Review: Hammer Volume 5 – Death & Deceit

Following on from Volume 1: Fear Warning, Volume 2: Criminal Intent, Volume 3: Blood & Terror, and Volume 4: Faces of Fear, it was once again an absolute pleasure to sit down with the latest Hammer Films boxset release from Powerhouse Films in their ‘Indicator’ series.

The movies are:

Visa To Canton (1961)

Though better known for their Horror output, Hammer Films made some very enjoyable war/adventure/thriller movies (see my reviews of the previous Hammer box sets as proof of this), however, Visa to Canton isn’t a high point in their non-horror output.

Despite a short 75 minute running time, the narrative is dragged down to a snails pace by seemingly endless dialogue scenes and very little else, which is a pity as this could have been quite the adventure romp.

Don Benton (Richard Basehart) is a pilot hired to fly into China to rescue an American girl trapped there. Upon landing he discovers that she wants to fill the plane with refugees and fly them out of the country. This could have been high stakes action drama trying to get everyone out of the country, but unfortunately quickly decends into a series of conversations about how to complete the mission.

The Pirates of Blood River (1962)

Christopher Lee is in magnificent form (isn’t he always?) as Cpt LaRoche; the leader of a group of pirates who rescue a penal colony escapee and take him to his village with the promise that they want to make it a home base, but in reality they are after treasure…no surprise for pirates!

With a great cast that includes Oliver Reed, Michael Ripper and a young Dennis Waterman, The Pirates of Blood River has no boats or sea faring action, and the majority of the running time is taken within the village, but despite this it still thrills with action scenes, wonderful cinematography and a score that will have you slapping your thigh and saying “Arrr, Jim lad“.

THE SCARLET BLADE (1963)

Set during the English civil war, King Charles I is captured by Roundhead soldiers lead by Colonel Judd (Lionel Jeffries) and his right hand man Captain Sylvester (Oliver Reed). Charles’ allies attempt to rescue him and are secretly helped by Judd’s daughter Claire (June Thorburn).

Throw in a romance between two people on opposite sides of the battle and you have an historical drama that has enough going on to hold your interest across its relatively short 83 minute running time.

The villains of the movie (Jefferies and Reed) are far more interesting characters than the “good guys”, and so you find yourself strangely cheering against the protagonists, though while all of this is going on, the sets and richly coloured costumes are wonderful to see.

Another early look at how great Oliver Reed was.

THE BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR (1965)

Oliver Reed once again appears and steals the movie as the evil Eli Khan; the leader of a local tribe of people in 1850s India who plot to storm a British garrison.

Inside the garrison is Lieutenant Case (Ronald Lewis); a mixed race officer who is unfairly charged of abandoning his fellow soldiers during a reconnaissance mission, but escapes from the garrison only to be captured by Khan.

Once again love interests, backstabbing and plenty of swordplay abounds in another Hammer movie that is filled with fantastic actors.

Four more Hammer movies that wouldn’t normally spring into peoples minds when thinking about the studio, but definitely worthy additions to anyones collection, especially when appearing on Blu-ray for the first time and loaded with fascinating special features.

INDICATOR LIMITED BLU-RAY EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES:

VISA TO CANTON

THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER

THE SCARLET BLADE

• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• Two presentations of the film: The Scarlet Blade, with the original UK title sequence, and The Crimson Blade, with the alternative US titles
• New audio commentary with Kevin Lyons, editor of The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Films and Television
• Hammer’s Women: June Thorburn (2020, 19 mins): profile of The Scarlet Blade actor by film historian Josephine Botting
• Stephen Laws Introduces ‘The Scarlet Blade’ (2020, 7 mins): appreciation by the acclaimed horror author
• Doing Battle (2020, 8 mins): second assistant director Hugh Harlow and continuity supervisor Pauline Wise discuss the challenges of making the film
• Almost an Auteur (2020, 28 mins): horror author and critic Kim Newman looks at the career of director John Gilling and considers the films he made for Hammer
• Appropriately Military (2020, 12 mins): appreciation of Gary Hughes’ score by David Huckvale, author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
• Original US theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet with a new essay by Neil Sinyard, Jeff Billington on the 1960s film career of Oliver Reed, a selection of extracts from the Hammer publicity manual, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• World premiere on Blu-ray
   

THE BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR

 Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units.

Includes an exclusive double-sided poster only available with direct orders from this website (poster features the original UK Quad designs for THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER and THE BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR, see pictures).

Review by Dave from discs kindly supplied by Powerhouse Films.

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