Hammer Films

The History and The Future

Angie McKaig

No single film studio has made vampires a household name like Hammer Films. Its contribution to the genre of vampire movies has been immense and undeniable. Today, there may be a chance that a whole new generation of vampire fans will be able to enjoy Hammer, live and in colour again for the first time in over twenty years!

The History

Hammer Films, a British film company, has been in production since the 1920's. Their first release to really make a splash, however, was The Curse of Frankenstein, released in May of 1957. The budget for this film was a miniscule £70,000, but that was not the only constraint under which the Curse team laboured. Although Mary Shelley's text was in the public domain and could be used without breaking copyright, Universal Pictures' 1931 film Frankenstein was copyrighted. This meant everything from the makeup styles used by Universal to the plot twists they added on their own could not be used by Hammer in the making of Curse without a lawsuit. So, the team went to work and drew up entirely new plans for the monster makeup (which was to be shot in full colour for the first time) and came up with a film that is a standby of horror fans today.

Hammer's film style shocked the critics, setting a precedent for years to come. The Curse Of Frankenstein was heavily panned by the critics, earning names like "horrendous" and "disgusting". For the first time in horror film history, the monstrous acts portrayed onscreen were actually shown, in full colour. Previous to this, all acts were implied with lighting, cutaways, and spooky music. Hammer was challenging the established ways of making film, and it worked. Despite critical defeat, horror fans flocked to the theatres, as they would continue to do for two decades.

After the craze from Curse died down, the studio went back to work on another classic, Dracula, having purchased the rights to it from Universal. Same director, same cast, and many of the same props and sets were used in both movies, something that would become a trend for the low-budget film studio. When The Horror of Dracula debuted in 1958, audiences fell in love with Christopher Lee as Dracula for the first time, but not the last. Lee went on to star as Dracula in no less than 4 other Dracula films by Hammer.

The studio released films at an astounding rate, including 4 more vampire films in the 1960's, and an astonishing 11 vampire films in the 1970's. The 70's brought other changes to the studio. In the wake of Psycho and other psychological thrillers, the Hammer vampire film began to take on lesbian overtones, in the hopes that this would draw the moviegoers in place of expensive special effects. Enter Ingrid Pitt, who would play out the Carmilla story and the story of Elizabeth Bathory in two of the eleven vampire films released in that decade.

By 1975, Hammer Films was winding down in a big way, and declared bankruptcy. The studio was purchased by Roy Skeggs, who promised to bring the studio back to economic health, which proved elusive for more than twenty years.

The Future

The news that rocked the horror world...

"Charles Saachi, the advertising mogul, has signed a partnership deal with the family running Hammer (Films) which aims to complete its transformation from a debt-ridden relic into a global empire."

---John Harlow, The Sunday Times (Britain), May 18, 1997

This article, which circled around the globe in a matter of hours after its release, outlined Saachi's plan to bring Hammer Films into the 21st century with a bang. At this point, tentative plans include a chain of Planet-Hollywood style restaurants, a theme park, and the remaking of some of the films. Popular Hollywood directors such as Martin Scorcese and Wes Craven (of Nightmare on Elm Street fame) have agreed to direct the new films, and stars like Tom Hanks have agreed to bring the roles to life. Even Christopher Lee may show up in one of the future Hammer releases, Harlow stated.

The future for Hammer looks promising for the first time in more than twenty years. And a huge population of horror fans are frothing at the mouth in anticipation.

Hammer's Vampire Filmography

The Horror of Dracula (1958)

Brides of Dracula (1960)

Kiss of the Vampire (1962)

Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1965)

Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968)

Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970)

Vampire Lovers (1970)

Scars of Dracula (1971)

Lust For A Vampire (1971)

Countess Dracula (1971)

Vampire Circus (1971)

Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972)

Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter (1972)

Twins of Evil (1972)

The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)

Legend of The Seven Golden Vampires (1974)