The series featured a different kind of horror each week, including witches, werewolves, ghosts, devil worship and voodoo, but also included non-supernatural horror themes such as cannibalism, confinement and serial killers. Simon Oakes, who took over as CEO of the new Hammer, said, "Hammer is a great British brand — we intend to take it back into production and develop its global potential. A dispute with the Association of Cinematograph Technicians blocked this proposal, and instead the company purchased the freehold of Down Place. This series was Hammer's final production of the 20th century, and the studio went into semi-permanent hiatus. For Halloween consideration, here’s the best films Hammer offered up. 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. Shelley was best known for appearing in Hammer horror movies. Hammer Films had commercial success with some atypical output during this period, with film versions of several British TV situation comedies, most notably the ITV series On the Buses (1971). [40] Hammer was not the same without him; it responded to the new reality 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. Prison Story). At a time when "classic actors" looked down on the horror genre, Shelley was thrilled to have the chance to star in Hammer horror films because they brought her recognition. Also in 1951, Hammer and Exclusive signed a four-year production and distribution contract with Robert Lippert, an American film producer. This list of who was in The Horror of Hammer can be sorted by any column, but is currently alphabetical and includes photos of who starred in The Horror of Hammer when available. 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. In addition a great deal of polishing and additional material was needed, as the short script had an estimated running time of just 55 minutes, far less than the minimum of 90 minutes needed for distribution in the U.K. I don't see the point."[41]. Dracula was an enormous success, breaking box-office records in the U.K., the U.S. (where it was released as Horror of Dracula), Canada, and across the world. Because of its major continuity problems, not only with other films of the series but also within itself, it is often considered not to be a part of the Dracula series, but rather another Hammer vampire film. In 1980, Hammer Films created an anthology series for British television, Hammer House of Horror. It is scheduled to be released on 15 November 2019, by NEON. 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. [13], On 12 February 1949, Exclusive registered "Hammer Film Productions" as a company with Enrique and James Carreras, and William and Tony Hinds as directors. Of her career in horror movies, she said in an interview in 2011: “When I first started doing Hammer, all the so-called classic actors looked down on the horror film. In A History of Horror, Mark Gatiss remarked that Hammer's earlier films were taken seriously at the time, in comparison to the trademark camp appeal of their later works. and Hammer had broken down when money promised by a.a.p. This put the project at risk of a copyright infringement lawsuit by Universal. 's Eliot Hyman, through another of his companies, Seven Arts (which later merged with Warner Bros., now the successor-in-interest to a.a.p.). In this film, it was bright red, and the camera lingered on it. All were to be filmed in colour at Bray Studios, by the same team responsible for The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula. Hammer House of Horror, contained tales of genuine horror laced with a twinkle of dark humour. They must take it away and prune. Did you know Christopher Lee was knighted? A decision was made to remodel Down Place into a substantial, custom-fitted studio complex[16] that became known as Bray Studios. This was a practice they had making Dick Barton movies which they continued to their horror movies and other genres. He returned for a final time as yet another Van Helsing character (Professor Laurence Van Helsing) for the horror / martial arts crossover The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires, a movie once again set in a new Dracula timeline. Hammer began looking for alternatives, and with the success of The Curse of Frankenstein signed with Columbia Pictures to distribute The Revenge of Frankenstein and two films from the defaulted a.a.p. Barbara Shelley, best known for her numerous appearances in Hammer Horror titles across the 1950s and 1960s, has died. Hammer films had always sold, in part, on their violent and sexual content. The actress died from underlying conditions on … While the studio remained true to previous period settings in their 1971 release Vampire Circus, Dracula AD 1972 and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973), for example, abandoned period settings in pursuit of a modern-day setting and a "swinging London" feel. (The Encyclopedia of British Film characterized the remake as "about as witless and charmless as could be conceived".)[42]. Van Helsing to battle vampire Baron Meinster (David Peel) and the film makes several direct references to the 1958 original. Peter Cushing. The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974), a co-production with Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers which attempted to combine Hammer's brand of horror with the martial arts film, and To the Devil a Daughter (1976), their third adaptation of a Dennis Wheatley novel, were both quite successful at the U.K. box office, but Hammer were unable to capitalise on them as most of the profits went to other financial backers. Often two films would be shot back-to-back with the same sets and costumes to save money, and then each film would be shown on a separate double feature to prevent audiences noticing any recycling, as for example in The Plague of the Zombies and The Reptile (both 1966). 3. Certainly strong cautions will be necessary on shots of blood. Michael Carreras' letter to Max Rosenberg, quoted in Kinsey, p51. Before they take it away, however, I think the President [of the BBFC] should read it. 1. I can think of twenty adjectives — fatuous, pointless, absurd. Towards the end of 1951, the one-year lease on Down Place expired and with its growing success Hammer looked towards more conventional studio-based productions. Barbara Shelley's movies. They eventually entered talks with Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.) The expansive grounds were used for much of the later location shooting in Hammer's films, and are a key to the 'Hammer look'. 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. Blood from the Mummy's Tomb was a modern-day take on Bram Stoker's The Jewel of Seven Stars and featured Valerie Leon as a reincarnated Egyptian princess, rather than a mummy. In addition to holding the rights to over 300 Hammer films, De Mol's company plans to restart the studio. Universal was not interested,[28] and the search for money eventually brought Hammer back to a.a.p. The film was directed by Terence Fisher, with a look that belied its modest budget. The stories were originally to have been the same 51 min. For the next production, Dr Morelle - The Case of the Missing Heiress (another radio adaptation), Hammer rented Dial Close, a 23 bedroom mansion beside the River Thames, at Cookham Dean, Maidenhead. deal, The Camp on Blood Island and The Snorkel. Work began almost immediately on the first film, The Public Life of Henry the Ninth at the MGM/ATP studios, with filming concluding on 2 January 1935. In the late 1960s, with the release of Hollywood films like Bonnie and Clyde, Rosemary's Baby, and The Wild Bunch, the studio struggled to maintain its place in the market. "[23], Regardless of the BBFC's stern warnings, Hinds supervised the shooting of an unchanged script.[24]. However, only 1/3rd of Hammer films were horror! The talent agency, Dr Morelle - The Case of the Missing Heiress, Learn how and when to remove this template message, The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, BFI Most Wanted: The Public Life of Henry the Ninth, "Why Christopher Lee's Dracula didn't suck", "We Chat with Hammer Chief Simon Oakes about Christopher Lee's Return to Horror and the 'Let the Right One In' Remake! The actress was the star of 1950s and 1960s Hammer Horror films … Not able to afford top stars, Hammer acquired the film rights to 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 the stories were set in contemporary England. Top 10 Hammer Horror FilmsSubscribe: http://bit.ly/2tVCcUHThey really don’t make them like this anymore. [40] Hammer's last production, in 1979, was a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1938 thriller The Lady Vanishes, starring Elliott Gould and Cybill Shepherd. Plans were made to shoot the film in Eastmancolor – a decision which caused worry at the BBFC. The series was made in association with 20th Century Fox (who broadcast films as Fox Mystery Theater) and as such, the sex and violence seen in the earlier series was toned down considerably for US television. All the other things I did, nobody remembers those. Tributes have been paid to the Hammer Horror film star and Doctor Who actress Barbara Shelley, … In the summer of 2009, Hammer produced in the U.S. Exclusive survived and on 20 July 1937 purchased the leasehold on 113-117 Wardour Street, and continued to distribute films made by other companies. THE EXORCIST 4 (2004) Stellan Skarsgard - WTF Happened to the Horror Movie FATALE Clip - "I'm Val By The Way" + Trailer (2020) SOUL Featurette - "Tina Fey Tries Everything" + Trailer (2020) [36], 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. Series Directed by. During the 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 studios. Each episode featured a star, often American, known to US viewers. 4. His most recognizable role for the studio was as Count Dracula, but he also portrayed Frankenstein’s monster and the Mummy. "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 Times in 1958. 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