however, recognize that Leo has fallen under She's spell, and is not acting the way he should. Who will win the battle for Leo's love, Ayesha or Ustane? Despite the widescreen and color, She is inferior to the 1935 original, although it, too, has some colorful and interesting settings, such as the striking entrance to the city. Andress [Dr. No] gives the weakest performance, but her looks and manner get her by. Cushing, Christopher Lee as a High Priest, and Andre Morell as the leader of a tribe of slaves, are excellent as usual. Like Andress, Richardson [Torso] certainly looks good -- he's like a cross between Troy Donahue and Guy Madison with a little Kerwin Mathews thrown in -- and his acting isn't bad, although Leo is a rather weak hero in this. Rosenda Monteros [The White Orchid] is lovely and very effective as Ustane, as is Bernard Cribbins as Job. The biggest problem with this Hammer remake is its slow pace. In the original film the lost city was in icy terrain but here it's in the desert. The best scene may be the slaves thrown into the fire pit.

Verdict: Not as much fun as The Mole People. **.

THE DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES

Pirate Christopher Lee confronts John Cairney

THE DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES (1964). Director: Don Sharp.

"That sort of talk's for priests and women."

In the late 16th century Britain and Spain are engaged in war. Diablo, a licensed "privateer" ship whose men are led by Captain Robeles (Christopher Lee), has officially become part of the Spanish armada. When the ship is badly damaged in a sea battle consisting of stock footage, Robeles pulls into a small English port to make repairs. There Robeles tells the apprehensive villagers that Spain has won the war, and they are all now under his command. However, one of the pirates' female captives tries to break free so she can tell everyone the truth, although suspicions are already forming ... The Devil-Ship Pirates, co-released by Columbia and Hammer studios, has the latter's usual production gloss, but is a bit on the tepid side. Christopher Lee is more exciting as a pirate leader than he was in The Pirates of Blood River, and Andrew Kier and Michael Ripper are also in the cast. John Cairney [Spaceflight IC-1]plays the young hero, Harry. Don Sharp also directed the zestier Rasputin, the Mad Monk, also with Lee.

Verdict: Nothing special in this non-horror Hammer. **.

THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER

THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER (1962). Director: John Gilling.

"I'm not a man of action. Perhaps I think too much to be brave."

Jason Standing (Andrew Kier), a magistrate at a 17th century Huguenot settlement on the isle of Devon, sends his own son Jonathon (Kerwin Mathews) to a penal colony for the alleged crime of adultery. Jason manages to escape and falls in with a group of French pirates run by a Captain LaRoche (Christopher Lee). Being assured that the pirates represent no danger to his people, Jonathon leads them back to Devon, and discovers you can't quite trust the word of a pirate. Other characters caught up in the action include Jonathon's sister Bess (Marla Landi), and her fella, Henry (Glenn Corbett of Homicidal). Michael Ripper and Oliver Reed [Paranoiac] play other pirates. This is a very handsome non-horror Hammer production, with Lee, unfortunately, being more subdued than usual in trying to avoid the stereotype of the fire-breathing pirate chief. There is an unconvincing attack by piranha, but Gary Hughes' score is a plus, as is the photography of Arthur Grant [The Terror of the Tongs]. Andrew Kier offers the most memorable performance.

Verdict: Not bad Hammer historical melodrama with an interesting cast. **1/2.

THE TERROR OF THE TONGS

THE TERROR OF THE TONGS (1961). Director: Anthony Bushell.

"Why is it these occidentals indulge in their vices the same way they run their lives, with noise and vulgarity?" 

Chung King (Christopher Lee) is the imperious leader of the Red Dragon Tong, which -- like a mafia -- controls and terrifies the citizens of Hong Kong near the turn of the century. Anyone who dares to speak out against or betray them winds up horribly murdered. The members of the Tong go too far, however, when they slay the daughter of a British captain named Jackson Sale (Geoffrey Toone). Aided by some who are secretly working against the tong, including the lovely former slave girl, Lee (Yvonne Monlaur) and a certain beggar (Marne Maitland), Sale decides that the tong's reign of terror must come to an end. Dr. Fu Choa (Charles Lloyd Pack) tries to give Sale a lethal injection, and Chung King arranges for his enforcer to use thin needles to painfully scrape Sale's bones down to the very marrow in one very interesting torture sequence. Lee -- who would later play Fu Manchu in a number of movies -- gives an excellent performance, and the rest of the cast is at the very least enthusiastic and watchable; Maitland is especially notable. The film is well-directed, extremely well-edited, well-photographed by Arthur Grant [The Abominable Snowman], and has an exciting score by James Bernard [Dracula Prince of Darkness].

Verdict: Done with the usual Hammer studios aplomb. ***.

THE DEVIL RIDES OUT

Chris Lee and cohorts seek safety inside circle

THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (1968). Director: Terence Fisher. Screenplay by Richard Matheson, from a novel by Dennis Wheatley.

"I'd rather see you dead than meddling in black magic."

When Duc De Richleau (Christopher Lee) discovers that his young friend Simon (Patrick Mower) and a woman named Tanith (Nike Arrighi) are going to be baptized into a cult that worships the Devil, he takes action. Along with his friend Rex Van Ryn (Leon Greene), Richleau spirits the young couple away where he attempts to keep them out of the grasp and influence of Mocata (Charles Gray), the leader of the Satanic cult. But Mocata has no intention of losing these two souls, and Richleau and his group have to contend with sinister materializations of everything from a little girl to a giant spider, not to mention a devil with the head of a goat. One of the best sequences has Richleau gathering everyone together into a circle of protection in the vast room of a manor house. Lee, Gray, Arrighi, as well as Paul Eddington as Eaton, give very good performances, but while the movie is entertaining, it's not completely satisfying either as thriller or horror. From Hammer studios.

Verdict: Lee is always interesting. **1/2.

TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA

Dracula (Christopher Lee) surveys the scene

TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA (1970). Director: Peter Sasdy.

Three gentlemen who are respectable British citizens by day go to the fleshpots at night and crave ever-more excitement. This they certainly get when a dissolute Lord Courtley (Ralph Bates of Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde) tells them where they can find the remains of the one and only Dracula (Christopher Lee). For this ultimate thrill the three men pay the price -- literally and figuratively -- when they sort of reconstitute the vampire with fresh blood inside an old church and all Hell breaks loose ... Although Dracula's first appearance is perhaps not given the dramatic thrust it requires, Taste the Blood of Dracula is an attention-holder and features a lot of fine British actors giving it their all. Bates is especially good, along with Geoffrey Keene as Hargood, whose daughter, Alice (Linda Hayden) is in love with Paul (Anthony Corlan/Higgins), son of fellow "adventurer," Paxton (Peter Sallis); Higgins and Sallis also give noteworthy performances. Gwen Watford is fine as Hargood's wife, Martha. Roy Kinnear and Michael Ripper are also in the cast, and Lee plays with his customary authority. Sasdy also directed the memorable Hands of the Ripper for Hammer.

Verdict: Satisfying Hammer horror. ***.