cult film freak: michael ripper

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Written by James M. Tate / 1/08/2025 / No comments / barbara ewing , barry andrews , christopher lee , dracula , ewan hooper , franchise , freddie francis , hammer films , horror , michael ripper , sixties , veronica carlson

CHRISTPHER LEE VAMPING 'DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE'

barbara ewing, barry andrews, christopher lee, dracula, ewan hooper, franchise, freddie francis, hammer films, horror, michael ripper, sixties, veronica carlson

CHRISTPHER LEE VAMPING 'DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE'

Title: DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE Year: 1968 Rating: *** Hammer's DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE came out in 1968, and the studi...

DEAN JAGGER AND WILLIAM LUCAS IN HAMMER'S 'X THE UNKNOWN'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFYr9YI4BhkslOH6CpAAH7SCLjfSmNcOmcuSvas8maCfYWtZZ8EoanyuJsjPcxLvYHxzN4MrfTMxrFTMwoZ3-stt2YGCuqJtfGs12D5S0xXye0EeMe9iI03fk6Au9UVabhC2m592yMgckIO740Mq5DJSTEhx-HOJAYWgq72kcjUSBAQCw5xR1gtaRpFwW/s2078/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-26%20at%2012.24.59%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1120" data-original-width="2078" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOFYr9YI4BhkslOH6CpAAH7SCLjfSmNcOmcuSvas8maCfYWtZZ8EoanyuJsjPcxLvYHxzN4MrfTMxrFTMwoZ3-stt2YGCuqJtfGs12D5S0xXye0EeMe9iI03fk6Au9UVabhC2m592yMgckIO740Mq5DJSTEhx-HOJAYWgq72kcjUSBAQCw5xR1gtaRpFwW/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-26%20at%2012.24.59%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">X THE UNKNOWN Year: 1957 Rates: ****</td></tr></tbody></table>Hammer's science-fiction/horror hybrid X THE UNKNOWN came out the same year as QUATERMASS 2, sequel to THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT where Brian Donlevy played the inevitable creature-seeking Dr. Quatermass in both... And this production was supposed to be yet another of that franchise, which makes sense since Dean Jagger plays central investigative scientist Dr. Adam Royston with more genuinely cerebral concentration and would have made a far superior, more effective title character... but being a standalone makes X a solidly entertaining thriller about a
 mysterious atomic substance that first kills a soldier (Kenneth Cope) and then a child in a rural wide-open field...

british, creature, dean jagger, fifties, hammer films, horror, kenneth cope, leo mckern, michael ripper, nuclear, science-fiction, william lucas

DEAN JAGGER AND WILLIAM LUCAS IN HAMMER'S 'X THE UNKNOWN'

X THE UNKNOWN Year: 1957 Rates: **** Hammer's science-fiction/horror hybrid X THE UNKNOWN came out the same year as QUATERMASS 2, sequel...

STANLEY BAKER AND TOM BELL SNEAK THROUGH 'A PRIZE OF ARMS'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RUcjfPowY5kNMV_rlEaVifubAOaxqbRx6RMUNEBePOYeKEUDEWAsXPoTooXd_MxhztxXNRtznJB0y4IdpBuQXDjWs2cn7JDtqSpiMWwon-2WOlLUB3SK4iTdi8hv4EFTiPiZeOHCOkyus00U1PAMA6irtvK-coFAWZ3QYN8jZvh31CJ7ydArFC0oNLB6/s2058/Screen%20Shot%202026-09-29%20at%2011.07.31%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1352" data-original-width="2058" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7RUcjfPowY5kNMV_rlEaVifubAOaxqbRx6RMUNEBePOYeKEUDEWAsXPoTooXd_MxhztxXNRtznJB0y4IdpBuQXDjWs2cn7JDtqSpiMWwon-2WOlLUB3SK4iTdi8hv4EFTiPiZeOHCOkyus00U1PAMA6irtvK-coFAWZ3QYN8jZvh31CJ7ydArFC0oNLB6/s1600/Screen%20Shot%202026-09-29%20at%2011.07.31%20AM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stanley Baker in A PRIZE OF ARMS Year: 1963 Rating: ****1/2 </td></tr></tbody></table>The most suspenseful parts from the final act of THE GREAT ESCAPE a year after A PRIZE OF ARMS and the middle of the original decade-later STAR WARS entails hiding in plain site, behind enemy lines while wearing their uniforms and keeping everything in perfect surreptitious motion, without getting noticed and thus, caught and captured... Which ARMS is, practically from beginning to end, epitomizing the sparse heist thriller where two British crooks with one German go undercover to politely infiltrate a British military compound before an overseas mission, since the armory will be loaded with cash... all for the taking...

anthony bate, british, british new wave, caper, heist, helmut schmid, michael ripper, military, patrick magee, roddy mcmillan, sixties, stanley baker, suspense, thriller, tom bell

STANLEY BAKER AND TOM BELL SNEAK THROUGH 'A PRIZE OF ARMS'

Stanley Baker in A PRIZE OF ARMS Year: 1963 Rating: ****1/2 The most suspenseful parts from the final act of THE GREAT ESCAPE a year after A...

DIANA DORS IN 'YIELD TO THE NIGHT' WITH MICHAEL CRAIG

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6hYS4ZBA--eezjO5bkYMg6gFwrG3XkVjz9rzhhaKb9ihVED8DEu2vo4N172gzor9l8rER4it-yix5sGzseed4I4bHhvPtw1hzXeh_neoUB04rinD_SRTHmjif_YJnDHRye4MSJgQLkbqJrelSTIYi8QSmbhixqAPsZf8jBrEr4zsaK6TLUQv_2DD8Dmo/s1060/darker.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="1060" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt6hYS4ZBA--eezjO5bkYMg6gFwrG3XkVjz9rzhhaKb9ihVED8DEu2vo4N172gzor9l8rER4it-yix5sGzseed4I4bHhvPtw1hzXeh_neoUB04rinD_SRTHmjif_YJnDHRye4MSJgQLkbqJrelSTIYi8QSmbhixqAPsZf8jBrEr4zsaK6TLUQv_2DD8Dmo/s16000/darker.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diana Dors in YIELD TO THE NIGHT Year: 1956 Rating: **1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>The true life capital punishment expose YIELD TO THE NIGHT had its name changed to BLONDE SINNER, with poster images focusing on a gun-wielding, femme-fatale type in the full-lipped Marilyn Monroe of England, Diana Dors, smitten by her seemingly bad boy boyfriend in lounge piano player Michael Craig...But this 1950's J. Lee Thompson vehicle is more melodrama than any kind of thriller, mostly taken place inside a death row cell where Dors, as condemned Mary Hilton, strikes up a dialog-filled friendship with lady guard Yvonne Mitchell...

biopic, british, british film noir, crime, diana dors, fifties, j. lee thompson, liam redmond, michael craig, michael ripper, prison

DIANA DORS IN 'YIELD TO THE NIGHT' WITH MICHAEL CRAIG

Diana Dors in YIELD TO THE NIGHT Year: 1956 Rating: **1/2 The true life capital punishment expose YIELD TO THE NIGHT had its name changed to...

HAMMER PRESENTS 'NIGHT CREATURES' WITH PETER CUSHING

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPWly0lEmAfTuWzq80JHeYYmt_Y8rTb2BID3tV1GVkd7TP0dsOPweb8Pi_nANUgmm0eD3Br34GoDVT_IwUZaTEmch8h8SOYSbk6R9Zrf4ymse6wliimC4jYGbBSQYp5TGzSx1BMm9a4rWiz_JtRcxRnFVTjNVVQ-jdXzRadeBDqMgtpQiO1KHJ7PRcBfn/s814/Screen%20Shot%202025-12-25%20at%2011.56.17%20PM-1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="426" data-original-width="814" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZPWly0lEmAfTuWzq80JHeYYmt_Y8rTb2BID3tV1GVkd7TP0dsOPweb8Pi_nANUgmm0eD3Br34GoDVT_IwUZaTEmch8h8SOYSbk6R9Zrf4ymse6wliimC4jYGbBSQYp5TGzSx1BMm9a4rWiz_JtRcxRnFVTjNVVQ-jdXzRadeBDqMgtpQiO1KHJ7PRcBfn/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-12-25%20at%2011.56.17%20PM-1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hammer's NIGHT CREATURES Year: 1962 Rating: *****</td></tr></tbody></table>Hammer's decision to name this hybrid of thriller, horror and mystery CAPTAIN CLEGG proves that that last genre wasn't intended since spoiling Peter Cushing's true identity doesn't only ruin the plot's sneaky, intriguing premise, it makes Cushing's uniquely affable performance yet another fervent and intense one, not battling monsters this time but England's 1800's-era "tax man" himself... In Patrick Allen's square-jawed Captain Collier, sent with his troops to investigate what he doesn't yet realize is a tightknit, secret-latch, wine-smuggling operation run by Cushing playing local vicar Rev. Dr. Blyss, THE ONLY character that director Peter Graham Scott... until well into the second act... intends him to be...

british, david lodge, derek francis, hammer films, horror, martin benson, martin reid, michael ripper, mystery, oliver reed, patrick allen, peter cushing, peter graham scott, sixties, yvonne romain

HAMMER PRESENTS 'NIGHT CREATURES' WITH PETER CUSHING

Hammer's NIGHT CREATURES Year: 1962 Rating: ***** Hammer's decision to name this hybrid of thriller, horror and mystery CAPTAIN CLEG...

KEN HUTCHISON STEALS 'THE SWEENEY: STAY LUCKY EH' EPISODE

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjMlmfujBiUdrcmFOHpcq4eAhVOmgS0gg_xoweXSZchEl74JCCyXQ7xsdr87FRDI0AbDYnDn7FreqRtiKtR4RZKwrwm9nZWquKAbR5dPWztMtt0cO0HgKz7Og6qDcTiDLgga4rOfPlANw3LJIqphBySDY6FljAHqF3K3mn8koiIndPEc9AzuVin5wYg/s2184/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-21%20at%204.19.50%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1394" data-original-width="2184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNjMlmfujBiUdrcmFOHpcq4eAhVOmgS0gg_xoweXSZchEl74JCCyXQ7xsdr87FRDI0AbDYnDn7FreqRtiKtR4RZKwrwm9nZWquKAbR5dPWztMtt0cO0HgKz7Og6qDcTiDLgga4rOfPlANw3LJIqphBySDY6FljAHqF3K3mn8koiIndPEc9AzuVin5wYg/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-11-21%20at%204.19.50%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Straw Dogs actors Ken Hutchison & Peter Vaughan (with John Challis) in The Sweeney: Stay Lucky Uh? Year: 1975 Rates: ****</td></tr></tbody></table>Before playing Mr. Hill in SWEENEY 2, STRAW DOGS actors Ken Hutchison dons a fake blonde wig and mustache in STAY LUCKY EH where his character Vincent Vaughan steals money before being delivered to mob boss and Ken's STRAW DOGS leader Peter Vaughan while thwarting patsies Alun Armstrong to Michael Ripper... One of the few episodes where the heavies get more screen time than John Thaw's Regan and his younger partner Dennis Waterman as Carter...

alun armstrong, british, british neo noir, crime, dennis waterman, donald webster, john thaw, ken hutchison, michael ripper, peter vaughan, seventies, sweeney, TV

KEN HUTCHISON STEALS 'THE SWEENEY: STAY LUCKY EH' EPISODE

Straw Dogs actors Ken Hutchison & Peter Vaughan (with John Challis) in The Sweeney: Stay Lucky Uh? Year: 1975 Rates: **** Before playing...

OLIVER REED AGAIN IN HAMMER'S 'THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2NH-ioEPWhqAyuouB_VPanDnQqTf8ctFPLLwqyq3dsoNxGuynRwD4Anh6wNLbnT86e64AOQz0KdSSlShVySPZSHqj-t8ra2CMlr5VkGmNPLv9MAN2G9bqtB6Lp5ZCYKhLAOHugrlvrbov6HaQVGVtetFUVNatv77HLLBuBoEM2Hi6QBPNrNVmpwWXg/s1430/159942583_1195755417520299_2845632136342354247_o.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="606" data-original-width="1430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2NH-ioEPWhqAyuouB_VPanDnQqTf8ctFPLLwqyq3dsoNxGuynRwD4Anh6wNLbnT86e64AOQz0KdSSlShVySPZSHqj-t8ra2CMlr5VkGmNPLv9MAN2G9bqtB6Lp5ZCYKhLAOHugrlvrbov6HaQVGVtetFUVNatv77HLLBuBoEM2Hi6QBPNrNVmpwWXg/s16000/159942583_1195755417520299_2845632136342354247_o.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oliver Reed in THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER 1961 Rates: **1/2 Grade: C+ </td></tr></tbody></table>The twist ending of Hammer's THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER is not only given away in the prologue when a town zealot's free-spirited son Kerwin Matthews loses his married lover, but in the title itself, making only half sense since these PIRATES, led by Christopher Lee with subordinates Michael Ripper, Peter Arne and Oliver Reed, are hardly ever on a pirate ship, having landed upon an island sanctuary of Huguenot farmers that, as the story commences, is attacked by those land-roaming scoundrels, thinking there's gold nearby... It's a shame when BLOOD RIVER reaches the point where the Huguenots and Pirates have a Mexican standoff since, earlier on, Matthews — attempting his SINBAD energy despite being too old — is sent to prison, then escapes... <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXUHLSIXmXEcKGoxzxHHo9a5C3diAsP2fKrZww-rrFrudVOiIm5pODEJzbDeTM2eNTrHN-lqGh0C7TOSZY5swnW3E9V1JQFZYisMpd8siHpggg3rgEeJXMuh0EjMfQw0k4Iwhvcgo2ZJGSynIgs13P5zMp0c7JXvFcBTNYzPpFK114Six84uTxX2ogQ/s1436/160006474_1195755434186964_2040556207424182213_o.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="617" data-original-width="1436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFXUHLSIXmXEcKGoxzxHHo9a5C3diAsP2fKrZww-rrFrudVOiIm5pODEJzbDeTM2eNTrHN-lqGh0C7TOSZY5swnW3E9V1JQFZYisMpd8siHpggg3rgEeJXMuh0EjMfQw0k4Iwhvcgo2ZJGSynIgs13P5zMp0c7JXvFcBTNYzPpFK114Six84uTxX2ogQ/s16000/160006474_1195755434186964_2040556207424182213_o.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oliver Reed in THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER with Peter Arne</td></tr></tbody></table>During which this Hammer adventure is very adventurous and action-packed... Sadly the villains take over in Christopher Lee's worst role, dressed for a bad Halloween party, added to which Peter Arne kills off a far cooler Oliver Reed... Hammer just didn't know their potential... This misleadingly advertised swashbuckler buckles under the weight of its own unambitious limitations, and with a "younger male hero" in Glenn Corbett afraid to fight, and Marla Landi pretty but weak in the ingenue department, PIRATES is more sunken than treasure.

action, adventure, hammer films, john gilling, marla landi, michael ripper, oliver reed, peter arne, pirates, sixties

OLIVER REED AGAIN IN HAMMER'S 'THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER'

Oliver Reed in THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER 1961 Rates: **1/2 Grade: C+ The twist ending of Hammer's THE PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER is not onl...

DENNIS WATERMAN GROUNDS HAMMER'S 'SCARS OF DRACULA'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0jxk6TG22aG49W7mE4jJUlB0ZnoXjkOPAmy13BmWHH89tOKWZd_oMpk0eeEPAwH4jMJEwr2S0abFylLXWOgOT5RXu1E-HFoNxbiOqnIL4sBA-F8ZOHKE8bDJz0tqNGauNDf8gUkJcp8a30I9Flt5kIFDs_WOoRywQLyAj1Ow3x_wJR1RRxlOwdpr9LA=s2364" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="2364" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0jxk6TG22aG49W7mE4jJUlB0ZnoXjkOPAmy13BmWHH89tOKWZd_oMpk0eeEPAwH4jMJEwr2S0abFylLXWOgOT5RXu1E-HFoNxbiOqnIL4sBA-F8ZOHKE8bDJz0tqNGauNDf8gUkJcp8a30I9Flt5kIFDs_WOoRywQLyAj1Ow3x_wJR1RRxlOwdpr9LA=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title: SCARS OF DRACULA Pictured: Christopher Matthews, Jenny Hanley, Dennis Waterman Year: 1970 Rating: ***1/2</td></tr></tbody></table>Hammer decided why mess with a successful formula, and turned their 1970 sequel SCARS OF DRACULA into what's basically a remake of the original, HORROR OF DRACULA, with a womanizing flake in the place of a traveling solicitor, and he even rides a dark-forest coach to get there...This after beginning with the cheapest of fake-looking bats spitting blood on ashes and thus conveniently reanimating Christopher Lee's iconic and eternal Bram Stoker-created vampire legend...