Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Beanbioca As Good As It Gets

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

classicsoncall Right around the time this film came out, I would have been a kid voraciously reading anything I could get my hands on regarding fabled creatures like the Loch Ness Monster, The Abominable Snowman, and it's American cousin Bigfoot/Sasquatch. Their names still pop up from time to time, and Bigfoot even had his own TV series on Animal Planet. It must be some primordial urge in Man to keep these mythical beasts going from generation to generation, and if you ever see one, let me know.Considering the subject matter, this was a pretty decent flick from the Hammer folks, showing up on one of my cable channels as "The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas". More adventure film than horror, once the thing gets going most of the fear factor is supplied by the power of suggestion. One cool element in all this had to do with the idea that the remote mountain location where the Rong-Kuk Monastery was located gave it's head Lhama (Arnold Marle) some sort of clairvoyant power to see events in the future and warn Dr. John Rollason (Peter Cushing) not to venture forth for a creature that didn't exist, lest it lead to disaster.I was surprised to see Forrest Tucker top billed over Peter Cushing here since he wasn't a Hammer mainstay, but then again, Hammer Productions was just starting out. It turns out that Tom Friend (Tucker) had a prior reputation as a huckster, passing off mental defectives as Indian Wolf Children, so it didn't seem to matter much to him that the expedition's capture of a Himalayan langur monkey would have served his purpose well enough. That was a bit of a let down for me at that point in the story because other members of the team correctly identified it, and Friend should have realized he'd be harming his reputation once again.Director Val Guest did the right thing here to tease the appearance of the yeti creatures, revealing only an arm of the one shot by Ed Shelley (Robert Brown), and later when Rollason was confronted by two of the giants in the cave, their features were hidden in shadow. This is one picture where it was convenient to let the viewer's imagination take over instead of going for cheesy monster effects. Especially after the dead Yeti was described as ten and a half feet tall and weighing six hundred fifty pounds. There's a lot of room there for the imagination.If you go for this stuff, maybe you'd like to try a 1954 film with the same subject matter going by the name of "The Snow Creature". It's a lot goofier than this one, in fact, this picture plays almost scientifically plausible by comparison. It's only the grand Lhama who brings things back to reality at the end of the story when he tells Rollason - "It is not possible to bend the destiny of Man."

swifty77 A nice cross between an adventure film and a horror that places a bunch of character archetypes into the dangerous conditions of the Himalayas. It's a surprisingly good movie although a lot of it doesn't hold up for a modern audience; for example, the abominable snowmen themselves do just look like men. However, the team behind this film played well to their restrictions by keeping the snowmen offscreen until the end, building up the suspense effectively until the big reveal. Cushing's British scientist and Tucker's gruff American are nice contrasts as our protagonists, with their interests and intents being revealed to be more and more different as the film progresses. Director Val Guest leaves us on a rather poignant note, however; using the Yetis as a metaphor for the genuine exploration and endangerment of animals, which was common news at the time.

Rainey Dawn Survival in the harsh environment of the Himalayas and the relationship between the characters is in the forefront giving the viewer a damned good drama. The search for the yeti brings in the sci-fi horror. This movie is well worth watching - if for nothing else the drama itself.This is definitely one of Peter Cushing's best films and performances. I quite enjoyed him as Dr. Rollason. If you are into Peter Cushing movies or just love older horror films then I highly recommend this film - it is one of the better horror films of the 50's.If you are looking for blood and guts type of horror you will want to look for another movie. But if you are looking for a great movie with an awesome script, character interaction, and a suspenseful horror then look no further than this film.9.5/10

peter-faizey 'The Abominable Snowman' is a classic British horror film from the much celebrated Hammer Film Studio filmed at Bray and Pinewood Studios in 1957. It was notably the first Hammer film to feature legendary English actor Peter Cushing, who would go on to star in a further 21 films for the production company. It was also the second and last Hammer film to feature American actor Forrest Tucker in the lead role (to ensure Hammer films made it into the American market),and the last collaboration between Nigel Kneale as screenplay writer and Val Guest as director. This production is a film version of Nigel Kneale's original BBC play 'The Creature' remade by Hammer and even features some of the original cast members including Peter Cushing, Wolfe Morris and the excellent Arnold Marle. The rest of the roles were recast, including that of Tucker's (the role having originally been played by Stanley Baker). The story concerns, oddly enough the legend of the 'Abominable Snowman' or 'Yeti' if you prefer, as they are referred to in the film. 'The Abominable Snowman' begins with Cushing as Dr. John Rollason and his assistant Peter Fox, played by veteran actor Richard Wattis (who notably wears a series of unflattering jumpers in this particular picture) on a botanical expedition in the Himalayas as a guest of the Lama (played by Arnold Marle). Soon enough Dr. John Rollason's wife arrives, Helen (played by Maureen Connell) as well as a second expedition led by Tucker but also featuring Ed Shelley (played by future M actor in the Bond films, Robert Brown), photographer Andrew McNee (played by Michael Brill) and the Sherpa guide Kusang (played by Wolfe Morris). Their expedition is interested in one thing, capturing a live Yeti, and whilst Rollason and Tucker's character Tom Friend are instantly at loggerheads both have a mutual intrigue in the potential existence of Yeti, much to the chagrin of Rollason's wife and the Lama whose people clearly believe and fear in the Yeti.For an early Hammer production 'The Abominable Snowman' has an impressive scale and effective location filming standing in for the Himalayan Mountains was filmed at La Mongie in the French Pyrenees. Whilst the Monastery set and the Lama's village were built and utilised at Hammer productions then home at Bray Studios in Bray, Berkshire it was quickly realised that for the snowy landscapes of the Himalayas more studio space would be required so in an unusual move these were staged at Pinewood Studios at Iver Heath in Buckinghamshire. The film's score by classical composer (but a frequent experimenter in the 'serialist' music form) Humphrey Searle is very effective and is reminiscent of Max Steiner's score for 'King Kong' from 1933 and was reputedly based on Ralph Vaughan Williams score for the 1948 epic 'Scott of the Antarctic' starring Sir John Mills. Although Forrest Tucker has come under some criticism for his performance in this film (even from director Val Guest) I consider his interpretation of Tom Friend, as an abrasive loud mouthed bully, throwing his weight around and blowing hot and cold to Peter Cushing's character Dr. John Rollason to be very effective and as the film comes to a close and much of the action is based around these two characters, Tucker and Cushing play off each other very well. Tucker doesn't give a subtle performance, but to me that is kind of the point. Fortunately for Tucker, writer Nigel Kneale was impressed with his take on the role. Peter Cushing as ever is wonderful as Rollason, playing him as a kindly, cautious and articulate man, the polar opposite of the trigger happy bluster of Tom Friend. All the supporting cast are good, with note going to the mystical performance given by German actor Arnold Marle as the Lama and Richard Wattis's humorous performance as Rollason's assistant Peter Fox. The only thing that really dates the film and lets it down slightly is the representation of women, particularly in regards to Rollason's wife Helen. We learn during the film that she is very cautionary, a bit of a moaner and is great at making hot food and drinks. Oh dear! This aside, it's a great story and the realisation of the Yeti (who are barely seen until the penultimate sequence) are quite impressive. They have an intimidating look, but the use of human eyes behind their unusual beak like masks give them both an endearing and wise look. The actions of man are not to be celebrated here and Kneale presents the Yeti as mystical, intelligent and almost spiritual beings. The films ends on an uncertain note as we ponder as viewers whether Rollason in the icy conditions of the Himalayas hallucinated his encounters with the Yeti or whether they have purposely erased his mind of the events....or another consideration, the final line "There is no such thing" referring to the Yeti could be Rollason's understanding that man must never try to interfere with the great creatures ever again, hence the denial that he has come into contact with them. Val Guest's direction is superb throughout with effective use of hand-held camera shots and overlapping dialogue in an almost documentary style, a technique used in Howard Hawks's earlier films.'The Abominable Snowman' in my view is an overlooked gem, ignored during its release largely because of the hubbub surrounding the premiere of Hammer's first colour Horror film 'The Curse of Frankenstein' (coincidentally also starring Peter Cushing) and no doubt also because of the critical failure of both the original television adaptation. The subtle and esoteric nature of the story hardly helped matters. Put simply, it lacked the same gory mass appeal as the aforementioned Frankenstein film. 'The Abominable Snowman' is to be savoured and remembered as a production from a time when British filmmaking was arguably at its peak, and Hammer's contribution to that period is unrivalled.