Night Creatures (1962)

In 18th-century England, the Royal Crown sends Royal Navy Captain Collier and his crew to investigate reports of illegal smuggling and bootlegging in a coastal town where locals believe in Marsh Phantoms.

Director:

Peter Graham Scott

Writers:

Anthony Hinds (screenplay) (as John Elder), Barbara S. Harper (additional dialogue)

Stars:

Peter Cushing, Yvonne Romain, Patrick Allen

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Cushing	...	Rev. Dr. Blyss
Yvonne Romain	...	Imogene - serving wench
Patrick Allen	...	Captain Collier
Oliver Reed	...	Harry Cobtree
Michael Ripper	...	Jeremiah Mipps (coffinmaker)
Martin Benson	...	Mr. Rash (innkeeper)
David Lodge	...	Navy Bosun
Derek Francis	...	Squire Anthony Cobtree
Daphne Anderson	...	Mrs. Rash
Milton Reid	...	Mulatto
Jack MacGowran	...	Frightened Man
Peter Halliday	...	1st Sailor Jack Pott
Terry Scully	...	2nd Sailor Dick Tate
Sydney Bromley	...	Old Tom Ketch
Rupert Osborne	...	Gerry (as Rupert Osborn)

Storyline

In this engaging costume melodrama of skulduggery on the low seas set back in the 18th-century, the Royal Crown suspects a bit of smuggling is going on in this locale, and they send Captain Collier and his crew to check it out. As the Captain gets into his investigation, mysterious swamp phantoms cloud up the real issue which seems plain enough to see. Captain Collier suspects that the odd village vicar might be hiding something, and what better way to do that than by fortuitous ghosts to scare away the curious, or by posing as someone he is not?

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Plot Keywords:

18th century | year 1792 | smuggling | marsh | horse riding | 

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Taglines:

NEW HEIGHTS IN SUSPENSE!

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Genres:

Adventure | Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 June 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Night Creatures

Filming Locations:

All Saints Church, Oakley Green Road, Bray, Berkshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hammer Films, Major Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hammer was originally due to film "I Am Legend" (the Richard Matheson novel) under the title "Night Creatures", but this was abandoned when the BBFC informed them that they would not pass the film. As Hammer had promised the U.S distributors a film called "Night Creatures" the title was passed on to the already completed Night Creatures (1962) instead.

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Goofs

The tavern scenes feature a modern violin.

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Quotes

Imogene - serving wench: Well if youv,e all done staring.
1st Sailor Jack Pott: If it,s all the same to you miss i,d like a few minutes more.

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Connections

Featured in The World of Hammer: Mummies, Werewolves & the Living Dead (1994)

User Reviews

Welcome to Dymchurch; - my kind of town!

Well, here's one Hammer movie that was rather difficult to come across! Especially in comparison to the British studio's classic horror, Sci-Fi and psychological thriller efforts, this mixture between historical drama and swashbuckler adventure (don't let the cover image or US title "Night Creatures" mislead you; it's not a horror film) is obscure and little seen. To my recollection it has never even been aired on the BBC, and that's where I personally watched a lot of Hammer horror movies from the sixties and seventies. I wonder why, because "Captain Clegg" is a solid and engaging film with a good script, fine performances and a handful of truly ingenious highlights. The story takes place around the end of the 18th Century in a small English coastal village named Dymchurch, and I must say it's a downright fantastic little place! Not only does the entire village participate in a giant smuggling network, they also have imaginative ways for transporting bootlegged liquor around town and all the villagers collectively help to mess around with an official delegation of soldiers sent by the British Crown to investigate! They even have an utmost brilliant signaling process with scarecrows in place and call upon sinister skeleton horsemen to scare off potential perpetrators! The charismatic leader of Dymchurch is Reverend Blyss, but serving God obviously isn't his primary mission in life. "Captain Clegg" is a fun watch, neatly written by Anthony Hinds and well-directed by the fairly unknown Peter Graham Scott. The cast is top-notch, with glorious roles for Peter Cushing (reliable as always), Oliver Reed (back when he still appeared on film sets in a sober state), Martin Benson (as the town's weakest link) and Michael Ripper (phenomenal as the local undertaker). There aren't many women in the cast, but the beautiful and curvy Yvonne Romain is astonishing enough to represent a whole army of women. Recommended!