To me, this movie is perfection.

Simply A Masterpiece

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Survival in the harsh environment of the Himalayas and the relationship between the characters is in the forefront giving the viewer a damned good drama. The search for the yeti brings in the sci-fi horror. This movie is well worth watching - if for nothing else the drama itself.This is definitely one of Peter Cushing's best films and performances. I quite enjoyed him as Dr. Rollason. If you are into Peter Cushing movies or just love older horror films then I highly recommend this film - it is one of the better horror films of the 50's.If you are looking for blood and guts type of horror you will want to look for another movie. But if you are looking for a great movie with an awesome script, character interaction, and a suspenseful horror then look no further than this film.9.5/10

Although this is neither one of Nigel Kneale nor Hammer's better regarded works, it was one of my favourite on both counts. It was based on a sadly now lost BBC play called "The Creature" broadcast in 1955 and the always brilliant Peter Cushing reprises his role as a botanist named John Rollason who is searching for evidence that Yetis exist in the Himalayas. I don't think that the first credited star Forrest Tucker could act, frankly, but he and Cushing are nevertheless ably supported by the likes of Maureen Connell (the only woman in the film), Richard Wattis, Michael Brill and Arnold Malé. However, Robert Brown is a bit over the top as the obnoxious Ed Shelley.I think that the reason that this film is often unfairly overlooked by Hammer fans is that it's not standard Hammer fare. While it's atmospheric, spooky and claustrophobic like many Hammer films, the villain of the piece is not a supernatural or alien force but us. In fact, that is the reason that the original version of the story was called "The Creature" as Kneale wanted the title to be ambiguous, a subtlety that is lost in the film version. This is a morality play in which Kneale explores the darker side of human nature by suggesting that the Yeti are a superior civilisation in the sense that they're less inherently destructive than humans. They're actually gentle giants who are waiting for the opportunity to succeed humanity as the dominant species when we ultimately destroy ourselves. While other Hammer films keep Dracula or Frankenstein's Monster, etc., off-screen for much of the film, the Yetis are never seen in full at any point. When we do finally see their eyes towards the end of the film, it is clear that they are indeed the gentle creatures that Rollason believes them to be. It predates both series by several years but the film's storyline would have easily fit into either "The Twilight Zone" or "The Outer Limits".

I enjoy most Hammer pictures for their skillful storytelling and good production values, but this is that rare Hammer film that seems to me incompetently made.We wait and wait for a glimpse of the Yeti--even after one has been killed and is lying there in the pursuers' camp, we do not see what it looks like. Finally two live Yeti show up for a brief "cameo," and they look like two guys in gorilla suits.The Yeti hunters include Forrest Tucker as a pushy, loud-mouthed American and Peter Cushing, an English gentleman who by comparison seems rather prissy. (No stereotypes in this film!) These two and their three sidekicks climb a mountain with enough equipment for an army--guns, oxygen canisters, steel traps, a cage, and much else. There follows a series of foolish or stupid actions, with people raging at each other and at the mountain in general, firing off rifles, and so forth. One Yeti hunter sets what amounts to a bear trap and catches a member of his party instead. Forrest Tucker hunts for a missing member of the group by firing of round after round with his pistol, thereby killing himself by means of an avalanche.Meanwhile, Cushing's wife realizes that the hunting party is in trouble and simply rushes off to climb the glaciated mountain to find her husband. She did take time to put on a coat.Tucker intends to capture a Yeti alive and bring it back home to exhibit it and make a lot of money. I kept wondering how he planned to climb back down the mountain with a live Yeti. Perhaps they would loan him some of their gear.It was as if the movie were really "Laurel and Hardy Hunt the Yeti," only without the laughs.

I've never seen a movie done well about the abominable snowman. But this one is one of the better one out of all the bad ones that are out there.The movie is mostly about nothing as is with movies of this type. It's about people in one sort of distress or another but very little exposure of the snowman. The total appearance time of the snowman is less than a minute in the movie.The movie does score high in one department, and that it didn't just portray the snowman as a mindless savage, and the final appearance of them made the movie dignifying.But by no means is this movie a masterpiece of any sorts, and is weak in terms of entertainment value.