This was only one of three films that Planet Film Productions made and I have always thought it was an eerie and effective film. It's definitely low budget but I'm not sure a bigger budget would have helped this film. Story takes place on an island off of England and the temperature has been rising steadily for the last few days. A writer named Jeff Callum (Patrick Allen) and his wife Frankie (Sarah Lawson) own and run the local Inn and pub and one of the tenants renting a room upstairs is a mysterious and unsociable man named Godfrey Hanson (Christopher Lee). Along with Dr. Vernon Stone (Peter Cushing), Jeff and Frankie sit around the pub trying to figure out why its so hot on the island but not on the mainland. Jeff has requested the help of a secretary to help him on his new novel and a woman named Angela Roberts (Jane Merrow) has come for the job. Unknown to Frankie, Angela and Jeff know each other and had an affair some time earlier. Angela keeps prancing about in a two piece bathing suit and putting the moves on Jeff who only replies with kissing when Frankie is not looking. Then one day a local sheep farmer stumbles into the Inn and mumbles something about his sheep being dead. Hanson is very interested and goes to check it out. He finds the sheep dead and takes samples. When he gets back he learns that Frankie has seen something come down out of the sky and land behind the hill. Jeff demands that Hanson tell him who he is and what he is doing. Hanson tells him that he is a scientist sent to check out what things have been coming from the sky and the reason for the heat. He tells Jeff that they are aliens from a hot planet and they generate heat which is why it is so hot. Meanwhile, the temperature keeps rising and all the bottles at the pub start to explode. They all figure that within a few hours the heat will be unbearable, if the aliens don't get them first. The aliens make this loud whirring sound and they consume energy like batteries and generators and can burn humans up completely. This film was directed by Terence Fisher who specialized in science fiction and horror. He became the premier horror film director in England and he knew exactly what to do with a limited budget. Fisher knew how to create great atmosphere and this film has plenty of it. If you notice in certain scenes when the actors are outside you can actually see their breath! Obviously it wasn't hot like the story of the film wanted you to believe. Fisher had his actors smear glycerine on themselves to help create that sweaty effect and then they had to wear damp shirts. I couldn't help but notice that Cushing's character keeps his suit and jacket on even though it suppose to be about 100 degrees! Its okay, Peter! Take off your jacket! And how about Patrick Allen's response when his wife asks him about Angela. "She was a slut and I wanted her"!! I'm sure she felt relieved to know that its not real love. For you trivia buffs out there, Patrick Allen and Sarah Lawson are married in real life. Along with the great atmosphere I liked the deliberate pace that the film set and it was in no hurry to allow viewers to see what the aliens look like. Yeah okay, they look like fried eggs but I always thought they looked liked that rock creature "Ahorta" from that Star Trek episode. Another thing I noticed was that this was one of the few Cushing/Lee films where both of them don't make it through the end. Fisher also directed "Island of Terror" which this is reminiscent of. It would make a good double bill on a rainy night. I think true lovers of older science fiction and horror can appreciate this film more than casual viewers. I've always found it to be an enjoyable film and I hope it comes out on DVD soon!
Review of Night of the Big Heat
