The Abominable Snowman

DVD Anchor Bay Entertainment
1957, 91 minutes

review by Lee Peterson

Although not the first screen treatment of the world-famous Yeti legend (that would be Ishiro Honda's Half-Human in 1955),  Hammer Films' The Abominable Snowman is the most serious, and represents '50s science fiction at its best: intelligent, thought-provoking, and even a little scary. 

Botanist Dr. John Rollason (Hammer legend Peter Cushing) and his wife Helen (Maureen Connell, wife of
King Kong director John Guillerman) are studying rare mountain herbs in the Himalayan Mountains when American scientist Dr. Tom Friend (a pre-"F Troop" Forrest Tucker) arrives at their camp. Dr. Friend is hot on the trail of the legendary Yeti—the giant, furry hominid once sighted by his travelling companion McNee (Michael Brill).

It soon becomes clear that Dr. Friend doesn't just want to study the creature, he wants to capture and display it in a carnival show (boo, hiss!). A battle of wills ensues as each man pushes his agenda on the rapidly-dwindling exploration party. 

The Abominable Snowman was the first film Hammer produced after their enormously popular Curse of Frankenstein . Adapted by Nigel Kneale from his BBC teleplay (titled "The Creature"), and directed by Val Guest (who also directed Kneal'âs Quatermass films), The Abominable Snowman is not a "monster-on-the-loose" thriller as the ads implied (they were very popular at the time), but a cerebral, character-driven piece. When the title creatures appear, they are only glimpsed briefly. 

The latest release in Anchor Bay Entertainment's Hammer Collection, The Abominable Snowman (U.S. title--The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas ) is presented in a beautiful, widescreen DVD transfer (2.35:1, 16X9 enhanced). The black and white photography is incredibly crisp, and there is an amazing amount of depth to the grays. I never expected to see a black and white film (especially a 40-year-old monster movie) look this good. It's doubly impressive compared to Anchor Bay's VHS rendering, which was soft and fuzzy. The Dolby Digital Mono sound is, as usual, exceptional.

The scene-specific audio commentary by Kneale and Guest (recorded separately) is very informative, and like the Quatermass II commentary, offers a few conflicting opinions. Guest makes it clear that he felt the story was pure science fiction, but approached it at the time as if it were plausible. Both gentlemen have amazing recall for even the smallest details of the production. 

A widescreen trailer is included, along with another episode of the "World of Hammer" TV show (one is included on each of Anchor Bay's Hammer DVD releases), this one titled "Peter Cushing".

Another bang-up job by Anchor Bay, restoring a fan favorite to pristine, widescreen glory. Dammit, even the cover artwork is above reproach!
 

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