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The History of Hammer Films Part Fifteen: The 70's

The History of Hammer Films Part Fifteen: The 70’s

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) After being forced to leave his country due to his mad experiments, Baron Victor Frankenstein lodges at a boarding house run by Anna Spengler and builds a secret laboratory in his room. Anna’s fiance Karl Holst is a doctor at the local insane asylum where Frankenstein’s former assistant, Dr. Frederick Brandt, now resides after suffering a mental breakdown due…

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Brinke Stevens as Vampirella at a costume contest in 1974  #BrinkeStevens

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The History of Hammer Films Part Fourteen: New Era Begins!

The History of Hammer Films Part Fourteen: New Era Begins!

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The History of Hammer Films Part Thirteen: Prehysteria!

The History of Hammer Films Part Thirteen: Prehysteria!

One Million Years B.C. (1966) A color remake of the monochrome 1940 film One Million B.C. (originally released in England as Man and His Mate), One Million Years B.C. was Hammer’s most ambitious undertaking. Michael Carreras wrote the script, which was taken directly from the screenplay of the first version. As the film’s producer, Michael Carreras was reunited with Aida Young, his associate…

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The History of Hammer Films Part Twelve: The Warner Brother Years

The History of Hammer Films Part Twelve: The Warner Brother Years

Peter Cushing returned to his most famous role in the Hammer – 7 Arts Production of Frankenstein Created Woman (1967). The film’s script was written by Anthony Hinds (as John Elder), who had also been responsible for the previous entry in the series, The Evil Of Frankenstein. Director Terence Fisher, who had not been used for Evil, returned to helm his first Frankenstein project since The Revenge…

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The History of Hammer Films Part Eleven: Christopher Lee Returns!

The History of Hammer Films Part Eleven: Christopher Lee Returns!

Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966) was directed by Terence Fisher. Some seven years had passed since Christopher Lee had first bared his bloody fangs in his portrayal of Dracula in Hammers 1958 film. It’s success, surpassing that of The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), made Christopher Lee the definitive Count Dracula to a whole new generation of cinema-goers and provided Hammer with another box…

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The History of Hammer Films Part Ten: The Cornish Duo

The History of Hammer Films Part Ten: The Cornish Duo

Interview with Michael CarrerasDid you submit projects to Hammer, or did they simply hire you to work on productions they developed themselves? Michael Carreras: It was a bit of both. They kindly hired me to write several screenplays, to help me keep the wolf from the door. They never made any of those films, so I don’t know what they did with the scripts. I actually thought I wrote some good…

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The History of Hammer Films Part Nine: Psychos & Pirates

The History of Hammer Films Part Nine: Psychos & Pirates

The Evil of Frankenstein (1964), the third film to feature Peter Cushing as Baron Victor Frankenstein. This time around, Jimmy Sangster and Terence Fisher, the writer-director team behind The Curse of Frankenstein and The Revenge of Frankenstein, were replaced by John Elder (Anthony Hinds) and Freddie Francis. Elder’s screenplay drops the close continuity between the first two films (and even…

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The History of Hammer Films Part Eight: Phantoms & Vampires

The History of Hammer Films Part Eight: Phantoms & Vampires

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The History of Hammer Films Part Seven: Hell Is a City!

The History of Hammer Films Part Seven: Hell Is a City!

Hammer’s next release was a crime drama entitled Hell Is a City (1960), written and directed by Val Guest from a novel by Maurice Proctor. Stanley Baker delivered a powerful performance in the lead role of Inspector Martineau, and was given able support by Donald Pleasance and Billie Whitelaw, among other effective cast members. Based on a novel by former Manchester policeman Maurice Procter and…

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The History of Hammer Films Part Six: Helsing's Return!

The History of Hammer Films Part Six: Helsing’s Return!

The Brides of Dracula (1960) (originally announced as Dracula II). An odd semi-sequel to Dracula, Brides follows the further exploits of Dracula’s nemesis, Dr. Van Helsing, again portrayed by Peter Cushing. It is almost unnecessary to mention that Terence Fisher was assigned to direct Brides of Dracula, but it is worth noting his enormous output for Hammer between 1956 and 1960, the era of…

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The History of Hammer Films Part Five: The Mummy Rises!

The History of Hammer Films Part Five: The Mummy Rises!

Somehow Hammer managed to follow Yesterday’s Enemy with yet another technicolor Terence Fisher-Peter Cushing/Christopher Lee horror remake, The Mummy (1959). By this time, Hammer had proven their abilities with horror subjects to the extent that Universal Pictures had granted them remake rights on all of their horror properties, and so scripter Jimmy Sangster had a free hand in reworking their…

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The History of Hammer Films Part Four: Terence Fisher

The History of Hammer Films Part Four: Terence Fisher

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) , was given worldwide release by United Artists. Hound reunited Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee under the direction of Terence Fisher. This time the script, based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous novel, was written by Peter Bryan, who remained more faithful to the original than Jimmy Sangster had done in his Hammer adaptations. For that matter, the Hammer…

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The History of Hammer Films Part Three: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)/Horror of Dracula (1958)

The History of Hammer Films Part Three: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)/Horror of Dracula (1958)

Interview with Michael CarrerasHow was the key creative team of screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, director Terence Fisher, and actors Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee brought together for The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957?Michael Carreras: Tony Hinds deserves all the credit for assembling that incredible package of talent. They were a natural team. It was inevitable that they would unite on a…

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The History of Hammer Films Part Two: Val Guest/Nigel Kneale

The History of Hammer Films Part Two: Val Guest/Nigel Kneale

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The History of Hammer Films Part One: Pre-Horror Hammer

The History of Hammer Films Part One: Pre-Horror Hammer

In late 1934 that Hammer Productions came into being. The first Hammer Production was The Public Life of Henry the Ninth (1935). While the film itself had little to do with Hammer as we know chem, The founders of Hammer Film Productions, William (Will Hammer) Hinds, and Enrique Carreras. the title demonstrates that even in their earliest days, Hammer Films were designed to offer the public…

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Nadja (1994) Retrospective

SUMMARYCount Voivoide Arminius Chousescu Dracula dies with a stake in his heart, and his daughter Nadja (Elina Löwensohn) shows up to claim the body, hoping that his death will free her from the life her father has forced on her. She has the body cremated and prepares to take the ashes to Brooklyn and pay a visit to her twin brother Edgar whom she hasn’t seen for a long time. Before she leaves,…