MovieChat Forums > The Abominable Snowman (1957) Discussion > That face...

That face...

posted 15 years ago by Forgotten_Hero
17 replies | jump to latest

I think it would have been best if they had left the creature in silhouette form and not revealed the face. That crooked beak of a nose killed the magic of the film. Even if it hadn't been such a poor appearance, it might have been best for the sake of suspense to never reveal the appearance that was neither human, nor ape-like.

It was a pretty good film otherwise.

[–] Colkitto 15 years ago

I think they should have set the camera an inch or two higher, so that we just got the eyes. Not seeing the Yeti's face at all would have been a let-down, but the nose does spoil it.

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[–] Forgotten_Hero 15 years ago

Yea, that would have worked.

[–] pedro4300 15 years ago

I disagree wholeheartedly and thought they looked creepy and effective and I was able to get unsettled, which was the goal. Too bad you didn't feel the same way. To each his own.

[–] Forgotten_Hero 15 years ago

Yea, well, at least I enjoyed the rest of the film. The intent and execution were there. All in all, the mask they gave the creature was a rather minor thing.

[–] pedro4300 15 years ago

As long as you enjoyed it all the way through :P
Hammer films, is there anything better?

[–] Forgotten_Hero 15 years ago

Not for the budgets they had to work within.

[–] lastmidnite2 15 years ago

To me, the makeup was exactly the same as the makeup used to create the face of the wicked witch's chief guard ("Hail to Dorothy, the wicked witch is dead!)in The Wizard of Oz. Check it out; even the nose is the same.

[–] Forgotten_Hero 15 years ago

lol. It does look like the chief guard.

[–] jlam888 11 years ago

I thought the face worked fine too.

[–] drmality-1 13 years ago

Yes, the main idea was to suggest intelligence. They didn't want to give the Yeti an ape-like face, as the common concept of the creature is.

[–] winonaforever2 11 years ago

I agree with you. I would have left that to the viewer's imagination. It would have been more of a mystery. However it wasn't up to the director. There is an interview with the director in the extras of the dvd and he says that he did not want to show their faces but that the studio made him do it.

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] scarlet_stream_engine 10 years ago

It was a creepy version of Dumbledore.

[–] bcgorder-198-491582 10 years ago

Check out Peter Cushing's features compared to the Yeti's. Coincidence? I think not!

[–] dolenz5 9 years ago

I agree...I, too, can see the resemblance to Peter Cushing. I think the Yeti also looks a bit like Sam Jaffe--Dr. Zorba from the old Ben Casey series. =)

[–] jstnxprsn 10 years ago

Add me to the list of those who disagree. I thought the partial face worked perfectly.

The eyes suggested the old wise, patiently waiting for their time to return, species Cushing suggested. Almost human, but the nose made them just different enough from us that they weren't just a lost tribe of tall humans beings. The face really added to the film, and helped the director realize his vision of this story. So sad that so many of you missed that.

I rate this film a lost classic among the best of the 50's Sci-Fi/Horror genre, and I'm extremely grateful for the Movie network for bringing it to my attention.

[–] Agent_Pigeon_Rises 7 years ago

I completely agree with you on the creature's(?) face. I thought the eyes were wise--the music at this point even speaks to us. The nose was enough to stop us from thinking it was human.

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