"All Rather Good Fun"
Hammer's latest posh 4K UHD and Blu-ray combo release is THE MAN IN BLACK, a crime thriller that will be of interest to anyone who loves the studio's later output (quite a lot of people), as well as enthusiasts of B movie big screen adaptations of radio properties (a rather smaller group of people).
The titular Man is 'our storyteller' (as he was on the radio show of the period) who, in the unmistakeable tones of Valentine Dyall (for an entire generation) introduces us to the characters and sets up for the story we are about to see, and which is to be told in flashback.
When rich yoga enthusiasts Henry Clavering (Carry On's Sid James in one of the least typical roles of his career) dies, his evil new wife (Betty Ann Davies) and her equally evil daughter Janice (Sheila Burrell) conspire to drive Henry's daughter Joan (Hazel Penwarden) insane with the aid of 'opportunist' lounge lizard and frequent raider of the drinks cabinet Victor (Anthony Forwood).
And why not? After all, Joan has just inherited Oakley Court (which fans will spot straight away) and pretty much all of her father's assets. However, when Victor seemingly kills the family manservant and in doing so discovers Henry's coffin to be empty, after which Victor himself disappears, what actually is going on?
A highly entertaining thriller in the vein of Hammer's later Jimmy Sangster written and produced pieces like TASTE OF FEAR (1961) or many of the British Merton Park Edgar Wallace adaptations of the early 1960s, THE MAN IN BLACK feels rather more 'Hammer' than their other recent 4K release BLOOD ORANGE. The settings are atmospheric, engendering a pleasing atnosphere of gothic lunacy, and Davies and Burrell are frequently electrifying as the scheming mother and sister.
Extras kick off with two new commentary tracks which do compliment each other although there's inevitably some repetition. The one with Will Fowler and Melanie Williams is slightly more formal whereas Paul Cornell and Lizbeth Miles' one is a little bit more chatty, plus Paul is the one who points out the framed photo of Jimmy Sangster on Janice's dresser so extra points for that.
There's a 28 minute piece on John Dickson Carr, the crime novelist who didn't write this one but was responsible for a lot of similar material that made it onto radio at the time. Panic Stations is an excellent 25 minutes on the history of post war genre radio that looks at both the US and UK output and how changes were sometimes made to the same material for broadcast on either side of the Atlantic.
Vic Pratt and Jonathan Rigby guide us expertly through Valentine Dyall's career in a 22 minute piece and there's a 20 minute excerpt from an audio interview with director Francis Searle from 1988. As well as the usual bits and pieces (image gallery and censor card) there are a few curious items. YOGA AND YOU is a 26 minute short film that begins with the promise of being a 'nudie cutie' but quickly turns into a serious look at yoga. Then there are three radio episodes of the the show Suspense from 1943, all hosted by The Man in Black (played by different people), and all running 30 minutes consisting of The Devil's Saint (starring Peter Lorre), The Customers Like Murder and Cabin B-13.
Finally, the package comes with a book featuring a decent amount of material including a making of, the radio show, the careers of Sid James, (in this case screenwriter) John Gilling and Anthony Hinds plus a tour of Oakley Court. Who would ever have thought a modest little B picture like THE MAN IN BLACK would be afforded such lavish treatment? And you know what? It's all quite excellent and, if you love this stuff, worth the investment of your time and money.
Hammer's THE MAN IN BLACK is out from Hammer on Monday 8th September 2025 in a limited edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray package with all the trimmings
