The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas (1957)

Good movies about the Yeti or Bigfoot are rare.  Many attempts come off like 1970's motorcycle gang verses monster film Bigfoot, but you can find gems like 2006's Abominable, a solid horror action film that is surprisingly underappreciated.  Hammer's The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas is another example of a good Yeti film, though it's about the creatures in the snow and more about the monsters that share your campsite. 

The film opens with Dr. John Rollason (Peter FREAKING Cushing), his wife Helen, (Maureen Connell), and his assistant Peter Fox (Richard Wattis), who are on a botanical expedition to the Himalayas.  While at the monastery of Rong-buk, they meet another expedition lead by Dr. Tom Friend (Forrest Tucker) searching for the legendary Yeti.  Rollason decides to join Friend's expedition, despite protests from Helen, Peter and the Lama (Arnold Marle).  And so they set out to find the creature, which they do when a member of the expedition kills a Yeti exploring their camp.  

 

As expected, mayhem ensues.

Yeah, it's a quick and brief plot synopsis, rather unheard of on this site.  But it pretty much covers what happens in this film.  The surprising thing is the mayhem isn't caused by the Yeti, or even the brutal conditions such an expedition would face on the mountain.  To be honest, both are more a McGuffin for the main conflict of the story, the clash between scientific study verses commercial exploitation.

Think of it, man.

We'd be bigger than Carl Denham.

This means you should expect a lack of Yeti action in this film, despite what the poster might suggest.  The titular creature doesn't show up until the last five minutes of the film, and are mostly cloaked in shadows.  Man against a force of nature isn't the point of the script.  The central conflict is how man can either learn from, or exploit nature.  And Friend is willing to resort to some pretty horrible acts to get what he wants.  The film's conclusion is solid, siding against the exploitation of nature, no matter the cost to scientific exploration.  Humanity's nature is too greedy, and some things are best left alone.

The script was written by Nigel Kneale, based a similar television movie he scripted called The Creature.  According to internet sources, the film follows most of the beats from the earlier production, though the character of Helen was added for the film.  And Wayne Kinsey, in his book Hammer Films: The Unsung Heroes, wrote that scripts paint the Yeti not as a monster, but a being better than humanity.  I can only speak for the movie version, but as both were written by Kneale, I'm going to assume the two share such similarities.

Should that be the case, I wish Kneale had found a way to keep Rollason devolving into a guest on an episode of Ancient Aliens on The History Channel.  At first, he's portrayed as a serious scientist, gathering evidence on how Yetis might survive on the mountain.  But once Rollason does a brief visual examination of the dead Yeti's face, he begins spouting pseudo-science babble, claiming the creature is over a hundred years old, smarter than humans, probably telepathic and just waiting for humanity to die off before leaving the mountain to populate the Earth.  

 

Yeah, all that after view a Yeti corpse for a few seconds.  While Cushing delivers the lines with a sense of sincerity and conviction, as you'd expect, his proclamations falls flat.  It's basic 50s SCIENCE, rather than actual science, and clashes with the tone of the script.

One can only guess what Rollason would have to say about this Yeti hand.

Possibly something like, "Oh look, they are starting an arms race with us!"

But the conflict between Rollason and Friend makes up the meat of the script, and you'll be surprised how captivating their interactions become.  No surprise that Cushing is terrific in his role, but Tucker is equally good.  The two verbally clash, but are never over-the-top, even as Rollason discovers more of Friend's shady past.  And while some of the revelations might make you want to punch Friend at a point, remember Rollason is near the top of a mountain, making his more docile tone reveal how dependent he is on Friend for his survival.   

Fun little fact about Kneale's reaction to having an American cast in the film.  As you might know, the casting of Brian Donlevy in The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass 2 bothered Kneale.  But he was fine with Tucker being cast, as he felt an American would come off better as the brash explorer looking to exploit nature, rather than learn from it. 

And yes, I've seen some criticism of the film concerning how unsavory the members of the American expedition are portrayed, but I don't feel it's justified.  I do understand why some are taken aback by it, as they don't want to see Americans portrayed in such a villainous manner, but this is a British film and it is how a different country perceives us.  I've seen enough world cinema to know we're not always viewed in the most positive light.  And while it might sting a bit, one must remember American use similar stereotyping of other nationalities in the same manner as this film.  Rather than dismiss such portrayals outright, it's better to realize Americans are not always viewed positively by other countries and understand the reasons for such portrayals.

I'm an American, I've got a gun, and I don't have to take this anymore!

As I mentioned earlier, the character of Helen was an addition to the film's script, but it works.  Connell is no damsel in distress, even though she's left with the Lama as Rollason heads out with Friend's expedition.  However, once her husband is missing, she's the driving force to mount a rescue, despite Fox's objections.  Connell is terrific in the role, allowed to be as capable, or more so, than most of the men in the film.

The Shout Factory release is full of great extras.  It includes, as a special feature, a full HD version, which is incomplete, and a version with five minutes added from a "standard definition source."  I would suggest watching the more complete source, as any picture quality differences wasn't noticeable to me.  But that was likely from being too engrossed with the story to worry about any subtle changes. Other extras include an audio commentary with filmmaker/film historian Ted Newsom, an audio commentary with director Val Guest and screenwriter Nigel Kneale, a theatrical trailer and more.

The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas might not be an action pack Yeti film, but most of those don't really work anyway.  By focusing on an expedition setting out to discover a new species, and the driving force behind the different member, the film starts questioning the importance of scientific discover, when pitted against those eager to exploit such finds.  And, as expected, humanity comes up lacking.

If you'd like to purchase a copy of The Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas, consider clicking on the Amazon link below.  I'll get a bit of the sale, which will help keep The Shadow Over Portland up and running.

Well, once I figure out how to get it running.  Seems to be some issues.