This 2-Disc, Four Feature set includes several favorites from Hammer’s days in the early 60s.

Disc One, Feature One

The Two Faces Of Dr. Jekyll (1960) - Directed by Terence Fisher - Hammer’s take on the Robert Louis Stevenson story really stands out from its many competitors. Sure, everyone adores the 1931 film adaptation with Frederic March… some of you actually like the tepid Spencer Tracy version from ‘41 (although the whipping dream sequence was nice)… and then there are the seventeen-kajillion other interpretations in the form of motion pictures, songs, musicals, stories, and television shows (although nothing beats the Men At Work song “Dr. Hekyll and Mr. Jive” in my book)… but it’s the liberty that this Hammer version takes that makes it so enchanting.

Paul Massie positively shines as the bearded, aging, reclusive Dr. Jekyll, a man so obsessed with his work that he has grown oblivious to everything that is going on in the world around him...meanwhile, his best friend (Christopher Lee) uses him for both his money and the love of Mrs. Jekyll (Dawn Addams). As Edward Hyde, however, Massie appears as a debonair, young, clean-shaven man whose cookie-cutter smile is the very epitome of evil (much like those yuppie CEOs and entrepreneurs that haunt the Starbucks stomping grounds amid taking over the economy for their own greedy sake). Another highlight here is Lee as Jekyll & Hyde’s freeloading pal, a far cry from the usual Christopher Lee part, with lines like “I’ve always had the best possible luck with bitches” that will have you rolling. Lee’s role is so incredibly meaty in fact, that is should have been served with a heaping side of creamy mashed potatoes and topped off with a lake of gravy.

Highly recommended, with a 4.5 rating.

Luigi’s Useless Information: Look for a young Oliver Reed as a pimp in the Sphinx club. Christopher Lee later played the Jekyll & Hyde part (as Dr. Marlowe and Mr. Blake) in the 1971 Amicus production, I, Monster with Peter Cushing.

Disc One, Feature Two

The Curse Of The Mummy’s Tomb (1964) - Directed by Michael Carreras - Contrary to what some skeptics may think, there is indeed a curse when it comes to mummies… a box office curse, that is. Every time somebody makes a successful mummy flick, we are treated to a rash of semi-competent sequels, unimaginative prequels, mind-numbing spin-offs, and deplorably laughable rip-offs.

In this unrelated follow-up to Hammer’s immortal 1959 hit The Mummy (itself a reinventing of the equally immortal 1932 Universal classic), a group of effendis from the UK find out the hard way that you can’t go breaking into tombs aboard for the sake of money, fame, or history. The uninteresting leads are Terence Morgan, Ronald Howard, and Jeanne Roland (who really never had the chance to go anywhere, save for a brief bit in You Only Live Twice as Sean Connery’s masseuse), while American Fred Clark gives the series a bit of fresh air as the traveling sideshow mogul who co-funds the expedition so he’ll have a new cross-country hit on his hands.

The climax here has the mummy (the likes of which hadn’t been seen since Abbott & Costello Meet The Mummy and wouldn’t be seen again since Vengeance Of The Mummy with Paul Naschy) taken to London, where he roams about wreaking a spot of havoc and, in a nice change of pace, the bandaged menace has a still-living immortal brother. Character actor George Pastell plays practically a very similar role to his character in the ‘59 Hammer film.

Barely recommended, with a 2.5 rating.

Luigi’s Useless Information: To call the movie bad would not be entirely fair: it’s certainly better than The Mummy’s Shroud (a film that not even its distributors took seriously) that followed three years later or the reboot of the Universal series starring Brendan Fraser.

Disc Two, Feature One

The Gorgon (1964) - Directed by Terence Fisher - Hammer fans rejoice: it’s another pairing of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee! Although the two Horror Idols share very little screen time together in The Gorgon, just seeing them switch their good guy/bad guy routine is a delight in itself.

Somewhere in middle-Europe, the entire residents of a small village live in fear at the coming of the full moon. No, it isn’t a lycanthrope this time (or a vampire), but rather The Gorgon: an ancient evil that turns men into stone by simply looking at them (and sports a head of plastic snakes -- a minor annoyance that modern moviegoers can’t seem to forgive… we didn’t have CGI in 1964, people!). Richard Pasco plays the poor putz that arrives in town to find out what killed both his father and brother, but instead, he’s met with hostility from the fearful locals, and lies from the seemingly kindly doctor (Cushing, with some fashionable facial hair). Christopher Lee (under a ‘stache and beard himself) arrives late in the film to help his student Pasco out, taking on the role of the hero for once.

Also recommended, with a 4.0 rating.

Luigi’s Useless Information: Interestingly enough, this is one of those rare Hammer Horrors that doesn’t have a comic relief character (which means Michael Ripper isn’t in it… so don’t look for him… but you can see him in the previous film… be it however so briefly).

Disc Two, Feature Two

Scream Of Fear (1961) - Directed by Seth Holt - After watching several lushly colorful Gothic horror pieces, it’s a bit weird to go to a black-and-white psychological thriller set in modern times, but Scream Of Fear (known as Taste Of Fear in its native UK) is nevertheless a superbly made suspenseful drama with some excellent noir photography to boot.

The story has wheelchair-bound Penny Appleby (the late Susan Strasberg) heads to the Riviera to live with her father. Upon arrival, she is informed that dear old dad went away just before she arrived on a “business trip”. So, instead of getting to catch up with the man she has not seen in 10 years, Penny is introduced to the stepmother she never met before (Ann Todd) and the local doctor (Christopher Lee). But soon, Penny begins to wonder if her childhood hallucinations are returning once again when she starts to see her father’s body appear in parts of the lonely dark house and, together with the chauffer (Ronald Lewis), they try to uncover the truth. But the truth may not be all that it’s cracked up to be either in this top-notch film from writer Jimmy Sangster.

Highly recommended, with a 5.0 rating.

Luigi’s Useless Information: Director Seth Holt is perhaps best known for directing the Bette Davis classic, The Nanny. In addition to co-producing The Ladykillers (a personal favorite), Holt also wrote and directed a seldom-seen noir film called Nowhere To Go with George Nader and was working on Blood From The Mummy’s Tomb in 1971 when he unexpectedly died from heart failure.

Presentation
Like the Icons Of Adventure set, Sony has done an exemplary job in restoring and remastering these gems in High Def and all three of the color features look remarkably fresh and vivid, but if I had to pick out one film from the whole lot in terms of visual-perfection, it would be The Gorgon, hands down -- it looks fantastic! The sole black-and-white feature here (Scream Of Fear) also looks excellent, and the deep contrast gives the psychological aspect of the film a much bigger boost. Disc One’s features are both anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen, while Disc Two’s are presented in a matted anamorphic 1.66:1 ratio.

All titles include rather stout 2-Channel Mono English soundtracks and optional English Subtitles.

Extras
Here’s where I shall file my only complaint, Sony. Unlike the Icons Of Adventure or Icons Of Horror Collection: Sam Katzman sets, this release is mostly devoid of Special Features, save for the original US Theatrical Trailers or each film. Frankly, I was hoping for (and expecting) something more: like a short subject or two in the form of a two-reeler comedy or a Serial chapter… which reminds me, Sony: when are you going to get around to releasing more Serials on DVD anyway? And with all of those two-reeler comedies you have in the vaults, for Pity’s sake: release them already! You could call it The Lost Gems Of Comedy Collection or something.

So, anyway, back to the Trailers: these vignettes serve as great examples of how some Previews can absolutely pull you into the theatre (such is the case with Scream Of Fear) or completely drive you away from it (like the Trailer for The Curse Of The Mummy’s Tomb, wherein the narrator continuously moans “Beware… !” in his best spooky voice).

The Bottom Line
Like I’ve said before, Sony: keep it up… but start including more Bonus Features with these releases.