Hammer films are, of course, rightly known for their revival of the Gothic monsters of the early film and literature through the late 1950s and into the 1970s. Less well known are their forays into science fiction, which tend to be, if I'm honest, hit or miss. While Quatermass and the Pit (1967, aka 5 Million Years to Earth) is a classic, something like Four Sided Triangle (1953) is justly forgotten. Somewhere between these, in both time and quality, is 1961's The Damned (released in 1963, and known in the US as These are the Damned)
Which isn't to say its a bad film. Its just... puzzling.
You would be forgiven for not recognizing it, at first, as a science fiction film. It begins as something of a street punk drama with an element of illicit romance thrown in. There is a second storyline involving children which seems slightly sinister going on at the same time, and it is not until these two stories converge later in the film that you get the whole picture.
The entire opening scene had me scratching my head, as its just... bizarre. Its like red flags hadn't been invented in 1961.
Our 'hero' is American tourist Simon Wells (Macdonald Carey) who is a wealthy, American divorcee and tourist in England, wearing a really questionable hat. He ogles, creepily follows and flirts with English teenager Joan (Shirley Anne Field), not deterred in the slightest by either her age, or the switchblade she wears proudly displayed tucked into the front of the waistband of her jeans. Was that kind of open carry even legal? She is also not deterred by the fact that he is at least twice her age, if not more, and suggests they go off together. Again, he seems oblivious to the fact that she is softly singing along with the .... "lyrics" to the theme song which has otherwise been blaring:
"Black Leather, black leather, smash smash smash
Black Leather, black leather, kill kill kill...
Black Leather, black leather crash crash crash."
...
yeah. Not a warning sign at all. Nor is the fact that they walk near a motorcycle gang who march off whistling the same tune....
Lets talk about this song for a minute. It appears to have been written, at least musically, by Hammer music master James Bernard. One thing can definitely be said about Bernard is that he never actually had his finger on the pulse of modern music, and it really shows here. I've heard people joke about the swinging young people of Dracula AD 1972 being eager to go see a "hot jazz" concert, but to my mind this is worse, because this song, Black Leather Rock, is conceived AS a rock and roll song... by someone who only knows Rock and Roll as a theoretical concept.
Returning to the story, it ends exactly as you would expect... Our "Hero" is of course set on by the biker gang, led by a staggeringly well dressed Oliver Reed, beaten to a bloody pulp, and robbed. I ask you, who could have POSSIBLY suspected the switchblade carrying Lolita singing the same song as the biker gang was a honey pot trap? Who?!
Wells is helped to a nearby pub by some locals where he meets artist Freya (Viveca Lindfors) and her mysterious government friend Bernard (Alexander Knox). We are told that Simon was assaulted by a gang of 'Teddy Boys'.... which they weren't. Little history lesson for those in the US... The Teddy Boys were a youth subculture in the 50s and 60s in England, which generally loved rock and roll, R&B, and old fashioned Edwardian Style fashions. They were also pretty violent, attacking other youth gangs, staging riots when the film The Blackboard Jungle (1955) was shown, engaging in race riots, and attacks on immigrants.... so.... not good people in general. In this film, Oliver Reed's character of King is shown wearing a tweed jacket, thin tie, fashionable leather gloves, and carrying an umbrella... clearly inspired by more modern aristocratic fashions rather than the Edwardian finery of the Teddy Boys. The rest of his gang are in standard black biker leathers, with the exception of Joan.
The next day, Simon and Joan meet up again, and clearly Simon has not learned a single thing from his previous encounter with her, and STILL attempts to make time with her. She informs him that King (Oliver Reed) is her brother, and to say that he is overprotective of her is something of an understatement.... he borders on incestuous obsession. King and his gang again chase Simon, only this time Simon and Joan give him the slip. Joan is looking to escape from King, and feels Simon is her best chance, so she's willing to sleep with him to get out of town.
Meanwhile.... Bernard (remember Bernard?) spends a lot of his time talking to children on a TV monitor. these children seem bright, but bored and lonely.
Simon and Joan again end up fleeing from King and his gang, and while trying to hide, meet up with these children in a cave on the shoreline, and the children decide to help them and hide them. King manages to fall into the ocean, and another boy finds him, and also brings him into the cave. While the whole drama with Simon, Joan, and King plays out, they all notice that these kids are WEIRD. They are icy cold to the touch, and apparently this cave and their adjoining dormitory are all attached to a military installation above, and the military are VERY interested in keeping them locked away.
I won't go into too much detail about what goes on from that point, but I will say that if you want a downer of a film, this one may just fit the bill. No one did bleak films like the British in the 50s and 60s.
The performances are solid across the board. This is an early film for Oliver Reed, but you can see his screen presence and power here. There is a quiet menace to him in the opening scene, where he leans casually against a sculpture adjusting his gloves while his gang moves around him with barely contained energy. He carries his role with intensity and a slightly psychotic edge. Joan is played as world weary for her young age.... jaded, bored, and worldly beyond her years. Vivica Lindfors is quite charming and may be the least despicable character in this film, even if she is the mistress of an evil bureaucrat. And as for Macdonald Carey as Simon.... the actor is fine, but MAN does the script go out of its way to make Simon a borderline pedophile creep. Joan may be of age, but she is WAY too young for him, and he should know it.
Honestly, when you watch this film, enjoy the bizarreness of that opening scene and its ridiculous music... by the end, you will look back on its anarchic cheerfulness fondly.
Here it is:
