Kes (1969)
[5] I put off watching Kes for many years because, as a 'bird person', I knew the title falcon died at the end of the movie. I finally gathered the courage to see the film, and I'm surprised to report…
Nightmare (1964)
[4] Poor Janet. When she was just a little girl, she watched her mommy stab her daddy to death, and she's been haunted by nightmares ever since. She's also terrified of inheriting her mother's insanity. To make matters worse, someone…
The Gorgon (1964)
[3] One of the creepiest and more original concepts for a Hammer horror movie is also one of the studio's most disappointing efforts. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee reunite for The Gorgon, but their characters aren't very interesting and the…
The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)
[3] Hammer's third Frankenstein film (following 1958's The Revenge of Frankenstein) is more of a one-off than a sequel, having little to do with the films before or after it. It marked the return of Peter Cushing to gothic horror…
The Maniac (1963)
[7] Kerwin Mathews (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad) stars an American painter who enters into a provocative love triangle with mother and step-daughter barkeeps in rural France. He agrees to help them break their patriarch from an asylum where he's…
Paranoiac (1963)
[6] In this psychological thriller from Hammer Films, members of the Ashby estate await their inheritance as a mysterious figure (Alexander Davion) shows up on their doorstep. He claims to be the youngest son, who left a suicide note eight years…
The Phantom of the Opera (1962)
[7] In Hammer Film's loose adaptation of Gaston Leroux's story, a disfigured composer (Herbert Lom) dwells within the bowels of a London opera house, where a lecherous impostor (Michael Gough) has stolen his life's work and is cashing in on…
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960)
[6] In Hammer Films' very loose adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story, Paul Massie plays Dr. Jekyll, a scientist who ingests a potion that leads to a recurring change of personality. His new alter ego, Mr. Hyde, is a…
Night Creatures (1962)
[7] In this Hammer production set in 18th century England, the British Navy is sent to a coastal town where residents are suspected of smuggling alcohol. When the navy arrives, they are side-tracked by assertions of ghostly 'marsh phantoms' that…
Inherit the Wind (1960)
[9] Conscientious director Stanley Kramer (Judgment at Nuremberg, The Defiant Ones) tackles America's clashing beliefs in evolution and creationism in Inherit the Wind, a stage play adaptation inspired by the 1925 Scopes 'Monkey Trial'. Names and locations are changed and…