 |
|
Cover
art for VCI Entertainment's 2006 release of Hammer
Film Noir Collection |
dvd review
Long before
Hammer made a name for themselves as purveyors of horror and
fantasy films, they had been successful with their
low-budget adaptations of BBC radio dramas, comedies and
thrillers. As the company grew they made a distribution deal
with American producer Robert Lippert, which ensured US
sales and theatrical releases. In return Lippert provided
the US talent - more often than not an aging former
Hollywood star, the sort of deal which is the norm in the
film industry today, but at the time was fairly
revolutionary.
Whilst
Hammer's horror films have been fairly well exploited by now
on the domestic video formats, their pre-Curse of
Frankenstein (1957) material has been elusive,
forgotten, and available only through the fan circuit and
the bootlegs. I was delighted to learn that VCI had reached
an agreement with Kit Parker Films (the current owners of
the Lippert catalogue) and have set about releasing the
Hammer/Lippert films. This first wave of dvds hit the
shelves in August 2006, after a few delays, presenting us
with six films across three discs, available either as a
collector's edition box set or as three separate volumes.
Hammer prove
themselves efficient and economic storytellers, bringing
Americans into sleepy English towns and country houses - a
bit of the gangster in Britain. There's one or two genuine
classics on the set alongside several workmanlike efforts.
The dvds utilise the US prints of the films, which often
vary substantially from the UK prints, and can only be a
good thing, as it leaves open the prospect of the UK
versions being released on R2. Of the six films, only the
proto-Frankenstein tale of face-transplants Stolen
Face has been released before (by DD in the UK). The set
and individual discs are so economically priced, its hard to
resist purchasing a set, and I'd recommend the set to film
fans. Another important slice of Hammer history finally
legitimately available.
the films
volume 1 :Bad
Blonde/Man Bait
Bad Blonde (aka. The Flanaghan Boy in the
UK) showcases the talents of Barbara Payton as the slutty
seductress and wife to the overweight fight promoter.
Flanaghan is the plucky fighter who will be ensnared into
killing his boss by the femme fatale. Competently directed,
and with an appearance by Sidney James as the trainer (more
of him later)....
I have a soft spot for Man Bait (known as The
Last Page in the UK). In his comments on the disc
Richard M Roberts talks rather laughingly at Hammer's
decision to make a bookstore the front for a bit of noir
action, and yet its part of the charm of these early Hammer
pictures. They bring the Hollywood ideas to English mansions
and sleepy villages - its almost like a prototype for the
Avengers formula a decade later, and for this reviewer
at least it works. Diana Dors makes a debut as the English
answer to Marilyn Monroe and Jane Mansfield, and imbues her
character with an earthy sexiness and stark naivety. Those
were the days, when you could stick a middle aged man with a
barely legal starlet and get away with it - even James
Bond struggles to get away with that these days.
Its probably my lengthy stint as a librarian that allows me
to get excited by the drama, petty blackmail and murder. A
Hitcockian wrong man thread runs through this and many of
the other films on the set too, this one building up to an
exciting climax.
volume 2:
Stolen Face/Blackout
Stolen Face
shows some of the earliest signs of the obsession with human
tinkering that would be come de rigour during the 60s
and 70s. Before Frankenstein was even a consideration with
Hammer, they played with the transplanting of human faces,
and issues of identity, the struggle of the soul and sexual
titillation. A dangerous criminal (a facially disfigured
woman incidentally... make of that what you will) is given
an opportunity for a new life when a brilliant surgeon,
offers her a new face, that of the woman who has
spurned him. Its a simple morality tale, something about
giving a leopard new spots methinks.... And maybe I'm being
unfair, but I've always found it very slow and somewhat
tedious.
On the other
hand, Stolen Face is paired on this volume with the
(in my humble opinion) outstanding Blackout, a real
pacy and fun thriller which delighted me from start to
finish. Dane Clark (one actor who really grew on me over the
course of the set, its such a shame Hammer didn't employ him
as regularly as the likes of Cushing and Lee) is a depressed
individual, who wakes up to find himself in a stranger's
apartment, a new wife and a throbbing headache, staring at a
painting of the woman he remembers marrying the night
before. There follows a great twisting plot taking in a
spoilt rich girl, her untrustworthy partner, with Dane
struggling to play catch up and make sense of it all.
Possibly the finest film on the set actually.
volume 3: The
Gambler and the Lady/Heat Wave
Dane Clark is
back for The Gambler and the Lady, this time as an
American who has made himself through a gambling racket.
In England he has a stately home and is trying to make
himself a gentleman, complete with butler, and lessons in
dining etiquette. Some good humour, and another love story
as Dane falls for an aristocrat - and comes under the fire
of the new gamblers in town. A fairly decent yarn...
Heat Wave
(aka. The House Across the Lake) is a delight with
its guest appearance from Sid James, better known to
contemporary audiences for the Carry On series of comedies.
James was something of a Hammer regular in the 1950s,
appearing in a number of their early films, and also being
part of Val Guest's regular castings. No doubt the film will
be an eye-opener to some, and he does well as the dying man
with a homicidal wife. Guest American is Alex Nicol, a
neighbour struggling to finish the novel he's come to the
country to write. Brought into their debauched world, his
growing friendship with James is put into difficulty after
an affair starts with his wife. Its a familiar plot line
from the area, but well executed.
transfer
Transfers are all stunningly good - much better than I
could ever have anticipated. Images are clear, with plenty
of detail, tonal levels are fine, and what little dirt and
splices that are in evidence, are limited and hardly
anything to complain about. Aspect ratios are all fixed at a
fullscreen format, completely in keeping with the original
negatives. Sound is also generally good, I look forward to
seeing the rest of the films.
extras
A modest set of extras have been provided on the set,
with varying degrees of success. Each film receives a
perfectly fine gallery of on-set photography and promotional
material, to an accompanying commentary - but I'll get to
that in a minute. The amount of material presented varies
widely from film to film, but is an impressive archival
snapshot.
The discs are
without full-length feature commentaries.
The World
of Hammer Noir documentary, is a very short
photo-montage piece, accompanied by a commentary with film
historian and collector Richard M. Roberts(and not as some might
have thought, a previously unseen episode from the Oliver
Reed-narrated 1990 tv compilation series). The same voice
which appears over the gallery montages. Several others have
commented to me on this subject largely in agreement, so I
won't restrain my criticism. The documentary and
commentaries are the weakest part of the whole package.
Historian and collector he may be, but the contextualisation
of Hammer films in the period is lax and at times one could
be forgiven for thinking the narrator really doesn't care
for the films and is falling asleep. The Bad Blonde
gallery gives it away completely, when the narrator actually
stops during his comments and can be heard giving
instructions to cut and go back, proceeding to repeat a
couple of sentences. It gives a poor impression to buyers,
but thankfully was the only such instance on the discs.
Whilst I welcome new opinions and voices on the discs other
than the usual suspects (Marcus Hearn, Stephen Jones, Kim
Newman etc), this particular choice just doesn't work.
Trailers
Unfortunately there aren't trailers on the disc for each
of the films presented. There's also a handful of trailers
for other VCI material which isn't Hammer. Aspect ratios and
quality varies. The Man Bait trailer looks like a
partial reconstruction - there's warping in evidence on both
sides of the image initially, before new pristine material
and captions. Presumably the damage was so bad, they remade
it using the new full-length print.
When all is
said and done The Hammer Noir Collection is a superb
set, competitively priced, and full of underappreciated
features from an early Hammer film company. VCI deserve
congratulations for retrieving the films from the chasm of
obscurity, and I eagerly await the rest of the series.
