Out of Hammer Films, The Snorkel is directed by Guy Green and co-written by Anthony Dawson, Peter Myers & Jimmy Sangster. It stars Peter van Eyck, Betta St. John, Mandy Miller, Gregoire Aslan & William Franklyn (Wilson). Music is by Francis Chagrin and cinematography by Jack Asher.
There is no plot synopsis needed for The Snorkel because it takes us straight into the story by having us witness the perfect murder of a wife and mother, and we know who perpetrated it as well, it's the husband! There's a gimmick, the snorkel of the title, and film's success mostly hinges on a devilish twist for the finale. In between the plot revolves around the daughter of the deceased, Candy (Miller), trying to prove her stepfather has killed her mom even though it appears near impossible for him to have done so. Naturally sadistic dad has plans for Candy as well.
Coming as it did during Hammer's run of colour laden reinventions of the Universal monsters, The Snorkel, in black and white, received very little attention at home and abroad. Hammer would release in the 60s, post the success of Psycho, a number of very good black and white psychological thrillers such as Taste of Fear, Paranoiac, Nightmare and Maniac, this period of Hammer film would certainly have seen The Snorkel getting more attention publicly. However, although bad timing can account for some of the reason it was an unsuccessful release, the truth of the matter is that it's just not particularly memorable outside of the gimmick and denouement, and even then with the finale it loses dramatic impact by going on 5 minutes too long for what one imagines was a censor avoiding appeasement. A shame because acting is mostly good, Jack Asher's camera work holds the eyes and production value is higher than expected (location for the shoot was San Remo in Italy).
Undeniably it's got an interesting premise at heart, but it is kind of silly when examined still further. Making this a cautiously recommended Hammer thriller for those who have yet to see the far better films of its type that the company produced in the 60s. 5/10
There is no plot synopsis needed for The Snorkel because it takes us straight into the story by having us witness the perfect murder of a wife and mother, and we know who perpetrated it as well, it's the husband! There's a gimmick, the snorkel of the title, and film's success mostly hinges on a devilish twist for the finale. In between the plot revolves around the daughter of the deceased, Candy (Miller), trying to prove her stepfather has killed her mom even though it appears near impossible for him to have done so. Naturally sadistic dad has plans for Candy as well.
Coming as it did during Hammer's run of colour laden reinventions of the Universal monsters, The Snorkel, in black and white, received very little attention at home and abroad. Hammer would release in the 60s, post the success of Psycho, a number of very good black and white psychological thrillers such as Taste of Fear, Paranoiac, Nightmare and Maniac, this period of Hammer film would certainly have seen The Snorkel getting more attention publicly. However, although bad timing can account for some of the reason it was an unsuccessful release, the truth of the matter is that it's just not particularly memorable outside of the gimmick and denouement, and even then with the finale it loses dramatic impact by going on 5 minutes too long for what one imagines was a censor avoiding appeasement. A shame because acting is mostly good, Jack Asher's camera work holds the eyes and production value is higher than expected (location for the shoot was San Remo in Italy).
Undeniably it's got an interesting premise at heart, but it is kind of silly when examined still further. Making this a cautiously recommended Hammer thriller for those who have yet to see the far better films of its type that the company produced in the 60s. 5/10