The Abominable Snowman (1957)

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: You're nothing but a cheap fairground trickster!

Movie Connections:

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

An extraordinary Hammer journey

I absolutely LOVE the Hammer studios. Regardless what most people claim, this production company offers a lot of diversity and fables for all tastes. Take this for example…in the same year they personified evil through the face of Baron Frankenstein, the also presented a mythical tale of the Himalayan Yeti. Unlike you'd expect, this movie is filled with though-provoking theories, moral speeches and criticism towards typically human greed. Those who're setting their minds to seeing an exiting snowman-hunt with violent and aggressive creature make-up might feel cheated after watching this film. The `horror' is mainly reached through a slow and tense atmosphere and the unpredictable twists in the search for the bizarre species of the Himalayas. The Abominable Snowman is very effective horror! The story makes you think and sympathize, while the locations and photography stuns you. There's a terrific interaction between the two protagonists – Forrest Tucker and Hammer regular Peter Cushing – which automatically forces you to pick sides. The final sequences are a bit of a blotch, I reckon…but by then, you're already impressed more then enough by this film. Val Guest was a terrific choice to direct, his previous efforts for the Hammer studios (The Quartermass Experiments) both were suspenseful movies as well. Nigel Kneale re-wrote the story that was turned in a TV-movie already two years earlier and he succeeds in upholding the unique premise. Cushing is at the peak of his respectable career at this point. In a period of only 3 years after this, he appeared in multiple other Hammer milestones like The Curse of Frankenstein, The Mummy, the Hound of the Baskervillers and the Horror of Dracula. His entire career is highly recommended and the Abominable Snowman even receives and extra plus.