UK, 1961
86m, 87m, 94m 27s (UK – theatrical)
35mm, Hammerscope, black and white, 2.35:1
mono, English
A British science fiction film directed by Joseph Losey.
Plot Summary
In Weymouth, American Simon Wells is attacked by a gang of local thugs led by the brutal King, who resents Wells flirting with his sister Joanie. When King and his gang later try to attack Wells again, he and Joanie fall from a cliff and are rescued by a group of children who emerge from a nearby research facility run by scientist Bernard. The children are the radioactive subjects of experiments being run by Bernard, the offspring of women exposed to high levels of radiation to produce children capable of surviving a nuclear war.
Credits
* = uncredited
Crew
Director: Joseph Losey
© MCMLXI [1961] Swallow Productions Ltd
Columbia Pictures Corporation presents a Hammer Film production (opening credits) A Hammerscope production (closing credits)
Executive Producer: Michael Carreras
Producer: Anthony Hinds
Associate Producer: Anthony Nelson Keys
Production Manager: Don Weeks
Screenplay: Evan Jones
Based on the novel ‘The Children of Light' by H.L. Lawrence
Assistant Director: John Peverall
Continuity: Pamela Davies
Director of Photography: Arthur Grant
Camera Operator: Anthony Heller
Master Electrician: Jack Curtis *
Editor: Reginald Mills
Music Composer: James Bernard
Musical Supervisor: John Hollingsworth
Sound Recordist: Jock May
Sound Editor: Malcolm Cooke
RCA Sound Recording
Wardrobe Supervisor: Molly Arbuthnot
Make-up Artist: Roy Ashton
Hair Stylist: Frieda Steiger
Production Designer: Bernard Robinson *
Art Director: Don Mingaye *
Sculpture: Frink [Real name: Elisabeth Frink]
Produced at Bray Studios, England
Locations: Weymouth, England, UK
Casting: Stuart Lyons
Cast
Macdonald Carey (Simon Wells)
Shirley Ann Field (Joan)
Viveca Lindfors (Freya Nielson)
Alexander Knox (Bernard)
Oliver Reed (King)
Walter Gotell (Major Holland)
Brian Oulton (Mr Dingle)
Kenneth Cope (Sid)
James Villiers (Captain Gregory)
Thomas Kempinski (Ted)
Barbara Everest (Miss Lamont)
Alan McClelland (Mr Stuart)
James Maxwell (Mr Talbot)
Rachel Clay (Victoria)
Caroline Sheldon (Elizabeth)
Rebecca Dignam (Anne)
Siobhan Taylor (Mary)
Nicholas Clay (Richard)
Kit Williams (Henry)
Christopher Witty (William)
David Palmer (George)
John Thompson (Charles)
Fiona Duncan *
Victor Gorf *
Tommy Trinder *
Neil Wilson [guard – uncredited]
León García, David Gregory, Edward Harvey, Larry Martyn, Geremy Phillips, Anthony Valentine [Teddy-boys – uncredited]
Alternative Titles
The Children of Light – working title
Les Damnés – French title
…de kallblodiga – Swedish title
Fabryka niesmiertelnych – Polish title
De Fordømte – Danish/Norwegian title
Hallucination – Italian title
Oi kataramenoi – Greek title
Kirotut – Finnish title
Sie sind verdammt – German title
These are the Damned – US title
Links
Extracts included in
The World of Hammer: Sci-Fi (1994)
See also
Beneath the Surface: Gavrik Losey on The Damned (2019)
Beyond Black Leather: IQ Hunter on The Damned (2019)
Children of the Damned: Christopher Witty, Kit Williams and David Palmer on The Damned (2019)
The Lonely Shore: David Huckvale on James Bernard and The Damned (2019)
Looking in the Right Place: Shirley Anne Field on The Damned (2019)
No Future: Neil Sinyard on The Damned (2019)
On the Brink: Inside the Damned (2019)
Something Out of Nothing: Screenwriter Evan Jones on The Damned (2019)
References
Periodicals
Cahiers du Cinema no.161/162 (January 1965) p.145 – review
Castle of Frankenstein no.4 p.4
Castle of Frankenstein no.5 p.5
Castle of Frankenstein no.8.p. 6
Castle of Frankenstein no.10 p.32
CinemAction no.96 (2000) pp.62-72 – illustrated article
The Daily Cinema no.8403 (4 January 1961) pp.1, 8 – note (Hammer add 4 to their '61 line-up)
The Daily Cinema no.8738 (18 March 1963) p.11 – review
Films and Filming vol.9 no.8 (May 1963) p.24 – review
The House That Hammer Built no.3 (June 1997) pp.156-159 – illustrated credits, synopsis, review
Kine Weekly no.2894 (21 March 1963) p.23 – review
Monthly Film Bulletin vol.30 no.352 (May 1963) p.59 – credits, synopsis, review
Movie no.1 (June 1962) p.10 – review
Movie no.9 (May 1963) p.31 – article
Sight & Sound vol.32 no.3 (Summer 1963) p.143 – review
Variety 14 July 1965 – credits, review
Books
Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction by Phil Hardy (ed) p.207 – illustrated credits, review
BFI Screen Guides: 100 Science Fiction Films by Barry Keith Grant pp.37-38 – illustrated credits, review
The Columbia Checklist: The Feature Films, Cartoons, Serials and Short Subjects of Columbia Pictures, 1922-1988 by Len D. Martin p.349 – credits
Columbia Pictures Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1982 by Michael R. Pitts pp.241-243 – illustrated credits, review
English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema by Jonathan Rigby pp.109, 109-10
Feature Films, 1960-1969: A Filmography of English-language and Major Foreign-language United States Releases by Harris M. Lentz III p.463 – credits, review
The Films of Oliver Reed by Susan D. Cowie and Tom Johnson pp.58-60 – illustrated credits, synopsis, review
Hammer Complete: The films, the Personnel, the Company by Howard Maxford pp.177-179 – illustrated credits, synopsis, review
The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films by Marcus Hearn & Alan Barnes 66-67; 178 – illustrated article; credits
The Hammer Vault by Marcus Hearn pp.52-63 – illustrated article
Horror and Science Fiction Films IV by Donald C. Willis p.504 – credits
Nuclear Movies: A Filmography by Mick Broderick p.63 – credits, review
Science Fiction in the Movies: An A-Z by Roy Pickard p.20 – credits, note
Variety Science-Fiction Movies by Julian Brown (ed.) p.30-31 – credits, review
What Fresh Lunacy Is This? The Authorized Biography of Oliver Reed – by Robert Sellers pp.73-74; 481 – notes; credits
Other sources
British National Film Catalogue vol.1 (1963) – credits, synopsis
