The Abominable Snowman (1957)

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

Director:

Val Guest

Writers:

Nigel Kneale (story), Nigel Kneale (screenplay),

Stars:

Forrest Tucker, Peter Cushing, Maureen Connell

Cast

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

Storyline

At a remote lhamasery in the Himalayas, scientist John Rollason studies rare mountain herbs with the help of his wife Helen, and associate Peter, while awaiting the arrival of an American named Tom Friend. Over Helen's objections and warnings by the High Lhama, he sets out with Friend on an expedition to find the elusive Yeti, accompanied by another American named Shelley and a young Scotsman, McNee, who claims to have seen the thing. Footprints are found in the snows and McNee seems queerly affected the closer they get to their quarry's likely habitat but the biggest shock to Rollason is discovering Friend is a showman who only intends to exploit their find, with Shelley his gamehunter-marksman. The conflict between science and commercialism only increases when an enormous anthropoid is shot, and the horror only increases as the party realizes the other Yeti intend to retrieve their fallen comrade and have powers to do so which seem extra-human...

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Plot Keywords:

yeti | expedition | himalayas | botanist | snow | 

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Taglines:

Demon-prowler of the mountain shadows...Dreaded man-beast of Tibet...The terror of all that is human

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Hammer Films

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Clarion Films, Hammer Film Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although 'Peter Cushing (I)' repeated his original role from the TV version, Forrest Tucker replaced Stanley Baker in the film version.

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Ed Shelley: [Very excitedly] The size of 'em! You wouldn't grasp the speed that they could move!

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Crazy Credits

Hammer shot this in an anamorphic widescreen process which they credited as "Hammerscope." When it was released in the United States, the promotional material credited it as "Regalscope."

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Connections

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

User Reviews

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.