There are six movies included in The Icons of Suspense Collection: Hammer Films, which will be released April 6. Widely known for horror movies, Hammer made these six suspensers from 1958 to 1963. This is a solid collection of well made films, mostly in the vein of psychological thriller. Although we are familiar with some of the plot basics presented, there are enough unexpected complications to hold our interest throughout each title. Each film includes clever writing exhibited either in dialogue or plot developments; one stands out above the rest in terms of drama and relevance. It is a pleasure to be able to see all of them.
Stop Me Before I Kill (a/k/a The Full Treatment, 1960) is a little manic for film noir, but it’s a good example of '60s noir. Following his wedding, a race car driver (Ronald Lewis) has a terrible automobile accident that puts him into a four-week coma, but spares his wife (Diane Cilento) any significant injury. His doctors do not agree that he is well enough, after nearly a year of treatment, to travel to France for his belated honeymoon (“Would you enjoy a honeymoon with a post-concussional patient?”). The two doctors’ short consultation is the highlight of Stop Me Before I Kill, with snide remarks about health insurance and this exchange:
“The man is emotionally unstable.”
“Who isn’t these days?”
So off Alan and Denise Colby go to beautiful Cannes. Alan is soon driven by homicidal impulses to strangle Denise, which is not a good thing (although the ever-chirpy, annoying Denise wouldn’t be all that missed by the audience). At their hotel, they meet Dr. David Prade (Claude Dauphin), a friendly psychiatrist who takes an interest in the couple. Due to Alan’s head injury, he frequently misinterprets what anyone says, and becomes unreasonably angry (he seems more bipolar than neurotic). As the story unfolds, we are aware that Dr. Prade is a little weird himself, not only because he’s a middle-aged psychiatrist living with his mum. Denise stays with Alan even though he tries to kill her a few times, and Dr. Prade treats him successfully. Unfortunately, that’s not the happy ending. The plot thickens…
What sets Stop Me Before I Kill apart from its contemporaries is its cinematography. Filmed in black and white, it is filled with shadows, tight shots, and moody atmosphere. At points, the dialogue is laughable, but that’s from a 21st century perspective. Stop Me Before I Kill would have benefited from having about 20 minutes edited from its 107 minute running time.
Cash on Demand (1961) stars reliable Hammer Films star Peter Cushing who, in later films, would appear as Van Helsing and Dr. Frankenstein. Here he is a grinchy, scroogey bank manager named Fordyce, two days before Christmas. He is imperious and demanding, suspicious and mean, expecting nothing less than perfection from the bank’s staff (“This isn’t a post office. People who come into this bank expect efficiency.”). He starts his morning by calling two employees on the carpet and threatening their jobs. He is then visited by a man (Andre Morell as Hepburn) identifying himself as a representative of the bank’s insurers, looking into security.
Article comments