Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

The Abominable Snowman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson March 20, 2021

The Abominable Snowman (1957) represented a departure in Hammer's output during the late Fifties in that it's not a straight-up monster picture. Indeed, director Val Guest and screenwriter Nigel Kneale made a conscious decision not to show the full Yeti or Big Foot on screen. Guest and Kneale only permit the audience to sees glimpses of it. According to the production notes on the movie's LaserDisc release, special effects artist Les Bowie and his team created an eight-foot Yeti corpse but it was never used in the film. The notes on the LD jacket also state that Guest and his cinematographer Arthur Grant filmed the second unit mountain climbing scenes in the French Pyrenees. Production designer Bernard Robinson converted a small courtyard at Bray Studios (outside London) into a Buddhist temple.

This film is also significant because it's the first that Peter Cushing made at Hammer. (He also starred in The Curse of Frankenstein the same year.) Cushing portrays Dr. John Rollason, a gentlemanly botanist commissioned by the Botanical Foundation to travel to Tibet where he's supposed to study the local flora and fauna. Rollason is accompanied by his wife, Helen (Maureen Connell), and their assistant, Fox (Peter Wattis). While lodging at the Tibetan monastery of Rong-ruk, they're greeted by some unexpected visitors. The ironically named Tom Friend (Forrest Tucker), his trapper Ed Shelley (Robert Brown), Sherpa guide, Kusang (Wolfe Morris), and the Scotish photographer Andrew McNee (Michael Brill) have arrived for an expedition into the Himalayas to hunt for the Yeti. Friend has primarily commercial interests at stake because he can make a large profit if he captures the Yeti alive and brings it back to Britain for a carnival exhibit. One of the travelers claims to have seen the creature on a prior expedition. Friend and his sortie want Rollason to go with them. Helen expresses her misgivings and hopes he doesn't venture out. The Lhama (Arnold Marlé) is pessimistic about the trek, too. Rollason agrees to go but his aim is the opposite of Friend's. He would use the Yeti as a superhuman specimen for scientific study. As the group makes their way through the snowy terrain and mountainous peaks, accidents begin to occur. They soon learn they've come for more than they bargained for.

The Abominable Snowman is a handsomely mounted production with very fine performances by Peter Cushing and Tom Friend. The other actors are solid but I agree with Ted Newsome on the audio commentary that Hammer could have found a different actor (perhaps an Asian) beside Arnold Marlé to play the Lhama. He's unable to muster a convincing Tibetan accent. The movie has a few other weaknesses. The first couple reels are overly talkie as Kneale establishes the plot and sets up the expedition. The second act embraces the Man vs. Nature theme but Kneale stretches it too long as it fails to produce enough sustained tension.

The film received some distribution in the US where it was often paired with Ghost Diver. The Shamokin (PA) News Dispatch promised that The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas (as it was titled in America) "will serve as a shock-test for scare-endurance among the audiences who have the nerves to withstand the plentiful supply of thrills and surprises." On a Friday the 13th, the Delaware-based Murphy Theater opened its doors at 11:30 p.m. for a horror midnight showing of Abominable, which was by followed by Ghost Diver. The Wilmington (DE) News Journal reported that H. W. Reisinger, the theater manager, considered the films so frightening that only persons "with strong nerves" would be advised to see them.

The Abominable Snowman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shout! Factory has issued two versions of The Abominable Snowman on a BD-50: an 85-minute American version and a 90-minute British version. These are presented in the film's original "Hammerscope" ratio of 2.35:1. On the film's product page of its website, Shout! states: Please Note: usable film elements of the complete film no longer exist; approximately five minutes of the film have been upconverted to high definition from a standard definition source. The integration of SD material on the longer cut isn't that noticeable. It is flatter, less clear, and lacks the contrast of the HD video. But it's in solid shape. There are various damage marks that crop up in each 1080p presentation. Please see Screenshot #s 17-20. In capture 17, there's a tear in the frame. I also spotted a number of tramlines and flecks at various times. Grayscale is very good and black levels are deep.

Shout! offers a dozen chapters for each cut.

The Abominable Snowman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout! supplies a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono mix (1652 kbps, 24-bit). The master is in reasonably good shape. Pitch fluctuates depending on where inserts of standard-definition footage are made. Static and hiss are present. Dialogue is intelligible throughout. Humphrey Searle composed the Eastern-sounding score.

Shout! offers optional English SDH, which are displayed in yellow.

The Abominable Snowman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• NEW Audio Commentary with Filmmaker/Film Historian Ted Newsom (on the UK version) - I haven't been especially fond of Newsom on group commentaries but he's noticeably better doing solo tracks on this one. He's in his element here, sharing a wealth of production anecdotes, trivia, and his own Hollywood tales. He does digress by telling stories that are only somewhat related to Hammer. He infrequently makes direct connections between Hollywood and Hammer. Newsom corrects himself on a couple occasions and recovers well before moving on to his next point. In English, not subtitled.

• Audio Commentary with Director Val Guest and Screenwriter Nigel Kneale (on the UK version) - this commentary track was recorded ca. 1997 and first appeared on The Roan Group LaserDisc Classics Widescreen edition, which was released in 1999. It was licensed by Anchor Bay for its DVD a year later. Marcus Hearn, who co-authored The Hammer Story (Titan Books), moderates the chat with Guest and Kneale, who were recorded separately. It's great that they were able to participate in this commentary before their deaths. Guest and Kneale compare the BBC version with the theatrical cut. Kneale shares his view about how his writing translated to the silver screen. Guest has wonderful reminisces of working side by side with Hitchcock at Gainsborough Pictures. He also briefly covers the father-son feud between Jimmy and Michael Carreras at Hammer. Guest also recalls filming in Hammerscope and also cover other technical aspects. In English, not subtitled.

• NEW In Search of the Yeti: Jonathan Rigby on The Abominable Snowman (23:01, 1080p) - Rigby discusses the careers of Val Guest and Nigel Kneale. He devotes a good deal of time on The Quatermass Xperiment (TV series and movie). He chronicles how the abominable snowman first made its name into print and how it's handled on the big screen in the Guest/Kneale film and subsequent movies. Rigby touches on the roles played by Cushing, Wolfe Morris, Forrest Tucker, and Richard Wattis. He explains how The Abominable Snowman differs from other Hammer pictures during this period. I'd love to hear Rigby do a feature-length audio commentary. In English, not subtitled.

• The World of Hammer: Peter Cushing (24:49, 480i) - This TV episode about Cushing's career at the studio was part of the series, The World of Hammer. It first aired in 1994 and is narrated by Oliver Reed. It presents clip from various films featuring Cushing in such classic roles as Van Helsing and Sherlock Holmes. In English, not subtitled.

• TRAILERS FROM HELL with Commentary by Filmmaker Joe Dante (2:16) - Dante briefly introduces the trailer and then offers commentary about it and the film. He declares The Abominable Snowman superior to all other "Big Foot" movies before and since. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (1:44, upscaled to 1080i) - The Abominable Snowman's original trailer shown in about 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. It's been upconverted from a SD source (likely taken from a DVD) and is in decent shape. It features a sonorous Voice of God narrator that Dante ridicules in his piece.

• Still Gallery (5:31) - a slide show that presents fifty-seven distinct images. These range from captures of glossy black-and-white stills courtesy of Fox's publicity department to full-color poster sheets and lobby cards. Shout! also has included a couple sheets from an exhibitor's campaign manual and newspaper adverts.

The Abominable Snowman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Abominable Snowman is a fine adventure film from Hammer that was released around the time when there was speculation about sightings of a Yeti in a Daily Mail article. It's a nice change-of-pace from Hammer's Frankenstein and Dracula pictures, which would commence in full swing shortly thereafter. It would have been good if Shout! Factory included the BBC telefilm The Creature (1955), which Nigel Kneale also wrote with Peter Cushing in the lead. Shout! delivers above-average video and audio, both of which could benefit from new restorations and remasters. Extras include one recycled and one new commentary track, a recent video interview with Hammer expert Jonathan Rigby, a BBC episode of highlights from Cushing's career at Hammer, trailers, and a still gallery. A MODERATE RECOMMENDATION for The Abominable Snowman. Fans of Cushing and Kneale should consider picking it up.