The Abominable Snowman (1957)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Val Guest

Writers:

Nigel Kneale (story)
Nigel Kneale (screenplay)

Release Date:

October 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

See It With Someone Brave! -- A Timeless Terror to Freeze You to Your Seats!

Plot:

A kindly English botanist and a gruff American scientist lead an expedition to the Himalayas in search of the legendary Yeti.

Plot Keywords:

Yeti | Himalayas | Expedition | Snow | Botanist

Cast

Forrest Tucker	...	Tom Friend
Peter Cushing	...	Dr. Rollason
Maureen Connell	...	Helen Rollason
Richard Wattis	...	Peter Fox
Robert Brown	...	Ed. Shelley
Michael Brill	...	McNee
Wolfe Morris	...	Kusang
Arnold Marlé	...	Lhama (as Arnold Marle)
Anthony Chinn	...	Majordomo (as Anthony Chin)

Also Known As:

The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas

Runtime:

91 min | USA:85 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #18535) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | UK:A (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bray Studios, Down Place, Oakley Green, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Clarion Films

Trivia:

Like the "Quatermass" films produced by Hammer, this was also based on one of Nigel Kneale's television serials (mini-series) originally titled "The Creature".

Goofs:

Continuity: It’s day in the long shots, but then back to night in the close-ups of Forest Tucker.

Quotes:

Dr. John Rollason: If they can deal with *us*, their secret's kept.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Big Game XXIX: Bugs vs. Daffy (2001) (TV)

Thrilling combination of adventure and horror with a message

Dr. John Rollason (Peter Cushing), his wife, Helen (Maureen Connell), and a colleague, Peter Fox (Richard Wattis), have traveled to a remote location in the Himalayas, ostensibly to study rare plant specimens. However, Helen and Peter soon learn that John had an ulterior motive, when he reveals that a ragtag group of explorers, headed by Dr. Tom Friend (Forrest Tucker) are on their way to meet up with John. They plan to lead a small expedition further into the mountains, in search for the infamous abominable snowman, or Yeti.

The Abominable Snowman is a marvelous combination of adventure, horror, and a film with a broader message. The beginning may seem a bit slow to younger viewers, but it is crucial to the plot, and Peter Cushing, as always, turns in a tremendous performance. The monastery setting seems authentic, as do the climbing shots that follow, even though most of the film was shot in Hammer's UK studios and the mountains are actually the Pyrenees in France.

It doesn't take long for director Val Guest to build tension, first dramatically with the ulterior motive revelation and the conflict is causes between John and his wife, then during the Friend expedition's climb, and most importantly, when our crew nears the Yeti. Because the creature effects, especially in the 1950s, can't rival the viewer's imagination, Guest wisely keeps the creatures off-screen for the bulk of the film, and when we see more, it's in heavy shadows. This makes the Yeti material extremely effective.

The message at the end is sincere and poignant, as it also would have been at the time of the film's release, when anthropological exploration of seemingly alien cultures was still regular, captivating news.

Overall a 9 out of 10 for me, and very close to being a 10.