These Are the Damned

"Black leather, black leather, crash crash crash...": Oliver Reed and some Teddy Boys in These Are the Damned (dir. Joseph Losey, 1963).

Thanks to Lanny for coming down from Portland with the videotape of this, one of his all-time favorites and one of Hammer's most unusual and dramatically ambitious productions. It's one of those movies where you really don't want to say anything about the content because a big part of what makes it so engaging is the way it goes places you don't expect. But the first few minutes, with their intimations of A Clockwork Orange, are enough to let you know that it's going to be a stylish, worthwhile piece of cinema. Viveca Lindfors: "How could you be so cruel?" Oliver Reed: "I enjoyed it very much, milady!"

See also Kevin Killian's review at Amazon.