I Watch Films: The Abominable Snowman

 

The Abominable Snowman (1957)

Dr John Rollanson (Peter Cushing), his wife Helen and assistant Peter Fox are on a botanical expedition in the Himalayas, staying at a monastery. Another expedition arrives, led by Tom Friend, with trapper Shelley, photographer McNee and Sherpa guide Kusang. They’re after the Yeti, the Abominable Snowman. The lama tells them they shouldn’t go, and Helen doesn’t want Rollanson to join them. He does.

Up on the mountain things get difficult. There’s a fair amount of interesting detail in the mountain climbing. It turns out Friend has cached supplies during a previous expedition, allowing them to travel without porters, who refuse to go thanks to the lama’s warnings. He’s included nets and cages, intending to capture a Yeti and put it on display; this in contrast to Rollanson who has disinterested scientific reasons. Friend inevitably puts himself and others on the expedition at risk. One other interesting point are the radio weather reports, which include particular ones for the various expeditions in the Himalayas.

At it’s best it has some mystery, a portrait of obsessions and desperation, and a touch of the stark hostility of the mountains. Stark hostility? [SPOILERS] They come to the conclusion that the Yeti are up in the remote mountains waiting for human civilisation to fall so they can return to the lowlands. Why might it fall? Nuclear weapons and the inevitability of war, that’s why. Some fine 1950s pessimism to the ending.

Watch This: Interesting mountain adventure
Don’t Watch This: Stock characters, including superstitious locals and a moral we’ve heard a lot