Hammer Film Productions
Encyclopedia
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic
"Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction
, thrillers, film noir
and comedies
and in later years, television series. During its most successful years, Hammer dominated the horror film
market, enjoying worldwide distribution and considerable financial success. This success was due, in part, to distribution partnerships with major United States studios, such as Warner Bros.
During the late 1960s and 1970s the saturation of the horror film market by competitors and the loss of American funding forced changes to the previously lucrative Hammer-formula, with varying degrees of success. The company eventually ceased production in the mid-1980s and has since then been, in effect, in hibernation. In 2000, the studio was bought by a consortium including advertising executive and art collector Charles Saatchi
. The company announced plans to begin making films again after this, but none were produced. In May 2007, the company behind the movies was sold again, this time to a group headed by Big Brother
backers, the Dutch consortium Cyrte Investments, who have announced plans to spend some $50m (£25m) on new horror films. The new owners have also acquired the Hammer group's film library.
, a comedian and businessman registered his own film company Hammer Productions Ltd. based in a three-room office suite at Imperial House, Regent Street
, London. The company name was taken from Hinds' stage name, Will Hammer, which he had taken from the area of London in which he lived, Hammersmith.
Work began almost immediately on the first Hammer film, The Public Life of Henry the Ninth
at the MGM/ATP studios, with shooting concluding on 2 January 1935. The film tells the story of Henry Henry, an unemployed London street musician, and the title was a "playful tribute" to Alexander Korda
's The Private Life of Henry VIII
which had been Britain's first ever Academy Awards
'best picture' nominee in 1934. During this period Hinds met Spanish émigré Enrique Carreras, a former cinema owner, and on 10 May 1935 they formed film distribution
company Exclusive Films, operating from a single office at 60-66 National House, Wardour Street
. Hammer produced a further four films distributed by Exclusive:
A slump in the British film industry forced Hammer into bankruptcy
and the company went into liquidation in 1937. Exclusive, however, survived and on 20 July 1937 purchased the leasehold on 113-117 Wardour Street, and continued to distribute films made by other companies.
joined Exclusive in 1938, closely followed by William Hinds' son, Anthony. At the outbreak of World War II, both James Carreras and Anthony Hinds
left to join the armed services and Exclusive continued to operate only in a limited capacity. In 1946, James Carreras rejoined the company after demobilisation. He resurrected Hammer as the film production arm of Exclusive with a view to supplying 'quota-quickies' - cheaply made domestic films designed to fill gaps in cinema schedules and support more expensive features. He convinced Anthony Hinds to rejoin the company, and a revived 'Hammer Film Productions' set to work on Death in High Heels, The Dark Road, and Crime Reporter. Not being able to afford top stars, Hammer acquired the film rights to several BBC radio series such as The Adventures of PC 49 and Dick Barton Special Agent (an adaptation of the successful Dick Barton
radio show). All were shot at Marylebone Studios during 1947. During production of Dick Barton Strikes Back (1948), it became apparent that the company could save a considerable amount of money by shooting in country houses instead of professional studios. For their next production Dr Morelle - The Case of the Missing Heiress (another radio adaptation) Hammer rented Dial Close, a 23 bedroom mansion next to the River Thames
, at Cookham Dean
, Maidenhead
.
On 12 February 1949 Exclusive finally registered "Hammer Film Productions" as a company with Enrique and James Carreras, and William and Tony Hinds as company directors. Hammer moved into the Exclusive offices in 113-117 Wardour Street, and the building was rechristened "Hammer House".
In August 1949, complaints from locals about noise during night filming forced Hammer to leave Dial Close and move into another mansion, Oakley Court
, also on the banks of the Thames between Windsor
and Maidenhead. Five films were shot there: The Man in Black (1949), Room to Let
(1949), Someone at the Door (1949), What The Butler Saw (1950), The Lady Craved Excitement (1950). In 1950, Hammer moved again to Gilston Park, a country club in Harlow Essex, which hosted The Black Widow
, The Rossiter Case, To Have and to Hold and The Dark Light (all 1950).
In 1951, Hammer began shooting at its most famous home, Down Place also on the banks of the Thames. The company took out a one-year lease and began its 1951 production schedule with Cloudburst. The house, a virtual derelict, required substantial work, but it did not have the kind of construction restrictions that had prevented Hammer from customising its previous homes. A decision was therefore made to turn Down Place into a substantial, custom-fitted studio complex. Its expansive grounds were used for almost all of the later location shooting in Hammer's films, and are a key part of the 'Hammer look'.
Also during 1951, Hammer and Exclusive signed a four-year production and distribution contract with Robert Lippert, an American film producer. The contract meant that Lippert and Exclusive effectively exchanged products for distribution on their respective sides of the Atlantic
beginning in 1951 with The Last Page and ending with Women Without Men (AKA Prison Story, 1955). It was Lippert's insistence on an American star in the Hammer films he was to distribute that led to the prevalence of American leads in so many of the company's productions during the 1950s. It was for The Last Page that Hammer made one of its most significant appointments when it hired film director Terence Fisher
, who went on to play a critical role in the forthcoming horror cycle.
Towards the end of 1951, the one-year lease on Down Place expired, and with its increasing success Hammer looked back towards more conventional studio-based productions. A dispute with the Association of Cinematograph Technicians, however, blocked this proposal, and instead the company purchased the freehold of Down Place. The house was renamed Bray Studios
after the nearby village of Bray
and it remained Hammer's principal base until 1966. In 1953, the first of Hammer's science fiction films, Four Sided Triangle
and Spaceways
, were released.
's BBC Television
science fiction serial The Quatermass Experiment
, which was directed by Val Guest
. As a consequence of the contract with Robert Lippert, American actor Brian Donlevy
was imported for the lead role, and the title was changed to The Quatermass Xperiment
to cash in on the new X certificate for horror films. The film was an unexpectedly big hit, and led to an almost equally popular 1957 sequel Quatermass 2
again adapted from one of Kneale's television scripts, this time by Kneale himself and with a budget double that of the original: £92,000. In the meantime, Hammer had produced another Quatermass
-style horror film, X the Unknown
, originally intended as a full part of the series until Kneale denied them the rights. At the time, Hammer voluntarily submitted its scripts to the British Board of Film Censors
(BBFC) for comments before beginning production. Regarding the script of X the Unknown, one reader/examiner (Audrey Field) commented on 24 November:
(a.a.p.) and its head, Elliot Hyman, a man reputed to have American underworld connections. During this period, two young American filmmakers, Max J. Rosenberg
and Milton Subotsky
, who later established Hammer's rival Amicus
, submitted to a.a.p. a script for an adaptation of the novel Frankenstein
. Although interested in the script, a.a.p. were not prepared to back a film made by Rosenberg and Subotsky, who had only one film to their credit. Eliot Hyman did, however, send the script to his contact at Hammer. Rosenberg would often claim he 'produced' Curse of Frankenstein, an exaggeration repeated in his obituary.
Although the novel by Mary Shelley
was long since in the public domain
, Anthony Hinds was unsure about the script, as Subotsky's script adhered closely to the plot of the 1939 Universal film Son of Frankenstein
, featuring a second-generation Baron Frankenstein emulating his father, the original monster-maker. This put the project at risk of a copyright
infringement lawsuit by Universal. In addition, a great deal of polishing and additional material was needed as the short script had an estimated running time of only 55 minutes far less than the minimum of 90 minutes needed for distribution in the UK. Accordingly, comments on the script from Hammer's Michael Carreras (who had joined his father James as producer in the early 1950s) were less than complimentary:
Further revisions were made to the script, and a working title of Frankenstein and the Monster was chosen. Plans were made to shoot the film in Eastmancolor a decision which caused further worry at the BBFC. Not only did the script contain horror and graphic violence, but it would be portrayed in vivid colour.
The project was handed to Tony Hinds who was even less impressed with the script than Michael Carreras, and whose vision for the film was a mere black and white 'quickie' made in three weeks. Concerned that Subotsky and Rosenberg's script still had too many similarities to the old Universal films, Hinds commissioned Jimmy Sangster
to rewrite it as The Curse of Frankenstein. Sangster's treatment impressed Hammer enough to rescue the film from its place on the 'quickie' treadmill and to make it as a colour film.
Sangster submitted his own script to the BBFC for examination. Audrey Field reported on 10 October 1956:
Regardless of the BBFC's stern warnings, Hinds supervised the shooting of a virtually unchanged script.
The film was directed by Terence Fisher, with a look that belied its modest budget. Peter Cushing
's performance as Baron Victor Frankenstein, and Christopher Lee's as the imposingly tall, brutish monster provide the film with a further veneer of polish. With a budget of £65,000 and a cast and crew that would become the backbone of later films, Hammer's first Gothic horror went into production. The use of colour encouraged a previously unseen level of gore. Until The Curse of Frankenstein horror films had not shown blood in a graphic way, or when they did it was concealed by monochrome photography. In this film, it was bright red, and the camera lingered on it.
The film was an enormous success, not only in Britain, but also in the USA, where it inspired numerous imitations from, amongst others, Roger Corman
and American International Pictures
. It also found success on the European continent
, where Italian directors and audiences were particularly receptive.
Meanwhile, the financial arrangement between a.a.p. and Hammer had broken down when money promised by a.a.p. had not arrived. Hammer began looking for alternatives, and with the success of The Curse of Frankenstein signed a deal with Columbia Pictures
to distribute the sequel The Revenge of Frankenstein and two films from the defaulted a.a.p. deal The Camp on Blood Island and The Snorkel. Hammer's financial success also meant the winding down of the parent film distribution company Exclusive, leaving Hammer to concentrate solely on filmmaking.
Work continued on the script for Dracula, and the second draft was voluntarily submitted to the BBFC. Audrey Field commented on 8 October 1957:
Despite the success of Curse of Frankenstein, the financing of Dracula proved awkward. Universal was not interested, and the search for money eventually brought Hammer back to a.a.p.'s Eliot Hyman, through another of his companies, Seven Arts (which later merged with Warner Bros.
, ironically now the successor-in-interest to a.a.p.
). Although an agreement was drawn up, the deal was never realised and funding for Dracula eventually came from the National Film Finance Council (£32,000) and the rest from Universal in return for worldwide distribution rights.
With an eventual budget of £81,412, Dracula began principal photography on 11 November 1957. Peter Cushing starred as Van Helsing
and Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, with direction by Terence Fisher and set design by Bernard Robinson
that was radically different from the Universal adaptation so radical, in fact, that Hammer executives considered paying him off and finding another designer.
Dracula was an enormous success, breaking box-office records in the UK, the United States (released as Horror of Dracula), Canada, and across the world. On 20 August 1958 the Daily Cinema reported:
The Mummy With the agreement in place, Hammer's executives had their pick of Universal International's horror icons and chose to remake The Invisible Man, The Phantom of the Opera and The Mummy's Hand. All were to be shot in colour at Bray Studios, by the same team responsible for Dracula, Curse of Frankenstein and Revenge of Frankenstein. The Mummy (the title used for the remake of The Mummy's Hand, which also incorporated significant story elements from that film's sequel, The Mummy's Tomb) was made in 1959
, The Phantom of the Opera
followed in 1962
, and Hammer collaborated with William Castle
on a remake of The Old Dark House
(1963), but The Invisible Man was never produced.
Principal photography for The Mummy began on 23 February 1959 and lasted until 16 April 1959. Once again it starred both Peter Cushing (as John Banning) and Christopher Lee (as the Mummy, Kharis), and was again directed by Terence Fisher with a screenplay from Jimmy Sangster. The Mummy went on general release on 23 October 1959 and broke the box-office records set by Dracula the previous year, both in the UK and the U.S. when it was released there in December.
During the period 1955-1959 Hammer produced a number of other, non-horror films, including The Hound of the Baskervilles
starring Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes
, and comedies such as Don't Panic Chaps! Nevertheless, it is the three films, The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy that set the direction and provided a template for many future films, and for which the company is best known.
Frankenstein Hammer consolidated their success by turning their most successful horror films into series. Six sequels to The Curse of Frankenstein were produced between 1959 and 1974:
(1959) The Evil of Frankenstein
(1964) Frankenstein Created Woman
(1967) Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
(1969) The Horror of Frankenstein
(1970) Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
(1974)
All starred Peter Cushing
as Baron Frankenstein, except The Horror of Frankenstein (not a sequel, but a tongue-in-cheek remake of The Curse of Frankenstein), where Ralph Bates
took the title role. The Evil of Frankenstein stars Cushing but has a re-telling of the Baron's history in flashbacks and a Baron Frankenstein with a very different personality and thus is not a sequel in the sense of a chronological continuation.
Hammer also produced a half-hour pilot titled Tales of Frankenstein (1958) that was intended to premiere on American television; it was never picked up but is now available on DVD. Anton Diffring
played Baron Frankenstein.
Dracula Hammer also produced eight other Dracula films between 1960 and 1974:
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
(1966) Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
(1968) Taste the Blood of Dracula
(1969) Scars of Dracula
(1970) Dracula AD 1972
(1972) The Satanic Rites of Dracula
(1973) The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
(1974)
The first five were direct sequels to the original film. Brides of Dracula did not include Dracula himself, but Peter Cushing
repeated his role as Van Helsing to battle vampire Baron Meinster (David Peel). The Kiss of the Vampire
did not include Van Helsing or Dracula, but continued the theme of Brides of Dracula, showing vampirism as a plague infecting other pockets of unfortunates. Christopher Lee
as Dracula returned in the following six films, which employed much ingenuity in finding ways to resurrect the Count. Hammer upped the graphic violence and gore with Scars of Dracula
in an attempt to re-imagine the character to appeal to a younger audience. The commercial failure of this film led to another change of style with the following films, which were not period pieces like their predecessors, but had a then-contemporary 1970s London setting. Peter Cushing appeared in both films playing a descendant of Van Helsing.
It is worth noting that while the contemporary films featuring Dracula star both Lee and Cushing, they are not the same series due to the lack of correspondence to the Victorian-Edwardian era films. The first film
is set in 1885, whereas the flashback sequence in Dracula AD 1972
is set in 1872 – long before the first meeting of Van Helsing and Dracula in the original film.
Christopher Lee grew increasingly disillusioned with the way the character was being taken, and with the poor quality of the later scripts – although he did improve these slightly himself by adding lines of dialogue from the original novel. (Lee speaks at least one line taken from Bram Stoker in every Dracula film he has appeared in, except for Prince of Darkness – in which the Count does not speak at all (Lee had been appalled by his dialogue in that film).) He was also concerned about typecasting. After Satanic Rites, he quit the series.
The Mummy Further "mummy" movies were unrelated to the 1959 remake and one, The Mummy's Shroud
, was relegated to second feature status. The films were The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
(1964), The Mummy's Shroud
(1966) and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
(1971). The latter was a modern day version of Bram Stoker
's The Jewel of Seven Stars
and featured Valerie Leon
as a reincarnated Egyptian Princess, rather than an actual mummy. The same novel also served as the basis for the 1980 Charlton Heston film The Awakening and a later direct-to-video feature called Bram Stoker's The Mummy, starring Lou Gossett Jr..
By the mid-1960s, the Mummy series and some of Hammer's other horror output were intended for double billing. Two films would be shot back-to-back with the same sets and costumes to save money. Each film would then be shown on a separate double-bill to prevent audiences noticing any recycling, as for example in The Plague of the Zombies
and The Reptile
(both 1965).
(1966), with Raquel Welch
. Slave Girls (1968), released in the US as Prehistoric Women
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
(1970) Creatures the World Forgot
(1971)
These films were parodied in Carry On Up the Jungle
(1970).
s" mostly scripted by Jimmy Sangster
, and directed by Freddie Francis
and Seth Holt
. These very low-budget suspense thrillers, often in black-and-white, were made in the mould of Les Diaboliques, although more often compared to the later Psycho
. This series of mystery thrillers, which all had twist endings, started with Taste of Fear
(1961) and continued with Maniac
(1963), Paranoiac
(1963), Nightmare
(1964), Hysteria (1965), Fanatic
(1965), The Nanny (1965), Crescendo
(1970), Straight on Till Morning (1972) and Fear in the Night (1972)
.
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
(1960), a version of Robert Louis Stevenson
's Jekyll and Hyde Never Take Sweets from a Stranger
(1960), starring Patrick Allen
and Felix Aylmer
The Curse of the Werewolf
(1961), Oliver Reed
's first starring role The Phantom of the Opera
(1962), starring Herbert Lom
The Gorgon
(1964) , She
(1965), based on the novel
of the same name by Rider Haggard The Witches
(1966) Quatermass and the Pit (1967); US title "Five Million Years to Earth" (1968)
The Anniversary
(1968), with Bette Davis
The Lost Continent
(1968) starring Eric Porter
On 29 May 1968, Hammer was awarded the Queen's Award to Industry in recognition of their contribution to the British economy. The official presentation ceremony took place on the steps of the Castle Dracula set at Pinewood Studios
, during the filming of Dracula Has Risen from the Grave.
's Rosemary's Baby
(1968), the studio struggled to maintain its place in the market. It responded by bringing in new writers and directors, testing new characters, and attempting to rejuvenate their vampire and Frankenstein films with new approaches to familiar material.
While the studio remained true to previous period settings in their 1972 release Vampire Circus
, their Dracula AD 1972 and The Satanic Rites of Dracula, for example, abandon period settings in pursuit of a modern-day setting and "swinging London" feel. These films were not successful, and drew fire not only from critics, but from Christopher Lee himself, who refused to appear in more Dracula films after these. Speaking at a press conference in 1973 to announce The Satanic Rites of Dracula, then called Dracula is Dead... and Well and Living in London, Lee said:
The film itself also indulges the turn toward self-parody suggested by the title, with more humour appearing in the script, undercutting any real sense of horror.
Hammer films had always sold themselves, in part, on their violent and sexual content. After the release of films like Bonnie and Clyde
(1967) and The Wild Bunch
(1969), audiences were increasingly able to see more explicit gore, more expertly staged, in relatively mainstream films. Night of the Living Dead
(1968) had also set a new standard for graphic violence in horror films. Hammer tried to compete as far as possible - Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
(1974), for example, features a scene where the Baron kicks a discarded human brain - but realised quickly that, if they couldn't be as gory as new American productions, they could follow a trend prevalent in European films of the time, and play up the sexual content of their films.
Hammer Films also had commercial success with some atypical output during this period: the film version of the ITV
situation comedy
series On the Buses
(1971). This was popular enough to produce two sequels, Mutiny on the Buses (1972) and Holiday on the Buses (1973).
Carmilla
, Hammer showed some of the most explicit scenes of lesbianism yet seen in mainstream English language films. Despite otherwise traditional Hammer design and direction, there was also a corresponding increase in scenes of nudity in the films during this era. The Karnstein Trilogy comprises:
These three were written by Hammer newcomer Tudor Gates
, who was recruited at about the same time as Brian Clemens
(creator of The Avengers
). Clemens wrote two unusual films for Hammer. Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde
(1971) featured Ralph Bates
and Martine Beswick
, and Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter (1974), which Clemens also directed, were not successful at the time, but have since become cult favourites. The experimental films of this period represented a genuine attempt to find new angles on old stories, but audiences did not seem interested.
(1974), a co-production with Hong Kong
's Shaw Brothers which attempted to combine Hammer's Gothic horror with the martial arts film
, nor To the Devil a Daughter
(1976), an adaptation of the Dennis Wheatley
novel, were very successful. Hammer's last production, in 1979, was a remake of Hitchcock's 1938 thriller The Lady Vanishes
, starring Elliot Gould and Cybill Shepherd
. The film was a failure at the box office and all but bankrupted the studio.
in 1958. Critics who specialise in cult films, like Kim Newman
, have praised Hammer Horror more fully, enjoying their atmosphere, craftsmanship and occasional camp
appeal.
s, which usually saw the protagonists fall into the hands of that episode's horror. These varied from sadistic shopkeepers with hidden pasts, to witches and satanic rites. The series was marked by a sense of dark irony, its haunting title music, and the intermingling of horror with the commonplace.
, was produced in 1984 and also ran for 13 episodes. The stories were originally to have been the same 51 min. length as their previous series, but it was decided to expand them to feature-length so as to market them as 'movies of the week' in the US. The running time became from 69 to 73 min. The series was made in association with 20th Century Fox
(who broadcast it as Fox Mystery Theater) and as such, some of the sex and violence seen in the earlier series was toned down considerably for US television. Each episode featured a star, often American, well known to US viewers. This series was Hammer's final production of the 20th century, and the studio went into semi-permanent hiatus.
On 10 May 2007, it was announced that Dutch producer John De Mol had purchased the Hammer Films rights via his private equity firm Cyrte Investments. In addition to holding the rights to over 300 Hammer Films, De Mol's company plans to restart the studio. According to an article in Variety detailing the transaction, the new Hammer Films will be run by former Liberty Global execs Simon Oakes and Marc Schipper. In addition, Guy East and Nigel Sinclair of L.A.-based Spitfire Pictures are on board to produce two to three horror films or thrillers a year for the U.K.-based studio.
The first output under the new owners is Beyond the Rave
, a contemporary vampire story which premièred free online exclusively on Myspace in April 2008 as a 20 x 4 min. serial.
The company began shooting for a new horror/thriller film in Donegal
in 2008, backed by the Irish Film Board
. The film is titled Wake Wood
and was scheduled for release in the United Kingdom in the Autumn of 2009.
The film was produced in collaboration with the Swedish company Solid Entertainment who themself made the vampire film Frostbiten
, which pays homage to the Hammer vampire films among others. It was given a limited UK/Ireland theatrical release in March 2011.
In the of Summer 2009, Hammer produced in the U.S. The Resident, a thriller directed and co-written by Finnish filmmaker Antti Jokinen
and starring Hilary Swank
, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
and Christopher Lee. It was released in November 2010 in the US and March 2011 in the UK.
will star as lawyer Arthur Kipps. Jane Goldman
will write the film.
In 2010, Hammer, in partnership with Overture Films
and Relativity Media
, released Let Me In
, a remake of Swedish
vampire film Let the Right One In.
In June 2010 it was announced that Hammer acquired Wake, a script by Chris Borrelli for an action feature to be directed by Danish
filmmaker Kasper Barfoed.
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
"Hammer Horror" films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, thrillers, film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
and comedies
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
and in later years, television series. During its most successful years, Hammer dominated the horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
market, enjoying worldwide distribution and considerable financial success. This success was due, in part, to distribution partnerships with major United States studios, such as Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
During the late 1960s and 1970s the saturation of the horror film market by competitors and the loss of American funding forced changes to the previously lucrative Hammer-formula, with varying degrees of success. The company eventually ceased production in the mid-1980s and has since then been, in effect, in hibernation. In 2000, the studio was bought by a consortium including advertising executive and art collector Charles Saatchi
Charles Saatchi
Charles Saatchi is the co-founder with his brother Maurice of the global advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi, and led that business - the world's largest advertising agency in the 1980s - until they were forced out in 1995. In the same year the Saatchi brothers formed a new agency called M&C...
. The company announced plans to begin making films again after this, but none were produced. In May 2007, the company behind the movies was sold again, this time to a group headed by Big Brother
Big Brother (TV series)
Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash...
backers, the Dutch consortium Cyrte Investments, who have announced plans to spend some $50m (£25m) on new horror films. The new owners have also acquired the Hammer group's film library.
Early history (1935 to 1937) Hammer Productions
In November 1934 William HindsWilliam Hinds
William "Will" Hinds , stage name Will Hammer, was one of the founders of Hammer Film Productions.-Jeweller:Hinds was a jeweller from London who, with his brother Frank, owned and ran Hinds Jewellers...
, a comedian and businessman registered his own film company Hammer Productions Ltd. based in a three-room office suite at Imperial House, Regent Street
Regent Street
Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
, London. The company name was taken from Hinds' stage name, Will Hammer, which he had taken from the area of London in which he lived, Hammersmith.
Work began almost immediately on the first Hammer film, The Public Life of Henry the Ninth
The Public Life of Henry the Ninth
The Public Life of Henry the Ninth is a British comedy film directed by Bernard Mainwaring and starring Leonard Henry, Betty Frankiss, and George Mozart.-Production background:...
at the MGM/ATP studios, with shooting concluding on 2 January 1935. The film tells the story of Henry Henry, an unemployed London street musician, and the title was a "playful tribute" to Alexander Korda
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
's The Private Life of Henry VIII
The Private Life of Henry VIII
The Private Life of Henry VIII is a 1933 film about Henry VIII, King of England. It was written by Lajos Biró and Arthur Wimperis, and directed by Sir Alexander Korda.Charles Laughton won the 1933 Academy Award as Best Actor for his performance as Henry...
which had been Britain's first ever Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
'best picture' nominee in 1934. During this period Hinds met Spanish émigré Enrique Carreras, a former cinema owner, and on 10 May 1935 they formed film distribution
Film distributor
A film distributor is a company or individual responsible for releasing films to the public either theatrically or for home viewing...
company Exclusive Films, operating from a single office at 60-66 National House, Wardour Street
Wardour Street
Wardour Street is a street in Soho, London. It is a one-way street south to north from Leicester Square, up through Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street.-History:...
. Hammer produced a further four films distributed by Exclusive:
- The Mystery of the Marie CelesteThe Mystery of the Marie CelesteThe Mystery of the Marie Celeste is one of the early films from Hammer Film Productions and was directed by Denison Clift. The leading actor is Béla Lugosi....
(US: The Phantom Ship) (1936), featuring Bela LugosiBéla LugosiBéla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his... - Song of Freedom (1936), featuring Paul RobesonPaul RobesonPaul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
- Sporting Love (1937)
- The Bank Messenger Mystery (1936)
A slump in the British film industry forced Hammer into bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
and the company went into liquidation in 1937. Exclusive, however, survived and on 20 July 1937 purchased the leasehold on 113-117 Wardour Street, and continued to distribute films made by other companies.
Resurrection (1938 to 1955) Hammer Film Productions
James CarrerasJames Carreras
Sir James Carreras MBE was one of the founders of Hammer Film Productions. He was knighted in 1970. His son was the film director and producer Michael Carreras.- Films as Executive Producer :...
joined Exclusive in 1938, closely followed by William Hinds' son, Anthony. At the outbreak of World War II, both James Carreras and Anthony Hinds
Anthony Hinds
Anthony Hinds , aka Tony Hinds, aka John Elder, is a British screenwriter and producer. He is the son of the founder of Hammer Film Productions, William Hinds.-Early life:Tony Hinds was educated at St Paul's School...
left to join the armed services and Exclusive continued to operate only in a limited capacity. In 1946, James Carreras rejoined the company after demobilisation. He resurrected Hammer as the film production arm of Exclusive with a view to supplying 'quota-quickies' - cheaply made domestic films designed to fill gaps in cinema schedules and support more expensive features. He convinced Anthony Hinds to rejoin the company, and a revived 'Hammer Film Productions' set to work on Death in High Heels, The Dark Road, and Crime Reporter. Not being able to afford top stars, Hammer acquired the film rights to several BBC radio series such as The Adventures of PC 49 and Dick Barton Special Agent (an adaptation of the successful Dick Barton
Dick Barton
Dick Barton - Special Agent was a popular radio programme on the BBC Light Programme. Between 1946 to 1951 it aired at 6.45 each weekday evening and at its peak it had an audience of 15 million listeners. Despite popular belief, it was not actually the BBC's first daily serial...
radio show). All were shot at Marylebone Studios during 1947. During production of Dick Barton Strikes Back (1948), it became apparent that the company could save a considerable amount of money by shooting in country houses instead of professional studios. For their next production Dr Morelle - The Case of the Missing Heiress (another radio adaptation) Hammer rented Dial Close, a 23 bedroom mansion next to the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
, at Cookham Dean
Cookham Dean
Cookham Dean is a settlement to the west of the village of Cookham in Berkshire, England. It is the highest point of all the Cookhams -Commerce:...
, Maidenhead
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a town and unparished area within the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It lies on the River Thames and is situated west of Charing Cross in London.-History:...
.
On 12 February 1949 Exclusive finally registered "Hammer Film Productions" as a company with Enrique and James Carreras, and William and Tony Hinds as company directors. Hammer moved into the Exclusive offices in 113-117 Wardour Street, and the building was rechristened "Hammer House".
In August 1949, complaints from locals about noise during night filming forced Hammer to leave Dial Close and move into another mansion, Oakley Court
Oakley Court
Oakley Court is a Victorian Gothic country house set in overlooking the River Thames at Water Oakley in the civil parish of Bray in the English county of Berkshire. It was built in 1859 and is currently a luxury hotel. It has been often used as a film location.-History:The Court was built in 1859...
, also on the banks of the Thames between Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
and Maidenhead. Five films were shot there: The Man in Black (1949), Room to Let
Room to Let
Room to Let is an award winning short film directed by Joe McStravick, written by Gerlind Becker and starring Robin Edwards and Roz McCutcheon .- Plot :...
(1949), Someone at the Door (1949), What The Butler Saw (1950), The Lady Craved Excitement (1950). In 1950, Hammer moved again to Gilston Park, a country club in Harlow Essex, which hosted The Black Widow
The Black Widow (1951 film)
The Black Widow is a 1951 British thriller, directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Christine Norden and Robert Ayres. The film was a B-movie production by Hammer Film Productions and was based on a radio serial entitled Return from Darkness.-Plot:...
, The Rossiter Case, To Have and to Hold and The Dark Light (all 1950).
In 1951, Hammer began shooting at its most famous home, Down Place also on the banks of the Thames. The company took out a one-year lease and began its 1951 production schedule with Cloudburst. The house, a virtual derelict, required substantial work, but it did not have the kind of construction restrictions that had prevented Hammer from customising its previous homes. A decision was therefore made to turn Down Place into a substantial, custom-fitted studio complex. Its expansive grounds were used for almost all of the later location shooting in Hammer's films, and are a key part of the 'Hammer look'.
Also during 1951, Hammer and Exclusive signed a four-year production and distribution contract with Robert Lippert, an American film producer. The contract meant that Lippert and Exclusive effectively exchanged products for distribution on their respective sides of the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
beginning in 1951 with The Last Page and ending with Women Without Men (AKA Prison Story, 1955). It was Lippert's insistence on an American star in the Hammer films he was to distribute that led to the prevalence of American leads in so many of the company's productions during the 1950s. It was for The Last Page that Hammer made one of its most significant appointments when it hired film director Terence Fisher
Terence Fisher
Terence Fisher was a film director who worked for Hammer Films. He was born in Maida Vale, a district of London, England.Fisher was one of the most prominent horror directors of the second half of the 20th century...
, who went on to play a critical role in the forthcoming horror cycle.
Towards the end of 1951, the one-year lease on Down Place expired, and with its increasing success Hammer looked back towards more conventional studio-based productions. A dispute with the Association of Cinematograph Technicians, however, blocked this proposal, and instead the company purchased the freehold of Down Place. The house was renamed Bray Studios
Bray Studios (UK)
Bray Studios is a film and television facility at Bray, near Windsor, Berkshire, England. The films Alien and The Rocky Horror Picture Show were shot there...
after the nearby village of Bray
Bray, Berkshire
Bray, sometimes known as Bray on Thames, is a village and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire. It stands on the banks of the River Thames, just south-east of Maidenhead. It is famous as the village mentioned in the song The Vicar of Bray...
and it remained Hammer's principal base until 1966. In 1953, the first of Hammer's science fiction films, Four Sided Triangle
Four Sided Triangle
Four Sided Triangle is a 1953 British science-fiction film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions.The film dealt with the moral and scientific themes that were soon to put Hammer Films on the map with the same director's The Curse of Frankenstein...
and Spaceways
Spaceways
Spaceways is a 76-minute, 1953, British-American, black and white, science fiction film co-produced by Hammer Film Productions Ltd. and Lippert Productions Inc.. It was filmed entirely in England by the Hammer company, with Michael Carreras as producer-of-record and American Robert L...
, were released.
The birth of Hammer Horror (1955 to 1959)
Hammer's first significant experiment with horror came in the form of a 1955 adaptation of Nigel KnealeNigel Kneale
Nigel Kneale was a British screenwriter from the Isle of Man. Active in television, film, radio drama and prose fiction, he wrote professionally for over fifty years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and was twice nominated for the British Film Award for Best Screenplay...
's BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
science fiction serial The Quatermass Experiment
The Quatermass Experiment
The Quatermass Experiment is a British science-fiction serial broadcast by BBC Television in the summer of 1953 and re-staged by BBC Four in 2005. Set in the near future against the background of a British space programme, it tells the story of the first manned flight into space, overseen by...
, which was directed by Val Guest
Val Guest
Val Guest was a British film director, best known for his science-fiction films for Hammer Film Productions in the 1950s, but who also enjoyed a long, varied and active career in the film industry from the early 1930s up until the early 1980s.-Early life and career:He was born Valmond Maurice...
. As a consequence of the contract with Robert Lippert, American actor Brian Donlevy
Brian Donlevy
Brian Donlevy was an Irish-born American film actor, noted for playing tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best known films are Beau Geste and The Great McGinty...
was imported for the lead role, and the title was changed to The Quatermass Xperiment
The Quatermass Xperiment
The Quatermass Xperiment is a 1955 British science fiction horror film. Made by Hammer Film Productions, it was based on the 1953 BBC Television serial The Quatermass Experiment written by Nigel Kneale. It was directed by Val Guest and stars Brian Donlevy as the eponymous Professor Bernard...
to cash in on the new X certificate for horror films. The film was an unexpectedly big hit, and led to an almost equally popular 1957 sequel Quatermass 2
Quatermass 2
Quatermass 2 is a 1957 British science fiction horror film. Made by Hammer Film Productions, it is a sequel to an earlier Hammer film The Quatermass Xperiment. Like its predecessor, it is based on a BBC Television serial – Quatermass II – written by Nigel Kneale...
again adapted from one of Kneale's television scripts, this time by Kneale himself and with a budget double that of the original: £92,000. In the meantime, Hammer had produced another Quatermass
Quatermass
Quatermass may best be known as the surname of the title character of a British science fiction franchise of several television serials and films, and a radio production...
-style horror film, X the Unknown
X the Unknown
X the Unknown is a British science-fiction / horror film made by the Hammer Films company and released in 1956.-Production:The film was originally intended by Hammer to be a sequel to the previous year's successful The Quatermass Xperiment, but writer Nigel Kneale refused permission for the...
, originally intended as a full part of the series until Kneale denied them the rights. At the time, Hammer voluntarily submitted its scripts to the British Board of Film Censors
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
(BBFC) for comments before beginning production. Regarding the script of X the Unknown, one reader/examiner (Audrey Field) commented on 24 November:
"Well, no one can say the customers won't have had their money's worth by now. In fact, someone will almost certainly have been sick. We must have a great deal more restraint, and much more done by onlookers' reactions instead of by shots of 'pulsating obscenity', hideous scars, hideous sightless faces, etc, etc. It is keeping on and on in the same vein that makes this script so outrageous. They must take it away and prune. Before they take it away, however, I think the President [of the BBFC] should read it. I have a stronger stomach than the average (for viewing purposes) and perhaps I ought to be reacting more strongly."
The Curse of Frankenstein
As production began on Quatermass 2, Hammer started to look for another U.S. partner willing to invest in and handle the American promotion of new product. They eventually entered talks with Associated Artists ProductionsAssociated Artists Productions
Associated Artists Productions was a distributor of theatrical feature films and short subjects for television. It existed from 1953 to 1958. It was later folded into United Artists. The former a.a.p. library was later owned by MGM/UA Entertainment and then Turner Entertainment. Turner continues...
(a.a.p.) and its head, Elliot Hyman, a man reputed to have American underworld connections. During this period, two young American filmmakers, Max J. Rosenberg
Max Rosenberg
Max J. Rosenberg was an American film producer, whose film career stretched across six decades. He was particularly noted for his horror or supernatural films, and found much of his success while working in England....
and Milton Subotsky
Milton Subotsky
Milton Subotsky was an American TV and film writer/producer. In 1964, in England, he formed Amicus Productions with Max J Rosenberg.Together they produced a number of low budget science fiction and horror films....
, who later established Hammer's rival Amicus
Amicus Productions
Amicus Productions is a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England. It was founded by American producer and screenwriter Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg.-Horror:...
, submitted to a.a.p. a script for an adaptation of the novel Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
. Although interested in the script, a.a.p. were not prepared to back a film made by Rosenberg and Subotsky, who had only one film to their credit. Eliot Hyman did, however, send the script to his contact at Hammer. Rosenberg would often claim he 'produced' Curse of Frankenstein, an exaggeration repeated in his obituary.
Although the novel by Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
was long since in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
, Anthony Hinds was unsure about the script, as Subotsky's script adhered closely to the plot of the 1939 Universal film Son of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein is the third film in Universal Studios' Frankenstein series and the last to feature Boris Karloff as the Monster as well as the first to feature Béla Lugosi as Ygor. It is a sequel to Bride of Frankenstein....
, featuring a second-generation Baron Frankenstein emulating his father, the original monster-maker. This put the project at risk of a copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
infringement lawsuit by Universal. In addition, a great deal of polishing and additional material was needed as the short script had an estimated running time of only 55 minutes far less than the minimum of 90 minutes needed for distribution in the UK. Accordingly, comments on the script from Hammer's Michael Carreras (who had joined his father James as producer in the early 1950s) were less than complimentary:
"The script is badly presented. The sets are not marked clearly on the shot headings, neither is DAY or NIGHT specified in a number of cases. The number of set-ups scripted is quite out of proportion to the length of the screenplay, and we suggest that your rewrites are done in master scene form."
Further revisions were made to the script, and a working title of Frankenstein and the Monster was chosen. Plans were made to shoot the film in Eastmancolor a decision which caused further worry at the BBFC. Not only did the script contain horror and graphic violence, but it would be portrayed in vivid colour.
The project was handed to Tony Hinds who was even less impressed with the script than Michael Carreras, and whose vision for the film was a mere black and white 'quickie' made in three weeks. Concerned that Subotsky and Rosenberg's script still had too many similarities to the old Universal films, Hinds commissioned Jimmy Sangster
Jimmy Sangster
James Henry Kinmel Sangster was an English screenwriter and director, known for his work for horror film producers Hammer Film Productions, including scripts for The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula .Sangster originally worked as a production assistant at...
to rewrite it as The Curse of Frankenstein. Sangster's treatment impressed Hammer enough to rescue the film from its place on the 'quickie' treadmill and to make it as a colour film.
Sangster submitted his own script to the BBFC for examination. Audrey Field reported on 10 October 1956:
"We are concerned about the flavour of this script, which, in its preoccupation with horror and gruesome detail, goes far beyond what we are accustomed to allow even for the 'X' category. I am afraid we can give no assurance that we should be able to pass a film based on the present script and a revised script should be sent us for our comments, in which the overall unpleasantness should be mitigated."
Regardless of the BBFC's stern warnings, Hinds supervised the shooting of a virtually unchanged script.
The film was directed by Terence Fisher, with a look that belied its modest budget. Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
's performance as Baron Victor Frankenstein, and Christopher Lee's as the imposingly tall, brutish monster provide the film with a further veneer of polish. With a budget of £65,000 and a cast and crew that would become the backbone of later films, Hammer's first Gothic horror went into production. The use of colour encouraged a previously unseen level of gore. Until The Curse of Frankenstein horror films had not shown blood in a graphic way, or when they did it was concealed by monochrome photography. In this film, it was bright red, and the camera lingered on it.
The film was an enormous success, not only in Britain, but also in the USA, where it inspired numerous imitations from, amongst others, Roger Corman
Roger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
and American International Pictures
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
. It also found success on the European continent
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, where Italian directors and audiences were particularly receptive.
Dracula
The huge box office success of The Curse of Frankenstein led to the inevitable desire for a sequel in The Revenge of Frankenstein, and an attempt to give the Hammer treatment to another horror icon. Dracula had been another successful film character for Universal in the past, and the copyright situation was even more complicated than for Frankenstein. A full legal agreement between Hammer and Universal was not completed until 31 March 1958 after the film had already been shot and was 80 pages long.Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
to distribute the sequel The Revenge of Frankenstein and two films from the defaulted a.a.p. deal The Camp on Blood Island and The Snorkel. Hammer's financial success also meant the winding down of the parent film distribution company Exclusive, leaving Hammer to concentrate solely on filmmaking.
Work continued on the script for Dracula, and the second draft was voluntarily submitted to the BBFC. Audrey Field commented on 8 October 1957:
"The uncouth, uneducated, disgusting and vulgar style of Mr Jimmy Sangster cannot quite obscure the remnants of a good horror story, though they do give one the gravest misgivings about treatment. [...] The curse of this thing is the Technicolor blood: why need vampires be messier eaters than anyone else? Certainly strong cautions will be necessary on shots of blood. And of course, some of the stake-work is prohibitive."
Despite the success of Curse of Frankenstein, the financing of Dracula proved awkward. Universal was not interested, and the search for money eventually brought Hammer back to a.a.p.'s Eliot Hyman, through another of his companies, Seven Arts (which later merged with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, ironically now the successor-in-interest to a.a.p.
Turner Entertainment
Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. Now owned by Time Warner, the company is largely responsible for overseeing its library for worldwide distribution Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. (commonly known as Turner Entertainment Co.) is an American...
). Although an agreement was drawn up, the deal was never realised and funding for Dracula eventually came from the National Film Finance Council (£32,000) and the rest from Universal in return for worldwide distribution rights.
With an eventual budget of £81,412, Dracula began principal photography on 11 November 1957. Peter Cushing starred as Van Helsing
Abraham Van Helsing
Professor Abraham van Helsing is a protagonist from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula.Van Helsing is a Dutch doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "M.D., D.Ph., D.Litt., etc." The character is best known as a...
and Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, with direction by Terence Fisher and set design by Bernard Robinson
Bernard Robinson (production designer)
Bernard Robinson was born in Liverpool, England in 1912 and died in 1970. He designed sets for several of Hammer's films in their heyday, including The Curse of Frankenstein , Dracula , Curse of the Werewolf , The Phantom of the Opera , The Gorgon and Quatermass and the Pit...
that was radically different from the Universal adaptation so radical, in fact, that Hammer executives considered paying him off and finding another designer.
Dracula was an enormous success, breaking box-office records in the UK, the United States (released as Horror of Dracula), Canada, and across the world. On 20 August 1958 the Daily Cinema reported:
"Because of the fantastic business done world-wide by Hammer's Technicolor version of Dracula, Universal-International, its distributors, have made over to Jimmy Carreras' organisation, the remake rights to their entire library of classic films".
The Mummy With the agreement in place, Hammer's executives had their pick of Universal International's horror icons and chose to remake The Invisible Man, The Phantom of the Opera and The Mummy's Hand. All were to be shot in colour at Bray Studios, by the same team responsible for Dracula, Curse of Frankenstein and Revenge of Frankenstein. The Mummy (the title used for the remake of The Mummy's Hand, which also incorporated significant story elements from that film's sequel, The Mummy's Tomb) was made in 1959
1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
, The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera (1962 film)
The Phantom of the Opera is a 1962 British film based on the novel by Gaston Leroux. The film was made by Hammer Film Productions.-Plot:The film opens in Victorian London on a December night in 1900....
followed in 1962
1962 in film
The year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
, and Hammer collaborated with William Castle
William Castle
William Castle was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Castle was known for directing films with many gimmicks which were ambitiously promoted, despite being reasonably low budget B-movies....
on a remake of The Old Dark House
The Old Dark House (1963 film)
The Old Dark House is a comedy-horror film directed by William Castle. It is a remake of the 1932 film of the same name directed by James Whale. The film was based on the novel by J. B. Priestley originally published under the name Benighted, and the new screenplay was written by Robert Dillon...
(1963), but The Invisible Man was never produced.
Principal photography for The Mummy began on 23 February 1959 and lasted until 16 April 1959. Once again it starred both Peter Cushing (as John Banning) and Christopher Lee (as the Mummy, Kharis), and was again directed by Terence Fisher with a screenplay from Jimmy Sangster. The Mummy went on general release on 23 October 1959 and broke the box-office records set by Dracula the previous year, both in the UK and the U.S. when it was released there in December.
During the period 1955-1959 Hammer produced a number of other, non-horror films, including The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959 film)
The Hound of the Baskervilles is a 1959 British detective film produced by Hammer Films and directed by Terence Fisher.The film is the first adaptation from the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle novel of the same name to be filmed in colour and stars Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes, Sir Christopher Lee as...
starring Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
, and comedies such as Don't Panic Chaps! Nevertheless, it is the three films, The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy that set the direction and provided a template for many future films, and for which the company is best known.
Frankenstein Hammer consolidated their success by turning their most successful horror films into series. Six sequels to The Curse of Frankenstein were produced between 1959 and 1974:
The Revenge of Frankenstein
The Revenge of Frankenstein is a 1958 British horror film made by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film stars Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Michael Gwynn and Eunice Gayson....
(1959)
The Evil of Frankenstein
The Evil of Frankenstein is a 1964 British horror film made by Hammer Studio. Directed by Freddie Francis, the film stars Peter Cushing and New Zealand wrestler Kiwi Kingston....
(1964)
Frankenstein Created Woman
Frankenstein Created Woman is a 1967 British Hammer Horror film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Peter Cushing as Baron Frankenstein and Susan Denberg as his new creation...
(1967)
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed is a British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Film Productions from 1969. The cast includes Peter Cushing, Freddie Jones, Veronica Carlson and Simon Ward. The film is the fifth in a series of Hammer films centering on Dr...
(1969)
The Horror of Frankenstein
The Horror of Frankenstein is a 1970 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions that is both a semi-parody and remake of the 1957 film The Curse of Frankenstein. It was produced and directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Ralph Bates, Kate O'Mara, Veronica Carlson and David Prowse as the monster...
(1970)
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell is a 1974 British horror film from Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Terence Fisher and starred Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, and David Prowse...
(1974)
All starred Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
as Baron Frankenstein, except The Horror of Frankenstein (not a sequel, but a tongue-in-cheek remake of The Curse of Frankenstein), where Ralph Bates
Ralph Bates
Ralph Bates was an English film and television actor, known for his role in the British sitcom Dear John and for being one of Hammer Horror's best-known actors from the latter period of the company....
took the title role. The Evil of Frankenstein stars Cushing but has a re-telling of the Baron's history in flashbacks and a Baron Frankenstein with a very different personality and thus is not a sequel in the sense of a chronological continuation.
Hammer also produced a half-hour pilot titled Tales of Frankenstein (1958) that was intended to premiere on American television; it was never picked up but is now available on DVD. Anton Diffring
Anton Diffring
Anton Diffring , born Alfred Pollack, was a German actor.-Biography:Diffring was born in Koblenz...
played Baron Frankenstein.
Dracula Hammer also produced eight other Dracula films between 1960 and 1974:
Dracula: Prince of Darkness
Dracula: Prince of Darkness is a 1966 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer Studios. The film was photographed in Techniscope by Michael Reed, designed by Bernard Robinson and scored by James Bernard.-Plot:...
(1966)
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is a 1968 British horror film directed by Freddie Francis for Hammer Films. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, with support from Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson, Barry Andrews, Barbara Ewing, Ewan Hooper and Michael Ripper.- Plot :The film opens in a...
(1968)
Taste the Blood of Dracula
Taste the Blood of Dracula is a British horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions and released in 1970. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, and was directed by Peter Sasdy...
(1969)
Scars of Dracula
Scars of Dracula is a 1970 British horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker for Hammer Studios.It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, alongside Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Patrick Troughton, and Michael Gwynn...
(1970)
Dracula AD 1972
Dracula A.D. 1972 is a 1972 Hammer Horror film directed by Alan Gibson, written by Don Houghton and starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham. Unlike earlier films in the Hammer Dracula series, Dracula A.D...
(1972)
The Satanic Rites of Dracula
The Satanic Rites of Dracula is a 1974 Hammer Horror film directed by Alan Gibson. It is the eighth film in the Hammer Dracula series, and the seventh and final to feature Christopher Lee as Dracula. The film also the third film to reunite Peter Cushing as Van Helsing with Christopher Lee together...
(1973)
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires is a 1974 horror film produced by Hammer Studios and Shaw Brothers Studio. It was released in North America in an edited version as The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula, and alternatively known as The Seven Brothers And Their One Sister Meet Dracula.-Plot:Professor...
(1974)
The first five were direct sequels to the original film. Brides of Dracula did not include Dracula himself, but Peter Cushing
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing, OBE was an English actor, known for his many appearances in Hammer Films, in which he played the handsome but sinister scientist Baron Frankenstein and the vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing, amongst many other roles, often appearing opposite Christopher Lee, and occasionally...
repeated his role as Van Helsing to battle vampire Baron Meinster (David Peel). The Kiss of the Vampire
The Kiss of the Vampire
The Kiss of the Vampire also known as Kiss of Evil, is a 1963 British vampire film made by the film studio Hammer Film Productions...
did not include Van Helsing or Dracula, but continued the theme of Brides of Dracula, showing vampirism as a plague infecting other pockets of unfortunates. Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
as Dracula returned in the following six films, which employed much ingenuity in finding ways to resurrect the Count. Hammer upped the graphic violence and gore with Scars of Dracula
Scars of Dracula
Scars of Dracula is a 1970 British horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker for Hammer Studios.It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, alongside Dennis Waterman, Jenny Hanley, Patrick Troughton, and Michael Gwynn...
in an attempt to re-imagine the character to appeal to a younger audience. The commercial failure of this film led to another change of style with the following films, which were not period pieces like their predecessors, but had a then-contemporary 1970s London setting. Peter Cushing appeared in both films playing a descendant of Van Helsing.
It is worth noting that while the contemporary films featuring Dracula star both Lee and Cushing, they are not the same series due to the lack of correspondence to the Victorian-Edwardian era films. The first film
Dracula (1958 film)
Dracula, also known as Horror of Dracula in the United States, is a 1958 British horror film. It is the first in the series of Hammer Horror films inspired by the Bram Stoker novel Dracula. It was directed by Terence Fisher, and stars Peter Cushing, Michael Gough, Carol Marsh, Melissa Stribling and...
is set in 1885, whereas the flashback sequence in Dracula AD 1972
Dracula AD 1972
Dracula A.D. 1972 is a 1972 Hammer Horror film directed by Alan Gibson, written by Don Houghton and starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham. Unlike earlier films in the Hammer Dracula series, Dracula A.D...
is set in 1872 – long before the first meeting of Van Helsing and Dracula in the original film.
Christopher Lee grew increasingly disillusioned with the way the character was being taken, and with the poor quality of the later scripts – although he did improve these slightly himself by adding lines of dialogue from the original novel. (Lee speaks at least one line taken from Bram Stoker in every Dracula film he has appeared in, except for Prince of Darkness – in which the Count does not speak at all (Lee had been appalled by his dialogue in that film).) He was also concerned about typecasting. After Satanic Rites, he quit the series.
The Mummy Further "mummy" movies were unrelated to the 1959 remake and one, The Mummy's Shroud
The Mummy's Shroud
The Mummy's Shroud is a 1967 horror film made in the UK by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Hammer veteran John Gilling.It stars André Morell and David Buck as explorers who uncover the tomb of an ancient Egyptian mummy. It also starred John Phillips, Maggie Kimberly and Michael Ripper...
, was relegated to second feature status. The films were The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb is a 1964 British horror film by Hammer Film Productions.-Plot:A mummy discovered by three Egyptologists is brought back to London by a showman...
(1964), The Mummy's Shroud
The Mummy's Shroud
The Mummy's Shroud is a 1967 horror film made in the UK by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Hammer veteran John Gilling.It stars André Morell and David Buck as explorers who uncover the tomb of an ancient Egyptian mummy. It also starred John Phillips, Maggie Kimberly and Michael Ripper...
(1966) and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb
Blood from the Mummy's Tomb is a 1971 British film starring Andrew Keir, Valerie Leon, and James Villiers. This was director Seth Holt's final film, and was adapted from Bram Stoker's novel The Jewel of Seven Stars. The film was released as the support feature to Dr...
(1971). The latter was a modern day version of Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
's The Jewel of Seven Stars
The Jewel of Seven Stars
The Jewel of Seven Stars is a horror novel by Bram Stoker, first published in 1903. The story is about an archaeologist's plot to revive Queen Tera, an ancient Egyptian mummy.-Second edition:...
and featured Valerie Leon
Valerie Leon
Valerie Leon is an English actress who had roles in a number of high profile British film franchises, including the Carry On series.-Early life:...
as a reincarnated Egyptian Princess, rather than an actual mummy. The same novel also served as the basis for the 1980 Charlton Heston film The Awakening and a later direct-to-video feature called Bram Stoker's The Mummy, starring Lou Gossett Jr..
By the mid-1960s, the Mummy series and some of Hammer's other horror output were intended for double billing. Two films would be shot back-to-back with the same sets and costumes to save money. Each film would then be shown on a separate double-bill to prevent audiences noticing any recycling, as for example in The Plague of the Zombies
The Plague of the Zombies
The Plague of the Zombies Hammer Horror film directed by John Gilling. It stars André Morell, John Carson, Jacqueline Pearce, Brook Williams and Michael Ripper...
and The Reptile
The Reptile
The Reptile is a 1966 horror film made by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by John Gilling, and starred Noel Willman, Jacqueline Pearce, Ray Barrett, Jennifer Daniel and Michael Ripper.-Plot synopsis:...
(both 1965).
Cave Girls
Hammer also produced a series of 'cave girl'-themed films, directed by Michael Carreras:One Million Years B.C.
One Million Years B.C. is a 1966 British adventure/fantasy film starring Raquel Welch, set - loosely - in the time of cavemen. The film was made by Hammer Film Productions, and was a remake of the 1940 Hollywood film One Million B.C., and it recreates many of the scenes of that film...
(1966), with Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch
Jo Raquel Tejada , better known as Raquel Welch, is an American actress, author and sex symbol. Welch came to attention as a "new-star" on the 20th Century-Fox lot in the mid-1960s. She posed iconically in a animal skin bikini for the British-release One Million Years B.C. , for which she may be...
.
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth is a 1970 movie starring Victoria Vetri, set in the time of cavemen. The film was made by Britain's Hammer Films....
(1970)
Creatures the World Forgot
Creatures the World Forgot is a 1971 Adventure film directed by Don Chaffey and produced and written for Hammer Films by Michael Carreras. The film concentrates on the daily struggle to survive of a tribe of Stone Age men...
(1971)
These films were parodied in Carry On Up the Jungle
Carry On Up the Jungle
Carry On Up the Jungle is the nineteenth Carry On film, released in 1970. The film marked Frankie Howerd's second and final appearance in the series. He stars alongside regular players Sid James, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims, Terry Scott and Bernard Bresslaw. Kenneth Williams is unusually absent...
(1970).
Psychological thrillers
Running alongside production of the Gothic horror films, Hammer also made a series of what were known as "mini-HitchcockAlfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
s" mostly scripted by Jimmy Sangster
Jimmy Sangster
James Henry Kinmel Sangster was an English screenwriter and director, known for his work for horror film producers Hammer Film Productions, including scripts for The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula .Sangster originally worked as a production assistant at...
, and directed by Freddie Francis
Freddie Francis
Frederick William Francis BSC was an English cinematographer and film director.He achieved his greatest successes as a cinematographer, including winning two Academy Awards, for Sons and Lovers and Glory...
and Seth Holt
Seth Holt
Seth Holt was a British film director, producer and editor.Originally a film editor, he worked on a number of Ealing comedies before directing a number of features for Hammer Studios...
. These very low-budget suspense thrillers, often in black-and-white, were made in the mould of Les Diaboliques, although more often compared to the later Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
. This series of mystery thrillers, which all had twist endings, started with Taste of Fear
Taste of Fear
Taste of Fear is a 1961 British thriller film directed by Seth Holt, shot in black-and-white by Douglas Slocombe, and released by Hammer Films...
(1961) and continued with Maniac
Maniac (1963 film)
Maniac is a British psychological thriller, which was directed by Michael Carreras and stars Kerwin Matthews, Nadia Gray and Donald Houston.-Plot:...
(1963), Paranoiac
Paranoiac (1963 film)
Paranoiac is a 1963 suspense film from Hammer Films directed by Freddie Francis and starring Janette Scott, Oliver Reed, Sheila Burrell, and Alexander Davion...
(1963), Nightmare
Nightmare (1964 film)
Nightmare is a 1964 horror/suspense film from Hammer Films. The film was directed by Freddie Francis and written by Hammer Films regular Jimmy Sangster. The British Film Institute has the only 35mm print in the UK.-Plot:...
(1964), Hysteria (1965), Fanatic
Fanatic (1965 film)
Fanatic is a 1965 British thriller directed by Silvio Narizzano for Hammer Films. It stars Tallulah Bankhead, Stefanie Powers, Peter Vaughan, Yootha Joyce, Maurice Kaufmann and Donald Sutherland....
(1965), The Nanny (1965), Crescendo
Crescendo (film)
Crescendo is a 1970 British horror film directed by Alan Gibson and starring Stefanie Powers, James Olson and Margaretta Scott. It was made by Hammer Film Productions.-Plot:...
(1970), Straight on Till Morning (1972) and Fear in the Night (1972)
Fear in the Night (1972 film)
Fear in the Night is a 1972 British psychological horror film directed by Jimmy Sangster and starring Judy Geeson, Joan Collins and Peter Cushing. A young woman goes to take up a new position working in a boy's boarding school. She soon begins to believe she is losing her mind when a one armed man...
.
Others
Other films include:The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll is a 1960 horror film by Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Terence Fisher, and stars Paul Massie as Dr. Jekyll, and co-stars Dawn Addams, Christopher Lee and David Kossoff. It was written by Wolf Mankowitz, based on the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr...
(1960), a version of Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
's Jekyll and Hyde
Never Take Sweets from a Stranger
Never Take Sweets from a Stranger is a 1960 British film, directed by Cyril Frankel and released by Hammer Film Productions. The screenplay was developed by John Hunter from the play The Pony Trap by Roger Garis. It stars Patrick Allen, Gwen Watford and Felix Aylmer, the latter being cast...
(1960), starring Patrick Allen
Patrick Allen
John Keith Patrick Allen was a British film, television and voice actor.-Life and career:Allen was born in Nyasaland , where his father was a tobacco farmer. After his parents returned to Britain, he was evacuated to Canada during World War II where he remained to finish his education at McGill...
and Felix Aylmer
Felix Aylmer
Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television.-Early life and career:...
The Curse of the Werewolf
The Curse of the Werewolf is a British film based on the novel The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore. The film was made by the British film studio Hammer Film Productions and was shot at Bray Studios.-Plot:...
(1961), Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
's first starring role
The Phantom of the Opera (1962 film)
The Phantom of the Opera is a 1962 British film based on the novel by Gaston Leroux. The film was made by Hammer Film Productions.-Plot:The film opens in Victorian London on a December night in 1900....
(1962), starring Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom
Herbert Lom is a Czech film actor, best known for his role as former Chief Inspector Charles Dreyfus in the Pink Panther movie series.-Life and career:...
The Gorgon
The Gorgon is a 1964 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher for Hammer.It stars Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley and Richard Pasco. The film was photographed by Michael Reed, and designed by Bernard Robinson. For the score James Bernard combined a soprano with a little-known...
(1964) ,
She (1965 film)
She is a 1965 film made by Hammer Film Productions, based on the novel by H. Rider Haggard. It was directed by Robert Day and stars Ursula Andress, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.-Plot synopsis:...
(1965), based on the novel
She (novel)
She, subtitled A History of Adventure, is a novel by Henry Rider Haggard, first serialized in The Graphic magazine from October 1886 to January 1887. She is one of the classics of imaginative literature, and with over 83 million copies sold in 44 different languages, one of the best-selling books...
of the same name by Rider Haggard
The Witches (1966 film)
The Witches is a 1966 British horror film made by Hammer Films. It was adapted by Nigel Kneale from the novel The Devil's Own by Norah Lofts, under the pseudonym Peter Curtis...
(1966)
The Anniversary (film)
The Anniversary is a 1968 British black comedy film directed by Roy Ward Baker. The screenplay by Jimmy Sangster is based on the 1966 play of the same title by Bill MacIlwraith.-Plot:...
(1968), with Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
The Lost Continent (1968 film)
The Lost Continent is a 1968 science fiction film made by Seven Arts - Hammer Films featuring Eric Porter, Hildegard Knef, Suzanna Leigh, Tony Beckley and James Cossins. The film was produced, directed and written by Michael Carreras based on Dennis Wheatley's 1938 novel Uncharted Seas...
(1968) starring Eric Porter
Eric Porter
Eric Richard Porter was an English actor of stage, film and television.-Early life:Porter was born in Shepherd's Bush, London, to Richard John Porter and Phoebe Elizabeth Spall...
On 29 May 1968, Hammer was awarded the Queen's Award to Industry in recognition of their contribution to the British economy. The official presentation ceremony took place on the steps of the Castle Dracula set at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
, during the filming of Dracula Has Risen from the Grave.
Market changes (early 1970s)
As audiences became more sophisticated in the late 1960s, with the release of artfully directed, subtly horrific films like Roman PolanskiRoman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
's Rosemary's Baby
Rosemary's Baby (film)
Rosemary's Baby is a 1968 American horror film written and directed by Roman Polanski, based on the bestselling 1967 novel Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin...
(1968), the studio struggled to maintain its place in the market. It responded by bringing in new writers and directors, testing new characters, and attempting to rejuvenate their vampire and Frankenstein films with new approaches to familiar material.
While the studio remained true to previous period settings in their 1972 release Vampire Circus
Vampire Circus
Vampire Circus is a 1972 British horror film directed by Robert Young for Hammer Film Productions. It stars Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters and Anthony Higgins . The story concerns a travelling carnival whose vampiric artistes prey on the children of a 19th-century Austrian village...
, their Dracula AD 1972 and The Satanic Rites of Dracula, for example, abandon period settings in pursuit of a modern-day setting and "swinging London" feel. These films were not successful, and drew fire not only from critics, but from Christopher Lee himself, who refused to appear in more Dracula films after these. Speaking at a press conference in 1973 to announce The Satanic Rites of Dracula, then called Dracula is Dead... and Well and Living in London, Lee said:
"I'm doing it under protest... I think it is fatuous. I can think of twenty adjectives - fatuous, pointless, absurd. It's not a comedy, but it's got a comic title. I don't see the point."
The film itself also indulges the turn toward self-parody suggested by the title, with more humour appearing in the script, undercutting any real sense of horror.
Hammer films had always sold themselves, in part, on their violent and sexual content. After the release of films like Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie and Clyde (film)
The film was originally offered to François Truffaut, the best-known director of the New Wave movement, who made contributions to the script. He passed on the project to make Fahrenheit 451. The producers approached Jean-Luc Godard next...
(1967) and The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch
The Wild Bunch is a 1969 American Western film directed by Sam Peckinpah about an aging outlaw gang on the Texas-Mexico border, trying to exist in the changing "modern" world of 1913...
(1969), audiences were increasingly able to see more explicit gore, more expertly staged, in relatively mainstream films. Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent black-and-white zombie film and cult film directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman. It premiered on October 1, 1968, and was completed on a USD$114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, it...
(1968) had also set a new standard for graphic violence in horror films. Hammer tried to compete as far as possible - Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell is a 1974 British horror film from Hammer Film Productions. It was directed by Terence Fisher and starred Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, and David Prowse...
(1974), for example, features a scene where the Baron kicks a discarded human brain - but realised quickly that, if they couldn't be as gory as new American productions, they could follow a trend prevalent in European films of the time, and play up the sexual content of their films.
Hammer Films also had commercial success with some atypical output during this period: the film version of the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
series On the Buses
On The Buses
On the Buses was a British situation comedy created by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney which was broadcast in the UK from 1969 to 1973. The writers' previous successes with The Rag Trade and Meet the Wife were for the BBC, but the Corporation rejected On the Buses, not seeing much comedy potential...
(1971). This was popular enough to produce two sequels, Mutiny on the Buses (1972) and Holiday on the Buses (1973).
The Karnstein Trilogy
In the Karnstein Trilogy, based loosely on J. Sheridan Le Fanu's early vampire novellaNovella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
Carmilla
Carmilla
Carmilla is a Gothic novella by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. First published in 1872, it tells the story of a young woman's susceptibility to the attentions of a female vampire named Carmilla...
, Hammer showed some of the most explicit scenes of lesbianism yet seen in mainstream English language films. Despite otherwise traditional Hammer design and direction, there was also a corresponding increase in scenes of nudity in the films during this era. The Karnstein Trilogy comprises:
- The Vampire LoversThe Vampire LoversThe Vampire Lovers is a 1970 British Hammer Horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt, Madeline Smith, Kate O'Mara, and Jon Finch. It is based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla and is part of the so-called Karnstein Trilogy of films. The other films in...
(1970), featuring PolishPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
actress Ingrid PittIngrid PittIngrid Pitt was an actress best known for her work in horror films of the 1960s and 1970s.-Background:Pitt was born Ingoushka Petrov in Warsaw, Poland to a German father of Russian descent and a Polish Jewish mother. During World War II she and her family were imprisoned in a concentration camp... - Lust for a VampireLust for a VampireLust For a Vampire is a 1971 British Hammer Horror film directed by Jimmy Sangster, starring Yutte Stensgaard, Michael Johnston and Barbara Jefford. It is the second film in the so-called Karnstein Trilogy loosely based on the J. Sheridan Le Fanu novella Carmilla...
(1971) - Twins of EvilTwins of EvilTwins of Evil is a 1971 horror film by Hammer Film Productions starring Peter Cushing, with Damien Thomas and the real-life twins and former Playboy Playmates Mary and Madeleine Collinson....
(1971)
These three were written by Hammer newcomer Tudor Gates
Tudor Gates
Tudor Gates was an English screenwriter and trade unionist.-Biography:Gates was involved in stage management by the early 1950s and began scriptwriting in his spare time. After The Guv'nor was broadcast on television in 1956, he took to writing full time...
, who was recruited at about the same time as Brian Clemens
Brian Clemens
Brian Horace Clemens OBE is a British screenwriter and television producer, possibly best known for his work on The Avengers and The Professionals...
(creator of The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
). Clemens wrote two unusual films for Hammer. Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde is a 1971 British film directed by Roy Ward Baker based on the short story Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. The film was made by British studio Hammer Film Productions and was their second adaptation of the story after their 1960 film The...
(1971) featured Ralph Bates
Ralph Bates
Ralph Bates was an English film and television actor, known for his role in the British sitcom Dear John and for being one of Hammer Horror's best-known actors from the latter period of the company....
and Martine Beswick
Martine Beswick
Martine Beswick is an English actress and model, best known for her roles in two James Bond films.-Biography:Beswick was born on 26 September 1941 in Port Antonio, Jamaica to English parents....
, and Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter (1974), which Clemens also directed, were not successful at the time, but have since become cult favourites. The experimental films of this period represented a genuine attempt to find new angles on old stories, but audiences did not seem interested.
Later years of film production (later 1970s)
In the latter part of the 1970s, Hammer made fewer films, and attempts were made to break away from the then-unfashionable Gothic horror films on which the studio had built its reputation. Neither The Legend of the 7 Golden VampiresThe Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires
The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires is a 1974 horror film produced by Hammer Studios and Shaw Brothers Studio. It was released in North America in an edited version as The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula, and alternatively known as The Seven Brothers And Their One Sister Meet Dracula.-Plot:Professor...
(1974), a co-production with Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
's Shaw Brothers which attempted to combine Hammer's Gothic horror with the martial arts film
Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...
, nor To the Devil a Daughter
To the Devil a Daughter
To the Devil... A Daughter is a 1976 horror film made by Hammer Film Productions, taken from the novel of the same name by Dennis Wheatley, directed by Peter Sykes. It stars Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Honor Blackman, Nastassja Kinski and Denholm Elliott...
(1976), an adaptation of the Dennis Wheatley
Dennis Wheatley
Dennis Yates Wheatley was an English author. His prolific output of stylish thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling authors from the 1930s through the 1960s.-Early life:...
novel, were very successful. Hammer's last production, in 1979, was a remake of Hitchcock's 1938 thriller The Lady Vanishes
The Lady Vanishes (1979 film)
The Lady Vanishes is a 1979 British comedy mystery film directed by Anthony Page. Its screenplay by George Axelrod was based on the novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White...
, starring Elliot Gould and Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
. The film was a failure at the box office and all but bankrupted the studio.
Critical response
The Hammer Horror films were often praised by critics for their visual style, although rarely taken seriously. "Altogether this is a horrific film and sometimes a crude film, but by no means an unimpressive piece of melodramatic storytelling" wrote one critic of Dracula in The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in 1958. Critics who specialise in cult films, like Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Kim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
, have praised Hammer Horror more fully, enjoying their atmosphere, craftsmanship and occasional camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
appeal.
Hammer House of Horror
In the early 1980s Hammer Films created a series for British television, Hammer House of Horror, which ran for 13 episodes with 51 min per episode. In a break from their cinema format, these featured plot twistPlot twist
A plot twist is a change in the expected direction or outcome of the plot of a film, television series, video game, novel, comic or other fictional work. It is a common practice in narration used to keep the interest of an audience, usually surprising them with a revelation...
s, which usually saw the protagonists fall into the hands of that episode's horror. These varied from sadistic shopkeepers with hidden pasts, to witches and satanic rites. The series was marked by a sense of dark irony, its haunting title music, and the intermingling of horror with the commonplace.
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense
A second television series, Hammer House of Mystery and SuspenseHammer House of Mystery and Suspense
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense was a short-lived anthology television series from Hammer Studios similar to the format now used by Masters of Horror in which several directors under contract to Hammer produced thirteen 69-73 min films for television. It is known in the United States as Fox...
, was produced in 1984 and also ran for 13 episodes. The stories were originally to have been the same 51 min. length as their previous series, but it was decided to expand them to feature-length so as to market them as 'movies of the week' in the US. The running time became from 69 to 73 min. The series was made in association with 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
(who broadcast it as Fox Mystery Theater) and as such, some of the sex and violence seen in the earlier series was toned down considerably for US television. Each episode featured a star, often American, well known to US viewers. This series was Hammer's final production of the 20th century, and the studio went into semi-permanent hiatus.
2000s
In the 2000s, although the company has seemed to be in hibernation, frequent announcements have been made of new projects. In 2003, for example, the studio announced plans to work with Australian company Pictures in Paradise to develop new horror films for the DVD and cinema market.On 10 May 2007, it was announced that Dutch producer John De Mol had purchased the Hammer Films rights via his private equity firm Cyrte Investments. In addition to holding the rights to over 300 Hammer Films, De Mol's company plans to restart the studio. According to an article in Variety detailing the transaction, the new Hammer Films will be run by former Liberty Global execs Simon Oakes and Marc Schipper. In addition, Guy East and Nigel Sinclair of L.A.-based Spitfire Pictures are on board to produce two to three horror films or thrillers a year for the U.K.-based studio.
The first output under the new owners is Beyond the Rave
Beyond the Rave
Beyond the Rave is a twenty-part horror serial that marked the return of Hammer Films in 2008.-Plot:The story follows the last hours of freedom of local soldier Ed, who is flying out to Iraq the following morning...
, a contemporary vampire story which premièred free online exclusively on Myspace in April 2008 as a 20 x 4 min. serial.
The company began shooting for a new horror/thriller film in Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
in 2008, backed by the Irish Film Board
Irish Film Board
The Irish Film Board is Ireland’s national film agency and major film funding body. It was recommended for abolition by the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes in 2009.-Formative years:...
. The film is titled Wake Wood
Wake Wood
Wake Wood is a 2011 horror film. A UK and Irish co-production by Hammer Films, Wake Wood is directed by Ireland's David Keating. It stars Timothy Spall, Eva Birthistle, Dan Gordon and Aidan Gillen.- Plot :...
and was scheduled for release in the United Kingdom in the Autumn of 2009.
The film was produced in collaboration with the Swedish company Solid Entertainment who themself made the vampire film Frostbiten
Frostbiten
Frostbite is a Swedish comedy horror film from 2006 directed by Anders Banke.The film was produced outside the bigger Swedish films studios, which would be considered an independent film in America...
, which pays homage to the Hammer vampire films among others. It was given a limited UK/Ireland theatrical release in March 2011.
In the of Summer 2009, Hammer produced in the U.S. The Resident, a thriller directed and co-written by Finnish filmmaker Antti Jokinen
Antti Jokinen
Antti Jokinen is a Finnish music video and film director.-Early life:Jokinen attended East Carolina University on a basketball scholarship and later graduated with a major in broadcast and film.-Music video career:...
and starring Hilary Swank
Hilary Swank
Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress. Swank's film career began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid , as Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of sensei Mr. Miyagi...
, Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Jeffrey Dean Morgan is an American actor, best known to television and movie audiences as Denny Duquette on Grey's Anatomy, patriarch John Winchester on Supernatural, and as The Comedian in the 2009 superhero film Watchmen....
and Christopher Lee. It was released in November 2010 in the US and March 2011 in the UK.
2010s
In 2009 it was announced that Hammer Films and Alliance Films are producing a film adaptation of The Woman in Black scheduled for a 2012 release. Daniel RadcliffeDaniel Radcliffe
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe is an English actor who rose to prominence playing the titular character in the Harry Potter film series....
will star as lawyer Arthur Kipps. Jane Goldman
Jane Goldman
Jane Lauretta Anne Goldman is an English screenwriter, author, model and television presenter. Between 2003 and 2004 she fronted her own paranormal series, Jane Goldman Investigates, on the channel Living.-Personal life:...
will write the film.
In 2010, Hammer, in partnership with Overture Films
Overture Films
Overture Films, LLC is an American film production and distribution company. It is a subsidiary of Liberty Media ....
and Relativity Media
Relativity Media
Relativity Media is an American independent motion picture production and investment company based in West Hollywood, California.- Company :...
, released Let Me In
Let Me In (film)
Let Me In is a 2010 American romantic horror film directed by Matt Reeves and starring Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloë Grace Moretz. It is based on the 2008 Swedish film Let the Right One In , directed by Tomas Alfredson, and the novel of the same name by John Ajvide Lindqvist...
, a remake of Swedish
Cinema of Sweden
Swedish cinema is known as producing many critically acclaimed movies, and during the 20th century was the most prominent of Scandinavia. This is largely due to the popularity and prominence of the directors Ingmar Bergman, Victor Sjöström, and more recently Lasse Hallström and Lukas...
vampire film Let the Right One In.
In June 2010 it was announced that Hammer acquired Wake, a script by Chris Borrelli for an action feature to be directed by Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
filmmaker Kasper Barfoed.
Tribute and parody
The initial success of the Hammer Horror series led to a number of tributes and parodies:- Carry On ScreamingCarry On ScreamingCarry On Screaming! is the twelfth Carry On film and was released in 1966. It was the last of the series to be distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated before the series moved to The Rank Organisation. It was originally rated in the UK as an 'A' , it is currently rated 'PG'...
(1966) pays tribute to the Hammer Horror films in particular as well as satirising the horror film genre overall. - The Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture ShowThe Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
(1975) has many locations, sets, and props that were used by Hammer Horror films. The "pretty" monster is, perhaps, a reference to The Revenge of FrankensteinThe Revenge of FrankensteinThe Revenge of Frankenstein is a 1958 British horror film made by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film stars Peter Cushing, Francis Matthews, Michael Gwynn and Eunice Gayson....
(though no ulterior motive by Baron FrankensteinFrankensteinFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
is present in the Hammer film). - Bloodbath at the House of DeathBloodbath at the House of DeathBloodbath at the House of Death is a 1983 comedy horror film starring the British comedian Kenny Everett and featuring Vincent Price. It is an over-the-top spoof loosely inspired by The Amityville Horror and other horror films from the same period....
uses Hammer Horror films as inspiration for its setting. - The British TV series Dr. Terrible's House of HorribleDr. Terrible's House of HorribleDr. Terrible's House of Horrible is a British television series, created by Graham Duff, co-written by and starring Steve Coogan. Originally aired on BBC2 in 2001, the programme was designed as an anthology series, in the style of Tales from the Crypt, and lampooned many aspects of the horror...
(2001) featured spoofs of Hammer Horror films. Particularly noteworthy in this regard was the episode entitled "Lesbian Vampire Lovers of Lust". - Singer Kate BushKate BushKate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
immortalised the range of films in her song, "Hammer HorrorHammer Horror (song)"Hammer Horror" was Kate Bush's third single release and first single from her second album Lionheart. It was released on 27 October 1978. Following the top ten success of her first two singles, this charted at a much lower #44 in the UK singles chart. The parent album released a few weeks later...
", referencing The Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre DameThe Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a novel by Victor Hugo published in 1831. The French title refers to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, on which the story is centered.-Background:...
, DraculaDraculaDracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
and FrankensteinFrankensteinFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
. - British rock band Maxïmo ParkMaxïmo ParkMaxïmo Park are a British alternative rock band, formed in 2000. They are signed to Warp Records. The band consists of Paul Smith , Duncan Lloyd , Archis Tiku , Lukas Wooller and Tom English...
paid tribute to the series with their song "Hammer Horror", from their B-sidesB-SidesB-Sides is an iTunes-exclusive album from the Coventry Trio The Enemy, consisting of ten songs that were B-sides to the single releases from their debut album We'll Live and Die in These Towns.-Track list:#Fear Killed the Youth of Our Nation...
collection Missing SongsMissing SongsMissing Songs is a compilation album by the British indie rock band Maxïmo Park comprising B-sides and demos previously available only on British released singles. The John Lennon cover "Isolation" was also featured on a compilation made up of cover versions of Lennon's songs that was given away...
. - The dark feel of the Hammer Horror films were the inspiration for the atmosphere used in the comic-horror, Dracula: Dead and Loving ItDracula: Dead and Loving ItDracula: Dead and Loving It is a 1995 comedy film starring Leslie Nielsen, directed by Mel Brooks. It is a parody of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, and of some of the films it inspired....
. - In the DVD commentary of Sleepy HollowSleepy Hollow (film)Sleepy Hollow is a 1999 American period horror film directed by Tim Burton. It is a film adaptation loosely inspired by the 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving and stars Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Marc Pickering, Michael Gambon, Jeffrey Jones,...
, director Tim BurtonTim BurtonTimothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
credits Hammer horror films as a primary influence for the film. Sleepy Hollow featured Hammer veterans including Michael GoughMichael GoughMichael Gough was an English character actor who appeared in over 150 films. He is perhaps best known to international audiences for his roles in the Hammer Horror films from 1958, and for his recurring role as Alfred Pennyworth in all four movies of the Burton/Schumacher Batman franchise,...
and Christopher LeeChristopher LeeSir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...
. - The faux trailer for Don't featured in Grindhouse was intended to be a spoof of the Hammer Horror series.
- Tom McLoughlinTom McLoughlinTom McLoughlin is an American screenwriter, film/television director and former mime whose credits include numerous television movies, such as Murder in Greenwich, the feature film Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and the 2009 Lifetime Movie Network film The Wronged Man.In 1977 McLoughlin was...
claims that Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason LivesFriday the 13th Part VI: Jason LivesFriday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives is a 1986 slasher film, the sixth film in the Friday the 13th film series. The film was written and directed by Tom McLoughlin...
was heavily influenced by the Hammer films. - The parody serial "The Phantom Raspberry BlowerThe Phantom Raspberry BlowerThe Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town was a serial written by Spike Milligan and Ronnie Barker that ran every week on The Two Ronnies sketch show in 1976 on BBC One...
", in British comedy sketch series The Two RonniesThe Two RonniesThe Two Ronnies is a British sketch show that aired on BBC1 from 1971 to 1987. It featured the double act of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, the "Two Ronnies" of the title.-Origins:...
, was highly evocative of the Hammer Horrors, particularly the DraculaDraculaDracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
series of films. - Much of the dark side of the BBC comedy series The League of GentlemenThe League of GentlemenThe League of Gentlemen are a group of British comedians formed in 1995, best known for their radio and television series.The League of Gentlemen may also refer to:* The League of Gentlemen ,...
written by and starring Reece ShearsmithReece ShearsmithReeson "Reece" Shearsmith is an English actor and writer. He is most famous for his work as part of The League of Gentlemen along with fellow performers Steve Pemberton, Mark Gatiss and co-writer Jeremy Dyson.-Early life:...
, Steve PembertonSteve PembertonSteve James Pemberton is an English actor, comedian, writer and performer, most famous as a member of The League of Gentlemen along with fellow performers Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss and co-writer Jeremy Dyson.-Early life:...
and Mark GatissMark GatissMark Gatiss is an English actor, screenwriter and novelist. He is best known as a member of the comedy team The League of Gentlemen, and has both written for and acted in the TV series Doctor Who and Sherlock....
is based on the Hammer Horror films of which they and co-writer Jeremy DysonJeremy DysonJeremy Dyson is an English screenwriter and, along with Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, a participant in The League of Gentlemen.-Early life:...
are great fans. - In 2010, Mark Gatiss devoted a large part of the second episode of his BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary series A History of HorrorA History of HorrorA History of Horror is a 2010 three-part documentary series made for the BBC by British writer and actor Mark Gatiss...
to Hammer Horror films, including interviews with key Hammer figures. - The British black/death metalgroup AkercockeAkercockeAkercocke is an English progressive blackened death metal band from London, England. They take their name from a talking monkey in Robert Nye's interpretation of the Faust-legend, and are notable for their heavily Satanic and sexual lyrical content....
have drawn considerable influence from the Hammer House of Horror, adopting in their earlier works the tropes of devil worship and sexuality present in the 1980s series and going so far as to base an entire album (ChoronzonChoronzon (album)Choronzon is the third studio album by English blackened death metal band Akercocke, released in 2003 on Earache Records. A promotional music video for the track "Leviathan" was shot by KERRANG genius Paul Harries....
) on the episode 'Guardian of the Abyss'. On the VCD included with Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go UndoneWords That Go Unspoken, Deeds that go Undone-External links:*...
, guitarist/vocalist Jason MendoncaJason MendoncaJason Mendonca is a British multi-instrumentalist and composer.He is best known as the vocalist and guitarist of the British progressive blackened death metal band Akercocke, although he also achieved notoriety throughout the experimental electronic movement of the 1990s.- Early life :Mendonca was...
briefly discusses the Hammer influence on Akercocke's lyrical content, a theme which is discussed in greater detail in a Friday, July 13, 2007 BBC 6 MusicBBC 6 MusicBBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations, was launched on 11 March 2002 and originally codenamed Network Y. It was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years....
interview with Bruce DickinsonBruce DickinsonPaul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
. - The British radio dramatist Marty Ross has acknowledged a debt to Hammer with regard to his two serials for BBC Radio 7; Ghost Zone, influenced by Hammer science fiction such as The DamnedThe Damned (1963 film)The Damned is a 1963 British science fiction film starring Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field and Oliver Reed. It was a Hammer Film production directed by Joseph Losey and based on H.L...
and the Quatermass films, and Catch My Breath, influenced by the likes of The Kiss of the VampireThe Kiss of the VampireThe Kiss of the Vampire also known as Kiss of Evil, is a 1963 British vampire film made by the film studio Hammer Film Productions...
and The Brides of DraculaThe Brides of DraculaThe Brides of Dracula is a 1960 British Hammer Horror film directed by Terence Fisher. It stars Peter Cushing as Van Helsing; Yvonne Monlaur as Marianne Danielle; Andrée Melly as her roommate, Gina; Marie Devereux; David Peel as Baron Meinster, a disciple of Count Dracula; and Martita Hunt as his...
.
External links
- Official Hammer web site
- Online Dictionary of Hammer Horror
- Hammer Film Productions BFIBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
ScreenonlineScreenonlineScreenonline is a Web site devoted to the history of British film and television, and to social history as revealed by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lottery New Opportunities Fund.Reviews...
article - Hammer Horror BFIBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
ScreenonlineScreenonlineScreenonline is a Web site devoted to the history of British film and television, and to social history as revealed by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lottery New Opportunities Fund.Reviews...
article - The Quatermass Trilogy - A Controlled Paranoia
- British Horror Films - site devoted to UK horror cinema, with several articles about Hammer
- 'The Joy of Hex' - brief but humorous plot summaries of Hammer vampire movies
- The Hammer Story - Review
- AMC: Horror Hammer is Back!
- Hammer House of Horror - site devoted to Hammer's 1980s TV series
- Hammer Horror Films - Hammer Film Synopses
- http://www.hammerhouseofhorrortvseries.co.uk - The TV Series and Locations Guide