…this set should have included FIEND WITHOUT A FACE instead of THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE. It was made at the same time as the other three films by the same British production team (Richard Gordon/Amalgamated Productions), it also features Marshall Thompson making it a perfect companion piece to FIRST MAN INTO SPACE, and Criterion has already released it as a single so it would simply have to be repackaged. I have fond memories of ATOMIC SUBMARINE from my childhood but stylistically and thematically it really doesn’t belong here and should have been released as a single. It would be even better if Criterion gave Alex Gordon (VOODOO WOMAN, THE SHE CREATURE) his own box set.
Having gotten my preference out of the way, let me say that ATOMIC SUBMARINE has never looked better while the other three are virtually the same as the now out-of-print Image Entertainment editions from several years ago. Both of the Karloff vehicles are personal favorites of mine even though they really aren’t that scary. However they are very atmospheric especially for 1950’s b/w horror films. In fact they are British reworkings of Val Lewton’s THE BODY SNATCHER and BEDLAM. The real treat is watching Boris at age 70 still giving it his all (which in STRANGLER is quite a lot) and there is the added bonus of a young Christopher Lee in CORRIDORS. The Marshall Thompson FIRST MAN INTO SPACE lacks the thrills of FIEND WITHOUT A FACE but is not without its moments although it’s not up to the QUATERMASS XPERIMENT which it closely resembles. The supplementary features are plentiful and the packaging is typically solid although the artwork is rather curious. I’m not quite sure why Criterion chose to release this group of films but I’m glad they did if for no other reason than to draw attention to them.
The Capsule Critic 