The Plague of the Zombies (1966)

After receiving a peculiar letter from his one-time student, Sir James Forbes (André Morell) travels to a Cornish village to get the lowdown on what it meant. The last thing he expected was to hear tales of restless dead walking the moors, but in horror films you often get what you least expect.
It's a zombie movie from Hammer that's a little formulaic, with the educated older gent leading the investigation alongside a younger, less experienced aide. It's no Night of the Living Dead (1968), but it's engaging in its own way, with the majority of the cast well-suited to their respective roles.

3 doll-size coffins of 5

The Vengeance of She (1968)

None of the major stars from the first She film return for the sequel, but given that it's set in a more contemporary era it makes sense that they'd not be included. The plot, however, is almost the same but reversed, so it's now a male ego-maniac waiting for his female companion (i.e. Ayesha) to be reborn and return to the hidden city of Kuma. The unlucky lady in that scenario is Olinka Bérová. There's some guff about the astral plane, magic circles and robed mystics, none of which is much good, but it does at least allow Derek Godfrey (as Magi Men-Hari) to be somewhat Mocata-like; and extra credit to him for keeping a straight face during the ridiculous chanting scenes.

1½ guided steps out of 5

She (1965)

Addressing the maxims that you should never touch an Englishman's hat without permission and that you should be wary of trusting a beautiful lady completely, Dir. Robert Day's version of the H. Rider Haggard novel She: A History of Adventure (1887) moves the setting decades forward to Palestine, 1918. Three Brits, Peter Cushing, Bernard Cribbins and John Richardson hunt for a fabled lost city wherein the titular high priestess She, a dubbed-over Ursula Andress in her nightie, holds dominion over the entire population.
The arduous traipse across the desert feels too brief, but it leaves more time for events within the exotic locale and the actors keep it mildly interesting.
She's showy royal garb is fantastic, making her look like an ancestor of the Sorceress from He-Man, but the film itself is less memorable.

2½ burning desires out of 5

Barry Lyndon (1975)

Based on William Thackeray's novel, The Luck of Barry Lyndon (1844), an unseen and unknown narrator (Michael Hordern) tells the story of how a penniless 18th Century Irishman named Redmond Barry (Ryan O'Neal) acquired the Lyndon name, despite some damn fool decisions along the way.
I've watched BL twice only. Both times I was awed by how beautiful it was but bored by how slow it was. (I've not read the novel, so don't know how faithful it is or isn't to the source.) I agree with the critics who say that Kubrick's decision to shoot much of it with an often shallow depth of field makes the world look like a masterful 18th Century painting brought to quiet life, but the story doesn't grab hold of me in the same manner. The use of music, however, is a highlight; that part of it is rarely anything less than perfect.

3 prudent departures out of 5

Ben-Hur (1959)

In the time of Jesus, two friends, one a Jewish prince and the other a Roman tribune, have their loyalties tested, divided by heritage and desires.

Famed mostly for its treacherous chariot race, the 1959 version of Hur does well with the heartbreaking elements of the story, too. The part of the novel that brought me to tears is absent, but it had so much ground to cover that something had to get cut. What remains is a journey by the resolute Judah Ben-Hur from riches to chains, and into the very heart of the thing that vilifies him. The biblical moments get more and more heavy-handed as the narrative nears its end, but it's something I've come to accept over the years.

5 gifts of water out of 5

The Mummy's Shroud (1967)

Film number three begins with an event that's almost biblical in fashion; admittedly, it's acted out in an amateur dramatic way, but I still liked it.
It's split between two camps for a time, a lost party and a search party, but when they come together things get more entertaining. The use of shadows and camera placements are periodically praiseworthy. The woman's role is on equal standing with that of her companions. The kills are brutal by Hammer standards. And the shroud of the title is actually relevant to the plot!

3 sacred words out of 5

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

Peter Cushing played Sherlock Holmes many times but only once for Hammer Studios. His ever-alert, energetic portrayal will surely annoy some folks, but for me he’s the definitive version; so too is André Morell as Watson, a decent detective and reliable friend, not the bumbling idiot of some other works.
It’s unmistakably Hammer, the set-bound elegance is clear to see, and being adapted from a literary source as fine as their horror works meant it was their equal in almost every way. The only downside is the depiction of the moor itself. It needed a more chilling, eerie mystery characterising it.

4 creatures great and small out of 5