NIGHT CREATURES On Blu-ray From Shout Factory

 

The latest Hammer Region A Blu-ray release from Shout Factory is NIGHT CREATURES, the American titled version of the 1962 film CAPTAIN CLEGG. 

NIGHT CREATURES is a remake of the 1937 film DR. SYN, which was based on the Russell Thorndyke novel of the same name. Thorndyke wrote a number of books on the character, a pirate-smuggler who plied his trade on the east coast of England in the 18th Century while disguised as a vicar. 

Hammer purchased the remake rights to the 1937 movie, only to find that Walt Disney's company had purchased the rights to all of Russell Thorndyke's Dr. Syn novels. This forced Hammer to use the name "Dr. Blyss" instead of Syn, but they were still able to use the main elements of the story. 

Peter Cushing has one of his best roles as Dr. Blyss/Captain Clegg. He switches effortlessly at a moment's notice between the kindly, soft-spoken Blyss and the cunning, determined Clegg. Cushing also gets to engage in plenty of physical action as well, and he hugely enjoyed himself during this production. (At two different points in his life, Cushing even wrote story treatments based on the Captain Clegg character.) 

Cushing is ably supported by one of the best overall casts for a Hammer film, which includes Oliver Reed, Yvonne Romain, Michael Ripper, Martin Benson, Derek Francis, and Milton Reid. Special mention must be made of Patrick Allen, who plays the no-nonsense Captain Collier, the Royal Navy man determined to put an end to Clegg's smuggling activities. The type of character Allen plays in NIGHT CREATURES is usually portrayed as a fool or unsympathetic, but Capt. Collier is neither, and the scenes between Allen and Cushing have a spark to them. 

The idea to make the film actually started with producer John Temple-Smith and director Peter Graham Scott, and while they were not part of the official Hammer family, they created one of the best non-horror films made by the company. NIGHT CREATURES has plenty of English Gothic trappings, but in my opinion it is not a horror tale, despite the title used for the American release from Universal. It is an enjoyable, fast-moving period adventure. 

Shout Factory's disc case for this Blu-ray states that the aspect ratio is 2.00:1--but a number of sources on the internet say that it is 1.85:1. (I have to say that there were times when the framing looked a bit tight.) The disc packaging claims that the print used comes from a 2022 2K scan, and it is quite colorful. 

There's plenty of extras here. Kim Newman provides a discussion of the film's background and the series of Dr. Syn novels written by Russell Thorndyke. Jonathan Rigby gives an excellent half-hour examination and analysis of Peter Cushing's acting career and screen persona--it's one of the best extras on any Shout Factory Hammer release. 

There's also a featurette on the making of the film, hosted by Wayne Kinsey and narrated by John Carson, which has plenty of rare behind-the-scenes photos. Wayne Kinsey also hosts a short program on the George Mossman carriage collection, focusing on the various coaches used in many Hammer films. Special effects artist Brian Johnson provides a few memories about working on NIGHT CREATURES and FX legend Les Bowie. This disc also has the original American trailer and a stills gallery, and there's a new audio commentary with Bruce Hallenbeck, who gives out plenty of info on the film (Bruce saw it during its original American theatrical release). 

As with most Shout Factory Hammer releases, a limited-edition poster, with artwork by Mark Maddox, is provided for those that ordered the disc direct from the company (see picture above). Maddox's artwork is used for the reversible disc case, with poster artwork for the 1962 American release on the other side. 

At this point I'm hesitant to call any Hammer movie underrated, but NIGHT CREATURES deserves more attention than it usually gets. It's one of Hammer's best adventure stories, and it contains one of Peter Cushing's best performances. I know some Hammer fans would have preferred to see the CAPTAIN CLEGG title on this release, but whatever you call it, Shout Factory has put together another fine package.