'Revenge of Frankenstein an efficient Hammer chiller

 

The Revenge of Frankenstein, 1958, color, Hammer, 90 minutes (U.S. version). Directed by Terence Fisher. Starring Peter Cushing as Dr. "Stein" (Frankenstein). Francis Matthews as Dr. Hans Kleve, Eunice Gayson as Margaret Conrad, Michael Gwynn as Karl as a synthetic man and Oscar Quitak as Karl (before). Schlock-meter rating: 9 stars out of 10.

Hammer films can be somewhat of an acquired taste. Often it will seem that the cast of Mansfield Park has suddenly appeared in a conventional horror film. But I confess to being a big fan of this British horror genre. I love the raw horror of Dracula being confronted by English gentlemen warriors. 

The Revenge of Frankenstein, a sequel to the Curse of Frankenstein. is an efficient, compact tale with beautiful sets and scenes and marvelous restrained performances by Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein and Gwynne as the suffering synthetic man. 

The plot: Dr. Frankenstein avoids death in one portion of Eastern Europe and sets up shop far way under the name of Dr. Stein. He quickly becomes the most popular doctor in town, much to the chagrin of his colleagues. A former student (Matthews) recognizes Frankenstein, but rather than turn him in, works with him to create a synthetic man (Gwynne). 

Of course, plans go awry and several murders occur by the monster before Stein's true identity is revealed. There is a twist ending that is a little hard to swallow, but it sets everything up nicely for a sequel. Matthews as Cushing's confederate Dr. Hans Kleve is just window dressing, as is a nurse (Gayson) who mistakenly sets the monster free. 

This is Cushing's show, and he is marvelous. He portrays a truly evil, amoral man, but his charisma, energy and controlled emotional performance makes the audience cheer for him. Fisher's direction is as economical as a Don Siegel film. He keeps the film moving at a fast pace and virtually no scenes are wasted. Even Dr. Frankenstein's motive for creating a synthetic man appears pure at first. It's to place the brain of a dwarf (Quitak) in a "perfect body." 

However, when the brain and body don't mix and the suffering creation (Gwynne) goes mad with pain and fury, the doctor is curiously cold, revealing his icy interior. As mentioned, Gwynne is great in conveying the suffering of the monster and its agony that it cannot control his pain or actions. The Revenge of Frankenstein is a winner, and deserves a spot in any cult film collection.

Notes: British version runs 94 minutes. Film was originally banned in Sweden. Watch a trailer here.

-- Doug Gibson

Hazel Court recounts her life as cult actress

Review by Steve D. Stones

First, I'd like to thank my loving aunt and uncle for presenting this book, Hazel Court: Horror Queen, to me as a Christmas gift in 2014. I feel very fortunate to have the book in my collection because it is not sold in the United States - and traveled from Court's native country of England to end up in my hands. The book was published by Tomahawk Press in Sheffield, England in 2008.

Court takes the reader on a chronological journey of her life from her birth in Birmingham, England, to the loss of her first love during the time of World War II, to her motion picture stardom, her marriage to director Don Taylor and on to her accomplishments as an artist and sculptor studying in Pietrasanta, Italy. Her sculptures have gained some international recognition over the years.

American audiences best know Hazel Court from her appearances in several Roger Corman films of the early 1960s - based on Edgar Allan Poe stories - such as Premature Burial (1962), The Raven (1963) and The Masque of The Red Death (1964). Masque of The Red Death is regarded as Corman's greatest film - and Court certainly adds to the greatness of the film - even after burning an upside down cross above her right breast in one scene.  Corman's films have given Court the reputation of  a "Scream Queen." 

Before acting in Corman's films, Court was cast in a number of Hammer Studios films in England, such as The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959). That same decade in the 1950s, Court starred in a low-budget sci-fi film that has gone on to earn international cult status - Devil Girl From Mars (1954). Court says she gets lots of fan mail because of this film.

Court also has the distinction of being the only actress who has ever starred with all of horror films' leading men at the time - Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, Ray Milland, Peter Lorre and Christopher Lee. She says working with these great male actors was a pleasure, and each treated her with great respect and professionalism.

Court enjoyed a successful TV career in America - starring in such big hit TV shows of the sixties - such as Bonanza, Rawhide, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Twilight Zone. Director Graham Baker gave her a small walk on role in Omen III (1981) that she was not cast for - thinking no one would recognize the aging Court. Fans immediately poured out fan mail after seeing her on screen in Omen III after a long lapse in appearing in any films.

The biggest message the reader gets from reading Miss Court's book is that she has a very positive, upbeat personality - and never has anything negative to say about anyone. Her tone is as attractive as her good looks. Even those who have encountered her seem to have a very positive image of her.

An example of this is when Court met Winston Churchill in his garden as he was speaking to some of his goldfish. Instead of speaking of Churchill in a negative way for this peculiar behavior, Court sees this experience as part of Churchill's great genius.

Her daughter, Sally Walsh, penned the forward of the book and tells the story of her and Hazel accidentally hitting a policemen with their car on the way to Buckingham Palace. Instead of citing Court for reckless driving, the officer asks for her autograph - claiming he was a big fan. He then told Court that she could hit him with a car anytime - according to Walsh.

The book is filled with 200 beautiful, rare photos of various stages of Court's career from many of her film and TV productions. Some have never been published, and one is a topless photo of a scene cut from the American print of The Man Who Could Cheat Death.

Court passed away in April of 2008 at her Lake Tahoe residence in California. May her films live on for fans in generations to come. 

Hammer's sexy vampire film 'Twins of Evil'

Review by Doug Gibson

"Twins of Evil," Hammer's 1971 tales of Count Karnstein turning one part of a lovely pair of twins into a vampire, is not as impressive as other Carmilla-themed films, such as "Lust For a Vampire," or "The Vampire Lovers," but nevertheless it retains its status as a classic due to star Peter Cushing's strong performance as Gustav Weil, fanatical vampire hunter, so enslaved by the mysogyny of his faith and his fear of the undead that he'll solemnly burn to death any young woman who doesn't act normal. The opening scene, where Weil and his brotherhood abduct and burn a young girl to death, indicts Weil as a dangerous fanatic, a man not safe with young women and their instinctive sexuality.

Appropriately, Weil's eagerness to burn female flesh provides righteous indignation for viewers. Yet Cushing is no Matthew Hopkins, as portrayed by Vincent Price in "Witchfinder General." Weil is no hypocrite nor a luster of his victims, nor is he a man who revels in his evil acts. He's a fervent believer in the Old Testament "thou shall not suffer a witch to live." Cushing's Weill, while acting with a maniacal religious fervor, believes he is freeing his victims, releasing them from vampirism to a life with Christ. Late in the film, when it slowly dawns on Cushing that he may have been too zealous, that some of his victims were indeed innocent, his pain and remorse is evident. As both atonement and revenge, he fails to protect himself as he goes after the evil count.

"Twins of Evil" is a prequel to the Carmilla story and films. The evil Count Karstein (Damien Thomas) is tired of the limits to pleasure and evil he can attain as a mortal. He summons an ancestor vampire, Countess Mircella, (Katya Wyeth) who turns him into a vampire. Eager to satiate his lusts and increase his evil, he sets his sights on two gorgeous twins who have moved to Karnstein from Venice to live with Weil and his wife, Katy, (Kathleen Bryon). The twins are portrayed by Playboy models Mary and Madeleine Collinson. Mary plays Maria Gellhorn and Madeleine is her twin Frieda. Maria is the more timid, pious twin. Frieda is rebellious, furious with her uncle Gustav and eventually is drawn to Count Karstein, who willingly becomes a vampire. There is a subplot where Anton, a liberal teacher at the girls' school, is attracted to Frieda. Anton and Gustav, not surprisingly, clash over the latter's vampire hunting. The film climaxes with a hunt for Frieda and the ensuing possibility that the virtuous Maria may pay for her sins.

As I have mentioned, it's easy to hate the fanatical, misogynous Gustav, but he does have one fact to rest on: there are vampires out there stealing the souls of the innocent. Midway through the film, it's a testament to Cushing's acting skills that the audience starts to root for him as he goes after Frieda and the Count. The Collinswood twins are gorgeous. They are not trained actors, and it shows in their performances. Madeleine does a better job than her sister Mary, but that may be only because she as the meatier role as the bad Frieda. The print I saw has very little nudity. The most explicit scene is where Frieda, pretending to be the innocent Maria, attempts to seduce and bite schoolteacher, Anton.

The Karnstein saga was a Hammer trilogy that, as mentioned, includes "Lust for a Vampire" and "The Vampire Lovers." This is intended to be the first chapter. Watching these movies is a pleasant reminder of how vulnerable and difficult it once was to be a vampire. With the constraints of the cross, daytime, coffins, foes such as Van Helsing and Weil, and native soil, one could understand why successful vampires such as Carmilla and Dracula had pride that overlapped into egotism. They had survived through time. Count Karstein and Frieda are, ultimately, not-too-difficult prey for Weil, Anton and others. It remains a constant annoyance to this reviewer that the above-mentioned disadvantages are not a problem for today's "Calvin Klein" vampires that infect films such as "Twilight," "True Blood" and "Being Human" ...

Vampire films of the 1970s covered well in new book

Review by Doug Gibson

"Vampire Films of the 1970s: Dracula to Blacula and Every Fang Between," a new book from genre author Gary A. Smith, does the usual, thorough McFarland Books job with its subject. Smith reviews the bloodsucker films of the era to a fault. To a cult nerd's delight, he spends time with 70s vampire films of schlock auteurs Andy Milligan and Al Adamson.

The low-budget Europe import films of Jean Rollin, Jess Franco are covered well, as is the "Dracula included" films of Europe's most famous werewolf, Paul Naschy (his films are a pleasant surprise after the leaden Rollin and Franco efforts). In fact, Smith spares a few paragraphs for porn versions of the vampire legend.

So, from Hammer, to Blacula, to AIP, to Franco, to Naschy to Rollin, to Langella, Dan Curtis, Santo the wrestler, porn, Masterpiece Theater, TV with the Night Stalker, and other oddities, "Vampire Films of the 1970s covers a lot of ground.

It's a delight for genre fans. Although Smith lacks the tolerance for "bad" films that most genre fans enjoy, he assesses dozens of films concisely but thoroughly, with strong plot outlines as well. Hammer, of course, is the dominant player of 70s vampire films through about 1975. Smith, intentionally or not, captures a readable scenario in charting Hammer's slow march to insolvency through the decade.

Early in the 70s, Hammer exploited the lesbian possibilities of the "Carmilla" novel, and other vampire plots, with such as "The Vampire Lovers," "Twins of Evil," "Lust for Vampire." The Countess Bathory was another popular option, with films such as "Countess Dracula." The films were full of gothic beauty, and an abundance of sex and nudity. Others were "Scars of Dracula" and "Vampire Circus."

European filmmakers tried to imitate Hammer, with some small success, particularly "Daughters of Darkness," a Belgian import. The aforementioned Naschy tried his hand with "Count Dracula's Great Love," an inferior Hammer imitation with beautiful women, lots of flesh, and, save Naschy, abysmal acting. "The Werewolf versus the Vampire Woman," from Naschy, is a better film, with a memorably creepy performance from the Bathory-like Patty Shepard.

And yes, gutter auteurs Rollin and Franco produced several films. They are unique -- the mark of an auteur -- but leaden and lifeless. The women are gorgeous, and often unclothed, but the films creep and creep along. I watched Rollin's "The Nude Vampire" and 80-plus minutes seemed like 5 hours. As for Franco, watching his "faithful" adaptation of "Count Dracula" with Christopher Lee, Herbert Lom and Klaus Kinski (he had talent in the cast!) is painful. It's a test the Spanish director fails. (Smith provides an interesting backstory of how Spanish cinema became more daring as the Franco dictatorship came to an end).

Author Smith is to be commended for the bits of information gathered, including the box office success of the films, where they played in Europe, and the United States. As mentioned, he charts Hammer's decline into bankruptcy. Near the middle of the decade, the company moved its vampire films' time periods to present day. "Dracula AD 1972" is a dated mess, "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" is better, but again with a present-day setting, the gothic beauty of the Hammer films is lost.

"Satanic Rites...," one of a several 70s vampire films I watched the past week, is also overly sadistic and more prurient. It seems to be an effort by Hammer, strangely, to try to emulate the inferior Franco and Naschy efforts.

"Satanic Rites" flopped, Lee left the series, Hammer made a strange martial arts vampire film, and the company slipped into insolvency.

Smith notes well the low-budget films that competed for bloodsucker box office. AIP made "Blacula" and a sequel, Santo the wrestler battled some vampires, Adamsom mixed two movies to make "Doctor Dracula," a film with both the vampire and Svengali! Two Milligan films, "The Body Beneath" and "Blood," are reviewed. Smith dislikes both, but "The Body Beneath" is quite good, in my opinion.

Lest, I forget, "Andy Warhol's Dracula" (AKA "Blood For Dracula), is also looked at by Smith. Director Paul Morrissey threads the vampire story with a strong Marxist theme conveyed by the Van Helsing-like Joe Dallesandro. Ironically, a little bit of that social justice is also present in the far-better "Countess Dracula."

As Smith notes, late in the decade the above-average "Dracula," with Frank Langella, was a major release if not overwhelming hit. Also, there were well-produced television adaptations of "Dracula" produced.

I recommend Smith's book, pricey as it may be. It's thorough and entertaining. It'd be fun to read a "Frankenstein Monster Films of the 1970s," if just to read an overview of the truly dreadful, unique schlock "Blackenstein."

You can find out more by calling McFarland at its number, 800-253-2187.

A postscript: I watched several of the films mentioned in Smith's book last week. Here are some capsule observations:

-- "Doctor Dracula" -- It's typical Al Adamson, editing two films to make one. The actor who plays Doctor Dracula isn't too bad, but the camp value is in how bad the actress who plays Trilby is. John Carradine slums in this effort.

-- "The Nude Vampire" -- Jean Rollin managed to cast the most beautiful actresses, but his films are pretentious and dull. There's a slight anti-capitalist theme in this story of exploited "mutants" who act like vampires. I do love the twins in this film, though.

-- "Count Dracula's Great Love" -- I like Paul Naschy as the vampire in this Hammer imitation with more nudity. But the other actors are terrible, and the plot pedestrian. Naschy, though, makes it worth a viewing.

-- "Dracula Vs. Frankenstein" -- Very dated, set in the '70s with Michael Rennie (his last film) as an alien trying to do something that involves many monsters. Naschy, as a werewolf, battles a mummy, which may be a first. Also know as "Assignment Terror."

--"The Werewolf Vs. the Vampire Woman" -- My second-favorite of the films I watched, with Naschy acting well as a man-werewolf trying to protect women from a truly creepy vampire woman.

-- "The Satanic Rites of Dracula" -- It has its moments, especially with Joanna Lumley being menaced in a dungeon by women vampires. But's it's often sadistic and the 1970s setting weakens the film's impact. Cushing and Lee are good, though.

-- "Countess Dracula" -- The best film I saw, Ingrid Pitt is superb as Countess Dracula, Lesley-Anne Down good as her imprisoned daughter. The film is beautifully shot, lush in color with a strong Gothic feel.

The Quatermass Xperiment – British Sci-Fi At Its Best

By Steve D. Stones

This intelligent sci-fi feature produced by Hammer Studios and based on a hit BBC TV serial was also marketed as The Creeping Unknown in the U.S. in 1956. Brian Donlevy stars as Dr. Bernard Quatermass – an American scientist who launches a space rocket experiment that goes terribly wrong.

Three astronauts are sent into space. Their rocket crashes in England near where it was launched. Only one astronaut survives the crash. The other two are not to be found inside the rocket. Their space suits are still strapped to the safety seats inside the rocket.  Quatermass is determined to figure out what happened to the two men and why the rocket crashed.

The surviving astronaut, played by Richard Wordsworth, is in a catatonic state, unable to communicate with anyone. A bizarre growth begins to cover his body. He is isolated in a hospital ward so doctors can monitor his condition. The growth consumes his right arm.

A film thought to be damaged from the crash is discovered inside the rocket.  Quatermass and other scientists viewing the film determine that an unseen force somehow destroyed the two astronauts.  

The surviving astronaut’s wife manages to sneak him out of the hospital. He kills a man trying to help him leave the hospital in an elevator. His wife carries him away in a car, but he flees on foot.  

In a scene that may intentionally pay tribute to Frankenstein (1931), the astronaut encounters a little girl playing with a doll near a river.  Luckily, the girl is not harmed, but her doll is destroyed by the astronaut.

A chemist is later killed by the astronaut at a pharmacy, and animals are found dead at the local zoo.

Meanwhile, scientists find a strange plant like growth in the hospital room of the astronaut. A strange growth of giant proportions is also discovered at Westminster Abbey on top of a scaffold. The squid looking growth with tentacles is electrocuted and killed. The film never explains what happens to the astronaut, but we assume he has become the giant squid creature found at Westminster Abbey.

The film gives the suggestion that perhaps space travel is not worth the risk of the dangers that could happen to mankind. Dr. Quatermass is an emotionless, stubborn character who will not allow anything to get in the way of science and experimentation, even if it means risking the lives of astronauts. The film ends with Quatermass launching another rocket into space.

Don’t miss the excellent sequel – Quatermass II : Enemy From Space. In 1967, Hammer Studios also made another great Quatermass film – Quatermass & The Pit, which also had its title changed for American audiences to - Five Million Years To Earth. An American film with a very similar plot to The Quatermass Xperiment was made in 1958 entitled First Man Into Space. Happy viewing!

The excellent Hammer vampire tale, Twins of Evil

By Doug Gibson

"Twins of Evil," Hammer's 1971 tales of Count Karnstein turning one part of a lovely pair of twins into a vampire, is not as impressive as other Carmilla-themed films, such as "Lust For a Vampire," or "The Vampire Lovers," but nevertheless it retains its status as a classic due to star Peter Cushing's strong performance as Gustav Weil, fanatical vampire hunter, so enslaved by the mysogyny of his faith and his fear of the undead that he'll solemnly burn to death any young woman who doesn't act normal. The opening scene, where Weil and his brotherhood abduct and burn a young girl to death, indicts Weil as a dangerous fanatic, a man not safe with young women and their instinctive sexuality.

Appropriately, Weil's eagerness to burn female flesh provides righteous indignation for viewers. Yet Cushing is no Matthew Hopkins, as portrayed by Vincent Price in "Witchfinder General." Weil is no hypocrite nor a luster of his victims, nor is he a man who revels in his evil acts. He's a fervent believer in the Old Testament "thou shall not suffer a witch to live." Cushing's Weill, while acting with a maniacal religious fervor, believes he is freeing his victims, releasing them from vampirism to a life with Christ. Late in the film, when it slowly dawns on Cushing that he may have been too zealous, that some of his victims were indeed innocent, his pain and remorse is evident. As both atonement and revenge, he fails to protect himself as he goes after the evil count.

"Twins of Evil" is a prequel to the Carmilla story and films. The evil Count Karstein (Damien Thomas) is tired of the limits to pleasure and evil he can attain as a mortal. He summons an ancestor vampire, Countess Mircella, (Katya Wyeth) who turns him into a vampire. Eager to satiate his lusts and increase his evil, he sets his sights on two gorgeous twins who have moved to Karnstein from Venice to live with Weil and his wife, Katy, (Kathleen Bryon). The twins are portrayed by Playboy models Mary and Madeleine Collinson. Mary plays Maria Gellhorn and Madeleine is her twin Frieda. Maria is the more timid, pious twin. Frieda is rebellious, furious with her uncle Gustav and eventually is drawn to Count Karstein, who willingly becomes a vampire. There is a subplot where Anton, a liberal teacher at the girls' school, is attracted to Frieda. Anton and Gustav, not surprisingly, clash over the latter's vampire hunting. The film climaxes with a hunt for Frieda and the ensuing possibility that the virtuous Maria may pay for her sins.

As I have mentioned, it's easy to hate the fanatical, misogynous Gustav, but he does have one fact to rest on: there are vampires out there stealing the souls of the innocent. Midway through the film, it's a testament to Cushing's acting skills that the audience starts to root for him as he goes after Frieda and the Count. The Collinswood twins are gorgeous. They are not trained actors, and it shows in their performances. Madeleine does a better job than her sister Mary, but that may be only because she as the meatier role as the bad Frieda. The print I saw has very little nudity. The most explicit scene is where Frieda, pretending to be the innocent Maria, attempts to seduce and bite schoolteacher, Anton.

The Karnstein saga was a Hammer trilogy that, as mentioned, includes "Lust for a Vampire" and "The Vampire Lovers." This is intended to be the first chapter. Watching these movies is a pleasant reminder of how vulnerable and difficult it once was to be a vampire. With the constraints of the cross, daytime, coffins, foes such as Van Helsing and Weil, and native soil, one could understand why successful vampires such as Carmilla and Dracula had pride that overlapped into egotism. They had survived through time. Count Karstein and Frieda are, ultimately, not-too-difficult prey for Weil, Anton and others. It remains a constant annoyance to this reviewer that the above-mentioned disadvantages are not a problem for today's "Calvin Klein" vampires that infect films such as "Twilight," "True Blood" and "Being Human" ...

Plague of the Zombies

Plague of the Zombies, 1966, British film, directed by John Gilling, Hammer Films, 91 minutes, starring Andre Morell as Sir James Forbes, Diane Clare as Sylvia Forbes, Brook Williams as Dr. Peter Thompson, Jacqueline Pearce as Alice Mary Thompson, John Carson as Squire Clive Hamilton, Alexander Davion as Denver and Michael Ripper as Sgt. Jack Swift. Schlock-meter ranking: Eight stars out of 10.

"Plague of the Zombies" is a superior Hammer entry from the mid-1960s. A very English gentleman doctor (Morell) heads to the small British village, Cornwall, with his daughter (Clare) to visit a protege (Williams) who is the local doctor. Mysterious deaths are occurring. The next to die is the local doctor's wife (Pearce). It's soon discovered that the graves are devoid of corpses. To solve the case, Morell and the local police sergeant (Ripper) reach back to Carribean lore and the local, very rich squire (Hamilton) who also has an abandoned tin mine ... or so everyone thinks.

Prior to George A. Romero' "Night of the Living Dead," most zombie films involved Haitian voodoo to create the undead. The best example of this is Bela Lugosi's "White Zombie." "Plague of the Zombies"was the last great zombie film with the familiar Caribbean origin The film's villian, Squire Clive Hamilton, is a student of the Haitian occult and eagerly takes its teachings back to his native village. Carson's character is less evil than fanatic. Even as the net closes in on him, he can't stop from trying to turn pretty Sylvia Forbes (Clare) into a zombie. The scenes of zombies toiling in the abandoned tin mine and roaming the country are chilling, as is Alice Mary Thompson's (Pearce) change to a zombie.

As protagonist and antagonist, Morrel and Carson are superb. The former masters the droll wit and sense of honor of an old English gentleman. The latter mixes his mask of polite, gallant breeding very well with his loathsome zombie-creating persona. It's an effective contrast. The Cornwall villagers are realistic. "Plague of the Zombies" does a good job detailing the class differences between the ultra-rich squire and the poor villagers. The oppressed villagers are mere toys for greedy Squire Hamilton and his henchmen. This theme of class injustice lends depth to what might have been just a routine horror programmer.

"Plague of the Zombies" is worth more than a rental. Cult film collectors should own a copy for repeat viewings. It's an example of Hammer at its best. It can easily be found for sale in VHS or DVD prints.

Notes: Morrel, who died in 1978, had a long and distinguished career. His credits include "Dr. Who," "Quartermass and the Pit," "Ben Hur," and he was the voice of Elrond in Ralph Bakshi's animated "The Lord of the Rings." Director Gilling directed and produced the 1952 Bela Lugosi film "Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire!" It wasn't until 1986 that another major release tackled the zombies, Caribbean curse plot. It was Wes Craven's "The Serpent and the Rainbow." An alternate title for "Plague of the Zombies" is "The Zombies." The film was released on a double bill with "Dracula: Prince of Darkness."

-- Doug Gibson

Twins of Evil -- Cushing's best vampire adversary performance

By Doug Gibson

"Twins of Evil," Hammer's 1971 tales of Count Karnstein turning one part of a lovely pair of twins into a vampire, is not as impressive as other Carmilla-themed films, such as "Lust For a Vampire," or "The Vampire Lovers," but nevertheless it retains its status as a classic due to star Peter Cushing's strong performance as Gustav Weil, fanatical vampire hunter, so enslaved by the mysogyny of his faith and his fear of the undead that he'll solemnly burn to death any young woman who doesn't act normal. The opening scene, where Weil and his brotherhood abduct and burn a young girl to death, indicts Weil as a dangerous fanatic, a man not safe with young women and their instinctive sexuality.

Appropriately, Weil's eagerness to burn female flesh provides righteous indignation for viewers. Yet Cushing is no Matthew Hopkins, as portrayed by Vincent Price in "Witchfinder General." Weil is no hypocrite nor a luster of his victims, nor is he a man who revels in his evil acts. He's a fervent believer in the Old Testament "thou shall not suffer a witch to live." Cushing's Weill, while acting with a maniacal religious fervor, believes he is freeing his victims, releasing them from vampirism to a life with Christ. Late in the film, when it slowly dawns on Cushing that he may have been too zealous, that some of his victims were indeed innocent, his pain and remorse is evident. As both atonement and revenge, he fails to protect himself as he goes after the evil count.

"Twins of Evil" is a prequel to the Carmilla story and films. The evil Count Karstein (Damien Thomas) is tired of the limits to pleasure and evil he can attain as a mortal. He summons an ancestor vampire, Countess Mircella, (Katya Wyeth) who turns him into a vampire. Eager to satiate his lusts and increase his evil, he sets his sights on two gorgeous twins who have moved to Karnstein from Venice to live with Weil and his wife, Katy, (Kathleen Bryon). The twins are portrayed by Playboy models Mary and Madeleine Collinson. Mary plays Maria Gellhorn and Madeleine is her twin Frieda. Maria is the more timid, pious twin. Frieda is rebellious, furious with her uncle Gustav and eventually is drawn to Count Karstein, who willingly becomes a vampire. There is a subplot where Anton, a liberal teacher at the girls' school, is attracted to Frieda. Anton and Gustav, not surprisingly, clash over the latter's vampire hunting. The film climaxes with a hunt for Frieda and the ensuing possibility that the virtuous Maria may pay for her sins.

As I have mentioned, it's easy to hate the fanatical, misogynous Gustav, but he does have one fact to rest on: there are vampires out there stealing the souls of the innocent. Midway through the film, it's a testament to Cushing's acting skills that the audience starts to root for him as he goes after Frieda and the Count. The Collinswood twins are gorgeous. They are not trained actors, and it shows in their performances. Madeleine does a better job than her sister Mary, but that may be only because she as the meatier role as the bad Frieda. The print I saw has very little nudity. The most explicit scene is where Frieda, pretending to be the innocent Maria, attempts to seduce and bite schoolteacher, Anton.

The Karnstein saga was a Hammer trilogy that, as mentioned, includes "Lust for a Vampire" and "The Vampire Lovers." This is intended to be the first chapter. Watching these movies is a pleasant reminder of how vulnerable and difficult it once was to be a vampire. With the constraints of the cross, daytime, coffins, foes such as Van Helsing and Weil, and native soil, one could understand why successful vampires such as Carmilla and Dracula had pride that overlapped into egotism. They had survived through time. Count Karstein and Frieda are, ultimately, not-too-difficult prey for Weil, Anton and others. It remains a constant annoyance to this reviewer that the above-mentioned disadvantages are not a problem for today's "Calvin Klein" vampires that infect films such as "Twilight," "True Blood" and "Being Human" ...

Curse of the Mummy's Tomb - Bland Hammer

Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, 1964, Hammer, 81 minutes, color. Directed by Michael Carreras. Starring Terance Morgan as Adam Beauchamp/Be, son of Rameses VIII, Ronald Howard as John Bray, Fred Clark as Alexander King, Jeanne Roland as Annette Dubois, George Pastell as Hashmi Bey, Jack Gwylliam as Sir Giles Dalrymple, and Dickie Morgan as the Mummy (Ra-Antef). Schlock-Meter rating: 4 stars out of 10.

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb is a very poor sequel to Hammer's much better The Mummy, starring Christopher Lee. The film suffers from a dull plot, too much talk, a boring shambling mummy and a really annoying female lead (Roland), who spends much of film practicing a really bogus Parisian accent.

The plot: An expedition travels to Egypt and digs up the remains of a slain prince. The leader of the expedition is murdered. His daughter, her fiance (Howard), and the others in the party decide to return to London and feature the mummy as a sideshow act, charging 10 cents a look (it's 1900, by the way.) Of course the mummy follows them and starts to exact its revenge on those who desecrated his grave.

The film boasts a couple of shocks, including hands being chopped off and a man's head squashed (implied, not seen). But the film is just so talky, with heavy-handed direction by Carreras. Nothing happens for long periods of time and we are treated to long stretches of dialogue, which as any film fan knows, is often used as a crutch to pad out a weak film. In this film's case, it's already a brief 81 minutes, but seems longer.

Even when the mummy appears, it's a disappointment. No attempt is made to humanize the monster. He just kills. Roland as the female lead is horrible. She's one of the most faithless characters in a movie and quickly goes from mourning her father's death to constant giggling.

Veteran actor Morgan is fairly decent as the villain who steals Roland from her fiance and hides a terrible secret. The most lively actor in the film may be the Carnival-like business huckster Alexander King (Clark), who outrages many by turning the mummy into a sideshow. Clark carries the roll with pizzaz, but he's killed off too early by the mummy. If this movie's on TV and you can't find anything else to watch, it will pass the time. Otherwise, go find a better mummy movie at the video store.

-- Doug Gibson