Hammer Goes Film Noir: The Man in Black (1949) & Blood Orange (1953)

Co-director of South West Silents and Film Noir UK James Harrison discusses the relationship between Hammer Studios and Film Noir thanks to two new releases from Hammer Films. Plus, a chance to win copies of both releases!

Hammer Studios really doesn’t need an introduction. It's the studio that brought us Christopher Lee, dressed to the nines with blood sucking fangs; it’s the studio best associated with Peter Cushing; whether donning the dear stalker hat as Sherlock Holmes or on the war path with Dracula (or any vampire) as Van Helsing. Hammer is the studio that is most associated with horror; home counties horror in fact. And yet, it was only back in 2009/2010 that I really began to look into the backstory of Hammer, as one of the researchers for BBC Four’s A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss.

Hammer Studios was something I hadn’t really delved into; to be totally honest, I’m not a horror fan at all. Thus, my total naivety to the studio’s history was a key reason I was surprised that Hammer had quite an incredible back catalogue of British crime films. At the time of course, my attention was to stick with the horror side of Hammer. But I always kept an eye on what I could find in regards to Hammer’s earlier filmography; much of which, was made up of a wide selection of b crime movies.

Since then, I have tried to watch what I can, whether on an old ropey VHS or questionable DVDs. I was very excited then when I received an email (in connection to Film Noir UK) that two forgotten gems from Hammer’s crime catalogue were getting a release on Blu-ray and Ultra HD.

May this be the start of something amazing? Where, hopefully, a new light of Hammer’s history can be explored in even more detail? I hope so.

The Man in Black (1949)

There is something rather fun about The Man in Black (1949). And I don’t think it’s deliberate at first. You would be mistaken to think, at certain points in the film, that this is more than just a crime film. There is all but a hint of what the future holds with Hammer Studios in it. There is an odd sense of underlying horror within The Man in Black’s tone and subject.

An almost haunting theme covers it, making it the perfect film to accompany Jack Clayton’s The Innocents (1961). And there are similarities. Both are set in around a large gothic style mansion, (Sheffield Park House for The Innocents / Oakley Court for The Man in Black), both are set around a large body of water (Sheffield Park and Garden’s lake / The River Thames), both would have the odd body found within those waters and both films have very strong female characters.

We are first introduced to The Man in Black himself, played by Valentine Dyall, the narrator of the BBC’s radio horror series ‘Appointment with Fear’ in which the Hammer film is based upon. Dyall sets the scene for us, almost like Welles’ own opening narration for the introduction to The Third Man (1949), he explains that we are at a funeral. The funeral of Henry Clavering. We are introduced to Henry’s daughter Joan (played by Hazel Penwarden) and Bertha Clavering (Betty Ann Davies) Henry’s second wife and stepmother to Joan. The film flashes back explaining the mystery of Henry’s death and the almost power struggle which ensues with both Bertha and Joan. Bertha is ably assisted by Janice (Sheila Burrell) and as the story unfolds, there is more to the death of Henry than meets the eye.

To be honest, this is a Hammer film, so we know some thing isn’t quite right. More so when you realise that Sid James (credited as Sidney James) not only plays Henry, but also Hodson, the estate’s butler. Plenty of backstabbing and death then takes place.

Perfectly shot by cinematographer Cedric Williams with a great performance from Sid James as well as Betty Ann Davies. But the key star of the film for me is the location. Oakley Court is the perfect backdrop for The Man in Black and, as we would later know, a perfect location for many a Hammer Horror film. Oakley Court is now a hotel and I highly recommend checking it out. During the making of History of Horror we shot a good chunk of the second episode there. For me, Oakley Court is Hammer.

Director Francis Searle is another interesting character in the production worth noting. Born in Putney in 1909, Searle ended up landing behind the camera in 1941, first making shorts, and then moving into features in 1946 with A Girl in a Million, a comedy produced by Muriel and Sydney Box. Searle is a director ripe for rediscovery, in fact, Film Noir Fest 2025 is screening two of Searle’s later crime films (1953's Murder at 3am and 1962's Gaolbreak) and as part of this year’s Brit Noir strand.

Searle continued to direct crime films for Hammer until 1953 very much churning them out at breakneck speed with the likes of Celia (1949), Cloudburst (1951), The Rossiter Case (1951) and Whispering Smith Hits London (1952) all of which, I hope, get their own attention with restorations and releases in the future.

Blood Orange (1953)

If you know your Hammer Horror, there will be two key names which will stick out in the title sequence for Blood Orange (1953). The assistant director Jimmy Sangster and the film’s director, Terence Fisher. Both became prolific with the Hammer brand with Sangster promoted to screenwriter and Fisher very much becoming the studio’s leading film director.

However, Fisher was a well-established director of crime films for Hammer well before Blood Orange arrived on his slate. Noirs such as The Last Page (1952) with a very young Diana Dors, Stolen Face (1952) and Mantrap (1953) are very much key titles in the crime canon for Hammer. And yet Blood Orange is the oddity within the studio’s crime list.

Blood Orange isn’t the simplest of films to get through. The film changes pace at certain points, particularly with the amount of plot twists. I know a couple of people who are turned off by this. But for me, it’s fine. There is need of freshness when it comes to storytelling at times.

And the reason for more of my positivity for Blood Orange is because this is a unique title in the very long career of smooth-talking Tom Conway. In which, bizarrely, his character is also called Tom Conway. But whatever the name is, Conway (the character) is very much a shadow of Conway’s (the actor) own interpretation of some of his most celebrated of film characters, Tom Lawrence (aka The Falcon). It’s not really a surprise why Hammer had hired Conway in the first place. It is the star power of Conway.

But where was Conway at this point in his life? That star power had faded. The reason why here ended up in Britain to some extent. Conway had been side-lined into supporting roles in Hollywood for the last few years and his first divorce (the first of two) with Lillian Eggers was about to kick in. So, the 1950s wasn’t the greatest of times for Tom Conway. In fact, it was only going to get worse; with the effects of his heavy chain smoking and alcoholism beginning to effect his life and work. And thanks to this new 4K restoration of Blood Orange, you can clearly see the impact of all of this on him.

All of this however, still makes Conway watchable. This is Tom Conway (the actor again) who starred in RKO’s celebrated classics such as Cat People (1942) and I Walked with a Zombie (1942) and The Seventh Victim after all.

Note: Click on Cat People or I Walked with a Zombie above to watch them on BBC iPlayer.

There is Mila Parély who is just perfect in this film as well. And, as the clip below highlights, delivers a masterclass in noir drama:

Add in the supportive cast including Richard Wattis, Eric Pohlmann, Roger Delgado and Hammer regular Michael Ripper then you know you’re still in for a very entertaining film. And that is what I state about Blood Orange, give it a go; you will be surprised what this little British Noir gem can showcase.

Final Thoughts:

The Man in Black and Blood Orange both are released in incredible presentations thanks to Hammer Films and the work of its parent company, the John Gore Organization. There are many great Boutique Labels out there who have produced some incredible releases. But I have never seen such an amount of time and effort for two individual titles for quite some time.

The features which accompany The Man in Black release are very much worth the price alone. Two new commentaries which feature Lizbeth Myles, Paul Cornell (Hammer House of Podcast) on one with Will Fowler and Melanies Williams on the other are just great and brilliantly informative. Academic and writer of Listen in Terror, Richard Hand looks at the rise and impact of 1930s and 1940s ‘horror radio’; begging the question, why don’t we still have such a thing on the radio? I’m guessing there are podcasts instead. Fellow History of Horror colleague and film historian Jonathan Rigby joins Vic Pratt (BFI’s Flipside series) to discuss The Man in Black himself Valentine Dyall as well as a whole load more extras and essays in the specially printed booklet.

On the Blood Orange front, there is even more! Not only does the release have the UK cut of the film with a very fun (as always) commentary by Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw but you also get the US cut of the film with commentary by film historian Lucy Bolton and film critic Phuong Le. There is a great piece called I'm Just a Girl! in which award-winning film-maker Alice Lowe discusses Blood Orange and female representation in British cinema as well as The House of Glamour in which author and fashion historian Liz Tregenza gives insight into the fashions and fashion industry showcased so vividly in Blood Orange. And then, there are even more extras and essays to look forward to as well.

In conclusion. Both films are represented in packages which are pure masterpieces in their own right. If only other labels, particularly film studios, made the effort that Hammer Films have done here. I just hope we get the chance to see more noir gems, like The Man in Black and Blood Orange, released very soon from the Hammer catalogue. Go out buy these two releases. You won’t regret it at all.

Thanks to the Hammer Films team we have a brand new copy of both of the above releases up for grabs; just send us your answer to the question below via our contact page by mid-night on Sunday 14th September to be in with a chance. Good Luck!

Question: Film Noir Fest 2025 is screening two of Francis Searle’s films under their Talking Pictures TV Presents Brit Noir strand. Name one of these films.