Watching Hammer: The Hammer Films Review

Top Ten Hammers - Holger Haase

2010-07-13T11:21:00.001+01:00

Thanks go this week to Holger Haase for revealing his top ten favourite Hammer films. Holger runs the wonderful Hammer and Beyond blog, and the equally wonderful The World of Hammer Glamour site. He has, in addition, written for sites such as Den of Geek and magazines such as Van Helsing's Journal.

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When Watching Hammer first approached me with his request for a Top 10 of my favourite Hammer movies my first response was: “Hell yay”.

Followed by a “What have I done?”

See, as a general rule I don't do lists. Don't get me wrong: I love lists. Love reading them. Love ticking things off them. Or contemplating what's missing from them. But compiling them????

The trouble is that my mind is flighty. I don't have A favourite film or book; I have favourite films and books. And their number is legion. And what I may consider my favourites often depends on my general mood, the company I am with, or even the time of day or where I am right now. And even then a lot of my favourites aren't necessarily indicative of an overall general inherent quality, but of heavy bouts of rose tinted nostalgia. I could endlessly discuss the merits of one film against another, but the moment someone mentions that they prefer one because it reminds them of their childhood or teenage years I just back off as I get it. No point in arguing when nostalgia steps in as it inevitably does with regards to classic movies.

And speaking of which: I was born a little too late to watch the Hammer movies in the cinemas. I do remember walking by a picture house when To the Devil... a Daughter was first shown, but I was way too young to even contemplate sneaking in to see it. In Germany at the time we had Sunday kiddies matinees that often showed classic movies so I watched a number of those (such as The Crimson Pirate) there and if memory serves me well I also saw Hammer's own When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth in one of those. And, yes, it was the nudie version. (Us Germans never minded showing some innocent bit of skin to young impressive teenies.)

In the meantime I have also seen some of their movies on the big screen courtesy of Don Fearney's fabulous events, though anyone who knows me also knows that I tend to spend more time shmoozing there than attending movie screenings. Heck, prior to its DVD release I had only seen the last half of his Hammer Vampires documentary as I spent the first half having lunch with Caroline Munro. (Sorry, I just have to rub this in any chance I can.)

As for watching my earliest Hammers, I feel like I knew them already before seeing them on German television (a snowy, black and white one in my bedroom) as I had spent hours reading up about classic horror movies from borrowed library books and had kept pouring over those images until they were already ingrained in my memory way before I even saw them as proper movies.

Part of the difficulty of deciding on my Top 10 Hammer films is not only that I find it hard to make a Top 10 of anything (never mind a Top 10 of my favourite production company), but also that I simply haven't even seen all of the movies yet. I don't even own all of their DVD releases and from the ones that I do own I am ashamed to admit that I still haven't even watched them all.

So needless to say the following Top 10 is sorted chronologically. If I can't even decide on a proper Top 10, what chances do I have to organise the list in any other order but a time line? Also bear in mind that the answers I am giving today may not be quite the answers you get from me next year or even next week. You will also notice that I will at times cheat and throw in a few other suggestions that could equally make it to the list.

One thing that you may, however, observe is the absence of any Frankenstein movie. Yes, I do like their Frankenstein films and they would easily make it into a Top 20, but overall I don't find the whole Frankenstein genre quite as intriguing in general (not just with Hammer) as some of the horror myths and legends. But if you wanna know: My favourite Hammer Frankenstein is The Revenge of Frankenstein. Or maybe Frankenstein Created Woman. (See what I meant with me being so indecisive?

Without further ado.....

THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES

I love Hammer movies and I love Sherlock Holmes. So needless to say I absolutely adore Hammer's Hound adaptation that successfully walks a wonderful tightrope between the more typical Gothic Horror scenes of the flashbacks and the Whodunnit of the actual Holmes tale. Peter Cushing is an excellent Holmes but more importantly Andre Morell is one of the first cinematic Watsons (or even THE first?) who doesn't come across like a bumbling idiot. The rest of the cast is first rate as well with a special mention to Christopher Lee who actually plays quite a dashing romantic hero role for a nice change. Not continuing this movie with a proper series of Holmes adaptations will for me always be one of Hammer's most tragically wasted opportunities.

THE MUMMY

Hammer's Egypt never looked better. Christopher Lee gives a standout performance for the most part entirely through the eyes. Yvonne Furneaux is by far Hammer's most attractive female Mummy fodder (even though it appears she doesn't much like to be reminded of it now). And Props Cushing manages to hold it all in place while running and walking with a limp.

Most importantly, however, this is not filmed in the style of their usual Gothic Horrors but more like a haunting, beautiful yet slightly nightmarish dream with imagery not likely forgotten in a long while.

Oh, and Blood from the Mummy's Tomb ain't half bad either.

THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF

I really can't properly remember what had been my very first proper Hammer movie. If I'd hazard a guess I would say it's a tie between The Curse of the Werewolf and The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (another worthy contender for a Top 10 Hammer list).

From all the classic horror myths, the Werewolf legend is perhaps the most humane and tragic with its plots of innocent men accidentally being turned into creatures of the night and needing to fight their urges every month for a few days while for all intends and purposes remaining utterly normal all the days in between the full moon.

No wonder that the Werewolf myth has long been one of my favourite sub-genres. And Curse of the Werewolf is classic Hammer Horror at its best. The scenes of aristocratic debauchery and the rape of the young girl (Yvonne Romain) by a disgusting looking beggar (played by Richard Wordsworth) remain as potent and memorable as when the film was first screened. And who could forget Oliver Reed's tragic performance that turned him into a star from that moment on? I can't! No wonder this movie has remained a favourite of mine from the very first moment I had managed to put my eyes on it.

THE KISS OF THE VAMPIRE

I have a confession to make here. If I was hard pressed and had to make a decision between never seeing a Hammer Dracula again or any of the non-Drac Vampire movies, I'd drop the Count without a second thought like a hot sput. True, all their non-Dracs probably would not have seen the light of day if it wasn't for their Stoker adaptations and interpretations but there is generally way more originality in their other vampire outings than in any of their more famous movies.

Kiss of the Vampire is a wonderful case in point with a number of very atypical vampire hunters: a pair of honeymooners on the one side joining forces with a crazy alcoholic against a coven (is that the right term?) of vampires resembling a modern day cult led by Noel Willman.

Other cases in point that I equally love: Vampire Circus or Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter. In actual fact the one non-Drac Vampire movie that I don't hold in such a high regard as most everyone else is The Brides of Dracula, a beautiful movie with wonderful characters but marred by a train wreck of a screenplay.

SHE

She would not only prove to be Hammer's most expensive movie ever but an excellent Boys Own style adventure yarn that easily stood the test of time. Though Bernard Robinson has done wonders to create fantastical worlds with little budget at Bray, it is nice to see Hammer actually film on location for a change (in Israel to be more precise). Strangely enough the company actually toned down the grisly and violent scenes of the source novel and focused entirely on the classic adventure aspects.

Bah, what am I saying: It's got Ursula Andress, the world's most beautiful woman at the time playing the world's most beautiful woman. What more do you want?

'Nuff said.

DRACULA - PRINCE OF DARKNESS

It may be a case of familiarity breeding contempt, but as much as I like the original Dracula (I refuse to call it Horror of...) I do prefer its follow up Dracula – Prince of Darkness. There's something to be said about a gruff gun wielding priest and vampire hunter called Shandor; an oh so properly mannered lady who becomes a man (and woman) hungry vampire and writhes venomously on a table before being staked by a bunch of guys holding her down (with all kinds of nasty connotations); a sequence in which one of our Everyman heroes gets sliced open like an animal at a meat processing plant to revive the Count. Seriously if it's a question of Dracula vs. Dracula – Prince of Darkness, the original always loses out for me.

RASPUTIN THE MAD MONK

Because Christopher Lee told me to. You know, he has studied the history of the Romanoffs extensively and as a child had even met Prince Yussupoff.

But all jokes aside: The legend of Rasputin (and this film is indeed more legend than history) is utterly fascinating and never has it been captured better than in Rasputin the Mad Monk with one of Lee's most riveting performances and a death scene that is more drawn out and captivating than that of any of his Draculas.

THE DEVIL RIDES OUT

With The Devil Rides Out Hammer proved that they couldn't just do stunning looking Gothic but also stunning looking Art Deco Horror. This is a superior change of pace from the usual Vampire and Frankenstein flicks and it is nice to see the Devil given his dues as well with a mesmerising performance by Charles Gray and Christopher Lee as a very convincing hero for a change.

In actual fact I have a special place in my heart for all of Hammer's Dennis Wheatley adaptations. Yes, the author himself doesn't appear to have been too enamoured by The Lost Continent and To the Devil.... a Daughter but based on my perception of the very few Wheatley novels I ever read, I can't say that I give too much on his opinion in this matter.

There's something to be said for a film like The Lost Continent that on the one hand dares to show not one single likeable main character and on the other hand goes completely trashy with Dana Gillespie's big balloons. Also, To the Devil.... a Daughter has one of the most truly shocking and uncomfortable scenes in any Hammer movie ever. So much for them only ever going the safe road until the end.

DR JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE

Doesn't the title say it all? This is Doctor Jekyll and SISTER Hyde played by the wonderful Ralph Bates and Martine Beswicke. That alone is such a great twist worthy of my Top 10, but then Jack the Ripper is also brought in. So what's not to like?

Incidentally, and this may only indirectly be reflected in this list in the titles that also ran, I do think that some of Hammer's output in the 70s has been unjustly maligned. I am losing count of the number of times that I hear that Hammer lost the plot with their later productions and never really learnt to go with the times blah blah. Truth is that they did attempt to go new ways in the 70s but that these weren't accepted by the general public. Nevertheless some of the company's most interesting productions were from their last couple of years in business: Apart from Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde I would also light a candle for Captain Kronos, Vampire Circus, To the Devil.... a Daughter and Straight On Till Morning as well as for a number of others that fall into their more established series.

DRACULA AD 1972

This film has always been a guilty pleasure of mine way before when I even knew I was supposed to feel guilty about loving it. This may just have been one of the very earliest Hammer Dracula films I have ever seen and it took me years to learn that I stood pretty much alone in my admiration for this groovy classic. Then the Internet came along and over the years I gradually discovered that there were a couple of other folks out there who also seem to get great enjoyment out of Dracula A.D. 1972.

I frankly don't care that Dracula never ventures outside the desecrated church. Instead I really enjoy the exciting pre-credit fight between him and Van Helsing and the Kubrickian shot that brings us straight from a 19th century graveyard into the skies of shwinging London populated with modern aircraft. I also really dig the dialogue between all the cool cats and chicks that populate this movie. Alucard's death scene is genuinely exciting and, given the use of a shower, not anything we could have seen in any of the previous Dracula movies.

And lest we forget: Seeing Caroline Munro's quivering bossom splashed with blood is just as hot as watching Stephanie Beacham's perk nipples underneath her white gown.

Oh, and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires is equally cool. Though Satanic Rites of Dracula sucks in a not very good way.

Copyright © 2010 Holger Haase. All rights reserved.

Caption Competition #2

2010-07-12T22:28:00.000+01:00

It's been a while. Time for another caption (non-)competition!

Fire away.

'Paranoiac' Blu-ray Reviews

2010-07-09T23:12:00.003+01:00

The first comprehensive reviews, with screen caps, of Eureka's forthcoming Blu-ray of Paranoiac (the first Hammer film to appear on Blu-ray) are now up on AVForums and DVD Beaver. Comprehensive and well worth a read. Disc extras include the little-seen theatrical trailer, but no commentary.

Hammer Glamour Calendar 2011

2010-07-09T11:31:00.002+01:00

You've 'read' the book, now stare at the wall! Hammer Glamour Calendar 2011 now available for pre-order - only £5.99. Mind you don't get trampled in the rush...

Kiss of the Undead: A Gothic Horror

2010-07-08T23:12:00.000+01:00

Independent filmmaker Joe Bagnardi has been in touch to let us know that his latest project Kiss of the Undead: A Gothic Horror is now shooting. Inspired by, and a tribute to, Hammer Horror it is co-written by and starring Bruce G. Hallenbeck, Little Shoppe of Horrors writer and author of the recent excellent book The Hammer Vampire. Best of luck to them and keep your eye out for the finished film. Check out the JB Productions site for further information, where there's pics of some suitably eerie locations.

Roll up, roll up...!

2010-07-07T19:23:00.001+01:00

"See Darth Vader! See Dr Who's assistant! See Peter Sellers' wife! See..."

VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1972)

Who?

Director: Robert Young

Producer: Wilbur Stark

Screenplay: Judson Kinberg

Cast: Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters, Robert Tayman, Anthony Corlan, John Moulder-Brown, Laurence Payne, Richard Owens, Lynne Frederick, Elizabeth Seal, Domini Blythe, Robin Hunter, Mary Wimbush, Lalla Ward, Robin Sachs, Roderick Shaw, Barnaby Shaw, Christina Paul, Dave Prowse

How?

In 1971 independent producer Wilbur Stark approached Hammer with a film concept devised by himself and George Baxt (who had written Hammer's The Shadow of the Cat (1961)). Although his father had strong reservations, Michael Carreras bought the project and hired Stark as producer, and American Judson Kinberg to write a screenplay based on Baxt's treatment. First-time director Robert Young was given the helm, based on an award-wining short film of his - although it was more a consolation prize after another intended project for Hammer fell through. The cast comprised some familiar Hammer faces - Thorley Walters, Adreinne Corri (Moon Zero Two (1969)), Anthony Corlan (Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)) - but most were new to the company. Shooting took place at Pinewood Studios and in Black Park. However, due to Young's inexperience and method of working (and difficult relationship with Wilbur Stark) the schedule over-ran and the production was shut down before Young had finished shooting certain scenes. These had to be worked around in the editing. The British censor insisted on heavy cuts before release; Fox in the US even more, to gain a family-friendly PG..

What?

While in the forest near his village of Schtettel Professor Mueller (Payne) sees his wife Anna (Blythe) luring one of the village children into the castle of Count Mitterhouse (Tayman), feared to be a vampire. Children have been disppearing and Mitterhouse is suspected, so Mueller gathers villagers to storm the castle. They discover the child dead, and Anna in Mitterhouse's embrace. Staking him, they drag Anna out, whip her and set the castle alight. Anna, however, escapes back to the castle and pulls the mortally wounded Mitterhouse down into a cave where he places a curse on the village, and sends her to find his cousin Emil (Corlan) in the Circus of Night, before dying. Fifteen years later Schtettel is in the grip of a deadly plague and the village has been sealed off by its neighbours. However, a mysterious circus somehow manages to get through the blockade and sets up business in the village. At first the villagers are delighted with the entertainment in the midst of their fear and misery, but soon realise that the circus performers are not all they appear, and that the village's children are once again in mortal danger.

So?

When Hammer stepped outside of their Dracula series to make a vampire film they often came up with something innovative and worthwhile. Such was the case with e.g. Kiss of the Vampire (1963) and Captain Kronos (1974); and such is the case with Vampire Circus. While by no means one of Hammer's best films, or even best vampire films, it is still an interesting curiosity that pushed the boundaries in a number of ways and subverted many of Hammer's traditional themes. It is also one of Hammer's most explicit films in terms of sex and violence. The entire tone of Circus is set in its lengthy pre-credits prologue - a powerful piece of cinema that is almost a short feature in its own right. In essence, Count Mitterhouse is portrayed as a vampiric child molester, who uses his human lover Anna to lure a young girl to his castle, and becomes sexually aroused from murdering and feeding on her - as indeed does Anna through her voyeuristic watching. "One lust feeds another" the Count baldly states before he and Anna engage in what was then a most explicit sex scene for a Hammer film. This was strong stuff indeed for the time and made not only the censor nervous but the head of Hammer too, James Carreras. Ultimately Circus would include subtle, and not so subtle, intimations of paedophilia (Mitterhouse), voyeurism (Anna), bestiality (Emil) and incest (the acrobat siblings). This, alongside violence that results in one of the highest 'body counts' in a Hammer Gothic, and a definite bleakness and nihilism, makes Circus quite a unique picture in Hammer's canon.

The bleak depiction of child murder and perverse eroticism pervades the whole of the film and, coupled with a dream-like surrealism, gives it a tone quite unlike anything else Hammer produced. Its subversion of traditional motifs also gives it a unique character. It's a tale of punishment and revenge - but for what? The film opens the way many Hammer Gothics might end - the villagers storming the castle to rid themselves of the evil within. However, Circus takes up the story from that point and asks 'what next?' For their act of goodness the villagers are shown as being under curse and punishment, living in fear and guilt of what they have done, cut of from the surrounding world and prey to the twin forces of plague and vampirism. In this bubble of unreality the undead, and their mortal cohorts, hold sway throughout most of the film, picking off children as they please, almost toying with their prey. They delight in the violence they inflict - Emil casually climbing the stairs to slaughter the boy's school; Michael the clown gaily deceiving a family into their horrific fate in the woods; the acrobats enticing the young boys to their death. And the Circus of Night provides the ideal vehicle for this revenge tragedy - playing on the image of the circus as slightly dangerous, as a home for misfits, Circus populates its own with shape-shifting undead and mortal outcasts with a hatred of the world who are only too happy to assist in the violence against a society which would reject them. The dwarf clown, the mute strongman, the erotic tiger woman are strong iconic characters - figures not easily forgotten.

Circus is filled with fine performances. The lupine Count Mitterhouse, although only 'active' for a short period of the film, is given a powerful and viciously erotic charge by Tayman. His vampiric cousin Emil is similarly portrayed by Corlan with a bestial eroticism and penchant for sadistic violence. Corri's gypsy woman, with her coldly single-minded drive for revenge on the village that killed her lover and drove her into exile is marvellously effective. Skip Martin's evil dwarf clown, delighting in the havoc they are wreaking, is every coulrophobic's nightmare. Only John Moulder-Brown and Lynne Frederick as the young lovers bring a certain blandness to the stage, as such couples often did in Hammer pictures. Circus is also a very visually attractive film - Scott MacGregor's revamped sets work well, there is a bold use of colour, particularly in the circus scenes, and the dreamlike mirror sequences and circus performances are subtlely effective. Similarly the use of real circus animals gives an air of danger and authenticity. Where Circus does fall down, however, is in having a definite sense of what might have been, of not being quite finished, of a hurrying toward the end. This is undoubtedly the result of the premature shutting down of the picture before Young had quite finished. However, what he did manage to achieve is marvellously effective. A Hammer vampire film that struck out in a new direction, played with traditional tropes, is visually arresting, with some wonderful performances, and one of the most innovative dispatches of a vampire at its fiery conclusion. It doesn't quite pull it off, and some find the whole exercise somewhat sadistic and distasteful, but Circus is a picture that one appreciates more on repeated viewings and is definitely worth giving a chance. Bleak, violent and perversely erotic it may be, but Circus has a charm all of its own.

Huh?

Thumbs Up: For daring to be different

Thumbs Down: More bland young lovers!

Top Ten Hammers - Denis Meikle

2010-07-06T10:32:00.000+01:00

This week I'd like to thank Denis Meikle for sending along a Top Ten piece he originally had published in Marvel's short-lived Hammer Horror magazine in 1995. Denis is a writer, editor and publisher whose books include The Ring Companion and Jack the Ripper as well as works on Johnny Depp, Vincent Price and Roman Polanski. To Hammer fans he is best known for his history of the company, A History of Horrors: The Rise and Fall of the House of Hammer, which was republished last year in a revised and updated edition, and his work with the Little Shoppe of Horrors journal. He most recently edited Bruce G. Hallenbeck's The Hammer Vampire, which was published through his own Hemlock Books.

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1. THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL (HOUSE OF FRIGHT)

Underrated, misunderstood, and cut to pieces on both sides of the pond - Hammer's most ambitious Gothic is a rich and elegant study of Victorian social mores. The film's lack of a transformation scene left critics of the opinion that there was nothing else of value - wrong: a vibrant musical score, Jack Asher's usual lush photography, Christopher Lee's second-best performance for Hammer (his best being To The Devil-A Daughter), and the most literate script that the company ever filmed. Then there's that snake-dance!

2. QUATERMASS 2 (ENEMY FROM SPACE)

Still one of the best science-fiction films to have been made in Britain. Brian Donlevy powers his way through the role of Quatermass to defeat alien invaders, with his rug in place and his trench-coat unruffled. Val Guest's direction and James Bernard's apocalyptic score give the film's doomsday scenario a relentless, kinetic energy. With its clipped dialogue and frenetic pacing, Q2 is as engrossing today as when it was first shown. An absolute stunner.

3. THE BRIDES OF DRACULA

The best of the Hammer Draculas: a nightmarish fairy-tale set in a Grimm, Gothic landscape of "magic and devilry." A blond, Dorian Gray vampire with an Oedipus complex meets an ascetic Van Helsing with an armoury of holy artefacts in Badstein. Highly-coloured collision of the old and the new - Hammer Horror's finest hour.

4. NEVER TAKE SWEETS FROM A STRANGER

A powerful and riveting film about a community harbouring a child molester, and the lengths to which it will go to preserve communal well-being and the status quo. Unfairly castigated on release because it came from an exploitation company - Hammer - but John Hunter's script doesn't put a foot wrong in dealing with a difficult subject. It also features one of the best and most understated shock scenes in any Hammer psycho-thriller, as the two girls come face to face with their aged nemesis on the bank of a river.

5. FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED

From the head-lopping opening sequence (conducted to the wistful lament of a zither) to the precision-staging of the fiery finale, this is archetypal Hammer Horror. The best of the series by far - a dubious rape scene and some avoidable brutality notwithstanding. Has definitely improved with age.

6. THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT (THE CREEPING UNKNOWN)

The start of it all - and it's easy to see why. Richard Wordsworth's Carroon is still an unsettling creation with his taut flesh, fixed stare, and barely-concealed rictus grin hinting at some unimaginable horror. The cleverness of the film is in its ambivalence about which 'monster' is the more frightening: Carroon - or Quatermass, whose cold intellect and obsessive pursuit of scientific knowledge recognise no moral boundaries.

7. THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (THE DEVIL'S BRIDE)

A great villain in Charles Gray (who would go on to play Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Diamonds are Forever), a faithful adaption by one of the best writers in the genre, humour, horror, and fine ensemble playing. Despite a poor showing in the US, the least that Hammer could have done was take a second stab at black magic, (Terence) Fisher-style- as opposed to (Peter) Sykes-style in 1975.

8. CAPTAIN CLEGG (NIGHT CREATURES)

Grand, roistering fun in wicked old Dymchurch: skeletal riders, midnight exhumations, bleeding scarecrows, strange comings-and-goings - and lots of sharp implements finding their messy marks. Cushing on top form, and loving every minute of it. Scary, sad, splendid Hammer hokum.

9. THE DAMNED

Cool, dispassionate, yet elegiac look at the inevitable end of civilisation as we knew it. Lyrical dialogue from Evan Jones, careful direction from Joseph Losey, brutally-stark monochrome photography from Arthur Grant. A bleak and uncompromising vision.

10. HELL IS A CITY

A gritty, no-nonsense thriller that perfectly encapsulates the look and feel of the period and place in which it was made (late fifties' Manchester). Only spoiled by having to pull its punch in respect of the extra-marital dalliance on which Stanley Baker's Chief Inspector Martineau really should have embarked!

Copyright © 1995 Denis Meikle. All rights reserved.

'Hammer' on a poster again!

2010-07-06T00:49:00.000+01:00

In the Clutches of Hammer! =UPDATED=

2010-07-04T23:29:00.014+01:00

Sigh...wish I could read French! New, expanded edition of Nicolas Stanzick's French Hammer book has just been released. Cool promo video too.

For those who can read French there's more information here.

UPDATE: Nicolas has been in touch and kindly offered some explanation on the title:

"I must probably explain you the title. I can imagine that’s a little bit mysterious for american or english people. In France during the sixties, there was a lot of B-Movies from England, USA, Italy or Germany with this kind of name « Dans les griffes de… ». It can be translated by « In the Clutches of… » or something like that. For Example :
- Dans les griffes de l’Homme invisible : « In the Clutches of the Invisble Man »
- Dans les griffes du loup-garou : « In the Clutches of the Werewolf »

There is a Hammer Production which have this kind of french name : « The Mummy’s Shroud » by John Gilling, came on screen here in 1968, with this name : « Dans les griffes de la Mommie ». So the title of the book is a joke about that… In fact, this is the audience who is in« In the Clutches of Hammer ». That’s the real subject of the book. This is the story of the first people who love this kind of cinema during the sixties in France, the story of all the cultural and political fights to defend it agaisnt the establishment, the story of the first magazine which find with Hammer an ideal of cinema…"

He has also provided a link to the book's MySpace page - where this is an English translation of the pressbook, including an interview.

And a link to all the press reviews (in French) the book has received.

Finally here's a video of the first signing in Paris. As Nicolas says:

"And here, there is a new trailer, about the first meeting with the readers of the new edition of the book, last week in a famous shop for horror fans in Paris, Movies 2000. You’ll find in this video Jean Rollin, the director of the famous french vampires surrealistic movies for 40 years, Jean-Pierre Putters who created the magazine « Mad Movies », Jean-Claude Romer who created with Michel Caen the first european magazine about Fantastic/Sci-Fi/Erotism « Midi-Minuit Fantastique », Noel Simosolo a great critic and writer who was the friend of Sergio Leone…"

=== SAVE BRAY STUDIOS! ===

2010-07-01T15:52:00.004+01:00

By now some of you may have heard that the historic Bray Studios in England, the home of Hammer Films from 1952 to 1966, and in use as working studios since, are in imminent danger of demolition to make way for a possible housing development. Although still a functioning studio until recently, the current owners claim that it is no longer financially viable to run it as such and have submitted a planning application to the local Council for restoration of the main manor (much needed) but have also indicated the possible submission of another application for change of use - i.e. housing development.

The local newspaper, The Maidenhead Advertiser, has been following the story:

"Film studios hit by recession could become homes"

"A look-back at Bray Studios as it faces closure in its 60th year"

"Council to consider Bray Studios' film future after housing plan"

"Calls for Bray Studios to remain film base in village"

The loss of Bray Studios to faceless housing would be an absolute disaster. It is a hugely important piece of British film and cultural history and absolutely every available avenue should be explored to keep it either functioning as a studio or else in some other capacity within the film or cultural sphere.

Bray Studios are important not only because they were the home of Hammer. Following Hammer's departure they were used to make such films as The Rocky Horror Picture Show and such TV series as Space 1999 and Doctor Who, as well as being a rehearsal space for many bands. A full list of productions can be found at the Save Bray Studios blog.

Just one example of their non-Hammer importance is the film Alien (1979). All the intricate model work for Alien was carried out at Bray Studios. The website of Dennis Lowe, who worked on the Alien sfx, gives a wonderful behind-the-scenes photographic record of the model work going on at Bray. Below are two of the signs he painted for the Alien model shop there:

If you value the contribution Bray Studios have made to cinema and TV history, and don't want to see them simply disappear for good, there are a number of suggestions of things you can do. At present membership of the Save Bray Studios facebook group set up by Robert Simpson is acting as a petition, so that should be first. But please try to do some (or all!) of the following, and anything else you might think of.

JOIN

- Join the Save Bray Studios facebook group

- Google Friend the Save Bray Studios blog

- Add the Save Bray Studios blog to your Networked Blogs

- Follow the Save Bray Studios Twitter feed

WRITE

Wherever you live in the world! The most appropriate people to write to at present are the following. If you write, please be courteous and explain why Bray Studios are so important and ask that every possibility be explored for their continued use within the film industry or wider cultural sphere:

- Write to and/or email Bray Management Ltd

Bray Management Ltd

Bray Film Studios

Down Place

Water Oakley

Windsor

Berks

SL4 5UG

Try the email contact form here

- Write to and/or email the local Member of Parliament

Westminster Office:

Rt Hon Theresa May

House of Commons

London,

SW1A 0AA
mayt@parliament.uk

Constituency Office:

Rt Hon Theresa May

Maidenhead Conservative Association

2 Castle End Farm

Ruscombe

RG10 9XQ
office@maidenheadconservatives.com

- Write and/or email the Secretary of State for Culture:

Westminster Office:

Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt

House of Commons

London

SW1A 0AA
huntj@parliament.uk

Constituency Office:

Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt

SW Surrey Conservative Association

2 Royal Parade

Tilford Road

Hindhead

GU26 6TD
jeremy@localconservatives.org

PUBLICISE

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Top Ten Hammers - Robert J.E. Simpson

2010-06-29T10:01:00.001+01:00

Welcome and thanks this week go to Robert J.E. Simpson for his ten favourite Hammer films. Robert is a freelance writer, broadcaster and film historian currently working on a PhD research project looking at the early history of Hammer / Exclusive. He has edited The Unofficial Hammer Films Site since 1999, and has written for books, websites and magazines, including Film Ireland, Little Shoppe of Horrors and the official Hammer Films site. He is currently working on a number of Hammer-related books, including a book on Hammer for Telos Books, adapting his PhD project for publication and editing Ingrid Pitt's forthcoming The Hammer Xperience. He is also editor-in-chief of a new online horror magazine - Horror Unlimited - which goes live in July.

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I ‘came out’ as a Hammer Fan in the first half of 1999 when I launched the first incarnation of unofficialhammerfilms.com. As a teenager living in Belfast in the 1990s I had missed out on both the heyday of Hammer horror and the joy of seeing a Hammer film on a cinema screen, and I’d missed out on the fellowship of knowing fellow Hammer fans. I felt very alone.

Getting online changed everything for me. I discovered a much wider network of Hammer film fans, and within a few years had travelled to London for my first Hammer event, met my first Hammer ‘celebrity’ and been encouraged to throw myself firmly into the fold.

During the 90s I scoured the Radio Times weekly for mention of particular actors in cast lists, or the words ‘Hammer film’, as well as checking against the list I’d compiled from the credits of The World of Hammer tv series which aired over Christmas in 1994. But early on I’d become interested in the more elusive nature of many of the films – those that many fans held little interest in – the films which I knew as ‘Exclusive’ productions. As more has been published on Hammer’s horrors, I’ve increasingly turned to the margins, the shorts and pre-horror films. Like Hammer’s actual output, my selection is horror-lite. A mixture of obscure gems, and personally important films.

1. SCARS OF DRACULA

This was the first Hammer horror that I was consciously aware of. I must have been 10 or 11 years old, and staying at my maternal grandparents’ house one summer. There were several boxes of VHS tapes which I picked and choose my way through. Seeing Dracula scrawled in ink on the side of this tape was enough to pique my interest and I stuck it on. From the prologue with the vampire bat attack in the church, with the vivid ‘Kensington Gore’ I was hooked. Seeing the name ‘Hammer Films’ in blood red lettering caught my attention to the point where I recall asking my parents about what ‘Hammer Films’ were (I’m sure they were bewildered at the time). Patrick Troughton’s presence in the cast captured my attention too – I was already a Doctor Who fan, and Dennis Waterman must have been a welcome face from tv’s Minder.

The slight titillation from the sight of beautiful women demi-clad, and the stylised horror started me on a path of exploration. Within a short space of time I was regularly sitting up past the witching hour watching British horror films from a bygone era on Channel 4 and the BBC and self-educating myself in the genre.

Scars comes in for much stick these days as the ‘worst’ in the Dracula series, but it has a certain charm. Some iffy production design aside, and a not-very-convincing female vampire (Anouska Hempel), this has some great imagery. Dracula and Klove’s relationship is fascinating, with Dracula reaching new depths of cruelty, and Troughton giving a very human portrayal of the manservant.

2. PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES

Its been argued that Plague is simply a reworking of Hound of the Baskervilles, but offers so much more. The political edge is evident in the dissection of the views of the upper class. This is the last of the real zombie films to date – with the zombies used as a slave workforce with a purpose, rather than simply flesh-eating supernatural beings.

The graveyard dream sequence is arguably the most striking in any Hammer film ever, and for me is the iconographic Hammer horror moment. Gilling’s dutch angles, and filtered views embed themselves in the memory long after the event.

The cast is near-faultless, and Morelle proves that he was a great leading man. One of Hammer’s greatest actors.

Plague became even more special to me after I was asked to introduce it in 2006 at a special screening at Carnglaze Cavern in Cornwall. A cold winter night in the environs of a Cornish slate mine… as close to authenticity as we could ever get! Standing at the mouth of the cave with James Bernard’s thumping score echoing into the night was the best Hammer film experience I’ve had to date.

3. CASH ON DEMAND

Essentially a two-hander between Hammer’s best double-act, Peter Cushing and Andre Morell. As a modern reworking of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol this is flawless. A proto-24 too in that the 80 minutes running time takes place in (just about) real time. Tense quality drama, that shows just how good Hammer were on a shoestring with a decent concept, script and actors.

This was one of the first ‘obscure’ films I traded for back in the early 2000’s – a multi-generation copy that had more snow than the production design intended, but was still captivating.

If ever a Hammer film could work today with minor changes, this is it.

4. SONG OF FREEDOM

Increasingly I feel like nobody else is interested in Hammer’s non-horror films, and certainly not in the pre-Quatermass Xperiment pictures, and yet for me a grasp of these early films is crucial to understanding why Hammer went in the direction they did, and what made the company a success…

I first picked up Song on VHS on import from the USA circa 2000. I quickly realised as a teenager that trading tapes meant getting a multi-format player, and when I got my first DVD player in 2000 (from my first student loan cheque, a far-off memory now!) I made sure it was multi-region too. Buying and trading globally continues to be the only way to get a good Hammer collection, and was the best way to pick up rare titles.

I saw Song a few weeks after watching Murnau and Flaherty’s Tabu for the first time as part of my undergraduate degree in Film Studies, and I was instantly struck by the comparisons. Both dealing through Western eyes at an African culture and issues of escape and identity.

Song of Freedom is very different from the Hammer we know and love today, but is hugely important as a piece of British cinema history. Apart from anything else it marks the only occasion on which the lead actor was black (yes, one of the leads in Love Thy Neighbour is also black, but that’s an ensemble piece). Robeson is a majestic captivating figure, ably supported by Elisabeth Welch. The piece is firmly entrenched in the world of popular theatre and working class London, which were the stock and trade of the original Hammer directors Will Hammer and George Mozart.

Also, Song is the only Hammer feature from the 1930s which is currently known to exist in its original full length.

5. NEVER TAKE SWEETS FROM A STRANGER

One of the first fans I started to correspond with after launching my website turned out to be a fellow Irishman (its shocking just how many of the Hammer sites are now run from this island without the fans realising, I felt so alone when I started!), and in turn would not only be the first Hammer fan that I actually met in person but the first stranger off the internet! Not knowing what I was letting myself in for, meeting a total stranger, I’d left numbers and strict instructions with friends in Dublin to check in on me and provide an escape if I needed it. Thankfully, like nearly all my subsequent encounters, my fears proved unfounded.

Robert Lane has grown into a dear friend over the last decade, and can in some small way be held responsible for encouraging my pursuit of the non-horror Hammer films. I’d already had a taste before I put myself online (I’m a little obsessive with my collecting, and anything at all that I knew to be Hammer was getting my attention), but Robert introduced me to a number of seldom seen Hammer films (well, at the time they were…) which included Danger List, The Snorkel and this gem.

Never Take Sweets From A Stranger is a fine message film, and one which still has an uncomfortable ring of truth today. Paedophilia is the sort of subject that we still can’t persuade ourselves to pay to see (eg. The Woodsman). It’s a little stilted in places, and setting it in Canada rather than the Bradford of the original play/novel seems a needless way of distancing itself from social immediacy, but I challenge you not to be just a little disturbed. Hammer have the potential of playing with the subject in their upcoming Let Me In, but I doubt they will.

Janina Faye is quite commanding as the troubled protagonist, and it’s a tragedy that she wasn’t brought back to do more for the company as she grew into an adult actress. Seeing her at my first Hammer event in 2002 was quite something – older she may be, but the adorable little girl is still visible.

Praise is due to Sony for finally releasing this film on DVD in the US and allowing modern audiences the chance to finally judge it for themselves.

[- as an aside, I was looking through some of my old exchanges with Robert while writing this piece, and I see I had already been pitching my first book on Hammer in mid 2000 – which was going to be on Hammer’s non-horror films. I guess I’ve been much more interested in the non-horror stuff from the off! Ten years later the book is finally on the way!]

6. THE LAST PAGE (aka MAN BAIT)

This was another of the films that Robert Lane introduced me to, and the first time I consciously saw the youthful talents of Diana Dors. She had such a unique appearance, quite earthy and a little dangerous.

The Last Page is another of those little gems in the Hammer back-catalogue that I’ve always felt would adapt well to a modern audience, although a walk through London today shows the little out-of-the-way bookshops are fast becoming a thing of the past.

One of the Exclusive/Lippert co-productions, a low-budget British film noir which takes a dubious circumstance and turns it into a full-scale crisis.

The dominance of the bookshop sets lends it an economy and claustrophobia which Hammer used to do so well.

Between this and Danger List I realised I’d only begun to scrape the surface with Hammer’s output and quickly cemented my desire to explore far beyond the more usual titles.

A couple of years ago I was asked to prepare a couple of commentary tracks for some of the Lippert/Exclusive films for the VCI DVDs in the US, and was looking forward to the process having spent some time persuading Jimmy Sangster that he still had something left to say about the films he didn’t himself write. For various reasons the session didn’t happen, but as the titles haven’t had a UK release yet I live in hope I might be asked to contribute something to any release this side of the pond.

7. FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL

The first Hammer Frankenstein I saw was Revenge of Frankenstein which I bought on VHS, double-billed with Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb but I always found it a little slow and stodgy. It didn’t help that the music track on the VHS was clearly playing at the wrong speed. Monster From Hell I caught on the UK Sci-Fi Channel, shorn of several minutes, in the mid 1990s. Yes, it’s a little cartoonish, but the cast is excellent (another Troughton guest spot), and the production design better than many of the 70s horrors.

I love the image of the grotesque monster with the huge glass jar being wielded as a weapon, or Cushing ‘s Frankenstein supervising Shane Briant’s attempts at surgery. Oh, and I fell totally in love with Madeline Smith for a while.

Many of the leading ladies in Hammer’s horrors were a delight to the adolescent eyes and contributed to my sexual awakening. Madeline Smith in Monster From Hell, the Collinsons in Twins of Evil (a film which really should be on this list!), Caroline Munro in anything, Yvonne Monlaur in Brides of Dracula, Honor Blackman in erm, Danger List (I’d already fallen for her in The Avengers, which screened late on Thursday nights on Channel 4, and for which I made sure my homework was finished early so I could watch in peace from my bed)… But most of the Hammer films I watched were titillating without being explicit. I saw a fair amount of cleavage and the odd breast, but when did you see sex? That eroticism was a significant part of the attraction, but not the main focus. I’m sure that is part of the shaping of my sexual mores today – I’m far too old fashioned.

8. YESTERDAY'S ENEMY

Forget Hammer Horror and even Hammer Humour, this is the finest hour of the little Hammer Films group. I had the chance to see this on the big screen at the Cine Lumiere in South Kensington, London, for one of Don Fearney’s Hammer events in October 2002, which is the best way to see it. I think from memory that was the first Hammer event I actually travelled for, and 2002 was very much my ingratiating myself onto the public sphere. I’d gotten to know quite a few bodies via the net, and phone conversations, but that summer had seen me make my first trip to Bray and Black Park to take part in a short television documentary which I’d ended up consulting on. I met and got to know my first Hammer veterans, and ultimately saw my first Hammer films on a cinema screen.

A shocking discourse on the realities of the Second World War, which paints both sides of the confrontation in equally negative light. One doesn’t come away from the experience with a feeling of a satisfactory resolution, and that is the film’s strength.

For all the talk about Terence Fisher as Hammer’s great director, I’d break with tradition and suggest instead that Val Guest was Hammer’s superior director. His cinema-verité style of cinematography has been much praised in The Quatermass Xperiment, but he also uses it here, with the start black and white photography and impartial distance from the action, alongside a stark sparse soundtrack to heighten our suspense.

9. EVE

Here’s my curve ball for the top ten, which isn’t a definitive list, but one list of several I could compile!

For many people when you mention Hammer Films they’ll ask if you mean the Hammer House of Horror television series. Roy Skeggs’ two television series of the 1980s were an introduction to the brand for many and are largely responsible for cementing the indelible impression of Hammer being ‘Hammer Horror’ rather than the hugely diverse canon it actually is.

Long before HHOH came Journey to the Unknown, a 17 part series which these days is only available on bootleg, as rights issues seem to be holding up a DVD release. On the whole it’s a fine series, with a brilliant chilling theme tune. Almost any of the series is worth looking at. Eve was the first of the series that I saw and features Michael Gough and a young Dennis Waterman as the hapless sales assistant in love with a mannequin that comes to life at night. There’s a foreshadowing of that 80s comedy Mannequin, but the agalmatophilia is a kinky deviance far superior to any of the lesbian titillation that became Hammer’s (perceived) stock-in-trade during the 1970s. There’s life in this concept yet, just think of all those weird human-like robots built in Japan…

10. THE MAN IN BLACK

To find one of Hammer’s less-well known thrillers from the Exclusive days on my list shouldn’t come as a surprise. The last two or three years has seen my work on researching Hammer’s history deviate from the standard and move almost (excuse the pun) exclusively towards the pre-horror days.

The Man In Black has much to recommend, and successfully combines many of the various Hammer facets in one picture. A rich chiaroscuro photography lends much menace to the interior scenes. The house-studio system is very much in evident in the use of Oakley Court – a building which has always struck me as being more iconic than Down Place. You practically get a guided tour of the house interior, and Hammer’s economy has never been more self-evident. A wry black humour is contrasted with a twisting menacing ‘old dark house’ scenario and a psychological sub-plot which pre-empts Taste of Fear by some 12 years.

Much praise also for Sid James in a fantastic dual role, one of Hammer’s best (and underappreciated) onscreen talents – until comedy and the Carry On films robbed us of his straight-playing ability.

This is a thriller rather than horror, but it’s a fine film considering the contraints of the period, and an excellent introduction to Hammer’s ‘other’ films.

For me, that introduction has become something of an obsession, and I’m consumed by the continuing hunt for other Exclusive films – I’m already on record as stating that Hammer’s confused status during the period means that there are a number of films Hammer were involved in which have gone unacknowledged, and part of my current work involves me drawing together the pieces of the puzzle.

Copyright © 2010 Robert J.E. Simpson. All rights reserved.

Here kitty kitty...

2010-06-25T00:53:00.000+01:00

"See a cat! See the cat see you! See the cat see you see the cat! See..."

THE SHADOW OF THE CAT (1961)

Who?

Director: John Gilling

Producer: Jon Penington

Screenplay: George Baxt

Cast: André Morell, Barbara Shelley, Conrad Phillips, Richard Warner, William Lucas, Andrew Crawford, Freda Jackson, Vanda Godsell, Alan Wheatley, Catherine Lacey, Henry Kendall, Kynaston Reeves, Vera Cook, Angela Crow, Howard Knight

How?

In 1960 George Baxt, Richard Hatton and Jon Pennington formed a production company - BHP. Baxt wrote a script which BHP took to Hammer, who initially refused it. However, after a change of mind they secured funding from Universal and The Shadow of the Cat became a Hammer production, although it was released under the BHP label. BHP's Penington took on production duties and, significantly, hired John Gilling to direct. Gilling had worked for Hammer as a writer from the late 1940s but had left on bad terms in 1951. Now directing, this was his first picture for Hammer again and he would go on to write and direct a number more during the 1960s. Gilling immediately set about changing Baxt's script somewhat, most notably with the addition of an actual cat. Among the cast Conrad Phillips, André Morell, Barbara Shelley, Freda Jackson and Vanda Godsell had all appeared previously for Hammer. Shooting took place at Bray Studios with the regular Hammer crew, including Bernard Robinson as production designer and Arthur Grant as director of photography. The film was released as a second feature to Curse of the Werewolf (1961).

What?

Ella Venable (Lacey) is confined to the attic of her rambling Victorian mansion by her domineering husband Walter (Morell). Although intending to leave all her estate to her niece Elizabeth (Shelley), Walter forces her to rewrite her will and then has his servant Andrew (Crawford) kill her. Walter, Andrew and the housekeeper Clara (Jackson) then bury her body in the woods, and report her to the police as being 'missing'. Ella's cat Tabatha, however, was present during the murder and burial and the three conspirators become increasingly concerned that the cat will somehow give them away and they become intent on catching it, but to no avail. Walter's brother Edgar and nephew Jacob have arrived, along with Elizabeth, and Walter eventually seeks the help of the two men in disposing of the cat - who agree, for a price. One by one, however, the conspirators succumb to fatal 'accidents', at which the cat is always present. Those surviving become increasingly obsessed with disposing of Tabatha, convinced that she is somehow exacting revenge for the death of her mistress.

So?

The Shadow of the Cat has occasionally been in a bit of a Hammer limbo - was it to be regarded as a genuine Hammer film or not? After all, 'Hammer' appears nowhere on the onscreen credits - it is a 'BHP' production. For this reason Shadow was often omitted from Hammer filmographies. But there can really be no doubt that Shadow is a bona fide Hammer picture - BHP merely provided a script for Hammer, who themselves arranged financing and distribution, and made the picture in their own studios, with their crew, and many of their actors. So Shadow is rightly recognised now as a true Hammer picture, in all but (onscreen) name. Regrettably, however, it is not one of Hammer's better pictures - although not through a lack of talent. Gilling was an excellent, if difficult, director, the cast were uniformly very good, and the crew were Hammer's gifted regular team. The problem, basically, was the story itself. Bax, had originally omitted any reference to a physical cat - the story was to be played out on a purely psychological level. Gilling, however, felt the story needed the actual presence of a cat and adjusted it accordingly. This, I think, is where the problem lies. Laying so much emphasis on the physical cat strongly implies the presence of the 'supernatural', whether intended or not. This ultimately is to the detriment of the picture.

But first, Shadow's good points, because it does have them - as can be seen immediately, for the film opens with a crackingly atmospheric murder and body disposal. Set to an apt voiceover of Poe's The Raven, Arthur Grant's moody b&w photography, Bernard Robinson's creepy Victorian mansion, Mikas Theodorakis' ominous score, and sinister performances from Morell, Crawford and Jackson as the murderous conspirators all combine to create an opening that promises much - which is why the film is ultimately a disappointment, because it fails to deliver. Only sporadically does Shadow live up to its prologue - as in Crawford's later swampy death. Which is a shame, because on the whole the cast do their best with what they have. Morell and his viciously avaricious family and servants are a delight to behold, Morell in particular because it is such an uncharacterstic part for him. And Shelley is the perfect foil of goodness to their circle of evil. But unfortunately what they have to work with storywise just doesn't gell. Shadow is not sure what it is or wants to be - a tale of the supernatural, or a psychological one? Trying to walk a line between the two, and keep the audience wondering, Shadow simply falls down and fails to satisfy on either score, appearing confused and illogical.

Much of the blame for this lies with the use of the cat - a normal tabby that, no matter how hard they try, simply fails to convince as either a deliberate or accidental force of revenge. Morell's quickly developed and ever-growing obsession with catching the moggy, speedily passed on to the others, seems comical in the extreme. What did he initially think it would do, go to the police? The constant efforts to imply the cat may be sentiently intent on revenge (the close-ups of its watching, the view through its eyes, its constant popping up) just don't work. Perhaps this was Gilling's way of getting us inside the tortured minds of Morell and co. rather than to suggest the supernatural but, if so, it was clumsy and mishandled. For Shadow is best seen as a psychological tale, one of ever-growing guilt and fear - a tale of the ever-present and pricking conscience and the frantic but futile effort to suppress and stiffle it. A tale of descent into madness. Morell and his cohorts' actions may be illogical and irrational but in being so do convey their frantic attempt to snuff out the only living reminder of the evil which they have committed, which can but lead to death through their loss of all rational sense of perspective. Perhaps the story might have worked better without the physical presence of the cat, but it is difficult to see how it could have been accomplished without a physical focal point of some kind. In any case, Shadow is a disappointment (in a highly creative period for Hammer) but enjoyable in its own gloomily atmospheric way.

Huh?

Thumbs Up: André Morell's ever-delusional killer

Thumbs Down: That moggy

Top Ten Hammers - Matthew Coniam

2010-06-22T02:14:00.004+01:00

This week's ten favourite Hammer films is that of Matthew Coniam. Matthew is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in such books as Ten Years of Terror: British Horror Films of the 1970s, Art of Darkness: The Cinema of Dario Argento, and 101 Horror Films. He runs a number of blogs, including Carfax Abbey and The Dennis Wheatley Project, and is a regular contributor to Hammer and Beyond and the BFI's Screenonline. His book Pre-Code Horror: The American Horror Film 1929-1934 is forthcoming. Many thanks to Matthew for contributing this week.

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1. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1962)

Right. The brief is to pick my ten favourites, not necessarily the ten I think are the best. But pride of place has to go to Phantom, which is my favourite, but it’s my favourite because it’s also the best, and nobody seems to think so but me. Incredible how a film’s reputation can continue to be influenced by its original reception, and how people decades later can watch this so sure it’s going to be the lacklustre disappointment they all said it was in ’62 that they come away still believing it’s the lacklustre disappointment they all said it was back in ’62. Personally, I’d triple-bill it with Curse of F and the big D and challenge any newcomer to spot the difference – saving, of course the regrettable absence of Messrs Cushing and Lee, not that Gough and Lom aren’t fine and dandy in their roles. I can’t think of a single thing about this film that isn’t superb. It’s the best re-imagining of the plot we have on film, it’s atmospheric and spooky, and it has a terrific music score (including a fake opera devised for the film by Edwin Astley; my second favourite fake opera devised for a film after the one Oscar Levant wrote for Charlie Chan at the Opera). There’s also not an ounce of flab on it anywhere, which you can’t always say about Hammer in the sixties. You can slice big slabs of fat off Curse of the Werewolf and Dracula, Prince of Darkness, but here we’re back to the 82-minute tightness of the very originals. I’ve written elsewhere about the magnificence of the film’s editing but it needs repeating: just watch the scene prior to the abduction of Christine by the dwarf and note how superbly Fisher combines music, staging and (mis)direction, so that we get that magnificent shock when she opens her curtains, with the sound of the window being pushed down acting as a percussive bridge between the lush romantic music of this scene and the scary organ music of the next. A true masterpiece.

2. THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957) and DRACULA (1958)

My mother wasn’t too keen on my obsession with Dracula and horror movies as a kid, and eventually being allowed to see them was a major milestone in my life, so nostalgia must inevitably loom large here: all those countless lunchtimes and midmorning breaks at primary school huddled over my friend Steven’s copies of Horror Movies (by Alan Frank) and House of Horror (edited by Allen Eyles), gazing at the pictures, and trying to imagine what those movies could possibly be like. I still get that odd feeling, when I watch, say, the brain operation in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, that I am watching a still picture come to life, as if someone had deliberately recreated The Night Watch on film or something. My memory tells me that the first Hammer film I ever saw – illicitly at a friend’s house – was The Satanic Rites of Dracula, but for some reason that didn’t make the kind of impression on me I would have expected it to, looking back. What did, was the short season of classics BBC2 showed at Christmas, 1984, when at last I caught up with Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy, the first two double-billed.

There’s no point me boring you with why Dracula is brilliant – everybody knows it’s just one of those movies with nothing wrong with them whatsoever; that you can watch over and over again without even slightly dimmed pleasure. I will, however, put in an extra word for Curse – fractionally my favourite of the two - as it is too fashionable now to claim that it is an enormously important film but not a great one, and that it was only with Dracula that everything really clicked for the first time. I’ve always found it a barnstormer from first to last, fully the equal of its more cherished follow-up. I love the grotty Eastmancolor, I love Hazel Court – always the queen of Hammer for me – and I love the rumbling opening bars of that theme music. It excites me rather more than Dracula.

4. BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1971)

Interestingly, that 1984 season consisted of the earliest Bray films and this – which, to make things even odder, they showed first. I’ve often asked myself if nostalgia is the main reason why I think this is far and away the best film the studio made in the seventies. But no, I absolve myself of the charge: this is a masterpiece, pure and simple. In a sense it is an original, of course, not really the fourth mummy film but a first adaptation of a Bram Stoker novel, very compellingly told with some beautifully photographed sequences, great music and – as it’s the seventies now – very gory scares. But it’s spooky in an almost Val Lewtonish way. I love the Egyptian flashbacks, filmed at night, and so much more atmospheric than the usual sort, bathed in unsubtle, baking arc light. And then of course there is perennial Carry On bit-parter-cum-set dressing Valerie Leon, who – let us first note – is entirely credible, and memorably otherworldly, in her one and only dramatic lead, before adding as supplementary information that yes, she is also built like the world’s most sexually attractive battleship. (If you can imagine such a thing.)

5. DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968)

Funny thing, but I actually got quite blasé about Hammer after that. Talk about ungrateful. By the time I saw Risen From the Grave, some time in ’85 I think, it was like I’d been watching Hammer films all my life and I remember thinking ‘ah, look: here’s another of those cute little Hammer films I used to be obsessed with…’ Now I know better. It’s the best of the post-Dracula Draculas, and the most Bray-like, in its look and atmosphere, of all the post-Bray Hammers: those scenes of the young lovers scuttling over the beautifully designed rooftops are just gorgeous. And then we have Veronica Carlson; we have an excellent opening theme and title sequence; we have a fabulous (albeit physically and chronologically impossible) post-credits sequence; we have some fascinating theological angst involving a stuffy cleric and a cocky young atheist (borrowed, along with a couple of giveaway visual ideas, from the recent film of Bolt’s A Man For All Seasons); we have the heavy use of amber-edged filters which is always distracting but not unattractive; we have some complicated business about Dracula being able to pull the stake out that annoys vampire purists – always a good thing, and most of all, of course, we have a grand finale involving Christopher Lee falling off a cliff and getting kebabbed on a giant crucifix.

6. FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN (1967)

Oh yes, we must find room for this in a list of favourites. Had it been the ten best it might have been just edged out by Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), but that’s such a bleak and mean-spirited film; never one I turn to for pleasure. Unlike this beauty: so weird, so Grimm’s fairy tale, such excellent use of sets and locations: Black Park at its most verdant and inspiring, the old inn, those windy streets… Susan Denberg, kittenish one minute, savage the next, is terrific. “You see: the hair has changed colour…” Somehow, we never doubted it would, Peter.

7. LUST FOR A VAMPIRE (1971)

I caught up with most of the studio’s seventies output in my middle teens, when ITV launched 24 hour television and suddenly realised there were a lot of hours that needed filling. Mircalla to the rescue! I’m virtually alone in my (strange) love for this, I know (though I seem to remember David Pirie being surprisingly positive about it). But once we get past that naff Mike Raven prologue this is a rich, ripe stilton of a movie, and of all the Hammers that pussyfoot around with nudity and sex it’s by far the most happily, healthily and uncomplicatedly sexy. Does Yutte Stensgaard give a bad performance? I don’t know: how would a fresh-revived 19th century vampiress attending a girls’ finishing school behave in real life, d’you think? Until you produce the evidence to the contrary my guess is pretty much the way Yutte gives it to us, so lay off her. I also like the outdoor aerobics class.

8. DRACULA AD 1972 (1972) and MAN ABOUT THE HOUSE (1973)

Two wonderful evocations of London in the early seventies, and how I look forward to the day when I will only need to bend over backwards justifying my love of the second one. I mean, don’t you think it’s about time we stopped pretending Dracula AD 1972 is anything less than a classic? For years we had to pretend it was irredeemable rubbish, painful to watch. Now it’s at the guilty pleasure stage, so bad it’s good and all that. True recognition will come, so why not just save time and say it now: it’s great fun, exciting, scary, moves like a bat out of hell, and the change of time and setting works a treat.

And Man About the House is basically more of the same, only without the vampires.

10. CHILDREN OF THE FULL MOON (1980)

Too young to have ever seen a Hammer at the cinema (I’ve still only seen one on the big screen: Dracula, at the Barbican in 1996) my memories of them are entirely bounded by the small – and square – television screen. Perhaps that’s why I’ve always nurtured a fondness for the TV films made under the Hammer House of Horror banner. Never saw any of those Mystery and Suspense ones; I gather they’re not so hot, but a good half-dozen of the first batch are more than commendable attempts to do what Hammer-proper died trying to do: make traditional but modern horror films. And this one is a masterpiece, as good as anything the studio did in the seventies, except for one annoying trait it shares with most of the series: an annoying pre-credits sequence that gives the game away before it’s even started. Unlike the majority, however, it does have a proper (albeit grim) ending, whereas most of them don’t end but just sort of stop, in a would-be Roald Dahl’s Tales of the Unexpected kind of a way, and you have to pretend it’s a Hammer feature film you set your video to record but the tape ran out two reels from the end. Set in a wonderfully creepy house in a wonderfully creepy forest, this has some great lines, real suspense, one of my favourite ever pull-back-the-curtains shock moments, Diana Dors being quite brilliant, and Robert Urquhart for circularity. A small thing of considerable beauty.

Copyright © 2010 Matthew Coniam. All rights reserved.

By 'eck it's grim oop north!

2010-06-19T01:17:00.003+01:00

"See smoke! See grit! See grime! See..."

HELL IS A CITY (1960)

Who?

Director: Val Guest

Producer: Michael Carreras

Screenplay: Val Guest

Cast: Stanley Baker, John Crawford, Donald Pleasence, Maxine Audley, Billie Whitelaw, Joseph Tomelty, Vanda Godsell, Geoffrey Frederick, Sarah Branch, George A. Cooper, Charles Houston, Joby Blanchard, Charles Morgan, Peter Madden

How?

After coming across ex-policeman Maurice Proctor's original novel Hell is a City, Michael Carreras decided it would make a prestige picture for Hammer and so passed it to Val Guest, who also saw its potential, and took on both to write a screenplay and direct the picture. Guest, at that time, was a regular Hammer director. He'd recently completed the critically acclaimed war drama Yesterday's Enemy (1959) for them and Carreras felt that he would be perfect for Hell is a City. Guest completed a screenplay and insisted that Stanley Baker, whom he'd worked with on Yesterday's Enemy, take the lead. The rest of the cast were comprised of excellent British actors such as Donald Pleasance and Billie Whitelaw, apart from US actor John Crawford, at the time finding lead roles in British films. It was thought Crawford might 'sell' the film more easily to a US audience. Unusually for Hammer the film was almost entirely shot on the streets of Manchester, the city council insisting the name be used and giving the shoot all the help it needed - even off-duty policemen as extras. The film was released to some of the best reviews Hammer ever received for a film, and Guest regarded it as the best film of his career.

What?

Detective Inspector Martineau (Baker), a Manchester policeman, discovers that Don Starling (Crawford), a jewel thief whom Martineau had put behind bars, has escaped and is out for revenge. Starling makes his way back to Manchester and gathers his old gang together to rob a bookmakers, owned by Gus Hawkins (Pleasance). Kidnapping Hawkins' secretary, who's carrying the money, Starling kills her when she screams, dumps her body on the moors, and the gang make off with money. Unknown to them, however, the money has been stained with an indelible green dye. Hawkins' wife is an ex-lover of Starling and he persuades her to hide him, but when he assaults her husband and flees when discovered she informs Martineau, and reveals that Starling had green-stained fingers. Raiding an illegal gambling racket, Martineau and his men uncover stained notes, which leads them to the rest of the gang members. Starling, meanwhile, has gone to an unwilling accomplice's storeroom to recover the jewels he hid before imprisonment. When discovered by the granddaughter Silver (Branch) he shoots her and flees across the rooftops of Manchester, with Martineau now in pursuit.

So?

Hell is a City was produced during a period when Hammer were experimenting in various genres, and producing some of their best work. Harkening back to the time in the 1950s when Hammer were producing British B-noirs for the US distributer Lippert, Hell is a tough, gritty crime drama that ranks among director Val Guest's best films. Eschewing the technicolour of their Gothic horrors Hell was shot in crisp b&w and filmed in an almost documentary style, adding a sense of bleak realism to the unfolding narrative. Adding to this is an almost 'kitchen sink drama' element to the film, a foretaste of the turn British cinema would take in the 1960s New Wave. For Hell is not only a police procedural but also very much a human story, as concerned with interpersonal relationships as it is with the drama of crime and retribution. Martineau is not just a faceless detective, but a man seen struggling with the dramas of his home life - he desperate for a child, his wife not but feeling a virtual prisoner in her home (for she can't be seen to work), needing some meaning to her life. He, so married to his job that he can't fulfill her needs, and tempted to stray.

Hell's cast are, on the whole, perfect in their roles. Stanley Baker, the world-weary and burdened detective dogged in his pursuit of his prey. John Crawford, the vicious thief and killer single-mindedly scrabbling for what he can get his hands on. Donald Pleasance, the twitchy, mousey but cunning bookmaker more concerned with his money than his staff. And his wife, Billie Whitelaw, married for money and torn in her loyalties. Rounding out fine central performances are Maxine Audley, Martineau's increasingly frantic wife, and Vanda Godsell, offering Martineau all he wishes - no strings attached. Hell dips in and out of the lives of each, their relationships, their interaction - one cares about what happens to these people, because they're rounded; no cardboard characters here. Of course, instrumental in the construction of this all-too-human story is Val Guest himself. A perfect screenplay with sharp dialogue, but only so much as is necessary for the story. A tale that meanders through the streets of the city and beyond, exposing an underbelly present wherever humanity congregates in numbers, Guest directs the story gently to its natural conclusion, never afraid to stop along the way and examine the human cost to its participants.

All this is in no way to suggest that Hell isn't exciting - it is a crime drama after all and on that score it more than delivers the goods. The robbery of, kidnapping and ultimate murder of the secretary; the raid on the gambling den in Manchester's industrial wasteland; the fight between Starling and the deaf-mute girl in a furniture strewn attic; and, of course, the iconic flight and fight across the city rooftops, where hunter and hunted finally meet and old scores are settled. Hell is a thriller, and doesn't forget it, the whole narrative winding the tension tighter until its explosive climactic release. And despite having shot an upbeat alternative ending, Guest chooses to leave an ambiguous future for Martineau, perfectly fitting the entire mood of the piece. And in the careful cultivation of that mood credit must be given to cinematographer Arthur Grant, his lighting, framing and movement aiding Hell's noirish narrative elements. For Hell can justly be seen as an example of late British film noir. We can only bemoan the fact, however much we love Hammer's horror and fantasy, that the company never really built on the artistic success of Hell, and others like it, as the sixties progressed. Nevertheless, Hell stands as a testament to the fact that Hammer could compete in the cinematic 'mainstream' as well as anyone.

Huh?

Thumbs Up: Val Guest's sure handling

Thumbs Down: For me, John Crawford's transatlantic accent.

Night of the Nighties...

2010-06-17T00:46:00.000+01:00

Beware the Viscose Vampire...

Top Ten Hammers - Bruce G. Hallenbeck

2010-06-15T09:35:00.003+01:00

This week our Top Ten favourite Hammer films is provided by writer, actor and director Bruce G. Hallenbeck. Bruce is a long-time contributer to the Hammer journal Little Shoppe of Horrors and is the author of, amongst others, Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History 1914-2008 and the recently published The Hammer Vampire, an exhaustive study of Hammer's vampire films. He is currently working on a follow-up book on Hammer's science-fiction and fantasy films. Thanks to Bruce for this piece, and for the use of the photo (Bruce is the one with the moustache!)

*******

I was born in 1952, which is good news and bad news. The good news is that I was there to see Hammer horror from the very beginning - in cinemas, no less. The bad news is, that makes me a really old geezer. But Hammer has kept me young, especially when I look back on those wondrous times when I first saw the films. Here in the States, there was no age restriction on horror films when I was growing up. And so it was that, at the tender age of five, my sainted grandmother and my older cousin Russell (who was all of ten at the time) took me to see DRACULA, which was known in this country as HORROR OF DRACULA. I vividly remember one boy of about my age running out of the matinee performance. He never came back. Meanwhile, I was sitting there eating it all up: the color, the music, the action, the costumes, the sets. This experience led directly to my writing THE HAMMER VAMPIRE, now available from Hemlock Books (plug, plug). It also led to a lot of other things, such as making independent films, writing for Dick Klemensen's wonderful LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS magazine for nearly thirty years now and marrying a woman named Rosa who, on our first date, happened to mention that one of her favorite films was THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF. Ah, love! Now here are ten of my other loves, for which my affection never fades. They're more or less in the order in which I saw them, for our true loves begin with childhood, don't they?

1) HORROR OF DRACULA

What can I say about this vampiric masterpiece? It was certainly Terence Fisher's favorite of all his films, the one on which he said everything just came together. That's putting it mildly. It's the most exciting version of Bram Stoker's novel ever committed to film; not the most faithful, to be sure, but it perfectly captures the lurid, Gothic tone of the book. But it's also much more than that: it is THE film that consolidated Hammer's unique approach to Gothic horror, with the now-classic team both behind of and in front of the camera. Jack Asher's fluid Eastman Color photography perfectly complements Bernard Robinson's lushly magnificent sets. Jimmy Sangster's screenplay brings out the sexuality of the vampire, which Fisher expands upon in his directorial choices. And what a cast: Peter Cushing, the peerless Van Helsing; Christopher Lee, the commanding, ferocious Dracula; Carol Marsh, the haunted, haunting Lucy; Michael Gough, the avenging Holmwood; Melissa Stribling, the radiant Mina. This is the film that launched the Hammer Vampire, and a thousand nightmares.

2) THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF

Oliver Reed's star-making performance as the werewolf Leon dominates this film, but the movie also has a wonderfully tragic, circular construction, beginning with the ringing of a church bell to announce a wedding and ending with the ringing of a church bell signifying Leon's death. In between, there are wonderful moments: the entire opening sequence, starting with the arrival of the beggar (Richard Wordsworth) at the castle of the evil Marquis (Anthony Dawson), leading up to the voluptuous charms of Yvonne Romain and to her violent revenge upon the Marquis, all of which has an epic feel. The moment of Leon's birth, which is preceded by the howl of a wolf; his baptism, announced by thunder, lightning and an unholy face reflected in the holy water; the young Leon, fangs bared, trying to escape from his barred window; the adult Leon's first victims, a prostitute and his best friend: these are among the finest scenes ever written by John Elder (aka Anthony Hinds) and directed by Terence Fisher. For my money, this is the best werewolf film ever made.

3) THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN

Hammer's first Gothic horror set the tone (and the team) for all that was to follow. Cushing's Baron Frankenstein is just as iconic as Boris Karloff's Frankenstein monster was a generation earlier. Brilliant, amoral, misogynistic, he is all that and more. This was the first Frankenstein film in color, and blood was splashed all over the beautiful Victorian sets and autumnal countryside. With one fell swoop, the whole face of the horror film was changed. One cannot over-estimate the importance of Hazel Court's cleavage: those heaving bosoms set the stage (or the bodice) for many more to come. I later got to meet Ms. Court, and she took it all with good humor; she had what she had and saw no reason to be ashamed of it. Ted Newsom's Hammer documentary FLESH AND BLOOD is aptly named.

4) THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN

This, I think, is the best-written of all the films in the series (although FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED comes close). It's really a very witty black comedy, with Cushing at the top of his game as he methodically builds his new man behind the backs of the oblivious medical council. Francis Matthews is the best Hans the Baron ever worked with, and Eunice Gayson (soon to be twice a Bond girl in DR. NO and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE) is a beautiful leading lady, with whom Frankenstein's creation (Michael Gwynne) falls in love. What's surprising about this film is its understatement; there is no rampaging monster, only a lonely man with a new body - which gradually begins to assume the crippled shape of his old one. It's a moving performance by Gwynne, and Sangster's script features an ending that's unique in all the annals of Frankenstein films. Director Stuart Gordon has said that this film inspired many of the situations in his HERBERT WEST: RE-ANIMATOR. The similarities are certainly there if you care to see them.

5) NIGHT CREATURES (aka CAPTAIN CLEGG)

This is my favorite of all the Hammer swashbucklers. Again, Cushing is great as Dr. Blyss/Captain Clegg, giving a spirited performance as a man who lives the double life of a reverend and a pirate. Dear old Michael Ripper gets one of his best roles as Clegg's sidekick, and Milton Reid is unforgettable as the mulatto who seeks revenge on Clegg. Oliver Reed and Yvonne Romain are a handsome couple, to say the least, and Peter Graham Scott's headlong direction never flags. The "skeletons" on horseback are among the most vivid memories of my youthful filmgoing days.

6) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

One of Fisher's most underrated films for many years (due mainly to its poor boxoffice performance), this film has shown remarkable staying power and has only grown in reputation over the decades. I find it to be the most romantic and poignant of all the non-musical versions of the story, with a stunning performance by Herbert Lom in the title role. The acting is uniformly good, with fine support from Edward De Souza, Heather Sears, Michael Gough and Thorley Walters. The movie has a sumptuous look, an excellent musical score befitting the subject and elegant costumes. The final scene, with a tear falling from the eye of the Phantom as he hears Christine perform his music, never fails to have the same misty-eyed effect on me.

7) THE KISS OF THE VAMPIRE

Hammer's third vampire film continues to explore the legend in new and unexpected ways. Vampirism is presented, for the first time, as a kind of social disease caused by dissolute living; the cult of vampires presented here are seemingly normal people who happen to like to drink blood. Clifford Evans, who was great as Leon's adoptive father in THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, is just as fine here as Professor Zimmer, whose daughter falls victim to the seductive ways of Dr. Ravna (Noel Willman) and Ravna's "society" of vampires. Isobel Black is one of the sexiest vampire women ever, while Edward De Souza and Jennifer Daniel are entirely believable as a honeymooning couple caught up in a supernatural web. The first Hammer film directed by Don Sharp, KISS is as stylish as they come, with James Bernard's pulse-pounding music and Alan Hume's masterful cinematography contributing greatly to the mood. One of the top three Hammer "vampers," its memorable climax with hundreds of bats attacking the chateau is classic stuff.

8) THE BRIDES OF DRACULA

Another masterpiece, purely and simply. Hammer surpassed even the sheer Gothic beauty of their first Dracula with this magnificent follow-up. The atmosphere of the movie is palpable; misty graveyards, ornate chateaus, old windmills, foggy forests. For pure mood the film remains unsurpassed. Then there are the performances, topped of course by Cushing as Van Helsing, "a kind man, a good man" as the heroine Marianne (Yvonne Monlaur) notes at one point. But his kindness and gentleness are contrasted with his dedication to battling evil; driving in stakes, throwing holy water into the face of Baron Meinster (David Peel); these are his stock in trade. This classic has one of the best casts of any Hammer vampire film; Martita Hunt as the lonely, embittered baroness; Freda Jackson as the half-mad Greta, wholly dedicated to making sure her charge, the Baron, is properly "fed" and cared for; and Peel as the Baron, whose friends played "wicked" games with until they made him into a vampire. The American publication TV Guide noted that the film contained "dashes of Freud and Tennesee Williams," and that isn't a bad description of the plot. Sangster, Peter Bryan and Edward Percy came up with an exceptionally intriguing script and Fisher's direction has never been better. And who could forget the scene in which Marie Devereaux rises from her grave, with Jackson acting as midwife? Extraordinary.

9) THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OF THE HIMALAYAS

I caught this one on television for the first time in 1965 and it deeply impressed me. I had been interested in stories of the "real" yeti for years and found this treatment of the legend to be extremely intriguing. The screenplay by the great Nigel Kneale (based on his television play "The Creature") is highly intelligent in its exploration of what might really be lurking in the snows of the Himalayas. Cushing is great as the voice of reason on the expedition led by an American showman (Forrest Tucker in an excellent performance). The fact that Hammer filmed many scenes on location in the Pyrenees adds tremendously to its realism, and Val Guest's direction is, as usual, first-rate. The idea that the yeti may be hiding in the Himalayas, waiting for mankind to destroy itself, is unsettling. The mood of the film is a rather somber one, but it never fails to fascinate. And the fact that the yeti are only glimpsed adds so much to the atmosphere; what you don't see is nearly always more frightening than what you do see, a concept that has been entirely lost in 21st-century CGI-dominated blockbusters.

10) QUATERMASS AND THE PIT

One of the all-time great science fiction films from Hammer or anybody else. Andrew Keir is the perfect Quatermass: brilliant, sometimes gruff but never off-putting. His war of words with the military, represented here by Julian Glover, is always fascinating. Barbara Shelley is great as Quatermass' assistant, who uncovers much of the weird happenings at Hobbs Lane. Kneale's screenplay is exceptional: our whole concept of human history is overturned. "We're the Martians now," Shelley says, and the theme of a "race purge" is genuinely disturbing. Under the highly skilled direction of Roy Ward Baker, this is one of the most intelligent sci-fi movies of all time. The ending, in which a horned "demon" appears in the heart of London, is absolutely unforgettable.

Copyright © 2010 Bruce G. Hallenbeck. All rights reserved.

Technorati Top 100...how'd that happen???!!!

2010-06-14T15:23:00.001+01:00

No idea how this ranking thing works but just noticed that after 3 months Watching Hammer is now listed in the Technorati Top 100 Film Blogs (down 1 to #77 - where has it been to previously I wonder?). I guess that must be a good thing, since everyone goes on about Technorati? Anyway, took a shot for posterity. Hard to tell sometimes how the blog is going down (I mean it's pretty niche!) so this boosts confidence a tad. Big thanks to everyone who reads, enjoys, and comments on the blog.

Jello from hell!!!

2010-06-14T00:35:00.001+01:00

"See burns! See blisters! See melting heads! See..."

X THE UNKNOWN (1956)

Who?

Director: Leslie Norman

Producer: Anthony Hinds

Screenplay: Jimmy Sangster

Cast: Dean Jagger, Edward Chapman, Leo McKern, William Lucas, John Harvey, Peter Hammond, Michael Ripper, Anthony Newley, Ian MacNaughton, Kenneth Cope, Marianne Brauns, Fraser Hines

How?

The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) had been a huge success for Hammer and the company were keen to quickly capitalise on its success. Searching for something to follow up with Anthony Hinds, Michael Carreras and Jimmy Sangster came up with a rough story, and Sangster, at that time a production manager, was given the task of writing his first screenplay. Originally intended to feature the Quatermass character, this was abandoned when Nigel Kneale refused them the use of his creation. Still, Hammer hinted strongly at the previous film by the use of the 'X' in the title and with the hiring of American Dean Jagger (at the US distributer's insistence) to play another government scientist. Originally the film was to have been directed by blacklisted US director Joseph Losey but, due to fear of alienating their US distributer, Hammer replaced him just before shooting commenced with Leslie Norman (father of film critic Barry Norman). Perhaps not Hammer's proudest moment, although they redeemed themselves later by filming The Damned (1963) with him.

What?

Whilst being tested on their aptitude with a Geiger counter in a Scottish quarry a group of soldiers discover a mysterious source of radiation underground. Suddenly a large fissure appears and one of the soldiers is killed. A scientist from a nearby nuclear research facility, Dr Royston (Jagger), is called to the scene and discovers that the soldier has been killed by radiation. That night a young boy encounters something mysterious in the woods and is admitted to hospital with radiation poisoning, from which he later dies. Further similar deaths follow and Royston speculates that something has emerged from the fissure, something which feeds on radiation and which can change it's structure in order to gain entry through small spaces. A colleague (Lucas) is lowered into the fissure where he catches sight of this mysterious 'thing' and so the army order the fissure be cemented over. Despite this, the creature breaks through and begins making its way toward a new food source...the local nuclear power station.

So?

X The Unknown makes no bones about it. It's a Quatermass film in all but name. Denied the use of the Quatermass character Hammer simply changed his name and carried on as before. Now, that's not a criticism of the film, because X is a great little sf-horror picture. It just makes no excuses about where its origins lie - and so what? The Quatermass Xperiment had struck such a chord with the public that no one can blame Hammer for striking while the iron was hot. It only took the ingenious twist of placing the horror not 'out there' (space) but 'in there' (the earth itself) to give X a stamp of its own. Both played on the public fear of the unknown, and X went one further and capitalised on the 1950s suspicion and fear of radiation. Indeed, it (deliberately) bears resemblance to 1950s US sf-monster movies of 'The Creature From Below...' type, which often involved radiation as well. Hammer were thus mining a popular trend, but in a very British way. Indeed Sangster's script went a little (a lot!) too far for the censors, who hated it and demanded cuts before filming could commence - the first of many such tangles witht he censors for Sangster.

Credit must be given to him for this, his first full-length screenplay. The plot is simple, the science far-fetched, but Sangster makes the whole thing believable by the seriousness with which he treats the subject. And he creates some genuinely chilling, and quite hard-hitting, scenes. The two young boys in the dark woods and their encounter with 'X' is particularly memorable, and Sangster doesn't hold back - one boy dies as a result. It is the use of night scenes in X which makes it such an eerie experience at times - the dark, desolate mud-filled quarry could easily play host to all manner of creatures in ones imagination. And Sangster similarly creates memorable moments of genuine edge-of-seat tension - Will the jeep get out of the mud in time? Will the scientist get lifted out of the crevice in time? Will the child reach the safety of the church in time? All great stuff (although there is the obligatory Hammer 'death for illicit sex' scene thrown in too!). And whilst director Leslie Norman was no Joseph Losey, arrived at the very last minute, really did not want to do the film, caused tensions on the set due to his difficult personality, suffered atrocious weather during filming, and disliked the final result...he actually did manage, despite all that, to convert Sangster's ideas into a tight, tense little thriller - helped enormously by Gerald Gibbs' moody b&w cinematography, and James Bernards' tension-filled score.

Overall the cast do a sterling job, with some great little back-and-forth scenes among the soldiers. Dean Jagger actually makes a wonderful Quatermass clone - his laid-back but intense US scientist contrasting well with Edward Chapman's uptight boss, and Leo McKern puts in an equally good performance as the security chief. Hammer very wisely keeps the revelation of the creature itself to the close of the film - based no doubt on a combination of budget as well as story. But doing so allows ones imagination to run riot, constructing images of what this 'unknown' is. Whilst the final appearance may be a slight let-down to our modern jaded eyes, the special effects involved were actually quite ingenious (and involved the use of live worms!). Both the effects and make-up teams were kept busy on this one - with explosions, radiation burns, blisters, melting heads, etc. X The Unknown is a thoroughly enjoyable British sf-horror picture, that holds its own against the Quatermass films. It, like them, taps into public fears and paranoia about what's out/in there, about the dangers of radiation, and at a deeper level perhaps about threats of 'invasion' too. Its combination of sf with Gothic horror sensibilities is distinctly Hammer and it's a pity that they rarely ventured into this territory. Now what a Jospeh Losey version of X The Unknown might have looked like, well...?

Huh?

Thumbs Up: A great moody atmosphere

Thumbs Down: Story a little weak at times

Yo Ho Ho!

2010-06-12T02:12:00.002+01:00

"See plundering! See pillaging! See pantaloons! See..."

THE DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES (1964)

Who?

Director: Don Sharp

Producer: Anthony Nelson Keys

Screenplay: Jimmy Sangster

Cast: Christopher Lee, Andrew Keir, John Cairney, Michael Ripper, Duncan Lamont, Ernest Clark, Barry Warren, Suzan Farmer, Natasha Pyne, Annette Whiteley, Charles Houston, Philip Latham, Harry Locke, Leonard Fenton, Jack Rodney, Barry Lineham, Bruce Beeby, Michael Peake, Johnny Briggs

How?

Hammer had had great success in the early sixties (particularly in the school holidays) with a series of swashbucklers - The Pirates of Blood River (1962), Captain Clegg (1962), and The Scarlet Blade (1963) - and so in 1963 they set about planning another, scripted by Jimmy Sangster - The Devil-Ship Pirates. Producer Anthony Nelson Keys brought back director Don Sharp, who had made such a success of Kiss of the Vampire (1963). Christopher Lee returned to Hammer for his second pirate film, after the The Pirates of Blood River, and much of the rest of the cast were brought directly from The Scarlet Blade - Suzan Farmer, Duncan Lamont, Michael Ripper and Charles Houston. Barry Warren returned from Sharp's Kiss of the Vampire, and Hammer regular Andrew Keir put in an appearance as well. Shooting took place on Bernard Robinson's Scarlet Blade village set at Bray Studios (they basically just changed the pub sign!) and at a nearby flooded gravel pits - where a full-scale Diablo was berthed. Devil-Ship was released to both critical and public approval.

What?

The Diablo is a Spanish pirate ship under the command of Captain Robeles (Lee) which has been serving with the Spanish Armada. During a battle with British ships, after which the Armada is defeated, it is badly damaged and so sneaks into port on a deserted stretch of English coast. The Squire (Clark) of the nearby village is convinced by Manuel (Warren), a Spanish officer on board, that the English have been defeated and the Diablo is only one of many Spanish vessels now putting ashore. He agrees to assist them repair their ship and the Spanish crew thus arrive, seal the village, and set about putting the men to work. Robeles, however, plans to return to piracy and tells Manuel (Warren), that he can either join them or remain in England. Meanwhile, Harry (Cairney), the son of the village blacksmith (Keir), is busy organising resistance against the Spaniards, not believing their tale. When this is discovered Harry is flogged and his father hanged. Manuel, a man of honour, thus decides to join the villagers against Robeles, and Harry and he devise a plan to sabotage the Diablo with explosives as she leaves berth. But Robeles at the last minute deviously decides to bring hostages on board...including the Squire's daughter (Farmer), Harry's love.

So?

By the time they came to The Devil-Ship Pirates Hammer were on a swashbuckling roll, and all the stops were pulled out on this one...as far as the budget would allow! One of the criticisms of The Pirates of Blood River was that there was no pirate ship (budgetry constraints again), so this time Hammer made sure they had a ship - indeed the ship became the centre-piece of the whole plot - although the budget didn't allow much sailing action! And screenwriter Sangster devised an ingenious little story around said ship - a tale of the Armada, piracy, cowardice, deceit, rebellion, self-sacrifice...and, of course, love. Everything a child could hope for in a holiday film. Because Devil-Ship is pure entertainment; an action-packed romp that stretches its meagre budget to the very limits. It does not tax the brain, nor does it contain much in the way of hidden depths - but that's how a pirate film should be. It's director Don Sharp had previously worked for Hammer on Kiss of the Vampire, an experience he clearly enjoyed, but Devil-Ship was to be somewhat different, mainly due to the constraints of money and time. However, tasked to make a large-scale action film on a low budget Sharp makes a very good fist of it. Meticulous in his set-ups and shots he creates some wonderful scenes, and really captures the flow of action when required. Above all, and importantly, he keeps it moving

Devil-Ship assembled a great cast. Lee is on top form as the amoral Robeles - suave and handsome, but willing to flog, hang, stab, and shoot in the back when necessary to get what he wants. Cairney puts in an energetic performance as the, basically, one-armed hero Harry; Clark is a wonderfully snivelling and cowardly Squire; while Warren imbues his character with a certain nobility and conflicted depth. Michael Ripper appears to have just changed his Scarlet Blade Pablo costume and carried on as before in his Devil-Ship Pepe one! But who cares! That being said, Lee appears to have assembled the campest crew of swarthy pirates seen since, well, the last crew he assembled for The Pirates of Blood River. Honestly, even I wouldn't think twice about taking them on! Only the French poster art seemed to pick this up! Strangely enough the women of the village don't appear immune to the crew's mysterious charms and drape themselves over a free pirate in the pub at every opportunity - the pub scenes also including some hilarious pseudo-macho posturing. Later they get their arses kicked by a one-armed man. Hammer didn't appear to do tough pirates very well. Except Duncan Lamont's Bosun. Him I wouldn't tackle.

The real star of Devil-Ship is, however, the Diablo herself. Designed by Bernard Robinson and constructed to full scale by Arthur Banks and an eighty man crew it really is a beauty, even though it ate up a good chunk of the budget. It's just a shame we don't get to see as much of her as we'd like. Of course, the poor Diablo was accidently sunk at the end of filming (nearly losing a few of the crew in the process) so we never got to see her again in other films, as was planned. But boy does it make for a great ending! Kudos to Hammer overall for thinking, and building, big. Because Devil-Ship is a film that wonderfully masks its meagre resources. The production design is just excellent, the photography is lush and imbued with colour, the action and fights are plentiful and the whole film moves at such a brisk pace that one has no time to notice its flaws. Devil-Ship gives the impression of being a much bigger budget production than it actually is - a skill perfected by Hammer and the crew of wonderful technicians she assembled. It is well worth a viewing - I mean, any film that has Coronation Street's Mike Baldwin doing his best Spanish pirate can't be all bad. Right?

Huh?

Thumbs Up: Bernard Robinson does it again

Thumbs Down: Where did Lee pick up that crew?

Top Ten Hammers - Dominic McDonagh

2010-06-08T11:03:00.002+01:00

For this week's Top Ten Hammers I'm pleased to welcome writer Dominic McDonagh. Dominic has had short stories published in various magazines and anthologies, has written for the comic book 2000AD, and is the author of Pretty Young Things, a vampire novella which has been described as "a breathless chase through a nicely realised sub culture of sex, music and bloodlust, involving guns, vengeful vampires, a dopey drug dealer and...a sadistic failed doctor". He has also written for the cult UK television series Urban Gothic.

*******

Unlike some other contributors, I was too young to have watched any Hammers on their cinema release. Almost everything I name here, I watched on the television in my early teens, or tracked down a DVD of years later. I’m not ranking these films. Not every one is a masterpiece (though several here are magnificent), but every one I name has something to it that lingers in the mind for years. I like that in a film. I have no idea what the point of a film that can’t manage that is supposed to be, frankly.

THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA

Hated by Christopher Lee, and often dismissed as a bizarre and unwanted abomination, this is a surprisingly good film. It’s hard to shake the feeling that Marvel’s whole Tomb Of Dracula series was inspired by this second, and best attempt to stage a modern dress Dracula. Dracula AD 1972 is a terrible mess, but this one works very well indeed. Setting the Count up as a Bond villain lurking in the background works very well, and the germ warfare plot is an interesting touch, completely unlike any other Dracula film and rather presaging the attempts to start a nuclear winter in Ultraviolet. A rare example of a late Hammer that was ahead of, rather than behind, the times.

DEMONS OF THE MIND

Hammer does Tigon. This one very unusually gives the impression that it’s taking place during a real time, rather than a strange paste up of late Victoriana, the Regency and the Dark Ages. It has an excellent cast, despite the absence of all of the usual suspects, and a very clever and unsettling script. The whole film is really an extended debate about nature vs nurture, but there’s also a subtext about the clash between scientific inquiry and Religious verities, both of which the script shows to be terribly lacking. One of the best ‘70s Hammers, and arguably one of their finest ever.

DRACULA

Probably the single best Dracula film of all time. It still looks stunning now, and the almost radioactive reds from the cheap Eastmancolor film stock give a lovely glow to a film with this much gore in it. The interplay between Cushing’s cold blooded and frighteningly manipulative Van Helsing and Lee’s thrillingly arrogant Dracula are set up perfectly here. No film of Dracula has ever made an effort to follow the novel faithfully, but the changes here (mostly taken from Nosferatu) work beautifully. A masterpiece, and one where it isn’t hard to understand why it got more attention than the equally fine Curse Of Frankenstein.

CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER

The most barking mad of all the Hammer horrors. This film has a stunningly wooden lead man, ropey direction, and a script that should have perhaps gone through another rewrite or two before being filmed, but still oozes charm. The debate about various types of vampirism provides a hilariously grisly scene where the hero has to work out how to put a vampirised friend out of his misery, and incredibly has some bearing on the plot as well. Wildly inventive, and very clever, this film’s flaws just cast a greater emphasis on its many virtues.

THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES

Many of Hammer’s films outside of the Frankenstein and Dracula series were also revamps of other Universal horror films. This one is Hammer’s take on White Zombie, and the shift of undead slave labour from a West Indian sugar plantation to a Cornish tin mine works very well. The film has an increasingly unpleasant and disturbing atmosphere, and a young Jacqueline Pearce, going for it. It also has never been properly credited for introducing the now traditional zombie shamble a good five years before Night Of The Living Dead. A wonderful film, and vastly better than the more obviously flawed The Reptile with which it was filmed back to back.

QUATERMASS AND THE PIT

All three of Hammer’s Quatermass films are excellent, but this one just edges out Quatermass 2. That one has a conspiracy theory years before they became a tedious staple in contemporay science fiction, but this one has a much smoother than usual take on Nigel Kneale’s habitual attempts to provide an SF rationale for supernatural folklore. The notion of alien Gods orchestrating humanity’s development was suggested here twenty years before Von Daniken began publishing his mind numbingly racist drivel, and has rarely been handled better on film. Like all the best Hammers, this is a film that’s crowded with beautiful set pieces, climaxing with that final, terrifying attempt to ground an alien demon using a crane...

THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN

The best Hammer Frankenstein. With the character established in the first, this one frees up the possibility of developing and refining the charmingly amoral and exploitative Frankenstein Peter Cushing had defined. It also makes it crystal clear, just in case anybody had missed the point in the first film, that Frankenstein himself is the real monster. (A lesson that was sadly ignored in the subsequent, and dreadful, The Evil Of Frankenstein.) There’s a clear left leaning subtext, as in a lot of Hammer horrors, and a string of shatteringly nasty scenes, but it’s a far quieter and more restrained film than The Curse of Frankenstein, and builds up to a gloriously ironic climax. Probably the single best film on this list.

DR JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE

Another masterpiece from later in Hammer’s career. As a bid to extract some new life from Robert Loius Stephenson’s overexploited novella, this is vastly better than most. The resemblance between Ralph Bates and Martine Beswick helps to make what could have come across as a ludicrous conceit seem highly convincing, and the sexual undertones this adds to the story gives it a new and strange impact. Even shoehorning in Jack The Ripper and Burke and Hare doesn’t seem at all out of place. This film is quite rightly pointed out as one of the best Hammers of the ‘70s.

BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB

Remade (not terribly well) with Charlton Heston years later, this one has almost nothing to do with the traditional dumbing down of Stoker’s The Jewel Of The Seven Stars, but instead sets up an unusually authentic Victorian atmosphere for a Hammer. The unfortunate heroine is placed under as many travails by the society she lives in and her male protectors as by the Egyptian presence haunting her. There are very few horror films with a strong feminist subtext, and in this one, unlike several others, it works perfectly. A sadly neglected and underpraised film.

THE MUMMY

Hammer’s third attempt at relaunching a Universal franchise, and the least succesful of the three, but this film still has a lot to recommend it. Lee’s mummy seems far more an unstoppable and terrifying force of nature than anything that had been seen in a film like this previously, and the script references and plays on the late Victorian fashion for Egyptology. By the time his mutilation and live burial has been witnessed, the viewer’s sympathies are firmly with Lee’s revenant, rather than the archeologists who he proceeds to carve a bloody swathe through. Also, it’s one of the best looking Hammers. A pity the sequel was so dreaful, though.

Copyright © 2010 Dominic McDonagh. All rights reserved.

Slow boat to China

2010-06-08T01:30:00.001+01:00

"See very little action! See even fewer thrills! See time crawl! See..."

VISA TO CANTON (1960)

Who?

Director: Michael Carreras

Producer: Michael Carreras

Screenplay: Gordon Wellesley

Cast: Richard Basehart, Lisa Gastoni, Athene Seyler, Eric Pohlmann, Alan Gifford, Bernard Cribbins, Burt Kwouk, Hedgar Wallace, Marne Maitland

How?

Originally commissioned as a pilot for a television series Visa to Canton was the second of Hammer's 1960 Chinese films - the other being Terror of the Tongs. Filmed back-to-back and using the same sets at Bray Studios, Visa was eventually shot as a straight theatrical release. Michael Carreras produced, but also took on the role of director, only his second time since 1957's Steel Bayonet. The screenplay was by the Oscar nominated Australian writer Gordon Wellesley. Richard Basehart was cast in the lead, obviously with an eye on selling the series to the US, with Italian actress Lisa Gastoni providing the exotic glamour. Marne Maitland and Burt Kwouk came straight from Tongs, with Bernard Cribbins making his first Hammer appearance (She (1965) being his only other). Eric Pohlmann made his only return to Hammer since starring in a number of early 1950s pictures for the company. Although filmed, and generally released, in colour Visa was shown in b&w in the US, for financial reasons.

What?

Don Benton (Basehart) is an American who runs a travel agency in Hong Kong. He also has a past as a US miltary pilot in the Far East. Visited by a CIA agent he discovers that a Formosan (Taiwanese) plane bound for Hong Kong has crashed near Canton on the Communist Chinese mainland, one of the passengers being an American agent (Gastoni) carrying vital information. Initially refusing to help the US government in its search for the occupants, Benton then discovers that Johnny (Kwouk), the grandson of a close Chinese friend, was the pilot and is now in hiding out in China. Benton thus makes a lone journey upriver and brings him home, whereupon Johnny is arrested under suspicion of having aided Communist China capture the agent. Benton thus makes another trip, to Canton, to find the agent and clear Johnny's name. Tailing him is an old Russian adversary (Pohlmann) who also has an interest in recovering the information held by the agent. A race is on to get to her first, but is she all she seems?

So?

As referred to previously, Visa to Canton was originally planned as the pilot for a television series, until Hammer got cold feet and decided to film a straight theatrical feature. Unfortunately, Visa's origins as a TV production are all too evident, and a not very good one at that. If it had been released as a TV pilot in the US it is highly debatable whether a series would ever actually have followed, based on the evidence of Visa. The problem really is that, although it deals with large-scale, exciting events (a former espionage officer infiltrating communist China to rescue a captured agent with vital information, a Russian colonel hot on his heels), it just conveys a small-scale impression. It is a thriller with few thrills, an action feature with little action. Much of this can be laid at the feet of screenwriter Gordon Wellesley, whose story is weak, and director Michael Carreras, who fails to build on the story's strengths and whose direction is uninspired. Generally unenthusiastic performances from the cast don't help matters either.

Although Wellesley was an experienced screenwiter for both film and television, working particularly with Carol Reed, there is really nothing in Visa to mark it as being anything out of the ordinary - there's a general feeling of perfunctoriness about the whole thing, as if it was dashed off in an afternoon. One would expect the pilot of a TV series to come out with all guns blazing, especially an action based cold-war espionage series. But no, Visa ambles along at a snail's pace, making its brief 75m running time seem much longer. Perhaps it was written primarily with the limitations, financial and otherwise, of a television feature in mind. Perhaps, being a pilot, it was written on the understanding that characters could be fleshed out over time. Whatever the reason, the general weakness of Visa's story plays a large part in its unsatisfactory nature. But it's also true that on the few times Michael Carreras got behind the camera on a Hammer picture the results were generally not that great. His first picture, Steel Bayonet, was probably his best but this, his second, was a marked step down. The direction is leaden and plodding, with little suspense, uninspired action scenes, and a resolution for Gastoni's character that is simply rushed and fails to convince. Melodrama and sentimentality unfortunately take centre stage.

As far as performances go, Richard Basehart is actually not too bad. Obviously chosen with a US television audience in mind he makes a pleasingly rugged, yet suave, action hero. It's the material that lets him down, but it would have been interesting to see how the character developed in a series of films. Lisa Gastoni's double-agent is a character that holds promise, and she plays it cooly, but she is introduced much too late and simply not given the time to develop. The supporting cast range from serviceable to embarrassing (Athene Seyler's 'Chinese' character being the main culprit, with Maitland basically reprising his Tongs performance, and Cribbins offering his best 'Portugese'). It is ultimately disappointing that Visa doesn't stand up. Hammer were again experimenting with something new, a cold war espionage thriller, which became a hugely popular genre as the sixties went on. If it had been more successful, artistically and financially, Visa might have opened the way to a series of such films. But, in the end, it disappoints - betraying its TV roots and with little of the Hammer 'feel', it promises much but fails to deliver. If they'd spent less time talking about going to Canton, and actually gone there, the film might have been improved somewhat. But then again, maybe not.

Huh?

Thumbs Up: Basehart's a good action hero (with little action).

Thumbs Down: It's just so sloooow.

Don't put that in your mouth, you don't know where its been!

2010-06-04T02:13:00.001+01:00

"See why you never break down in the woods! See why you never stay at the creepy inn! See why you never, ever, go up to the castle! See..."

KISS OF THE VAMPIRE (1963)

Who?

Director: Don Sharp

Producer: Anthony Hinds

Screenplay: John Elder

Cast: Clifford Evans, Edward de Souza, Noel Willman, Jennifer Daniel, Barry Warren, Brian Oulton, Noel Howlett, Jacquie Wallis, Peter Madden, Isobel Black, Vera Cook, John Harvey

How?

Hammer's follow-up to Dracula (1958) - Brides of Dracula (1960) - was such a success on both sides of the Atlantic that James Carreras quickly put in motion with Universal plans for a 'Dracula 3'. Anthony Hinds was tasked not only with producing the film, but also with writing a screenplay, which he did so under his usual John Elder pseudonym. The eventual result, however, was far removed from the previous Dracula pictures and Kiss would become a stand-alone vampire film in its own right. To direct, rather than use Terence Fisher (whose last three Gothics had fared poorly at the box-office) Hinds brought in a completely new face - the Australian Don Sharp (who would later go on to direct The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964) and Rasputin (1966) for Hammer). Sharp and Hinds cast Clifford Evans from Curse of the Werewolf (1961), Edward de Souza from Phantom of the Opera (1962), Hammer newcomers Noel Willman and Jennifer Daniel (who would both feature only once more for Hammer in The Reptile (1966)), and Barry Warren (later in Devil-Ship Pirates (1964) and Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)) as a strong theatrical cast. After the usual struggles with the censor over sex and violence in the draft screenplay, shooting took place at Bray Studios and on location in Black Park.

What?

While travelling in Bavaria on honeymoon, the car of Gerald Harcourt (de Souza) and his wife Marianne (Daniel) runs out of petrol in the midst of a forest. Gerald sets off in search of some, leaving Marianne with the car and luggage. While he is gone she encounters a strange elderly man, Professor Zimmer (Evans), who warns her about a nearby mountainside chateau - that it is inhabited by vampires. On Gerald's return they dismiss the Professor's story and make their way to a local, all but deserted, inn for the night; the owners of which seem strangely troubled. Before long an invitation arrives for Gerald and Marianne to attend dinner at the chateau, where they meet Dr Ravna (Willman) and his son Karl (Warren) and daughter Sabena (Wallis). While outwardly charming, Karl's piano playing after the meal appears to have a strange, hypnotic effect on Marianne. On leaving, the couple are invited to a masked ball the following night, at which Gerald is drugged and upon awakening finds that Marianne has disappeared, and is unceremoniously thrown out of the chateau. Everyone he meets denies the very existence of his wife and eventually he is forced to team with Professor Zimmer to return to the chateau and discover what has happened to Marianne...and defeat the evil that resides within the walls - Ravna's vampiric cult!

So?

Although originally planned as a straightforward follow-up to Brides of Dracula, Kiss of the Vampire turned into a very different creature indeed along the way - much to its advantage, it must be said. Hind's intelligent screenplay plays with the vampire myth, drawing out previously hinted-at elements and introducing new ones. In Kiss the 'cult of the vampire' mentioned by Van Helsing in Dracula and Brides is here brought to the fore - the group gathered around Ravna does indeed bear all the hallmarks of a perverse, underground religious cult, with their robes, ceremonies and peculiar 'tastes'; vampirism as something organised, and perhaps chosen as a way of life, rather than as a random supernatural occurence. And indeed the supernatural element of vampirism is intriguingly toyed with - we are given no explanation as to how Ravna became a vampire, but there are hints of an affliction, an experiment gone wrong, and references to being 'riddled with disease'. The occult is brought to the fore, with Zimmer's calling down evil to defeat evil in a dark ceremony (originally planned for Cushing in Brides). In addition, the vampires in Kiss differ somewhat from previous Hammer appearances - for example, they appear to be able to tolerate daylight much more (which will feature again in the Hammer vampire films of the 1970s), and they lack the otherworldly, animalistic nature evident in Dracula and Brides. Finally, the pervasive Hammer theme of the sheer attractiveness of evil (here embodied in Ravna) facing the weak and ordinary (strongly symbolised here in the broken Zimmer) comes very much to the fore in Kiss.

Don Sharp's direction of Kiss also moved Hammer's Gothic vampire films in a different direction. Totally new to the Gothic horror genre, Sharp immediately saw the possibilities it provided in telling a story in a grandly theatrical fashion, cocooned as it was within its own world, with its own rules. He was aided in this immensely by the actors he brought in, and by designer Bernard Robinson. Kiss' cast included those with a strong theatrical background, in particular Tony award-winning theatre director Noel Willman, and RADA-trained Evans, Warren and de Souza. They bring an utterly convincing seriousness to their roles - Evans as the alcoholic, half-mad but utterly dedicated Zimmer, Willman as the viciously charming and hypnotic Ravna, and Warren as the demonic, sullen and just-plain-creepy Karl. Daniel, Wallis and Black also put in strong female performances - Black in particular as the innkeeper's daughter Tania, transformed from a young innocent into a vampiric temptress roaming the mist-shrouded graveyard. As for design, Bernard Robinson created some wonderfully effective and evocative sets - notably the decadent Chateau Ravna, used to such good effect by Sharp. The cinematography of Alan Hume is more subdued than that of Jack Asher, but he creates some startling images (such as the masked ball, which so influenced Roman Polanski) and the whole film has a poetic look to it than Hume has a large hand in.

What is particularly notable about Kiss, however, is its air of sexuality - not unusual in a Hammer vampire film, perhaps, but here quite to the fore. To begin with, the chemistry between de Souza and Daniel works magnificently. Very often the 'young couple' in Hammer films fail to convince, but not here. There is a convincingly sexual edge to their on-screen relationship, perfectly portraying their roles as newlyweds. And despite the censors' best efforts to tone down the film, both before and after shooting, there remain strong hints of sexual perversion, slavery and violence, not to mention incest and barely-controlled lust. Even the bat-attack finale had scenes of the creatues lapping erotically on exposed flesh, much of which was cut. But where Kiss works so well is in its restraint; holding back on the horrors in favour of subtlety- an unusual move for Hammer one might think, but one Sharp felt was right for the film and adjusted the screenplay accordingly. What was important was the story, the development of characters, the creation of mood, the building of tension - so that when the invitable shock/horror comes it is all the more effective. Less is certainly more in this case. And while, yes, the film is let down somewhat at the end by the unconvincing bat attack, what preceeds it more than makes up for this. Hind's intelligent riff on the vampire theme, Sharp's wonderful construction of pace, mood, scene and characterisation, some stand-out performances, and poetically beautiful score and design, make Kiss of the Vampire one of Hammer's more off-beat but satisfying Gothics.

Huh?

Thumbs Up: Don Sharp's masterful direction.

Thumbs Down: Yep, those rubber bats!

Top Ten Hammers - Richard Klemensen

2010-06-01T08:20:00.004+01:00

Well, here we are again with another Top Ten Hammers. This time it's a great pleasure to welcome Richard (Dick) Klemensen as guest poster, to share his ten favourite Hammer films. Dick has been publishing Little Shoppe of Horrors, the premier Hammer films journal, for nearly 40 years, during which time it has become invaluable reading for all Hammer fans. Dick has kindly included with his piece an image of a 'top ten' he did for Hammer Horror magazine back in 1996 (click to enlarge), as well as pictures of himself at Bray in 1999 with two of the stars of his favourite Hammer film - Yvonne Monlaur and Andree Melly from Brides of Dracula.

*******

Ten best? Ten favorites? Combination of both? Well, probably. How one views a favorite films (or anything), whether it be a Hammer flick, or most anything else, is flavored by the circumstances of when you saw it, or how old you were, or a myriad number of other reasons. Anyone vaguely familiar with Hammer Films might know I’ve been a fan for a LONG time (man, I AM old – have entered geezer-hood big time.) and have chronicled their history since the first issue of LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS in 1972. Fresh out of the Army, back in college (for a useless BA Degree in Art and Education…oh well..back to selling greasy truck parts!), and having discovered all those wonderful Hammer films in 1969 when I caught DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE at a drive-in triple feature with VALLEY OF GWANGI and GODZILLA VS. THE THING (a fanboy/geek ‘wet dream’ let me tell ‘ya).

I went after every print mag I could find on horror films from that point in September 1969, with FAMOUS MONSTERS, CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and, more importantly, fanzines! Which meant I ate up GORE CREATURES, PHOTON and a number of older titles which slip my mind – CINEFANTASTIQUE had emerged from the shadow of Fred Clarke’s GARDEN GHOULS GAZETTE, but while I adored CFQ, what I wanted in a zine I found in the more personal, crude ditto/mimeo/zerox zines that proliferated in those pre-computer/internet days.

The first issue of LSoH hit in April/May 1972 (I think), printed by a small job printer in my then-home town of Waterloo, Iowa, and the interior text by two crippled brothers (Associated Services, in Janesville, Iowa), who loved what I was bringing them. It was a shock a few years later when I thought to reprint those early issues to find both brothers had died very young.

From that point some 38 years until now, when I’m pumping out two issues a year and covering Hammer and other British fantasy/horror films of the past (have little interest in writing about current films, even though I like watching them). So it is fun now to look back on what Hammer films made the biggest impression on me. Except for the first title, the others are NOT in order of preference. I should note I gave a similar ’10 Best’ to the Brit pro-zine "Hammer Horror" some years ago. I’ve added and dropped two titles since then, which doesn’t mean those three got worse, only that I became more familiar with the ones that now replace them (the two runners-up are FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN and THE DAMNED.)

1) THE BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960)

Geez, if a movie can ooze atmosphere, this is the one! The opening scenes with the ominous voice-over and the coach rushing along the Black Park lane/lake in that Fall-time atmosphere (the film was shot in January 1960 – always a dreary period in English weather. I have found the Hammer films shot during that twilight period of Fall/Winter (like the original HORROR OF DRACULA) have a special dark feel to them – a dankness that really comes through on the screen.)

Others have pointed out the weaknesses in the script and story line (an example of producer Anthony Hinds ripping out pages to make up for lost time), but the film moves along at such a atmospheric pace, that unless you stop and analyze it…who cares! It’s a movie, not a college course on logic. The acting is wonderful (except for poor Yvonne Monlaur, who isn’t bad, and fits the role perfectly. But she was new to the business and struggled with the language – she is French – but I thought she was adorable, and I fell immediately in love with her). Andree Melly is astonishing as the vampirized Gina. Even today, she is an icon – the white gown – the look of her face. And Marie Devereaux exudes a sexiness (and cleavage) to make any young male horror film fan’s heart beat faster.

Director Terence Fisher, even though he has said that DRACULA and FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED are his favorite films, and the ones he considers his best work, would be hard pressed not to accept that ‘Brides’ may be his masterpiece. Peter Cushing is incredible as Van Helsing. His power and force and confidence; and the new vampire, David Peel, who would have only one other film role of note (a small bit as a pilot in HANDS OF ORLAC) before entering the world of selling art – Peel would always know when ‘Brides’ was shown on television because people would come into his shop to comment on it. He was proud of what he did, and should have had a better career. And I love Miles Malleson’s comedy bits as Doctor Tobler – I seem to remember he was quite a screenwriter, and did the script for the original British THIEF OF BAGDAD.

I think ‘Brides’ is the best vampire films every made, and hands-down Hammer’s greatest film. It is one of a handful of films of any type I can watch over and over again (another is Universal’s FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN – one that frightened me to death when I was young, in the 1950s). THE BRIDES OF DRACULA was the ultimate trip to Hammerland, with Bernard Robinson’s gorgeous sets, Jack Asher’s lighting genius, and Malcolm Williamson’s music score. I wish it was 1961 again and I could experience the feeling that came over me, watching it at the Palace Theater in Mason City, Iowa.

2) THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (1967)

Hammer had this nice production deal with 7Arts and 20th Century Fox, and was actually able to make films with higher budgets – ONE MILLION YEARS B.C. had been a massive hit, and Fox was certainly not as tight with the purse strings as Columbia had been. So Hammer went to the written works of Dennis Wheatley (Anthony Hinds choosing the devil worship film; his co-hort, Michael Carreras, choosing the adventure THE LOST CONTINENT (aka UNCHARTED SEAS). Both were good – actually ‘Devil’ was excellent, and ‘Continent’ exciting and colorful. Both did very little business for Fox and pretty much sounded the death knell of that lucrative contract (thank goodness the Hyman family, Hammer’s silent partners going back to THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, chose to buy Warner Bros at that time, and Hammer followed them over for a few more films. Unfortunately, the Hyman’s sold the company about two years after buying it – and things really changed for Hammer. And not for the best it turned out). But THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (or as known in America, THE DEVIL’S BRIDE) works in every way (except for some subpar – but typical for the time and budget – special effects). James Bernard wrote one of his most effective music scores (available on CD from GDI records); Christopher Lee got to play another full fledged ‘good guy’; Nike Arrighi did not have the bust-line of, say, Veronica Carlson, but her winsome looks and acting carried the day. Leon Greene, for some reason (his normal voice sounded fine to me in other roles I’ve seen him in), was dubbed by Patrick Allen. But he plays well as the action hero part of the team. Patrick Mower and a fine cast of good character players round it out. And Charles Gray as Mocata is superb as the head of the devil-worship cult (“I won’t be back…but SOMETHING will….”) I love this movie…it is my favorite devil-flick. It has been muted over the years for a remake. Except for the effects, I don’t see why. But I wouldn’t mind seeing it anyway (although I KNOW it would be so spfx oriented, it would take away from the storyline. Oh well…)

3) VAMPIRE CIRCUS (1971)

For reasons no one really knows, Hammer flooded the market with product, especially horror films, in 1971. They did 10 films, the busiest year in the company’s history. Hammer story-editor, Christopher Wicking, called it the stupidest move he had ever seen. But some said it was to boost the value of Hammer, as Sir James Carreras was looking to unload the company and take his money and run. He had convinced EMI and Rank to back a series of British-financed film (and they still had their one Dracula film a year deal with Warner Bros., all that remained of the once lucrative contract with 7Arts and the Hyman family), and it seemed any producer who came knocking at the doors of Hammer House, on Wardour St., could get a film backed by Hammer. When Anthony Hinds left the company, Hammer stopped creating most of their projects in-house. Michael Carreras came back after an 8 year hiatus that left him in more an executive position than creative (although one of his first duties was to replace director Seth Holt on BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB – Holt had a heart attack during the filming of the last week of the schedule). So along comes American producer, Wilbur Stark, with a script by a fairly well-known American screenwriter, Judson Kinburg. And what came out of it was a film that was not typical of Hammer, even for the early ‘70s. A new director, Robert Young; a cast of younger players with the steady playing of Thorley Walters, Laurence Payne and Adrienne Corri .

This is a thoroughly evil film in many ways; the vampire as a child molester some have called it; the first prologue scene has Robert Tayman’s Count Mitterhouse draining the blood of a little blonde girl, then making love to his mistress (and wife of the town schoolmaster), the luscious Domini Blythe. The film was shot at the larger Pinewood Studios, with their exterior standing sets; the use of the familiar Black Park, which is right next to Pinewood. And wonderful interior sets by Scott MacGregor, who took over for Bernard Robinson once Robinson passed away in 1970. David Whitaker’s music score is among Hammer’s best.

It is a terrific film, even though they, apparently, had to shut down production early when director Young ran over schedule. When it went out as a double bill with COUNTESS DRACULA, it was definitely the better of the two flicks – even though American audiences saw a heavily edited version – all that lovely nudity and violence gone. I know we will soon have a complete version out on DVD, along with TWINS OF EVIL and HANDS OF THE RIPPER.

I love this film. Nasty, nasty stuff.

4) HORROR OF DRACULA (1957)

Well, what more can one say about Hammer’s best known film – to many their greatest film. And one I may say is the best Dracula (with an actual Dracula) ever made. I’m a huge fan of Bela Lugosi and the stately original from 1931. But HoD ROCKS; if I was going to show just one Hammer film to a young viewer, it would be this one. Things HAPPEN (which didn’t always happen in latter day Hammer films, when budgets required way too much talk and not enough action); the rush of Dracula into the library; the scenes with Lucy and Van Helsing in the crypt; the final battle to the death and Dracula’s disintegration. Wow…wow…. Peter Cushing established himself as a force to be reckoned with for the next 20+ years of horror films. Although Christopher Lee may not like it, he is the real Dracula for a whole generation (although a younger generation knows him only for STAR WARS and LORD OF THE RINGS). This was the films that, while not bringing the Hammer crew together for the first time (that was THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN), WAS the one that stamped Hammer for what we came to know and love. Bernard Robinson’s great sets; the start of the standing sets on the Bray Studios back lot (Bray is to be torn down, I’ve heard, and turned into more housing…sigh…); Jack Asher; James Bernard; Anthony Hinds; Jimmy Sangster; Anthony Nelson Keys.

Everything works with HORROR OF DRACULA. Now, if we can just get that gorgeous new print from the British Film Institute in the U.K. out on DVD.

5) QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (1967)

Hammer had filmed the first two Nigel Kneale/Quatermass stories in the mid-1950s. And ‘Pit’ was on the schedule for many years. But it took 1967 and the new Fox contract to get it into production. By then Hammer had moved out of their Bray Studios setup, and were normally at the ABPC Studios in Elstree. For whatever reason, ‘Pit’ was shot at the much larger MGM studios across the way from ABPC (around the same time as FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS and THE DIRTY DOZEN, used the same studio). Hammer also brought in a very experienced director in bigger projects – Roy Ward Baker – who would become their most used director in the last years of the company (Hammer generally had one film a year for Terence Fisher, the past master, but Fisher’s health problems made it impossible for him to work on all of them).

The story of ‘Pit’ is just intelligent – yeah those jumping grasshoppers probably drew laughter even in 1968 when the film was released – but everything else works so well, and Andrew Keir is a wonderful Bernard Quatermass. I also love the finale with James Donald, on the crane, slowly turning towards the image of the long-dead Martian. Bernard Robinson sets, Tristram Cary’s electronic score, a great cast with the lovely, talented Barbara Shelley (story not related – I met Shelley at a Fanex convention. We talked in her bedroom as we prepared for a q/a session at the con. I told her of all the Hammer actresses, she is the one I would most want to sleep with because I’d want to talk to her afterwards. I waited for her to belt me. Instead, she laughed loudly and gave me a big hug. Ahhh, fanboys…). Another film that Hammer seriously looked into remaking, with director Alex Proyas. Never to be. I’m totally satisfied with this film, grasshopper/Martians and all. Another to have a title change in the USA. This one I understood the reason why – who knew who Nigel Kneale or Quatermass were in the states. So it became FIVE MILLION YEARS TO EARTH. Under any title, it is a great film.

6) THE MUMMY (1959)

We just covered the production history of this film (along with the other three Hammer versions) in our current issue #24 of LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS. Best Mummy movie ever made…period. I’ve, finally, learned to appreciate the Karloff version (one that my wife, Nancy, adores). But it is SO slow…and the latter day ones of the 40s are efficient programmers with the slowest moving mummy of all times – you could time him with an hourglass. Hammer’s Christopher Lee mummy is frigging dangerous. He moves quickly, and with deadly efficiency. He kills people with his immense strength. This bag of bones and bandage is the real deal. Bernard Robinson’s sets have never been more gorgeous (as is the lovely Yvonne Furneaux); the Franz Reizenstein music score is of a handful of the best of Hammer (they even used bits and pieces in the next Hammer mummy – THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY’S TOMB).

I like the ‘Indiana Jones’-style remakes of recent year. But when I want to see a real Mummy, real Egypt, and a dangerous dude. This is where I go. And lighting cameraman, Jack Asher, was really “painting with light” when he photographed this. Too bad, he would later be replaced because he was ‘too slow’ (actually probably too expensive).

7) DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968)

The first Hammer film I saw that registered to me as a Hammer film. My first was probably THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and I do remember seeing THE BRIDES OF DRACULA, THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF and PHANTOM OF THE OPERA / NIGHT CREATURES. But as I rushed home that early morning 1969 from the drive-in, to drag out my old issues of FAMOUS MONSTERS, I became aware what I had just seen was the product of this wonderful British company. And I actively sought them out. So therefore, in some ways, this is my favorite Hammer film of all times.

Veronica Carlson stole my heart; Christopher Lee had little dialogue but towered over the production; Bernard Robinson’s sets, especially the rooftop on that large Pinewood Studios sound stage, are outstanding. My favorite James Bernard music score of all times. I can go back to this film again and again. Yeah, maybe too much of the young lovers and not enough of Chris Lee. But hey, there is Michael Ripper running the bakery/bar. Each time I watch ‘Has Risen’ I return to a time when I was 21 years old, a few months away from being drafted into the army. And about to discover the hobby and love interest (non-female) that would tag me for the rest of my life. Right up to today. Freddie Francis, you rocked. Thanks.

8) CAPTAIN CLEGG / NIGHT CREATURES (1961)

Horror was not Hammer’s only outlet. For some time, their forte was also action films and some war dramas. PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER (also 1961) was one of the most successful British films of the time. And as Sir Jimmy Carreras would say, “Let’s make another like the last one that made money!” Producer John Temple-Smith and director Peter Graham Scott brought this Russell Thorndyke adventure to the screen right about the time Walt Disney was making its own version, THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH. So we had a nice battle over who owned what – Hammer’s boys had the rights to the original film from the ‘30s, with George Arliss. Disney had the rights to the books and the characters. And since Hammer didn’t want to “mess with the mouse”, a little name change and Hammer was off to the races.

Peter Cushing was outstanding as Reverend Blyss / Captain Clegg. Hammer’s regular character player, Michael Ripper, had one of his best roles. The up and coming Oliver Reed got to lay eyes on Yvonne Romain and her cleavage. Action, adventure, those spooky Marsh Phantoms. I saw this in 1962 with a double feature of Hammer’s PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. I liked both of them…but I liked this a lot more. Wow, what a flick. Composer Don Bank’s first score, I think. Rousing stuff. “Boys own adventure” maybe. But Cushing and director Peter Graham Scott really bring it to life. The best of Hammer’s adventure films. One of the great adventure films of all times I think.

9) THE GORGON (1963)

One of the Hammer films that will not be on many other people’s best. It is REALLY slow moving…but the darkness, the gloom, the sense of death…permeates everything. Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Richard Pasco. Jimmy Bernard’s spookiest music score – that wailing Gorgon lady voice. Really the last of the golden era Hammer films. After production was finished, the standing sets on the Bray lot that had been expanding since 1958/1959, were torn down. New sets would appear in 1965. But it wasn’t quite the same. I can’t say I would recommend this to any fan as among the best of Hammer’s output. But it is one that still leaves me in a trance…watching Cushing walking on the leaf tossed interior set of Castle Borski….wow…the things that nightmares are made of.

10) FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1969)

How does one pick a Peter Cushing/Frankenstein role, when he is so good in all of them. There was no continuing monster – hell, many of them had no monster at all. But my three favorites are this one, FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN and REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN. ‘Created Woman’ and ‘Must Be Destroyed’ are two of the biggest downer films Hammer ever made. No clean ending; no good-guys win, or Frankenstein goes on to his next big success. Susan Denberg, with the soul of Hans, goes to her death a second time in the swirling waters of the river. And in ‘Must Be Destroyed’ Cushing/Frankenstein is hauled kicking and screaming for his life, into a blazing inferno. What we knew all along – Frankenstein was the true monster, not his creations. As good as Veronica Carlson was in DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE, she is superb here. And the fact that the death of the British film industry meant an end to her promising career, is a great shame. That lovely lady could act!! Watch her in the courtyard scene when the water pipes burst and a dead body starts to bubble up from the ground. And Freddie Jones – the realization of what he is, or isn’t, tears your heart out. Simply, while it might not be his best film, it is Terence Fisher’s greatest film as a director.

And really the end of an era for Hammer. Fisher would only direct one more for Hammer; Bernard Robinson would be dead within a year; Anthony Nelson-Keys, producer and former manager of Bray Studios – gone; producer, screenwriter and one-time part owner of Hammer, Anthony Hinds…gone. Hammer would go on to make more excellent films. But the heart of Hammer went out in Spring 1969.

So there you go; so many more I could talk about: THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES, THE REPTILE, HANDS OF THE RIPPER, VAMPIRE LOVERS, etc. But the Klem, now heading towards the ripe old age of 63, still loves this stuff. When my personal life has gone astray, having these wonderful films and memories to tide me over until a darling like my Nancy comes along, has been my anchor.

'The Hammer Vampire' - Bruce G. Hallenbeck

2010-05-31T10:36:00.003+01:00

I am, finally, currently enjoying The Hammer Vampire by Bruce G. Hallenbeck. I say finally because unlesss you ordered pretty promptly then you had to wait for the second printing - the first sold out in less than a fortnight! That's how eagerly awaited this book was. And boy, is it worth the wait. What a wonderful read this is! Hallenbeck will of course be known to readers of Little Shoppe of Horrors for his in-depth articles and The Hammer Vampire is no exception. Taking one from Dracula (1958) to The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974), with leisurely stops along the way, Hallenbeck examines the appeal and, still resonating, influence of Hammer's vampire films. Bookended with chapters on the vampire film before and after Hammer, Hallenbeck's meticulous research proceeds to look afresh at each film in Hammer's canon, the themes they explore, and their place amongst other contemporary vampire films and within evolving culture. And while doing so one also gets a symbolic glimpse into the history of the company, its rise and 'fall' as seen through one particular lens. All profusely (and I mean profusely) illustrated with photographs both from the films themselves and off camera. Hallenbeck has undoubtedly written the definitive book on Hammer's vampire films and I have no hesitation in recommending you to order your copy now from Hemlock Books. You won't have had as enjoyable a read in a while.

Tick, Tick...Boom!

2010-05-28T14:53:00.003+01:00

"See a sweaty disposal! See another! And another! See..."

TEN SECONDS TO HELL (1959)

Who?

Director: Robert Aldrich

Producer: Michael Carreras

Screenplay: Robert Aldrich & Teddi Sherman

Cast: Jack Palance, Jeff Chandler, Martine Carol, Robert Cornthwaite, Virginia Baker, Robert Wattis, Lesley Addy, Dave Willcock, James Goodwin, Nancy Lee, Charles Nolte

How?

The rights to Lawrence Bachmann's novel The Phoenix were bought by Hammer in 1955, and Bachmann himself submitted a screenplay. The film was planned by producer Michael Carreras as a prestige production for Hammer, with top director Robert Aldrich (who was at the time blacklisted in Hollywood), US stars Jack Palance and Jeff Chandler, and French bombshell Martine Carol. In addition, as it was set in post-war Berlin, it was to be shot there on location and at the famous UFA Studios. The film, however, soon turned into a nightmare. Aldrich proceeded to rewrite the screenplay, replaced key Hammer staff members with his own men, antagonised the German film crew, had Michael Carreras removed from the picture and, most significantly, lost the confidence of star Palance, who felt Aldrich was making the picture too talky and philosophical. The resulting 130 minute film was eventually shorn of 40 minutes by the distributer and released to generally poor reviews.

What?

Six German POWs return to a shattered Berlin following the end of the war and are employed by the British as a bomb disposal team - work they had been previously been forced to do by the German army after losing favour with the Nazis. The work is so dangerous that the six agree on a pact - each will put up half his salary and at the end of three months whoever survives gets to keep it. They will tackle bombs on an alphabetical rota. The leader of the team Koertner (Palance), who had been a renowned architect before the war, feels the self-sacrificing work somehow strikes a blow at the self-serving mentality that led to war. Wirtz (Chandler) is only concerned with the money...and self-preservation. He means to win at all costs. As members of the team are gradually lost the others try to persuade Wirtz to abandon the pact and give the money away - he refuses, and the others cannot let him win, so the work continues until only Koertner and Wirtz remain, each aware that they must see this through to the end.

So?

Director Robert Aldrich has openly referred to Ten Seconds to Hell as a bad film - one that even if he had a chance to reshoot he wouldn't know how to improve. Now, while I'd agree that Ten is not a great picture, it's not one totally without merit. It is, in fact, a tantalisingly frustrating example of what could have been. The film was, I'm sure, intended by Michael Carreras as another attempt by Hammer to enter the 'mainstream' of British cinema - an attempt to shed Hammer's reputation as merely a purveyor of populist exploitation pictures and light comedies, and become a serious player. It, of course, failed (like other attempts) to do that, but Ten was still a worthy effort, and provides an interesting meditation on war, desolation, hope, courage and the human capacity to rise from the ashes. It's also interesting in that it provides a less 'insuler-feeling' picture from Hammer, with its American director, stars and key staff, and German crew and locations. While one can only speculate on how it would have turned out using Bachmann's original screenplay, the film does attempt to delve a little deeper philosophically than one normally would expect from Hammer (although there are notable exceptions). Unfortunately, it simply fails to work - hampered by said crude philosophical musings and, unfortunately, by two of its leads.

Palance and Aldrich didn't see eye-to-eye in the picture, Aldrich admitting that he lost control of his star, and unfortunately it shows. Palance gives a most unusual performance; obviously seeking to portray a deeply tormented man he does so in the most blatant and ham-fisted way, contorting his face into a rictus of despair at every available opportunity, interspersed with long periods of stony-faced sullenness. Deep into Method acting at the time he became virtually unapproachable off-screen, punctuated with antagonistic drinking sessions with Aldrich. The result is a mess - although a tormented mess. Combined with Martine Carol's eye-swiveling dramatics and Aldrich's, at times, cod-philosophical dialogue makes for some truly bizarre scenes together, between bouts of bomb disposal. Thankfully, some good performances by others soften the histrionics somewhat. Jeff Chandler's coldy self-serving Wirtz provides a pleasing foil to Palance, their scenes together carrying genuine tension, while Richard Wattis' Major Haven is a sterling example of a good-hearted officer who fails to appreciate the irony of using Koertner's squad exactly as the Nazi's had.

A saving feature of the picture are the locations and their wonderfully atmospheric capture by Aldrich's regular director of photography, the Oscar-winning Ernest Laszlo. His b&w photography simply oozes charisma, and the use of a still-devastated Berlin for location lends the film an air of authenticity it might not otherwise have had. But at root Ten fails simply because it cannot marry its philosophical ambitions with its post-war thriller scenario in a satisfactory way. The periods between (genuinely tension-filled and accurately detailed) bomb-disposal are too often filled with Palance and Carol musing on life, love and the nature of humanity. This is not to say that Ten has nothing to say - it does pose questions about what can and should rise from the ashes of human conflict, about the battle between self-sacrifice and self-service, about hope and despair, about the value of human life. However, it too often simply becomes an exercise in self-indulgence, whether on the part of Palance or Aldrich. Perhaps Aldrich's 130m cut would have revealed a different and much better picture? I'm inclined to believe Aldrich himself, and doubt it.

Huh?

Thumbs Up: Lazslo's atmospheric cinematography

Thumbs Down: What's with the face Jack?