James Needs

Birth : 1919-10-17, Holborn, London, England, UK

Death : 2003-01-01

Movies

Hammer: The Studio That Dripped Blood
Himself (archive footage)
A retrospective of the films of Britain's Hammer Studios, renowned for making stylish horror films in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. Included are clips from Hammer productions and interviews with actors, actresses, directors and producers who worked on these films.
Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter
Editor
When several young girls are found dead, left hideously aged and void of blood, Dr Marcus suspects vampirism. He enlists the help of the Vampire Hunter. Mysterious and powerful, Kronos has dedicated his life to destroying the evil pestilence. Once a victim of its diabolical depravity, he knows the vampire's strengths and weaknesses as well as the extreme dangers attached to confronting the potent forces of darkness.
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
Editor
Dr Simon Helder, sentenced to an insane asylum for crimes against humanity, recognises its director as the brilliant Baron Frankenstein, the man whose work he had been trying to emulate before his imprisonment. Frankenstein utilises Helder's medical knowledge for a project he has been working on for some time. He is assembling a man from vital organs extracted from various inmates in the asylum. And the Baron will resort to murder to acquire the perfect specimens for his most ambitious project ever.
Professor Popper's Problems
Editor
Professor Popper develops a shrinking formula which he and a group of school kids take by accident, ending up trapped in his laboratory. But that's not the only problem that faces the professor and his friends.
Love Thy Neighbour
Editor
Two men who are nextdoor neighbors constantly battle it out over seemingly trivial offenses. Their wives, on the other hand, are best of friends. The two couples attempt to win a 'love-thy-neighbor' competition by lying...
Holiday on the Buses
Editor
Due to a female passenger falling out of her top whilst running for the bus Stan is distracted and crashes the bus resulting in the depot managers car being written off. As a result Stan, Jack and Blakey are fired. Stan and Jack soon get new jobs as a bus crew at a Pontins holiday resort but discover that Blakey has also gotten a job there as the chief security guard.
Dracula A.D. 1972
Editor
Set in London in the early 1970's, supposedly for teen thrills, Johnny organises a black magic ceremony in a desolate churchyard. The culmination of the ritual, however, is the rejuvenation of Dracula from shrivelled remains. Johnny, Dracula' s disciple, lures victims to the deserted graveyard for his master's pleasure and one of the victims delivered is Jessica Van Helsing. Descended from the Van Helsing line of vampire hunters her grandfather, equipped with all the devices to snare and destroy the Count, confronts his arch enemy in the age-old battle between good and evil.
Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde
Editor
In foggy London Dr Jekyll experiments on newly deceased women determined to discover an elixir for immortal life. Success enables his spectacular transformation into the beautiful but psychotic Sister Hyde who stalks the dark alleys of Whitechapel for young, innocent, female victims, ensuring continuation of the bloodstained research. With each transformation Sister Hyde becomes the more dominant personality, determined to eventually suppress the frail, ineffectual Dr Jekyll forever.
Scars of Dracula
Editor
The Prince of Darkness casts his undead shadow once more over the cursed village of Kleinenberg when his ashes are splashed with bat's blood and Dracula is resurrected. And two innocent victims search for a missing loved one... loved to death by Dracula's mistress. But after they discover his blood-drained corpse in Dracula's castle necropolis, the Vampire Lord's lustful vengeance begins.
The Vampire Lovers
Editor
In the heart of Styria the Karnstein Family, even after their mortal deaths, rise from their tombs spreading evil in the countryside in their lust for fresh blood. Baron Hartog whose family are all victims of Karnstein vampirism, opens their graves and drives a stake through their diabolical hearts. One grave he cannot locate is that of the legendary beautiful Mircalla Karnstein. Years of peace follow that grisly night until Mircalla reappears to avenge her family's decimation and satisfy her desire for blood.
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
Supervising Editor
In the shadow of Castle Dracula, the Prince of Darkness is revived by blood trickling from the head-wound of an unconscious priest attempting exorcism. And once more fear and terror strikes Transylvania as the undead Prince of Darkness stalks the village of Keineneburg to ensnare victims and satisfy his evil thirst.
The Devil Rides Out
Supervising Editor
The powers of good are pitted against the forces of evil as the Duc de Richelieu wrestles with the charming but deadly Satanist, Mocata, for the soul of his friend. Mocata has the knowledge and the power to summon the forces of darkness and, as the Duc de Richelieu and his friends remain within the protected pentacle, they are subjected to ever-increasing horror until thundering hooves herald the arrival of the Angel of Death.
The Lost Continent
Supervising Editor
An eclectic group of characters set sail on Captain Lansen’s leaky cargo ship in an attempt to escape their various troubles. When a violent storm strikes, the ship is swept into the Sargasso Sea and the passengers find themselves trapped on an island populated by man-eating seaweed, giant crabs and Spanish conquistadors who believe it’s still the 16th century.
The Anniversary
Supervising Editor
Mrs Taggart always celebrates her anniversary with her grown sons. It’s a tradition practised since the death of her husband and she is determined for it to continue. None of her three sons have dared to cross their ruthless domineering mother but this anniversary they intend to try. With cruel and brutal twists, the family get-together becomes a social nightmare beyond endurance.
Quatermass and the Pit
Supervising Film Editor
An ancient Martian spaceship is unearthed in London, and proves to have powerful psychic effects on the people around.
The Mummy's Shroud
Supervising Editor
Archaeologists discover the final resting place of a boy king, removing the remains to be exhibited in a museum. By disturbing the sarcophagus they unleash the forces of darkness. The Mummy has returned to discharge a violent retribution on the defilers as the curse that surrounds the tomb begins to come true. One by one the explorers are murdered until one of them discovers the ancient words that have the power to reduce the brutal killer to particles of dust.
The Witches
Editor
Following a nervous breakdown, Gwen takes up the job of head teacher in the small village of Haddaby. There she can benefit from the tranquillity and peace, enabling her to recover fully. But under the facade of idyllic country life she slowly unearths the frightening reality of village life in which the inhabitants are followers of a menacing satanic cult with the power to inflict indiscriminate evil and death if crossed.
Rasputin: The Mad Monk
Supervising Editor
Rasputin, a crazed and debauched monk wreaks havoc at the local inn one night, chopping off the hand of one of the drinkers. As the bitter locals plan their revenge, the evil Rasputin works his satanic power over the beautiful women who serve at the Tsar's palace. Even the Tsarina herself is seduced by his evil ways and, as his influence begins to dominate government policy, there is only one course of action left... to destroy him before he destroys them all.
The Nanny
Supervising Editor
Nanny, a London family's live-in maid, brings morbid 10-year-old Joey back from the psychiatric ward he's been in for two years, since the death of his younger sister. Joey refuses to eat any food Nanny's prepared or take a bath with her in the room. He also demands to sleep in a room with a lock. Joey's parents -- workaholic Bill and neurotic Virgie -- are sure Joey is disturbed, but he may have good reason to be terrified of Nanny.
She
Supervising Editor
The lost city of Kuma is ruled by the cruel, arrogant, beautiful queen, Ayesha, gifted with eternal life. She lures Leo Vincey into her world, seeing in him the reincarnation of the lover she long ago murdered in a fit of violent jealousy. Against all advice Leo is determined to stay and Ayesha persuades him to bathe in the flame of eternal youth... with disastrous consequences.
Fanatic
Supervising Editor
A young woman is terrorized by her fiance's demented mother who blames her for her son's death.
The Gorgon
Supervising Film Editor
In the early 20th century a village experienced a series of inexplicable murders. All the victims were young men who had been turned to stone. The perpetrator of these deaths was a being so repulsive that she transformed the onlooker using the power of her deadly stare. Much of the time the creature took the form of a beautiful and seductive woman, but during periods of the full moon she becomes a living horror, vicious and deadly. A professor has come to investigate the deaths, bringing with him his beautiful assistant whose knowledge of the Gorgon is more intimate than anyone would ever realise.
The Devil-Ship Pirates
Editor
A pirate ship, fighting in 1588 on the side of the Spanish Armada, suffers damage and must put into a village on the British coast for repairs. The village is small and isolated and the Spanish convince the villagers that the English fleet has been defeated and that they, the Spanish, are now their masters. This results in the villagers' sullen cooperation, but rumors and unrest begin to spread and soon the Spanish pirates find themselves facing a revolt.
The Old Dark House
Supervising Film Editor
An American car salesman in London becomes mixed up in a series of fatal occurrences at a secluded mansion.
The Scarlet Blade
Supervising Editor
A 1964 British action adventure film from Hammer studios. The Scarlet Blade is set during the english civil war. A cruel Roundhead Colonel is on the trail of royalist sympathisers, but unaware of his daughters royalist sympathies. When she falls into a love triangle with Cavalier Edward Beverly and Roundhead officer Captain Sylvester the stage is set for double crossing and derring do.
Captain Clegg
Supervising Editor
A captain and his sailors investigate the rampaging "Marsh Phantoms" terrorizing a coastal town, but their search is hindered by a local reverend and a horrifying curse.
Watch It, Sailor!
Supervising Editor
Sailor Albert gets a message from the Navy saying he can't marry for certain unexplained legal reasons. Everyone, including his domineering mother-in-law to be, jumps to the conclusion that there must be another woman involved.
Watch It, Sailor!
Editor
Sailor Albert gets a message from the Navy saying he can't marry for certain unexplained legal reasons. Everyone, including his domineering mother-in-law to be, jumps to the conclusion that there must be another woman involved.
Taste of Fear
Supervising Editor
A wheelchair-bound young girl returns to her father's estate after ten years, and although she's told he's away, she keeps seeing his dead body on the estate.
The Shadow of the Cat
Supervising Editor
Tabitha, once the placid, gentle and devoted pet, adopts all the characteristics of a ferocious, wild animal following the murder of her mistress. The three guilty people are all trapped by the cat's power and each will come to untimely deaths of horrific proportions without anyone being able to solve the mystery that surrounds their brutal death.
The Terror of the Tongs
Supervising Editor
In 1910, Hong Kong, under the rule of the British Empire, is a prosperous and bustling city, but, hidden in the shadows of its many narrow streets, the hideous members of the Red Dragon gang, a branch of the evil Chinese secret society of the Tongs, lurk and murder those who oppose to their tyranny, which thrives on vice, crime and the fear of the weakest.
Visa to Canton
Editor
A former World War II pilot, now the owner of a travel agency in Hong Kong, gets involved in espionage trying to help a Chinese woman locate her son.
Hell Is a City
Editor
Set in Manchester, heartland of England's industrial north, Don Starling escapes from jail becoming England's most wanted man. Ruthless villain Starling together with his cronies engineered a robbery that resulted in the violent death of a young girl. Detective Inspector Martineau has been assigned to hunt him down and bring him in. From seedy barrooms, through gambling dens the trail leads to an explosive climax high on the rooftops of the city.
Never Take Sweets from a Stranger
Supervising Editor
Peter Carter, his wife Sally and their young daughter Jean move to a sleepy Canadian village, where Peter has been hired as a school principal. Their idyll is shattered when Jean becomes the victim of an elderly, and extremely powerful, paedophile. The film was neither a box office nor a critical success, it garnered criticism for breaking a significant public taboo.
Yesterday's Enemy
Supervising Editor
Set during the Burma Campaign of World War 2, this is the story of courage and endurance of the soldiers struggling at close quarters against the enemy. The film examines the moral dilemmas ordinary men face during war, when the definitions of acceptable military action and insupportable brutality become blurred and distorted
Ten Seconds to Hell
Supervising Editor
Two rivals from a German bomb squad are left to deactivate duds in postwar Berlin.
The Man Who Could Cheat Death
Supervising Editor
Dr. Bonner plans to live forever through periodic gland transplants from younger, healthier human victims. Bonner looks about 40; he's really 104 years old. But people are starting to get suspicious, and he may not make 200.
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Supervising Film Editor
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
The Snorkel
Editor
On the Italian coast, writer Paul Decker has grown unhappy in his marriage and executes what appears to be a perfect murder of his wife. While Paul is believed to be writing a book in France, his stepdaughter, Candy, suspects him of murdering her mother, as well as her father years before. With the police unwilling to investigate any further, Candy sets out to confirm her suspicions and take Paul down herself.
Dracula
Editor
After Jonathan Harker attacks Dracula at his castle, the vampire travels to a nearby city, where he preys on the family of Harker's fiancée. The only one who may be able to protect them is Dr. van Helsing, Harker's friend and fellow-student of vampires, who is determined to destroy Dracula, whatever the cost.
Quatermass 2
Editor
In England, a group of space scientists led by Bernard Quatermass, who have developed plans for the first Moon colony, learn that a secret, ostensibly government-run, complex of identical design has been built in a remote part of England and is the focus of periodic falls of small, hollow "meteorites" originating in outer space. Quatermass determines to investigate and uncovers a terrifying extraterrestrial life form which has already begun action to take over the Earth.
The Curse of Frankenstein
Editor
Baron Victor Frankenstein has discovered life's secret and unleashed a blood-curdling chain of events resulting from his creation: a cursed creature with a horrid face — and a tendency to kill.
X the Unknown
Editor
Army radiation experiments awaken a subterranean monster from a fissure that feeds on energy and proceeds to terrorise a remote Scottish village. An American research scientist at a nearby nuclear plant joins with a British investigator to discover why the victims were radioactively burned and why, shortly thereafter, a series of radiation-related incidents are occurring in an ever-growing straight line away from the fissure.
Women Without Men
Editor
In love with a man who wants to marry her after he returns from a trip to sea, chorus girl Angela Booth tries to quit her seamy job and become a model citizen. When her employer refuses to dissolve her contract, though, they quarrel and she accidentally hits him. He presses charges, claiming she hit him deliberately, and she is convicted and sent to prison. As her fiance is at sea and out of contact, she is terrified he will think she has jilted him when she does not keep a New Year's date. A kindly old convict, Gran', notorious as a prison-breaker, agrees to engineer an escape for Angela...
The Quatermass Xperiment
Editor
The first manned spacecraft, fired from an English launchpad, is first lost from radar, then roars back to Earth and crashes in a farmer's field, and is found to contain only one of the three men who took off in it; and he is unable to talk but appears to be undergoing a torturous physical and mental metamorphosis.
The Glass Cage
Editor
A circus barker stages a sensational new act, the world's longest fast undertaken by “Sapolio”, on view in a glass cage. But this act also results in several murders, a kidnapping, and a poisoning!
The Men of Sherwood Forest
Editor
Robin Hood is persuaded by two nobles whom he believes to be loyal to King Richard to recover secret plans attaining to the rescue of the king from captivity in Germany. Though disguised as a troubadour, Robin is betrayed and captured. Lady Alys and the merry men help him escape in time to foil an intended ambush on King Richard as he returns from the Crusades.
Third Party Risk
Editor
Vacationing at a resort hotel in Spain, a man discovers he is the only one not mixed up one way or another in murder, drugs and microfilm smuggling. But, the police are after him!
Five Days
Editor
A man pays a hitman to kill him. Circumstances change and he tries to call off the hit but he has trouble getting the deal killed.
The House Across the Lake
Editor
Sensuous and desirable, Carol Forrest has always attracted the attention of men. Expert in the art of manipulation and control she married an older man, loving only his vast wealth and continued to amuse herself with indiscreet affairs. But when neighbour Mark Kendrick lets slip that her husband intends cutting her out of his will Carol concentrates all her attentions on the unsuspecting Kendrick, obtaining his help to dispose of this irritating obstacle.
36 Hours
Editor
When his wife stops writing to him and his letters are returned unanswered, Dan becomes extremely concerned about her welfare. He returns home but is only able to meet with her briefly before she is found murdered. Dan is the obvious suspect but has only 36 hours to find out who murdered her. In so doing he uncovers a shocking catalogue of his wife's past affairs and an identity that he knew nothing about.
The Saint's Return
Editor
A private detective goes after the people who murdered his girlfriend.
The Flanagan Boy
Editor
Johnny Flanagan did not have the privileges of a good education or wealthy background but the streets developed his natural talent to be a great fighter. His enormous potential to reach the top is born out of a string of spectacular successes. All of which is brought to a halt when he develops a physical relationship with his manager's wife, the beautiful but manipulative Lorna. His naive temperament is no match for her callous, dispassionate scheming and he unwittingly becomes a pawn in Lorna's ultimate plan... .to murder her husband.
Mantrap
Editor
Branded as criminally insane and incarcerated for a murder he did not commit, Speight escapes from the asylum, determined to clear his name. He befriends private detective Hugo Bishop who, convinced that the wrong man has been convicted, agrees to help find the real killer. They begin their search for the murderer closest to home where both Thelma Speight and her employer Maurice Jerrard were visibly distressed by the news of her husband's jailbreak. More than Speight's 'insanity' fuels their worries.
Lady in the Fog
Editor
In this murder mystery, a woman's brother is killed in a freaky accident, or so she believes. Fortunately for her, an American journalist is more suspicious and so begins roaming the London streets in search of the killer.
Wings of Danger
Editor
A former pilot suffering from blackouts discovers that a fellow flyer is suspected of being mixed up with a web of smugglers. While searching for his missing buddy, he unwittingly becomes entangled in a morass of suspicion.
Whispering Smith Hits London
Editor
Mystery directed by Francis Searle.
Girdle of Gold
Editor
The adulterous Mrs Griffiths' corset has, unbeknown to her, a fortune stashed in it by her drunken, money-loving husband.
The Black Widow
Editor
Robert Ayres is driving down a country lane when he comes across someone laying in the middle of the road. Thinking it is someone who has been hit by a car he stops to see if he can help. What he gets for his efforts is a vicious belt to the head from a lead cosh. He is then relieved of his wallet and his car. Several minutes later having somewhat recovered, he staggers to a nearby farmhouse and collapses.
A Case For P.C. 49
Editor
A model’s scheme to murder a millionaire with the intention of inheriting his fortune is uncovered by a police constable.
To Have and to Hold
Editor
A man is permanently crippled in a horseback riding accident and then learns that he will soon die. He spends his last few days taking care of his family and trying to get his wife to find another man.
What the Butler Saw
Editor
An Earl returns from a tropical island and discovers the daughter of the tribal King has stowed away in his luggage.
Room to Let
Editor
In 1904 London, neighbors begin to suspect that a very strange man calling himself Dr. Fell may indeed be the famous Jack the Ripper.
Boys in Brown
Editor
Jackie lives in poverty with his widowed mother. In a bid to escape poverty he gets involved in a robbery that sees him sentenced to three years in Borstal where he meets a tough crowd, tougher than anything on the outside.
A Boy, a Girl and a Bike
Editor
The lives of the members of a West Yorkshire cycling club are complicated by romantic entanglements and a series of bike thefts.
The Bad Lord Byron
Editor
Injured and on his deathbed in Greece, Lord Byron imagines a celestial trial with witnesses to determine the worth of his character.
Snowbound
Editor
Good and bad characters are stuck in a ski chalet near buried Nazi gold in the Alps.