DVD Drive-In reports that Sony will release a box set of Hammer swashbucklers sometime this summer. Listed are:

STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY
TERROR OF THE TONGS
PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER
DEVIL SHIP PIRATES

Looks like a good year for swashbucklers, with Disney having previously announced DR. SYN: ALIAS THE SCARECROW.

I just watched my tape of TERROR OF THE TONGS the other day and I wouldn't call it a "swashbuckler". I'm sure the same goes for THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY. Doesn't Sony also have Hammer's THE CRIMSON (a.k.a. SCARLET) BLADE and BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR? It might make a little more sense to package PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER, DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES, and THE CRIMSON BLADE together and make TERROR OF THE TONGS, THE STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY, and BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR into another. But I shouldn't complain. I've never seen PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER or DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES and I'm really looking forward to this release, especially after reading how the ship tipped over while shooting D-SP.

PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER is pretty awesome, if surprisingly land-locked (maybe 'cause Hammer's ship sank?). It's a crackling action film that looks like a more expensive production than it probably was.

. . . DEVIL SHIP PIRATES (1963) is also locked on land as Christopher Lee's ship The Diablo (a pirate vessel that has joined the Spanish Armada) is grounded on the Cornish coast and his crew takes over a British town - local resistance (or terrorist activity, I suppose, if you are one of the pirates) begins . . . another excellent little film from Hammer made during the period when they seemed to do no wrong - the HAMMER FILMS, AN EXHAUSTIVE FILMOGRAPHY book mentions they had to use a lot of smoke during the battle scenes because the M4 motorway was being built within sight . . .

Sounds like the same plot as PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER! I also have a (pan/scan) copy of DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES, but I'll probably wait for the DVD to come out.

My question is, why didn't Sony release these two Hammer films as a Midnite Movie disc instead of FORTUNES OF CAPTAIN BLOOD/CAPTAIN PIRATE and THE BOY AND THE PIRATES/CRYSTALSTONE? Anyone with half a sense of film history could predict that the Hammer/Christopher Lee films would sell better.

By the same token, they could have announced THESE ARE THE DAMNED, MANIAC, SCREAM OF FEAR, THE OLD DARK HOUSE and THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL. But no... Hammer was a "swashbuckler" company!

Chas is right about the omitted titles, but the biggest of all the "swashbuckler" oversights is THE SWORD OF SHERWOOD FOREST. That offers Peter Cushing AND Terence Fisher.

Rumor has it that a similar Hammer horror set is in the near future from Sony, that may include The Gorgon and possibly one or two from your list there.

According to Sony's Mike Schlesinger, over at Classic Horror Film Board:

. . . while certainly thankful for what we are about to receive from Columbia, and I realize these are not horror, and swash no buckles, but perhaps a HAMMER GOES TO WAR set of two DVDs with the excellent THE CAMP ON BLOOD ISLAND (1957) and YESTERDAY'S ENEMY (1959) would be in order at some date to be determined not too far in the distant future - there was actually a third war movie called THE STEEL BAYONET (1957) produced by Hammer during this very fertile period in the studio's history, but this one was released in the U.S. by United Artists, I believe, so is probably who knows where . . . and, of course, it would be aces to finally get THE DAMNED (1961) as part of any old set at all . . .

Wasn't there a second BLOOD ISLAND movie? Does Columbia own it, too?

. . . yes, I forgot THE SECRET OF BLOOD ISLAND (1964) which was supposed to be some sort of prequel to the first BLOOD ISLAND movie (I am afraid I missed it during its run through the U.S.) - this one was a Universal release in the States so it might be buried in their vault . . .

Devil-Ship Pirates was the one in which Hammer's boat sunk. They didn't have a boat for Pirates of Blood River (the scriptwriter's brief was to write a pirate film without a boat in it because Hammer couldn't afford one !).

Both films star Chris Lee as a ruthless pirate and both have plot similarities with an isolated community overcome by "pirates" (strictly speaking the Devil-Ship Pirates are not pirates) and conflicts within the community in deciding how to combat them.

Devil-Ship Pirates has previously been available on DVD in the UK from Warners.

BBFC censor John Trevelyan tells an amusing acedote about Blood River in his autobiography as being the only film he could remember that started out as an X and finished as a U (the piranha scene getting shorter and shorter being quoted as an example).

SECRET OF BLOOD ISLAND was released by Universal-International, so like Cornel Wilde's THE SWORD OF LANCELOT, hasn't a prayer of showing up on DVD. SECRET OF BLOOD ISLAND featured a very unusual performance by Michael Ripper. Usually seen as a jolly innkeeper, Ripper was cast against type as the sadistic Japanese comandant Tojoka.

Calling this a swashbuckler or an adventure set is close enough, imo. Heck, they could call it a Happy Wonderama Jubilee set as far as I'm concerned, as long as they release these movies! (You could almost call it a Marie Devereux set, as she's in two--STRANGLERS and PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER. Mainstream buyers would be scratching their heads...Marie who?) The two pirate films are entertaining with good performances, and this is the first time ever for these four being released to home video in the US. Great news!

That's somebody's cue to say that any Marie Devereux movie qualifies as a Marie Devereux set, so it might as well be mine.

Unfortunately, I've never seen her presented properly, at least not for any length of time, in a movie. She's not in STRANGLERS as much as some of the write-ups would lead people to expect.

Marie is in Sam Fuller's SHOCK CORRIDOR and THE NAKED KISS. She has speaking lines in one, SHOCK CORRIDOR I think. Her dialogue seemed like it was dubbed, but I couldn't tell for sure. She's also in THE MARK (1961, w/Stuart Whitman), which I've never seen but would like to check out.

I was lucky enough to see THE SECRET OF BLOOD ISLAND as a kid, although I can't remember if it was at the movies (as a re-release) or on TV. Either way, it's essential Barbara Shelley viewing. You'll never see her sweat more.

. . . THE MARK (1961) was released on R1 DVD back in 2001 by VCI - it does not seem to be available for purchase, but you might be able to find it for rent . . .

Netflix doesn't even have a copy.

Isn't Marie Devereaux in THE BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR, too? I've only seen that film once, and thought it was just about the worst Hammer film ever. I think that Devereaux has some dialog in THE NAKED KISS.

I used to work for a Seattle DVD store that carried sellthrough copies of THE MARK. Unfortunately, the store has closed for good.

It's Yvonne Romain in Brigand of Kandahar. She was Ollie Reed's mum in Curse of the Werewolf and also appeared in Devil Doll and Corridors of blood.

Yes, Yvonne Romain was in BRIGAND OF KANDAHAR. The only Hammer films Marie Devereux was in are STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY and BRIDES OF DRACULA. And agreed about BRIGAND; it's very stagebound and doesn't gel at all.

Regarding THE MARK, it looks like it's OOP, but Amazon Marketplace does offer it new for $1.99. Marie Devereux fans, take note...
Viva, Marie!

Back to Tim's list of Sony wants, for a moment: since TCM has shown letterboxed prints of THESE ARE THE DAMNED and MANIAC, I wonder if that might provide a clue? Then again, I do not consider THESE ARE THE DAMNED to be a typical "Halloween horror flick." Assuming that a horror box shows up around Halloween, I wouldn't include DAMNED.

The title I would include would be TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL, which was subjected, IMHO, to the worst-ever major studio VHS transfer back in the nineties (panned and scanned, horribly faded color, jerky cuts and missing scenes). It's time for Sony/Columbia to make amends for that botch job. I believe I have heard that there was a foreign tape or disc, possibly French, that was in widescreen and had restored color. Is anyone here familiar with that?

As a matter of curiosity what was the letterboxed print of Maniac like and was the content any different to the previous p/s video? (life in the UK and TCM UK don't seem to have it scheduled).

Actually, MANIAC is scheduled for next Wednesday, March 12th, in the wee hours. Technically, we won't know for sure that it will be a letterboxed telecast until Wednesday, when it airs. I'm sure there will be some discussion of that telecast here, when the time arrives.

Correcting myself here: Marie was also in Hammer's A WEEKEND WITH LULU and I ONLY ARSKED. I haven't seen ARSKED, but her bit in LULU (which recently ran on TCM) is extemely brief.

It's a strange world in which TERROR OF THE TONGS, and for that matter the Franco Fu-Manchu movies, get proper DVD releases before the excellent FACE..., BRIDES..., and VENGEANCE....

But so be it! TERROR OF THE TONGS is a classic of the somewhat painful "White Knights in Asia" (white guy goes to far east, beats up lots of villainous asian men, asian women swoon for him, etc. etc.) genre and I'd love to upgrade my copy to a legit DVD. The film is only the second best in the collection, with STRANGLERS FROM BOMBAY coming out on top, I'd say.

What amazing news. Very exciting that these films are being released.

-- Peter

I hope that Sony can restore the missing material to TERROR OF THE TONGS. There are several very obvious cuts in the version currently in TV syndication (which, I assume, are cuts Columbia made to the picture for its original theatrical release)

John, I just don't know if Sony would take that much trouble. Some studios, such as Warner, MGM, and several smaller labels, have made the effort to incorporate European footage to create uncut (or director's cut) prints.

Sony has shown definite improvement in the last year regarding vintage titles. I'm thinking of the Sam Katzman box, the Stanley Kramer collection, plus reports and hints of goodies to come, such as the Hammer swashbuckler box, a possible Hammer Horror box, and a possible Film Noir box of Columbia titles. However, I don't yet have a sense that they will "take this to the next level" by searching for missing international footage, etc. I'd love them to prove me wrong!

John

These aren't cuts made by Sony/Columbia but cuts made by the BBFC for the UK release - it appears that the same cut print was shipped to the USA. Whereas the prints of most of Hammer's Universal films seem to be uncut the Columbia prints (including Tongs, Man Who Could Cheat Death, Two Faces of dr Jekyll, Maniac and Pirates of Blood River) have all been cut with the exception of The Damned that Sony restored a few years ago.



Incidentally, the FU Manchu series can be bought on R2 DVD - there are both UK and German releases (the German releases have English soundtracks).

Does anyone know if THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU R2 DVD has those nudie scenes that were pictured in the pages of Castle of Frankenstein magazine?

No. Apparently those photos were shot as promotional images for use in European adult magazines and do not in any way reflect anything that was actually shot on motion picture film.

I have the R2 UK DVD and it has no nude scenes. Based on a review on some website (can't remember which ) the German version doesn't have either.

It makes sense that there actually aren't any nude scenes in BRIDES OF FU MANCHU. I've never gotten over buying that issue of Castle of Frankenstein in what today would be called a "family" drug store and finding the two nude "scenes." That was even better than stealing a glance at a Playboy, because I got to take the issue home with me! Still, I regret that there's not some lost Continental version waiting to be discovered.

The box set is apparently going to be titled ICONS OF ADVENTURE, and has a street date of June 10th, 2008, as per The Digital Bits webpage.

Wow, Sony cooked up a real steaming pile for the cover art. Boo Hiss!
Way to limit sales!

Well, I guess at an SRP of $24.96, they decided ugly was all they could afford.

Looks like a Brentwood PD pack.

. . . true, not so great . . . however, the really good news to me is the little "The Hammer Films Collection vol. 1" below the "Icons of Adverture" stuff . . .

Considering the packaging is not likely to lure casual DVD buyers into picking this up, I'm not betting on sales being enough to coax Sony into doing a Vol. 2.