Stop Me Before I Kill! (also called The Full Treatment) is a tale written by writer/director Vance Guest (most well known for his writing work on the original Casino Royale) about a famous race car driver, Alan Colby (Ronald Lewis), who suffers a traumatic head injury when he is involved in a tragic head-on collision while on his honeymoon with his new bride, Denise (Diane Cilento). Once "recovered," the pair make a second attempt at a honeymoon in the South of France and it is there that they meet the intriguing David Prade (Claude Dauphin), whom they later find out is a psychiatrist. Alan is troubled because he has been having strange compulsions to strangle his wife Denise, although he loves her dearly. Through much wrangling, David is able to convince Denise that he can help Alan to get better if Alan will allow him to treat him. Alan eventually relents, although it appears that David is more interested in having Denise for himself than in healing Alan. While this was not one of my favorites from the collection, it is still a solid thriller and has some good moments of suspense, combined with interesting twists and turns in the plotline.
Next was Cash on Demand, which played out as more of a drama than a suspense film, but was very good regardless. It starred horror film icon Peter Cushing as bank general manager Mr. Fordyce, a regular Scrooge, made more obvious because the film takes place during Christmas time. He runs his bank with an iron hand, not lowering himself to attend the silly Christmas party planned by his staff. Everyone cowers just a bit when he comes around, and his right hand bank assistant has even asked for a transfer after Fordyce accuses him of stealing money from the bank or, at the very least, assisting with a cover-up of embezzlement. Then into their lives walks Hepburn (Andre Morell), a man claiming to be from the home office of their insurance company, and he wants to check on the security of the branch. Of course, as Fordyce soon learns, instead this man has planned a heist on the biggest money day of the year for the bank and Fordyce is to be his unwilling accomplice. The man has a perfect plan - Fordyce's beloved wife and son are being held captive and if he doesn't do as Hepburn says, they'll be tortured to death. What Fordyce soon learns is that not everything is as it appears, and that he has more friends than he ever knew, whether he deserves them or not. This was a slow movie, much more drama than suspense. It reminded me more of A Christmas Carol because Fordyce learns that he must change his attitude, but it was still enjoyable for what it was. There was masterful use of dark-sounding Christmas tunes done in a minor key which added a lot of tension to the film.
Maniac was the first film in the collection that really had me glued to the TV. At first, the film's dialogue was all in French so I was fumbling to put subtitles on, but when I did, they simply said "speaking French" and I realized that you didn't need to know what was being said to get the gist of what was going on. Annette Beynat (Liliane Brousse), at 15 years old, is raped by a village pervert while walking home from school. A classmate sees what is happening and races to get her father, Georges (Donald Houston), who then takes the man back to his garage where he murders him with an acetylene torch. Georges is found to be insane and committed. Fast-forward some 5 years and Annette is all grown up and living at her father's hotel/bar in the Carmague of France with her stepmother, the beguiling Eve (Nadia Gray). An American drifter named Paul (Kerwin Mathews) comes into town and decides to stay for a while, first after becoming attracted to Annette and then, after falling prey to Eve's temptations. When Paul and Eve become seriously involved, Eve shares with him that her husband has told her of his plot to escape the sanitarium in a few days and he insists that they help so he can leave her life permanently, taking Annette and she and Paul can be free to be together. Things go awry when the body of Georges' escape accomplice winds up in the trunk of Eve's car and Eve and Paul soon realize that Georges has no intention of leaving. He instead wants to torture the couple for their cheating... or so it appears. What I found so interesting in this film is that it takes place in the Carmague of France, which is apparently' France's Wild West. All of the patrons of Eve's bar were French cowboys and I just never considered such a thing. Overall, this movie has some great twists and turns and fantastic acting. It was one of my favorites in the collection.
The Snorkel is the very reason I decided to review this collection. This movie was one my mom had seen as a teenager and loved and I had been trying for years to find it on DVD. I was once successful, but it turns out the copy I purchased had absolutely horrible film quality and you couldn't even understand what was being said because of the poor audio quality. I am happy to say that this film, along with all of the others in the collection, looks and sounds crystal clear. The Snorkel begins with a man murdering his wife in a most unusual way. Paul Decker (Peter van Eyck) has drugged his wife and while she sleeps, he turns the gas on in their antiquated villa, having sealed off the entire room. As she dies, he breathes through an air tank, since he is an avid snorkeler, and he hides under the floor in a crawlspace. Of course, his wealthy wife's death is ruled a suicide and he seems in the clear. When his wife's teenage daughter Candy (Mandy Miller) and her lovely traveling companion/nanny Jean (Betta St. John) come for a visit from Britain (on the same day as the murder), Paul's plan is somewhat shaken since Candy is convinced he killed her mom, just as he drowned her dad while she watched many years before in a boating "accident." Paul seems to have everyone convinced that he is innocent and that Candy is insane, but soon Candy starts piecing together the puzzle. What plays out is a cat and mouse game between the two that will leave you on the edge of your seat until the very end. This movie is one of the best in the collection and still holds its own as a suspense even though it is over 50 years old.
Never Take Candy From a Stranger is the most powerful and chilling film in the collection. Even as old as it is, it is still terrifying and moving. Jean Carter (Janina Faye) is the 9 year old daughter of the new school principal Peter Carter (Patrick Allen) and his wife, Sally (Gwen Watford). Everything seems great in their new town, until their daughter reveals something odd that happened as she was playing in the woods with her friend, Lucille (Frances Green). It seems Lucille told Jean she knows where they can get free candy, from old Mr. Olderberry, the mill town's patriarch, we later discover. Jean reveals that Mr. Olderberry asked them to take off their clothes and dance and he rewarded them with candy. Her parents mortified, they decide to go to the police and report the crime, as surely other children are in danger. What they are met with is a town-wide chokehold that the Olderberry family has and getting their case to trial is going to be quite a feat. It seems everyone knows Mr. Olderberry "likes" children, but they think he is harmless and look the other way. Even Lucille, the other witness, is swept out of town by her parents, because her father works at the Olderberry Mill, you see. Undeterred even by powerful Clarence Olderberry Jr. (Bill Nagy), who vows to not only destroy their family and get Peter fired, but to decimate poor little Jean on the stand, the Carters go through with the case. Jean can't hold up on the stand and the Olderberry's lawyer is excellent, so the case ends up getting dismissed and the elder Olderberry is cleared of all charges. Emboldened by his recent victory, Mr. Olderberry decides to take his crimes a step further and the consequences for the town are devastating. This is one of those films that doesn't need to show you everything, but can still chill you to the very bone. It ran a very close race with The Snorkel as the best film in the set.
Finally, These are the Damned. I actually really hated this film and I found it a chore to watch it. It just didn't seem to have any real direction to it. It begins with an American named Simon (MacDonald Carey, Days of Our Lives fame) being robbed by a gang of thugs after being lured off with a lovely young lass named Joan (Shirley Anne Field), who is part of the gang. They beat him up and rob him for fun. Then it jumps to a different set of characters, an attractive artist named Freya and her some-time lover, Major Holland, who happen to be at the cafe when a beaten Simon is brought in a bit later. Holland mentions in confidence to Freya that she mustn't inquire about his work because it could cost her life. The story then flips between these sets of characters as Simon and Joan flirt and eventually fall in love, and Joan's brother King (Oliver Reed), the head of the gang, wants her to have nothing to do with Simon. The gang ends up chasing the pair of lovebirds with intent to do them harm, and Simon and Joan end up being washed up in some cave where they meet a strange group of children who are cold to the touch and go to a school where they are monitored by video cameras all the time. It seems the children are part of some strange science experiment of which Major Holland is a large part. The plotline of this film was confusing and convoluted and I just really didn't enjoy it at all. There was also a horrid song about black leather and thugs that everyone seemed to either sing or hum throughout the movie and it was really creepy. If I wasn't reviewing this film, I'd probably have turned it off in the middle. The ending didn't even give any satisfaction.
All told, in a collection of 6 movies, for all but 1 to be really good is some pretty good odds. Most times, it seems that companies will pair some not so great movies with stellar ones, forcing you to buy stuff you wouldn't normally want to see, just to get that one classic gem. What you have here is a really solid collection of suspense films that definitely stand the test of time. Yes, the acting is over the top, but that was the style of the day. If you are a fan of classic movies, definitely check out The Icons of Suspense Collection Presents Hammer Films. While the special features are limited to the theatrical trailers of each film, they are still novel to see and the movies themselves, having been restored so beautifully, are worthy of being in the collection of any classic films collector. Highly recommended.
