Delve into three of cinematographer-turned-director, Freddie Francis’, five films for Hammer in this box set from Umbrella Entertainment.
Freddie Francis’ The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) wouldn’t be a mad scientist if he wasn’t willing to steal a corpse or two for science, but even a mad scientist might be expected to show some shame upon being caught. In The Evil of Frankenstein, it’s a priest (James Maxwell) who walks in on Frankenstein while he’s in the middle of securing a heart and, far from showing embarrassment or remorse, Frankenstein doesn’t react at all (until the priest interferes, and then he’s angry).
For Frankenstein to react, after all, he’d have to think he was doing something wrong, and that’s one of the aspects that makes Cushing’s performance as Frankenstein in this movie so interesting. Rather than the Frankenstein who abandons his monster (Kiwi Kingston) because he doesn’t want anything to do with him, Frankenstein here sticks around and while that’s not the same as being a good father (Frankenstein is too callous and science-minded for that), it does mark a huge difference in how their relationship plays out.
Frankenstein’s friendship with his assistant, Hans (Sandor Elès), is also a highlight in this movie. They really come across as a team (down to the fact that they share the driving after being run out of town). Their new destination, Karlstaad, is where Frankenstein’s castle is and the plan is to sell off some paintings to fund their experiments. A chance encounter with a beggar girl, however (played by Katy Wild, and that is her official credit), produces another option.
Bonus Features:
Author and film historian Kim Newman provides a featurette on Cushing’s career, starting with his attempt to make it in Hollywood in the ’30s. Next is a commentary by English Gothic author Jonathan Rigby and Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television editor Kevin Lyons where they point out common denominators between The Evil of Frankenstein and other Hammer films, as well as lament Francis’ use of so many close-ups when the monster’s make-up looks much better far away. They also trace the storyline where Frankenstein seeks help from a hypnotist (Peter Woodthorpe) to Peter Bryant‘s treatment for an unmade episode of Tales of Frankenstein
Having enjoyed The Evil of Frankenstein quite a bit, it was a little disconcerting to then listen to the episode of the Hammer House of Podcast that’s included. Not being fans of a film is one thing but podcast creators,Paul Cornell and Lizbeth Myles almost make it seem like it would be impossible to find anything redeeming about it. Maybe it helps, having not seen any of Hammer’s other Frankenstein movies (of which The Evil of Frankenstein is the third), and it certainly doesn’t sound like there’s any continuity between this film (which was written by Anthony Hinds) and the first two, but, whatever flaws The Evil of Frankenstein has (and it’s flawed), I would never call it dull. The only thing that would’ve made Umbrella Entertainment’s release better is if they’d been able to include the 14 minutes of new material that was filmed for the US television version of the film, but this was my favorite of the films in this box set.
Freddie Francis’ Paranoiac! (1963)
With only three weeks to go before he can access his full inheritance, there are only two things that could get in Simon’s way.
One of them he’s accounted for – his sister, Eleanor (Janette Scott), who Simon (Oliver Reed) is in the process of getting committed. The other he didn’t see coming. That’s because, as far as anyone knew, Simon’s brother, Tony (Alexander Davion), was dead. He was supposed to have committed suicide but now a person claiming to be Tony has returned and the timing couldn’t be worse.
Jimmy Sangster’s script doesn’t string viewers along and the truth about Tony comes out early. At the same time, though, Paranoiac! doesn’t show it’s full horror colors right away. Initially it’s more of a gaslighting story, but there’s a clear turning point where the film removes any doubt and embraces all things Gothic (including incestuous vibes). There’s an argument to be made that Paranoiac! tries to do too much, but all of the individual elements are really effective.
Bonus Features:
This time around Newman talks about Oliver Reed for his featurette, with a focus on how Hammer cast and promoted him (apparently if the film had more closely followed Josephine Tey’s novel Reed would’ve been playing twins).
There’s also another episode of the House of Hammer Podcast. Luckily Cornell and Myles aren’t as vehemently opposed to Paranoiac! as they were to The Evil of Frankenstein, but they do touch on some of the plot points that wouldn’t hold up under close inspection.
Lastly, author and film historian Alan Jones provides a commentary where he talks about how psychopaths were portrayed post-Psycho, and provides some production history (originally a version of Paranoiac! was supposed to be made in the ’50s that might’ve resulted in another pair-up between director Joseph Losey and actor Dirk Bogarde).
Freddie Francis’ Nightmare (1964)
You’d think a boarding school would have more patience than to send a student home for having nightmares, but apparently beauty rest comes first, because that’s the drastic measures they’ve taken when Nightmare begins. Janet (Jennie Lindon) has been sent home but, instead of meeting her guardian (David Knight), he’s sent a female companion (Brenda Bruce) to take care of her in his stead.
After some conflicting backstories as to what happened to her parents, Janet awaits her guardian’s arrival. At home, however, the nightmares continue, and it soon gets so bad that she can’t tell the difference between what’s real and what’s a dream.
Featuring a predominantly female cast and another script by Sangster, Nightmare feels like a predecessor to both Brian De Palma’s Sisters (where cake knives are equally unlucky) and Alejandro Amenábar‘s The Others (in terms of the role the help plays in the story). Bruce is the standout of the cast (when her character starts to crack it’s an extremely raw performance), and while the print for this film is arguably the poorest of the films in this box set, it’s nothing that bothered me personally.
Bonus Features:
For his last featurette Newman talks about Francis’ career both pre, during, and post-Hammer, when he went back to being a cinematographer again for directors like David Lynch.
For this episode of the Hammer House of Podcast, Myles and Cornell are split on the film, while in the commentary film historian and Dark Side Magazine publisher Allan Bryce starts to loose steam at the end but goes into background on the actors, crew, and Hammer in general.
Hammer Horror Volume 1 is available on all-region Blu-ray from Umbrella Entertainment and comes with a bonus disc of Hammer trailers and an excellent booklet by film historian John Harrison. Unfortunately the font size and color makes it difficult to read but turn on a lamp before letting the typeface thwart you. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for Volume 2, which is scheduled for release in January.
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