The horror films of Merton Park Studios

Horror In Suburbia!
The genre films of Merton Park Film Studios

My local horror film factory...

Merton Park had one of the many small suburban film studios spread around the outer reaches of London. They flourished when there was a demand for different weekly movies with full-length supporting B-movies. The government also had a tax incentive that ensured a regular proportion of films in British cinemas had been produced in Britain.

Operating between 1929 and 1967, Merton Park Studios found a winning long-running formula with adaptions of Edgar Wallace crime dramas and police procedurals. These were cheaply made and I've no doubt they haven't aged particularly well. But when I noticed this studios' name cropping up on sixties horror movies, I was excited that world-famous cult titles had been made locally. Not necessarily 'cult' because they were any good, though!

Perhaps the best-known movie to be made here is the King Kong knock-off Konga, which used a 'man in a suit' years before Dino De Laurentiis visited Skull Island. It's a cheapo monster movie but great fun for Michael Gough's cruel character and shouty performance. The man in a gorilla suit 'effect' is continually hilarious.

Of course, it's a different story from King Kong in that a scientist turns a baby chimpanzee into a giant gorilla (!!?). Konga doesn't climb the Empire State Building, he stands next to Big Ben while the army launch rockets past him into the Houses of Parliament. Well, actually Croydon High Street stood in for Westminster. I love the fact that local places have been seen around the world because of these films. (Full review of Konga here).

Low-budget producer Herman Cohen (Berserk!, Black Zoo) also shot Horrors of the Black Museum at Merton Park, also starring Michael Gough. It's infamous for the eye-gouging binoculars which caused such a stir in 1958, with accusations of 'sadism' from film critics. The story's finale was filmed in South London's Battersea Funfair, the year before Gorgo flattened it.

The other horror films shot here may be unfamiliar to you...

Ghost Ship (1952) is an early drama made at the studios, with extensive location work. It's an amateurish suburban mystery which pads out its running time at every opportunity. The saving grace is that this is the earliest film I've seen to star Hazel Court - predating even Devil Girl From Mars. Amazingly, it's on DVD in the UK.

Another B-movie quickie, made to support Horrors of the Black Museum, The Headless Ghost (1959) was also produced by Herman Cohen. Drearily-paced and unfunny, the only saving grace is having a spectral Clive Revill, a twist on his turn as a ghostbuster in The Legend of Hell House. Plus an uncredited appearance by Janina Faye (Horror of Dracula, Day of the Triffids). On DVD in the UK!
The Projected Man (1966) and Devil Doll both starred Bryant Haliday, who had a short run of leading horror roles (also in Curse of Voodoo and Tower of Evil). Despite many scenes of him prowling the local streets missing half his face, in Projected Man, I've yet to identify a single location near the studios from any Merton Park film, despite looking around for years. On DVD in the UK (but edge-cropped to 16:9 - get the VHS for the full 2.35 widescreen Techniscope image)

The Devil Doll (1964) will only work if you're freaked out by ventriloquist dummies, but Dead of Night (1945) did it better. This is also inspired by Svengali, but John Barrymore did it better. William Sylvester (2001: A Space Odyssey) and Yvonne Romain (Curse of the Werewolf) in the cast help considerably. On DVD in the UK.

Hopefully the 'hospital' in Invasion (1965) is still around. In the story, the building is cut off from the outside world when two (Japanese) aliens visit Earth. Invasion is a good example of the 'pub invasion' genre, where Earth-shattering events take place while witnessed from a confined space. First contact is made with a handful of humans, as opposed to the whole world like in The Day The Earth Stood Still. This scenario is of course perfect for low budgets (see also The Man From Planet X, Devil Girl From Mars, Target: Earth, Night of the Big Heat, and The Earth Dies Screaming). It starred the late Edward Judd of First Men In the Moon, Island of Terror and The Day the Earth Caught Fire.

While I'd once rated the golem horror IT! (1967) as one of the worst British horrors of this era, I've actually changed my mind since seeing the recent DVD. Stars the ever watchable Roddy McDowall and Jill Haworth. Full review here.

But The Frozen Dead (1966) is pretty bad. Plodding action and a complete waste of a good Nazi zombie idea. Bizarre that a young Edward Fox (The Day of the Jackal) plays a mute zombie soldier. An extensive use of locations makes me wonder whether this was shot after the studios had closed - the interiors look like they might have been locations too. Both this and It! are easily undercut by The Blood Beast Terror (a killer moth) and The Vulture (a were-bird) as the worst of the British worst.

Merton Park's best known non-horror film must be The Leather Boys (1963). A kitchen sink drama from the South of England for a change. Rita Tushingham (from A Taste of Honey) stars in this carefully hinting story as her husband decides that he'd rather hang out with another motorcycle buddy than endure family life at home. The original book was a little more explicit at hinting at a relationship between Colin Campbell and Dudley Sutton's characters. The movie is affectionately heralded for it's snapshot of many bygone London locations, including bikers' hangout the Ace Cafe, which is still there today.

Timeslip (aka The Atomic Man, 1955) stars Faith Domergue (This Island Earth) in a twisty high-tech (for 1955) thriller that makes British B-movies actually look respectable! Full review here.



The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn (1956) deserves a special mention for the blossoming talent that was captured here. It's an early multiple role for Peter Sellers (Dr Strangelove, The Pink Panther) and an early Michael Deeley production, long before he made The Italian Job and Blade Runner.  It's also the best visual record of the influential humour of The Goons radio show. This short but hugely funny film is the rare jewel in Merton Park Studio's filmography. For a full illustrated review, follow the above link.

MERTON PARK FILM STUDIO HORROR FILMS

The Ghost Ship (1952)

Horrors of the Black Museum (1959)

The Headless Ghost (1959)

Konga (1961)

Devil Doll (1964)

Invasion (1965)

The Projected Man (1966)

IT! (1967)

The Frozen Dead (1967)

This week, I visited the only building still standing from the studio complex. The Long Lodge (the long black building near the bottom of the map) was used as the studio's headquarters. The neighbouring Leather Bottle public house, (at the bottom left of the map) is also still around. The lodge can be found on the Kingston Road, opposite a small parade of shops between Raynes Park and Wimbledon, and has two commemorative plaques outside (pictured) which I feel rather sells it short.

For more information, here's a recent article by movie expert Tise Vahimagi, about the Edgar Wallace thrillers that were shot at Merton Park Studios.

The British Movie Forum has a short thread about the studios, through which I found the rare floor plan.