When is a Hammer film not a Hammer film? When it’s made by Planet Film Distributors of course, purveyors of low budget fare who wanted in on that horror coin and so produced Devils of Darkness (1965), an entertaining homage to their bigger brethren. If you’re plum out of Hammer’s to watch, this will do quite nicely.
Released by Planet in its native U.K., Devils of Darkness found U.S. distribution from Twentieth Century Fox as the second half of a double bill with The Curse of the Fly, and made its rounds on the drive-in circuit. Critics liked the aesthetic much like they did Hammer’s, but mostly found the story flat and convoluted. But buried within its (I think) interesting mixology of sub-genres is the story of a vampire going through a midlife crisis that I wish was explored in more depth. Oh well; what...
Released by Planet in its native U.K., Devils of Darkness found U.S. distribution from Twentieth Century Fox as the second half of a double bill with The Curse of the Fly, and made its rounds on the drive-in circuit. Critics liked the aesthetic much like they did Hammer’s, but mostly found the story flat and convoluted. But buried within its (I think) interesting mixology of sub-genres is the story of a vampire going through a midlife crisis that I wish was explored in more depth. Oh well; what...
- 8/17/2019
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
It's safe to say that The Ugly Duckling (1959), a decidedly weak Hammer films comedy, would have been utterly forgotten, except that it was rumored to be lost for decades. This always seemed both weird and unlikely for a film from the latter half of the twentieth century, and one that had been released by Columbia in the U.K. and U.S., but the film was a flop and was certainly unavailable after its initial release, which granted it a certain mystique.Though a Hammer film, directed by Lance Comfort (who would also make the more earnest horror flick Devils of Darkness), and though based on "ideas stolen from Robert Louis Stevenson"—specifically The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde—this is a broad, childish comedy, without many actual laughs, but it does have historical interest, and illuminates certain tendencies of Hammer and British films and society.Hulking...
- 10/24/2018
- MUBI
Star of British film thrillers who specialised in the role of the classy girlfriend
In the 1950s, while watching a second feature before the "big picture" at their local cinema, regular British filmgoers would often have seen Rona Anderson, who has died aged 86. Anderson starred in 20 movies between 1950 and 1958, mostly well-crafted, low-budget thrillers. Opposite such luminaries as Robert Beatty, Jimmy Hanley, John Bentley, Paul Carpenter and Lee Patterson, Anderson was the classy girlfriend who helps the hero solve a murder, usually via a visit to the criminal underground, all within the hour allotted to the film.
According to the Scottish comedian Stanley Baxter, Anderson "had this incredible, porcelain-like face, too beautiful for film … The camera likes angularity, to see the edges, and I think Rona's face was just too perfect." Whatever the reason, Anderson made few major movies, though she appeared in many popular television series, such as The Human Jungle...
In the 1950s, while watching a second feature before the "big picture" at their local cinema, regular British filmgoers would often have seen Rona Anderson, who has died aged 86. Anderson starred in 20 movies between 1950 and 1958, mostly well-crafted, low-budget thrillers. Opposite such luminaries as Robert Beatty, Jimmy Hanley, John Bentley, Paul Carpenter and Lee Patterson, Anderson was the classy girlfriend who helps the hero solve a murder, usually via a visit to the criminal underground, all within the hour allotted to the film.
According to the Scottish comedian Stanley Baxter, Anderson "had this incredible, porcelain-like face, too beautiful for film … The camera likes angularity, to see the edges, and I think Rona's face was just too perfect." Whatever the reason, Anderson made few major movies, though she appeared in many popular television series, such as The Human Jungle...
- 8/9/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Reel-Important People is a monthly column that highlights those individuals in or related to the movies who have left us in recent weeks. Below you'll find names big and small and from all areas of the industry, though each was significant to the movies in his or her own way. Rona Anderson (1926-2013) - Scottish actress who appears in the 1951 film of A Christmas Carol as well as The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Devils of Darkness. She died on July 23. (Telegraph) Paul Bhattacharjee (1960-2013) - British Indian actor who appears in Casino Royale (he's the guy who says "Do It Now" in the poisoning scene below), Dirty Pretty Things and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. He was found dead on July 12 after going missing two days prior...
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- 7/31/2013
- by Christopher Campbell
- Movies.com
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