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.

Val Guest directed this atmospheric thriller set in the Himalayas at a remote monastery, where Dr. John Rollason(played by Peter Cushing) is a botanist with his wife(played by Maureen Connell) and associate Peter(played by Richard Wattis). He is awaiting the arrival of American Tom Friend(played by Forrest Tucker) so that they can undertake a scientific expedition to find the legendary and elusive Yeti. John is dismayed to learn that Friend is really a showman who plans on killing the creature for display, but also uses a corpse to attract a live one as well, which is exactly what happens, though not in the way they expected... intelligent story, fine direction and performances, and an eerie feel all combine to make this a memorable thriller, which discreetly keeps the Yeti mysterious.

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.

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.

Fabulous little implicit horror gem from Hammer Studios with subtle performances by Forrest Tucker and Peter Cushing. I was amazed to see how youthful looking Peter Cushing looked in this movie compared to just a few years later. Seemed to have come after The Curse of Frankenstein(1957) and The Horror of Dracula(1958). The Abominable Snowman(1957) looks at the notion of the yeti in an abstract manner. The legendary yeti in the film is given an ambiguous quality that makes them into a fearful presence. Intellgent film that could only have been done by the British for filmmakers of Hollywood(many of them) would not make a film richly deep with implicit fright and intellegence. When it comes to creating Science fiction flicks that are scary as well as intellegent the British filmmakers for the most part are bar none the best. Parts of the story reminds me of Frank Capra's Lost Horizon(1937) which also took place in the Himalayas mountains. Both The Abominable Snowman(1957) and Lost Horizon(1937) deal with ideas of spiritality and humanity. Peter Cushing as Dr. Rollason is a good counterpart to the money and fame hungry Dr. Friend played by Forrest Tucker. Peter Cushing gives a gentle and thoughtful performance that is uncharacteristic of the many roles he had for Hammer studios. Imaginating written by Quatermass creator, Nigel Kneale who is a master of suggestive terror. The Abominable Snowman(1957) is one of the main influences besides Cannibal Holocaust(1979) for Blair Witch Project(1999). Abominable Snowman(1957) is a more effective film in suggesting terror than Blair Witch Project(1999) for a couple of reasons. First, the former does show bits and pieces of the yeti which is more imaginative than not showing anything of the witch at all as the latter. Second, the fear and terror felt by the characters in The Abominable Snowman(1957) feels geniune unlike in Blair Witch Project where emotions of fear and terror feel manipulated and forced. An excellent motion picture for a someone like Val Guest whose career is filled with ups and downs. The Abominable Snowman(1957) ends on a thought provoking note about the Yeti as well as other intellegent metaphysical issues.