JohnHowardReid Thanks to the enterprise of Kit Parker Films, much of Hammer's noir output in now available on excellent DVD transfers from VCI. Pick of the bunch is "The Glass Tomb" (1955), starring an appropriately glum John Ireland, and superbly photographed in a stunningly noirish manner by Jimmy Harvey (who once told me he was Lilian Harvey's brother). And most importantly of all, in my opinion, directed (at least in some scenes or maybe all of them) by Joseph Losey, who was actually working for Hammer at this time.Frankly, there's no way in the world that the stunningly noir lighting, set-ups and acting could have been supervised and/or directed by Montgomery Tully. But I'm not surprised Losey made no move to claim this movie, because the story, while decidedly macabre, is somewhat unbelievable. Nonetheless, the script does feature perennial minor villain, Sydney Tafler, in his best role ever; and it also offers some riveting opportunities for Geoffey Keen, Sid James and Liam Redmond. Even Sam Kydd has a good part, though it must be admitted that the lovely Honor Blackman is wasted in a nothing role.

malcolmgsw This film is only 59 minutes long,but it feels as if it has been edited down from 90 minutes.Knowing the producers ,this is not likely.They probably hoped that audiences would not notice the joins.The problem with this film is that so much is just left unexplained.So many actors come and go they each must have been employed for just a day or two.Sid James,receives a blackmail note.John Ireland goes to see the girl and persuades her against going ahead.However subsequently James murders her.In turn he is killed by Sydney Tafler,who has previously roughed up Honor Blackman for no given reason.It would appear that Taffler is arrested.Then Geoffrey Keen kills Eric Pohlman again for no reason.So you just end up scratching your head and wondering what it was all about.

Spikeopath The Glass Tomb (AKA: The Glass Cage) is directed by Montgomery Tully and adapted to screenplay by Richard Landau from the story The Outsiders written by A. E. Martin. It stars John Ireland, Honor Blackman, Geoffrey Keen, Eric Pohlmann, Sid James and Sydney Tafler. Music is by Leonard Salzedo and cinematography by Walter Harvey.Pel Pelham's carnival is in town and the star attraction is Sapolio, a man prepared to be locked in a glass cage and starve himself for 70 days. But when a couple of murders occur at the carnival, the police become involved and suspicion starts to point its ugly finger.Part of the Hammer Film Noir series released by VCI Entertainment, The Glass Tomb is an odd little picture that's more a collection of noirish traits and ideas than a fully fledged movie. Running at just under an hour in length, film hinges on the flimsiest of stories but just about gets away with it on account of solid performances and some spiky themes in the piece. In the mix are carnival outcasts, blackmail, murder, carnal desires, gluttony, addiction and a macabre party scene with a body upstairs kept company for some time by the murderer?! These are nicely presided over by Tully and Harvey where shadows are often prominent and a neon light and subway train serve the atmosphere very well. You do wonder what world we live in when people pay to watch a man just not eat? While the murderer is known to us from the first killing, thus there's no mystery aspect to hang your coat on. Though clearly the makers want us to observe how the murderer easily moves about this carnival group undetected and above suspicion.Not comfortably recommended as a whole, but enough parts of the quilt for the noir fans to appreciate. 6/10

FilmFlaneur One of the must-sees out of the films produced by Robert Lippert in partnership with UK's Hammer studios. Taking advantage of arrangements favoured by the UK's Eady levy (a state film subsidy established after the war) in 1950, the producer formed a business alliance under which he would provide American acting talent - frequently shop-worn stars or just supporting actors who fancied a profitable trip out of the country - while Hammer would supply the rest of the cast and the production facilities. Together they would split the profits. Famous for his concern with the bottom line, Lippert produced over 140 films between 1946 and 1955, characteristically genre pieces such as I Shot Jesse James or Rocketship XM. For the British deal, most of the films were noir-ish thrillers. None were entirely of the first rank, but they remain never less than entertaining.Noir narratives set in and around carnivals have a small but proud heritage, stretching back to Nightmare Alley and beyond. They frequently juxtapose deformed outcasts of the sideshow with the twisted psychology on show elsewhere. The Glass Tomb concerns Pal Pelham (John Ireland), and his forthcoming attraction Sapolio 'The Starving Man', whose act is to go foodless for 70 days whilst locked, Blaine-like, in a glass booth. "I like being my own boss. I like freaks," says Pal at one point, clearly preferring the company of his performers to some others around him. When big-hearted bookie Tony Lewis (Sidney James, a characteristic performance) asks Pal to speak to a woman who has been blackmailing him, she shortly ends up dead, and the killer thinks Sapolio can identify him. Pal, who previously knew the victim, needs to solve the case. Geoffrey Keen, much more familiar to British cinema-goers from numerous stolid establishment roles, gets to play an unsympathetic role as Stanton the murderer.What's interesting about The Glass Tomb is that it is built almost entirely around recurring displays of appetite and denial. Whether it's Sapolio, greedy at home, and finally poisoned by strychnine-covered ham, or the fridge raid of Pelham's young son, the ticket-booth man secretly coveting his bottle of booze, then those who eat so unconcernedly in front of the incarcerated Starving Man, it's a world clearly defined. At a necessarily less explicit level there's also the carnal desire of Stanton and Lewis for the girl - Stanton's two hours alone with her corpse, for instance, is never explained. Tully manages some striking scenes on a budget, notably the performer's party, held while the body of the freshly killed girl lays undiscovered upstairs in her squalid room. The Glass Tomb has its weaknesses - it could have done with a few more freaks - but is baroque and perverse enough to be better known. Ireland gives an adequate performance, and Honor Blackman, in a demure role, plays his wife. Some will also notice Arthur Howard, the brother of Leslie, later to appear in the minor British nudie cult item Paradisio (1961) in a small part. Part of the Hammer Noir box set series where it enjoys audio commentary.