Unlike Hammer Films’ two television shows from the 1980s (HAMMER HOUSE OF HORROR, HAMMER HOUSE OF MYSTERY & SUSPENSE), I saw their JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN when it first aired on ABC in 1968. At that time, I had heard the name Hammer but didn’t know who they were. I had caught some of the company’s earlier Horror/Sci-Fi movies on TV and had liked them very much. I enjoyed JOURNEY TO THE UNKNOWN as it reminded me of earlier shows like THE TWILIGHT ZONE and Boris Karloff’s THRILLER only that it was in color which was a novelty then.
The very first episode, EVE, was about a shy and lonely department store worker who falls in love with a mannequin who comes to life only for him.This was similar to a TWILIGHT ZONE episode which was also about a mannequin coming to life. In fact a number of the stories were variations on earlier Hammer movies or on older shows like TWILIGHT ZONE. The series was a co-production, shot in England, between Hammer and Twentieth Century Fox who both had recently made a bundle on ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. (1966) which made an international star out of Raquel Welch.
Other episodes of note, from my perspective, were THE INDIAN SPIRIT GUIDE about fake mediums, PAPER DOLLS which concerned a set of gifted but dangerous quadruplets, IN A CROWD wherein a TV journalist makes a startling discovery, and THE NEW PEOPLE which featured a young couple moving into a neighborhood where the people are a little too friendly. Two stories featured time travel (MATAKAKIS IS COMING, POOR BUTTERFLY). One was a classic ghost story adaptation (THE BECKONING FAIR ONE), while another featured a rogue computer (THE MADISON EQUATION).
In addition to the mostly well written stories, JOURNEY featured well known American stars like Julie Harris, Joseph Cotten, Patty Duke, & Vera Miles. It also had a number of top notch Brit character players like Roddy McDowall, Melissa Stribling, Patrick Allen, and Jane Asher many of whom had worked for Hammer before. Several of the directors had also worked with the company as well. The producer was Hammer’s Anthony Hinds while the executive producer of JOURNEY was Joan Harrison who had co-produced Alfred Hitchcock’s long running TV show from 1955-1965.
With all that going for it and the fact that it was well received when it was broadcast, why JOURNEY completely disappeared after that is something of a mystery. The program eventually fell into the public domain and wound up on YouTube (where it can still be viewed) and other online venues. Only very recently have all 17 episodes been made available on DVD although these sets are not officially sanctioned. That’s because Hammer Films shut their doors in 1984 while Twentieth Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) is owned by Disney who are not interested in releasing them.
The Capsule Critic 