Blucher One of the worst movies I've ever seen

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Wizard-8 "Night Creatures" is in many ways an interesting Hammer entry, because it's unlike most of their other movies. There is no real monster in the movie, with the title referring to a man-made thing instead. It's also interesting due to the fact that there is only one real character in the movie who is sympathetic (the pub woman, who is a secondary character), with the primary characters either being ruthless pirates and smugglers, or agents of the king who are pretty ruthless in their own right as well. Despite the fact that there really isn't any up front character to care about, the movie remains entertaining. Naturally, actor Peter Cushing gives the movie a lot of spark. And the rest of the movie certainly isn't dull, and it does get you wondering how exactly things will be wrapped up in the end, despite the Production Code still being in effect when the movie was made. If you sit down to watch the movie knowing beforehand that it's a quite different Hammer movie than usual, you should find a good deal to enjoy about it.

Nigel P Possibly one element of Hammer's early horror films (Curse of Frankenstien, Dracula) that really got them noticed was the infusion of bright red blood and gruesome gore into otherwise sedate pictures.Captain Clegg doesn't contain those extra elements – it is a tale of 19th century smugglers who disguise themselves as skeletal 'marsh phantoms' to obfuscate their wrong-doings. Despite references to having ears and tongues cut out, the horror element is very much in the background, and instead this is more of a period caper full of derring-do and spirited British performances. Sadly, this makes it substantially less interesting than Hammer's better known output.Yvonne Romain, who starred in the similarly anemic 'Curse of the Werewolf (1960)' plays the subject of pirates' desire and the daughter of Captain Clegg (Peter Cushing), and her co-star from that earlier film (although they never shared scenes), Oliver Reed is mostly wasted in the under-written role as innocent Harry, her would-be suitor.This is a well-played, intriguing, mannered film with plenty of good performances. It's a rollicking yarn - as a horror tale however, it doesn't deliver the goods unless you are frightened by men riding around dressed as skeletons, on similarly disguised horses.

zardoz-13 "Subterfuge" director Peter Graham Scott's period piece "Night Creatures" (aka "Captain Clegg") qualifies as a rare Hammer film that is neither about supernatural demons nor larger-than-life monsters. Basically, "Night Creatures" concerns British smugglers at war with the Royal Navy. This suspenseful, atmospheric epic came out a year before the Walt Disney picture "Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow" with Patrick McGoohan. Indeed, the uncredited source of John Elder's screenplay with Barbara S. Harper's supplemental dialogue is Russell Thorndike's novel "Dr. Syn." The two films cover roughly the same subject matter, but "Night Passage" director James Neilson's Disney version with McGoohan ranks as the better of the two. Hammer avoided a copyright infringement law suit with Disney by changing the protagonist's name from Dr. Syn to Reverend Blyss. Nevertheless, Hammer serves up an interesting version of its own that ranks as far more realistic. The ending is not as rosy as "Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow" and morality plays an important part in the unhappy conclusion."Night Creatures" unfolds with a prologue set in the year 1776 aboard a sailing ship in the tropics. A stocky mulatto seaman (Milton Reid of "The Spy Who Loved Me") is punished for "willfully and maliciously" attacking the wife of the ship's captain, Captain Clegg, and he is sentenced to have both ears slit and his tongue cut out. Furthermore, the Mulatto is abandoned on the nearest uninhabited shore and left tied to a cross with neither food and water and left to die. Mind you, Scott doesn't provide a reversal shot during the sentencing scene so we never know what Captain Clegg looks like, but the Mulatto remembers him as he pleads for mercy. The scene shifts to a church back in England in the year 1792. A narrator provides the following exposition: "The Romney Marshes,--flat and desolate,--was the land of a proud and independent people. Their shores faced the shores of France--and many was the shipload of wine and brandy smuggled across the sea in defiance of the King's revenue men." The narrator pauses and continues, "Many legends have come from this corner of England--but none so widely believed or widely feared,--as the legend of the Marsh Phantoms--who rode the land on dark, misty nights--and struck fear into the hearts of all who crossed their paths . . ." The Royal Navy dispatches Captain Howard Collier (Patrick Allen of "The Wild Geese") to search for French wine that has been smuggled into England without a tax levied on it. Indeed, somebody is violating the trade embargo against Revolutionary France and Collier and his able-bodied seamen march into a remote British town and turn it upside down. Dr. Blyss (Peter Cushing of "Horror of Dracula") is the village vicar of Dymchurch, a tiny English coastal village, and he welcomes Collier and his men with open arms. Meantime, the people in the village who earn extra income from smuggling set about hiding what is left of what they have. They have created ingenious passageways between various buildings where they have stashed away the untaxed alcohol. The British couldn't have arrived at a worse time because Blyss and company have a rendezvous. Collier, who has been pursuing Clegg on the high seas for years, has brought the Mulatto with him. Collier rescued the mute and plans to use him as a blood hound to sniff out untaxed stores of wine. Blyss and the villagers have their hands full trying to distract Captain Collier. At one point, a frightened villager (Jack MacGowran of "The Exorcist") distracts them while Blyss and company sell their contraband liquor. Eventually, the suspicious Collier threatens to kill the frightened villager if he doesn't take them to the smugglers. Reluctantly, the frightened villagers complies, but Blyss' men have staked out scarecrows as sentinels. Actually, some of the smugglers masquerade as scarecrows to provide an early warning system for their comrades. Meantime, one of the conspirators, an innkeeper Mr. Rash (Martin Benson of "Goldfinger") cracks up and stabs a sailor to death after Blyss has warned him repeatedly not to resort to violence.

TheFinalAlias One of the most fascinating characters in fiction has always been the Reverend/Dr. Christopher Syn aka. Captain Clegg aka. the Scarecrow; a character who is alternatively hero, villain, and pitiable victim. He's also one of the first character's to fit the archetype of masked hero, making him an interesting precursor to Pulp heroes like the Shadow and later Super Heroes like Batman. Several films have have been made featuring the character, all surprisingly good. Strangely, despite translating well; the character and his film adaptations remain obscure.Too bad. This film not only remains the best of the three Dr. Syn adaptations, but one of Hammer's finest moments. Possibly a reason for the film's obscurity is that it was marketed as a horror film under the ridiculous name 'Night Creatures' with a rather Blah! premise: Skeleton Horsemen. A shame, the film is a complicated film which works as a mystery, romance, thriller, comedy and historical drama. It may not be a horror film, but don't let that spoil it for you, because it has all the atmosphere and elements that made Hammer the legend it is that could never be booted(although Amicus came damn close!)even if they don't involve real ghosts and goblins.The film begins firing on all cylinders to an unforgettable opening sequence where a pirate(Big Milton Reid)known as the Mullatto is decreed guilty of raping the wife of ruthless pirate captain Nathaniel Clegg. His tongue is cut out and he is marooned; grunting like an otter.DAMN!!! Now that's how you begin a thriller! Flash forward to 1792 where a man is mysteriously murdered by a gang of smugglers wearing luminescent skeleton costumes in Romney Marsh, England; it's genuinely scary, with a real Halloween mood. I know I said this wasn't a horror film, but I also said it wouldn't disappoint(Hammer)horror fans either!The basic plot involves the conflict between the smugglers and King George's Revenue Men and Press Gangs. Reverend Blyss(Peter Cushing as the Dr. Syn character); leader of the smugglers is a stern, but kindly man, and he will stop at nothing to protect his town from the invaders led by Captain Collier(Patrick Allan). All of this leads to conflict inside and out, particularly for star crossed lover's Sir Harry(Oliver Reed)& Imogene(Yvonne Romaine)whose relationship is already pressured by the typical 'Rich boy, poor girl' scenario, Imogenes's lecherous, abusive step dad Mr. Rash is no help either, neither is Harry's duties as Blyss's sidekick, but at least Blyss is kind, almost fatherly to both of them. Things don't look so hot for Rev. Blyss when a certain tongueless member of Collier's crew(found on a desert island..,.hmm...) starts getting violent whenever he sees him...hmmm....and Blyss seems awfully protective of Imogene, who IS a shade darker than everyone else...What makes the Smugglers vs. Navy plot work is that even though the smugglers are the heroes; the plot isn't in black and white. Collier is a ruthless, nasty man with torture methods almost as bad as Captain Clegg's, but he's also a man of honor, courage and seems to have respect for his adversaries. He IS just doing his job and never seems to gloat over his victories, he's also somewhat dense and ends up the butt of hat jokes by Blyss. But his men are no better than the pirates we see at the beginning, and the abuse they heap on the Mullatto is hard to watch. Sure, he's a rapist and killer, but they don't know that or care and simply tease him for their own amusement. The smugglers, like I said, are the heroes, but they are not glamorous figures. They are simply impoverished, mostly good-natured folk doing whatever they can to make ends meet. But they aren't entirely pitiable either, their methods of smuggling and disguise smack entirely of the KKK. They also systematically murder anyone they see as a traitor, and some, like Rash, are pure evil. Yet, you can't help but want to see the main characters in Blyss's group come out on top. Even the vile Mullatto has a few moments of pathos....And the plot thickens when Rash discovers a secret of Imogene's, and the Mullatto get's loose, too....The greatest strength of the film is that we come to care about the characters, even the villains. And the acting helps the viewer immensely. Peter Cushing is fantastic as Blyss/Clegg. Humorous, sweet, fatherly, but also stern and mysterious. Cushing is so good that he can even portray lying so well that if we didn't know he was lying, we might believe it. Reed is fantastic as Harry; even though you know Ollie would be downing that smuggled wine in real life within minutes. Yvonne Romaine makes for an effective ingénue, but can also defend herself, her search for identity is very convincingly played. Patrick Allen makes Collier a likable character when he could've been a cardboard villain. Milton Reid is terrifying as the Mullatto, but also funny and sad. Michael Ripper also shines as Mipps, the comedy relief church sexton. The cinematography is Oscar-worthy, and the mood is both creepy and adventuresome.Hunt this one down, you won't regret it. Even if you have to buy it from Marsh smugglers.~