| Hammer Film Productions |
Article Index for Hammer |
Website Links For Hammer |
Information AboutHammer Film Productions |
|
Hammer Film Productions is a film production company in the United Kingdom . Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror" films produced from the late 1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced Science Fiction , Thrillers and Comedies — and in later years, Television Series . Hammer films were cheap to produce but nonetheless appeared lavish, making use of quality British actors and cleverly designed sets. During its most successful years, Hammer dominated the Horror Film market, enjoying worldwide distribution and considerable financial success. This success was due, in part, to distribution partnerships with major United States studios, such as Warner Brothers . During the late 1960s and 1970s the saturation of the horror market by competitors and the loss of American funding forced changes to the previously lucrative Hammer-formula, with varying degrees of success. The company eventually ceased production in the mid-1980s and has remained in effective hibernation since. In 2000 the studio announced plans to begin making films again after being bought by a consortium including advertising guru and art collector Charles Saatchi, but no films have been produced since. In May 2007 the company behind the movies was sold to a group headed by Big Brother creator John De Mol . At least $50m (£25m) will be spent on new horror films after Hammer Film Productions was sold to Dutch consortium Cyrte Investments. The new owners have also acquired the Hammer group's back catalogue. The term "Hammer Horror" is often used generically to refer to other films of the period made in a similar style by different companies, such as Eros Films, Amicus Productions and Tigon British Film Productions . EARLY HISTORY (1935 TO 1937) — HAMMER PRODUCTIONS In November 1934, William Hinds , a comedian and businessman registered his own film company — Hammer Productions Ltd.12 — based in a three-room office suite at Imperial House, Regent Street , London . The company name was taken from Hinds' stage name, Will Hammer. Work began almost immediately on the first Hammer film, ''The Public Life of Henry the Ninth'' at the MGM/ATP studios, with shooting concluding on 2 January , 1935 . During this period Hinds met Spanish émigré Enrique Carreras , a former cinema owner, and on 10 May , 1935 they formed a Film Distribution company Exclusive Films, operating from a single office at 60-66 National House, Wardour Street.3 Hammer produced a further four films distributed by Exclusive:
A slump in the British film industry forced Hammer into Bankruptcy and the company went into liquidation in 1937. Exclusive, however, survived and on 20 July , 1937 purchased the leasehold on 113-117 Wardour Street, and continued to distribute films made by other companies.Hearn and Barnes, ''op cit'', p. 9 RESURRECTION (1938 TO 1955) — HAMMER FILM PRODUCTIONS James Carreras (son of Enrique) joined Exclusive in 1938, closely followed by William Hinds' son, Anthony. At the outbreak of World War II, both James Carreras and Anthony Hinds left to join the armed services and Exclusive continued to operate only in a limited capacity. In 1946, James Carreras rejoined the company after Demobilisation . He resurrected Hammer as the film production arm of Exclusive with a view to supplying 'quota-quickies' - cheaply made domestic films designed to fill gaps in cinema schedules and support more expensive features.Kinsey. ''op cit'' p. 11. He convinced Anthony Hinds to rejoin the company, and a revived 'Hammer Film Productions' set to work on ''Death in High Heels'', ''The Dark Road'', ''Crime Reporter'' and ''Dick Barton Special Agent'' (an adaptation of the successful Dick Barton radio show). All were all shot at Marylebone Studios during 1947 . During production of 1948 's ''Dick Barton Strikes Back'', it became apparent that the company could save a considerable amount of money by shooting in Country House s instead of professional studios. For their next production — ''Dr Morelle - The Case of the Missing Heiress'' (another radio adaptation) — Hammer rented Dial Close, a 23 bedroom mansion next to the River Thames , at Cookham Dean, Maidenhead.''Little Shoppe of Horrors'' #4. Edited by Richard Klemensen. p. 38. Michael Carreras interview. On 12 February , 1949 Exclusive finally registered "Hammer Film Productions" as a company with Enrique and James Carreras, and William and Tony Hinds as company directors. Hammer moved into the Exclusive offices in 113-117 Wardour Street, and the building was rechristened "Hammer House".Kinsey. ''op cit'' p. 13. In August 1949, complaints from locals about noise during night filming forced Hammer to leave Dial Close and move into another mansion, '' (1949), ''Someone at the Door'' (1949), ''What The Butler Saw'' (1950), ''The Lady Craved Excitement'' (1950). In 1950, Hammer moved again to Gilston Park, a country club in Harlow Essex, which hosted ''Black Widow'', ''The Rossiter Case'', ''To Have and to Hold'' and ''The Dark Light'' (all 1950). In 1951, Hammer began shooting at its most famous home, Down Place also on the banks of the Thames. The company took out a one year lease and began its 1951 production schedule with ''Cloudburst''. The house, a virtual derelict, required substantial work, but it did not have the kind of construction restrictions that had prevented Hammer from customising its previous homes. A decision was therefore made to turn Down Place into a substantial, custom-fitted studio complex.Kinsey. ''op cit'' pp. 20-22. Its expansive grounds were used for almost all of the later location shooting in Hammer's films, and are a key part of the "Hammer look". Also during 1951, Hammer and Exclusive signed a four-year production and distribution contract with Robert Lippert , an American film producer. The contract meant that Lippert and Exclusive effectively exchanged products for distribution on their respective sides of the Atlantic — beginning in 1951 with ''The Last Page'' and ending with 1955's ''Women Without Men'' (AKA ''Prison Story'').Kinsey. ''op cit'' p. 22. It was Lippert's insistence on an American star in the Hammer films he was to distribute that led to the prevalence of American leads in so many of the company's 1950s productions. It was for ''The Last Page'' that Hammer made one of its most significant appointments when it hired Film Director Terence Fisher , who went on to play a critical role in the forthcoming horror boom of the 1950s. Towards the end of 1951, the one-year lease on Down Place expired, and with its increasing success Hammer looked back towards more conventional studio-based productions. A dispute with the Association of Cinematograph Technicians, however, blocked this proposal, and instead the company purchased the freehold of Down Place. The house was renamed Bray Studios after the nearby village of Bray and it remained Hammer's principal base until 1966. '' and '' Spaceways ''.
THE BIRTH OF HAMMER HORROR (1955 TO 1959) Hammer's first significant experiment with horror came in the form of a ''-style horror film, '' X The Unknown '', originally intended as a full part of the series until Kneale denied them the rights.4 At the time, Hammer voluntarily submitted its scripts to the British Board Of Film Classification (BBFC) for comments before beginning production. Regarding the script of ''X the Unknown'', one reader/examiner (Audrey Field) commented on the 24 of November: "Well, no one can say the customers won't have had their money's worth by now. In fact, someone will almost certainly have been sick. We must have a great deal more restraint, and much more done by onlookers' reactions instead of by shots of 'pulsating obscenity', hideous scars, hideous sightless faces, etc, etc. It is keeping on and on in the same vein that makes this script so outrageous. They must take it away and prune. Before they take it away, however, I think the President the BBFC should read it. I have a stronger stomach than the average (for viewing purposes) and perhaps I ought to be reacting more strongly." The Curse of Frankenstein See Also: The Curse of Frankenstein As production began on ''Quatermass 2'', Hammer started to look for another U.S. partner willing to invest in and handle the American promotion of new product. They eventually entered talks with Associated Artists Pictures (AAP) and its head, Eliot Hyman. During this period, two young American film-makers, Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky, submitted to AAP a script for an adaptation of the novel '' Frankenstein ''. Although interested in the script, AAP were not prepared to back a film made by Rosenberg and Subotsky, who had only one film to their credit. Eliot Hyman did, however, send the script to his contact at Hammer.Hammer's entry into the gothic period horror market was, therefore, built (albeit loosely) on the work of Subotsky and Rosenberg who would go on to found Amicus Productions — a company that would, in later years, become a rival to Hammer. Rosenberg would often claim he "produced" ''Curse of Frankenstein'', an exaggeration repeated in his obituary. Anthony Hinds was unsure about the script, as Universal Pictures had already made a Series Of Successful ''Frankenstein'' Films . Although the novel by Mary Shelley was long since in Public Domain , Subotsky's script adhered closely to the plot of the 1939 Universal film Son Of Frankenstein , featuring a second-generation Frankenstein emulating his father, the original monster-maker. This put the project at risk of a Copyright infringement lawsuit by Universal. In addition, a great deal of polishing and additional material was needed as the short script had an estimated running time of only 55 minutes — far less than the minimum of 90 minutes needed for distribution in the UK. Accordingly, comments on the script from Hammer's Michael Carreras were less than complimentary: "The script is badly presented. The sets are not marked clearly on the shot headings, neither is DAY or NIGHT specified in a number of cases. The number of set-ups scripted is quite out of proportion to the length of the screenplay, and we suggest that your rewrites are done in master scene form." Further revisions were made to the script, and a working title of ''Frankenstein and the Monster'' was chosen. Plans were made to shoot the film in Eastmancolor — a decision which caused further worry at the BBFC. Not only did the script contain horror and graphic violence, but it would be portrayed in vivid colour.Kinsey. ''op cit'' p. 80. The project was handed to Tony Hinds who was even less impressed with the script than Michael Carreras, and whose vision for the film was a mere black and white 'quickie' made in three weeks. Concerned that Subotsky and Rosenberg's script still had too many similarities to the old Universal films, Hinds commissioned Jimmy Sangster to rewrite it as '' The Curse Of Frankenstein ''. Sangster's treatment impressed Hammer enough to rescue the film from its place on the 'quickie' treadmill and restore it as a colour shoot. Sangster submitted his own script to the BBFC for examination. Audrey Field's report on the 10 October , 1956 read,Kinsey. ''op cit'' p. 60. "We are concerned about the flavour of this script, which, in its preoccupation with horror and gruesome detail, goes far beyond what we are accustomed to allow even for the 'X' category. I am afraid we can give no assurance that we should be able to pass a film based on the present script and a revised script should be sent us for our comments, in which the overall unpleasantness should be mitigated." Regardless of the BBFC's stern warnings, Hinds supervised the shooting of a virtually unchanged script.Kinsey. ''op cit'' p. 63. The film was directed by Terence Fisher, with a look that belied its modest budget. Peter Cushing 's performance as Baron Victor Frankenstein, and Lee's as the imposingly tall, brutish monster provide the film with a further veneer of polish. With a budget of £65,000 and a cast and crew that would become the backbone of later films, Hammer's first Gothic horror went into production. The use of colour encouraged a previously unseen level of gore. Until ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' horror films had not shown blood in a graphic way, or when they did it was concealed by monochrome photography. In this film, it was bright red, and the camera lingered upon it. The film was an enormous success, not only in Britain , but also in the USA , where it inspired numerous imitations from, amongst others, Roger Corman and his American International Pictures . It also found success on the European Continent , where Italian directors and audiences were particularly receptive. as Frankenstein's monster]] Dracula See Also: Dracula (1958 film) The huge box office success of ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' lead to the inevitable desire for a sequel in ''The Revenge of Frankenstein'',The original title of the script was ''Blood of Frankenstein''. and an attempt to give the Hammer treatment to another horror icon. Dracula was yet another successful film character for Universal, and the copyright situation was even more complicated than Frankenstein. A full legal agreement between Hammer and Universal was not completed until 31 March , 1958 — after the film had already been shot — and was 80 pages long.The agreement was between Cadogan, a Hammer subsidiary, and Universal. Kinsey. p. 86. Meanwhile, the financial arrangement between AAP and Hammer had broken down when money promised by AAP had not arrived. Hammer began looking for alternatives, and with the success of ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' signed a deal with Columbia Pictures to distribute the sequel ''The Revenge of Frankenstein'' and two films from the defaulted AAP deal ''The Camp on Blood Island'' and ''The Snorkel''. Hammer's financial success also meant the winding down of the parent film distribution company Exclusive, leaving Hammer to concentrate solely on film-making.Kinsey. ''op cit'' pp. 67, 91. Work continued on the script for ''Dracula'', and the second draft was voluntarily submitted to the BBFC. Audrey Fields, 8 October , 1957 , "The uncouth, uneducated, disgusting and vulgar style of Mr Jimmy Sangster cannot quite obscure the remnants of a good horror story, though they do give one the gravest misgivings about treatment. {Link without Title} The curse of this thing is the Technicolor blood: why need vampires be messier eaters than anyone else? Certainly strong cautions will be necessary on shots of blood. And of course, some of the stake-work is prohibitive." Despite the success of ''Curse of Frankenstein'', the financing of ''Dracula'' proved awkward. Universal was not interested,Universal itself was having financial difficulties at the time. The talent agency MCA would buy out the company in the early 1960s.., and the search for money eventually brought Hammer back to AAP's Eliot Hyman, through another of his companies, Seven-Arts. Although an agreement was drawn up, the deal was never realised and funding for Dracula eventually came from the National Film Finance Council (£32,000) and the rest from Universal in return for worldwide distribution rights.Kinsey. ''op cit'' p. 92. With an eventual budget of £81,412, Dracula began principal photography on 11 November , 1957 .Kinsey. ''op cit'' p. 96. Peter Cushing starred as Van Helsing and Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, with direction by Terence Fisher and set design by Bernard Robinson that was radically different from the Universal adaptation — so radical, in fact, that Hammer executives considered paying him off and finding another designer.Kinsey. ''op cit'' p. 99. Many consider ''Dracula'' to be Hammer's finest film. ''Dracula'' was an enormous success, breaking box-office records in the UK, the United States (released as ''Horror of Dracula''), Canada, and across the world. On 20 August , 1958 the ''Daily Cinema'' reported, "Because of the fantastic business done world-wide by Hammer's Technicolor version of Dracula, Universal-International, its distributors, have made over to Jimmy Carreras' organisation, the remake rights to their entire library of classic films" The Mummy See Also: The Mummy (1959 film) |
|
|