Le Redoutable Homme des neiges

Hammer's first 'real' horror film – this one preceded THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN by a few months – is a quaint, quintessentially '50s monster movie, with a typical British slant: the focus is on the psychology of the characters involved, rather than pure action and thrills as you'd expect from the Hollywood equivalent. As a result, this film is quite slowly paced (although not leaden) and short on the actual adrenaline of man-vs-beast action, but nevertheless it proves to be an efficient exercise in increasing tension, helmed by the able Val Guest.

Peter Cushing takes the lead role of the kindly scientist, whose idea is to capture and study the Yeti, rather than use it to make money through entertainment. Essentially, he plays the same type of dedicated good guy as in most of his Hammer horror films, and he's great as usual. Forrest Tucker is the American co-star, his presence here to draw in the overseas markets; he's the mountaineer with a ruthless secret and essentially the film's villain. The rest of the cast are made up of pretty women (Cushing's wife), scared natives (the Sherpas) and stuffy British types (get a load of that guy 'Foxy').

The movie is well shot and has a fair few effects shots; all of them are cheap, and you can see how most were created, but they're nevertheless charming. The Yeti is wisely hidden for most of the film, only appearing in a brief shadowy instance at the climax, and is all the more thought-provoking and weirdly disturbing for it. The plot, when all is said and done, is little more than a threadbare mystery a la Agatha Christie, with the cast being picked off one by one whilst the Yetis lurk and howl in the background. The plus side is that Nigel Kneale's script is excellent and the human psychology of the key players is always true-to-life, just as in the QUATERMASS films; as a result, this low-budget movie is actually a lot better than it probably should be.

I can remember barely being able to keep my eyes open watching this on a late night horror movie show, because it's not a movie for kids. Didn't realize that then, and so I always remembered it as being a pretty weak film. However, a viewing of the widescreen laserdisc version left me with a strong impression of a very fine adult feature that is more a thriller than a horror film. It lives up to the reputation of Hammer during this period, and of course that of Peter Cushing as the premier actor of the studio. Even Forrest Tucker's typical heavy-handed hamminess cannot take away from this absorbing tale of scientific endeavor clashing with crass commercialism, with a creature of an intellect that bests the men chasing it. I must say that the whole mental telepathy plot point was completely missed upon first viewing, but then I was only 10 at the time, however it now makes all the sense in the world.

Hammer studios made a variety of films for many years before they struck gold with horror movies. One of their first steps in that direction was 'The Quatermass Xperiment', directed by Val Guest and written by Nigel Kneale who adapted his own highly successful TV production. A couple of years later Guest and Kneale did the same again with 'Quatermass 2'. Both were science fiction with some horror, and both were very, very good. Guest and Kneale had an uneasy relationship ("relationship" is probably not even the right word, Guest said he only ever met Kneale a few times), but they collaborated once again on 'The Abominable Snowman'. Despite the title it isn't a monster movie, it's more of an adventure tale with some mysticism and philosophical touches. It was successful commercially, but coming out just before the one-two punch of 'Curse Of Frankenstein' and 'Dracula' (the two movies that really put Hammer on the map) has meant it has all but been forgotten today. When people list the best of Hammer you rarely if ever see 'The Abominable Snowman' mentioned, which is a shame. It's consistently interesting, well acted, stylish and suspenseful. Sadly I haven't seen Kneale's original TV version ('The Creature') so I can't compare the two, but I really enjoyed this movie, especially the performance from Peter Cushing, soon to become a Hammer legend. Forrest Tucker is best known to people of my generation for his comic role in the popular 1960s sitcom 'F Troop'. Pairing him with Cushing might seem an odd choice at first but it really works. Their contrasting styles play off each other, and Tucker is perfect for the role of the ambitious Tom Friend. There's also a good supporting performance from Robert Brown, who later appeared as a caveman in Hammer's 'One Million Years BC'. Later still in the 1980s he played M in several Bond movies. The more Hammer movies I watch the more I am impressed by this legendary studio. "Hammer House Of Horror" yes, but also so much more. 'The Abominable Snowman' is a great example of their originality and versatility.

Just as the Yeti in the film stood head and shoulders over the humans, so this film stands head and shoulders over most of the horror/monster films of the 1950's.

You wouldn't think so from reading the reviews at the time though; one reviewer thought it too subtle, but that could be another way of describing it as intelligent and stylish, the qualities that make it so watchable 60 years later. The film was also saddled with a poor trailer (it's on YouTube). Obviously the marketing people didn't think the film monsterish enough; the trailer gives totally the wrong impression.

British botanist, John Rollason (Peter Cushing), along with his wife Helen (Maureen Connell) and assistant, Peter Fox (Richard Wattis) arrive at the monastery of Long Buk as the guests of the head lama. They are searching for rare plants. A team of American adventurers led by Doctor Tom Friend (Forrest Tucker) also arrives, but this party is searching for the legendary Yeti.

The Americans, Tom Friend and his associate, big game hunter Ed Shelley, are loud, brash and totally ruthless as far as preservation of the Yeti is concerned. The members of the British contingent on the other hand are masters of understatement, impeccably mannered and respectful of all life including the Yeti. This was a British film after all.

Although obviously shot on a sound stage, the monastery scenes are effective replete with gongs, monks and a head lama in deep meditation. What really gives the film visual substance are the snow-covered mountain climbing sequences; they were apparently shot in the Pyrénées, but a mountain is a mountain, and these scenes open out the film.

Eventually, Rollason accompanies Friend on his quest in the interests of science, and without spoiling things too much, they encounter the Yeti. However the outcome is unexpected and gives this film the edge over the mostly cheesy monster movies of the day.

There is a touch of Val Lewton style about this film; it has plenty of mood and there is no rush to reveal the 'monster' with the best effects left to the imagination.

Despite the title this is really not a monster on the rampage horror movie that you might expect from Hammer. Writer Nigel Kneale goes for quirky science and director Val Guest adds atmospheric direction on a low budget in this spooky thriller.

Peter Cushing is principled botanist John Rollason searching for evidence of the Yeti in the Himalayas with an expedition team that includes dodgy Forrest Tucker who is more like a sinister Barnum type showman looking for monetary gain by capturing a Yeti.

The creature is very much kept off screen for a lot of the time as Kneale explores humanity's darker side as represented by the likes of Tucker. It is suggested that the Yeti are gentle, intelligent beings from a superior civilisation that one day will take over from humans and Rollason does not view them as monsters.

The film has a moral message aimed at perils of human greed and its penchant for destruction.