Overlooked and underappreciated
The old saying "Timing is everything" applies to this little jewel from England's Hammer Films. Based on the Dr. Syn stories by Russel Thorndyke, NIGHT CREATURES (aka CAPTAIN CLEGG) had the misfortune to go into production around the same time Disney's own adaptation of one of the Syn stories did. Although Hammer's film plays more like a remake of the 1937 DR. SYN, because Disney had purchased the rights to certain characters from the stories, Hammer had to rename Dr. Syn, rechristening him Reverend Bliss. (Since Disney made no reference to Syn's alias, Captain Clegg, Hammer was able to retain that.) While Disney's film remains entertaining (and is slated for a DVD release later this year), the Hammer film has been all but buried. One of several Hammer titles released in the U.S. by Universal, they completely ignored it when releasing other titles from the Hammer library on their home video label. Even TV showings have become almost non-existent lately. It's time someone (if not Universal, then maybe Anchor Bay?) gave this film its due.
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