As a break from their better-known horror fare, Hammer made a series of rousing historical adventures in the early 1960s and this is one of their more original efforts, a story that depicts smuggling in the 18th century in a Kent coastal village. With assured direction propelling it along nicely and a pretty wonderful cast of actors, this is an enjoyable film complete with two-fisted action, adventure and even a few horror elements along the way. I found that this yarn had an effective a script as Hammer's horror outings and just as much atmosphere; plenty of chills and thrills are wrung out of the marshy backdrop in scenes not dissimilar from Hammer's own HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES.One of the most engaging things about the production is that there are no 'good' or 'bad' characters: instead, people are painted in shades of grey, with viewers allowed to make up their own minds. For instance, is Peter Cushing's kindly pastor really such a good guy? Even after all of the (effective) twists have played out, there's little that makes him evil or a stock villain like his Frankenstein. On the other hand, Patrick Allen is the supposed good guy, the King's revenue man, and yet I'm sure most viewers will hope that the smugglers get one over on him rather than allow him to gain the upper hand! There are plot elements here galore, and some of the most effective involve a mysterious moving scarecrow that acts as a signalman to the smugglers. There's also some Treasure Island-type piracy thrown in with the inclusion of the hulking Milton Reid in one of his biggest roles as a mulatto who's had his tongue cut out. Female viewers get a genteel romance between two very pretty partners (the remarkably uplifting Yvonne Romain and the rugged Oliver Reed at his most dashing). The horror elements involve men on horseback dressed as skeletons, not too dissimilar from Halloween costumes, but it's a testament to the director and crew's skill that even these scenes possess their own eerie charm. Plus we get Michael Ripper in his biggest, most developed supporting role yet. I didn't get excited about this in the same way I did about something like TERROR OF THE TONGS, but I did enjoy watching the eventful story play out in Hammer's own unique and colourful style.

The movie starts of really well, with the creepy dream like scenes but as the movie went on, it kinda of drags a bit, Yes I did fall a sleep watching this movie last night. The morning, I watch the rest of the movie, the movie started to pick up again and middle part of the movie. This didn't really feel like horror movie, it felt more like Dark Drama movie, with some decent twist and turns.. The acting wasn't to bad from the whole cast, decent, some scenes do see a bit outdated.6 out of 10, loved first few scenes in the movie

This is a very interesting and exciting costume drama from Hammer Films, the U.K. studio best known for its series of classic horror films. Peter Cushing, who appeared as Dr. Frankenstein and Dr. Van Helsing in many of the most memorable of those films, shows up here in this film as the title character "Captain Clegg", a reformed pirate who still dabbles in a bit of wine smuggling and uses the profits to pay for his charities. It features a few moments that might be scary for very small children, but on the whole it is not a horror film. The horror elements come into play because Captain Clegg uses the ruse of marsh phantoms to scare people into staying away from his smuggling zones.The ostensible "hero" of the film is Captain Collier (Patrick Allen), but he's so brutal in his interrogation methods and so unflappable in putting the pursuit of his quarry above all other considerations, even moral ones, that by the end of the film he's almost a villain. Oliver Reed plays the romantic Harry Cobtree, the local magistrate's son who is in love with "common" working girl Imogene (Yvonne Romain). When it's revealed that Imogene is actually the daughter of Captain Clegg, it introduces a very interesting subtext because Clegg himself definitely approves of Harry as a prospective son-in-law and Clegg is obviously a sort of substitute father figure for Harry, whose natural father is a bloated hypocrite who seems to share very little with Harry in the way of temperament or talent. So the film starts out with a very shady group of people, particularly Mr. Rash (Martin Benson) the inn-keeper. Michael Ripper also puts in one of the most distinguished and notable performances I've seen from him, and he and Clegg make an interesting faux-couple as well. His devotion to Clegg certainly borders on the romantic although the film is not explicit with that subtext. But after starting out with such a rough group of rogues, it ends up creating a sort of family out of these 3 major characters.There's more to this film than might meet the eye. Although the production standards are questionable in some ways, all in all it's a decent looking movie and I thought some of the photography when they're wandering through the eerie swamps was very well done. There is no better person to hold down a film than Peter Cushing, and his fans will be pleased with this film as I was. He's got this crazy bobbed hairstyle too which is very neat. His performance surprised me because I thought maybe he was going to go all-out evil like he did in "Twins of Evil", but he becomes gradually more sympathetic as the film continues. One wishes that Hammer Films had the money to perhaps show more of the high-seas adventures from Clegg's earlier career, but that's not really the focus of the story anyway.A good story is made even better by an excellent group of actors, highlighted by the veteran Cushing and the exciting young Reed.

Night Creatures, a/k/a/ Captain Clegg is a pretty good pirate yarn. It was based on a 1915 novel by Russell Thorndyke titled "Dr. Syn". Later this book was, in 1936, made into a film starring George Arliss. Peter Cushing, Patrick Allen, and best of all, Michael Ripper, as Jeremiah Mipps, were excellent. Michael Ripper, in his best Hammer movie role, almost stole the picture from Peter Cushing. The movie moves along pretty well and there are enough twists to keep you interested. Peter Cushing shows off his athletic ability, along with his oratory skills. Oliver Reed is quite good in his role as the Squires'son, Harry. Beware of the marsh phantoms. Enjoy! John R. Tracy.