Hammer's House of Horror Part I: The Classic Years 1956–1967 at the Quad

May 30 - June 19


It's a chilling season at the Quad! Brace yourself for mummies, vampires, werewolves, and more with our extensive two-part retrospective celebrating Britain's genre studio powerhouse, Hammer Films

With 32 titles in the first installment (22 on 35mm), including Frankenstein Created Woman, The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula: Prince of Darkness, and The Quatermass Experiment

Look forward to Part II (1967-76) this July, with highlights including: Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde, and The Vampire Lovers

Throughout film history, many countries have had their own point-of-pride movie studios; Britain can claim several, whether as backlots or sites of creative capital. In Hammer Films, a genre-oriented counterpart to Ealing Films, the UK could boast of one with all that and more; Hammer’s output in the second half of the 20th century sent aesthetic and sensory frissons throughout the nation while influencing pop culture and world cinema. Although synonymous with horror, the Hammer library was stocked from the beginning with films of all kinds. Founded in November 1934 as Hammer Film Productions and based in London, the studio came out of the gate with dramas and then specialized in “B” pictures and homegrown tales, pausing only for WWII. A turning point came in the mid-1950s with a move into genre fare with an accent on the Gothic, and this first crop of titles in the Quad’s extensive two-part Hammer retrospective demonstrates that—as Universal Pictures had found in the 1930s—famous monsters were a good (and generally inexpensive) way to expand your industry footprint. Hammer finally made its first color movie in 1954; a good thing, too, since what would the next quarter-century of movies have been like without all that scarlet sanguinary screen imagery?

"If we saw the logo of Hammer Films, we knew it was a very special picture. We knew it was a certain kind of film. A surprising experience, usually—and shocking." — Martin Scorsese

The Abominable Snowman
Val Guest, 1957, UK, 91m, 35mm

The Brides of Dracula
Terence Fisher, 1960, UK, 85m, 35mm

The Camp on Blood Island
Val Guest, 1958, UK, 82m, 35mm

Cash on Demand
Quentin Lawrence, 1961, UK, 89m, 35mm

The Curse of Frankenstein
Terence Fisher, 1957, UK, 83m, 35mm

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
Michael Carreras, 1964, UK, 81m, 35mm

The Curse of the Werewolf
Terence Fisher, 1961, UK, 93m, DCP

The Damned (aka These Are the Damned)
Joseph Losey, 1962, UK, 96m, DCP

The Devil Rides Out (aka The Devil's Bride)
Terence Fisher, 1968, UK, 95m, 16mm

Dracula: Prince of Darkness
Terence Fisher, 1966, UK, 90m, 35mm

The Evil of Frankenstein
Freddie Francis, 1964, UK, 84m, 16mm

Fanatic (aka Die! Die! My Darling)
Silvio Narizzano, 1965, UK, 97m, 35mm

Frankenstein Created Woman
Terence Fisher, 1967, UK, 92m, 35mm

The Gorgon
Terence Fisher, 1964, UK, 83m, DCP

Horror of Dracula
Terence Fisher, 1958, UK, 82m, 35mm

The Hound of the Baskervilles
Terence Fisher, 1959, UK, 87m, 16mm

Hysteria
Freddie Francis, 1965, UK, 85m, 16mm

The Mummy
Terence Fisher, 1959, UK, 88m, 35mm

The Nanny
Ian Holt, 1965, UK, 93m, 16mm

Never Take Sweets from a Stranger
Cyril Frankel, 1960, UK, 91m, 35mm

One Million Years B.C.
Don Chaffey, 1966, UK, 100m, DCP

The Phantom of the Opera
Terence Fisher, 1962, UK, 84m, 35mm

The Pirates of Blood River
John Gilling, 1962, UK, 87m, 35mm

Quatermass and the Pit (aka Five Million Years to Earth)
Roy Ward Baker, 1967, UK, 98m, 35mm

The Quatermass Experiment
Val Guest, 1955, UK, 82m, 35mm

Rasputin: The Mad Monk
Don Sharp, 1966, UK, 92m, 35mm

The Revenge of Frankenstein
Terence Fisher, 1958, UK, 91m, 35mm

The Stranglers of Bombay
Terence Fisher, 1959, UK, 80m, 35mm

Ten Seconds to Hell
Robert Aldrich, 1959, UK/US/West Germany, 93m, 35mm

The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll
Terence Fisher, 1960, UK, 88m, 35mm

X—The Unknown
Leslie Norman, 1956, UK, 81m, 16mm

Yesterday's Enemy
Val Guest, 1959, UK, 95m, 35mm

Man in Black (1949)

Based on a John Dickson Carr story and also the Appointment with Fear radio series THE MAN IN BLACK is an early Hammer film that is notable for having Sidney James, best know n in many circles as a member of the Carry On crew in a dramatic lead.

The plot of the film has rich yoga expert Henry Clavering dying during yoga demonstrations. His second wife and her daughter then try to drive Clavering's daughter insane so  that they can inherit the full fortune.

Playing like a dynamite half hour program stretched to 75 minute THE MAN IN BLACK is a mixed bag. It has mood, it has great performances, it has some of the most vile screen villianesses of all time,  but it also goes on way too long. I can't even imagine an audience back in 1949 not checking their watches during the film's second half.

Don't get me wrong I like the film, but I would have loved this had it been cut down by say 15 or 20 minutes.

WHy am I writing this up- three reasons.

First, as I said Sid James plays it straight. It a joy to see what he could do with a dramatic piece.

Second it's an early Hammer film. Most people I know love Hammer films, but very few know their earlier films, certainly nothing from the 40's.

Lastly Betty Ann Davies and Sheila Burrell as the mother and daughter bitch goddesses from hell must be seen to be believed. Why anyone would deal with them, nay why any man would marry them is beyond me. They are as evil and vile as they come. Their nastiness has to be seen so that they can join the ranks of the truly great villains of all time.

Available from Sinister Cinema.

Repost:Legend of 7 Golden Vampires (1974) New York Asian Film Festival 2014

This is the piece I did way back in September of 2010. I was just about to write the film up when I realized that I had written it up under one of it's many titles 7 Brothers Meet Dracula. Whatever the title this is a must see and if you can get to Lincoln Center tomorrow you should make the effort to see this on a big screen.

Excellent, if occasionally awkward, mixing of the Hammer Horror films with the Shaw Brothers martial arts films. The plot has Dracula going to China and taking over the body of a Chinese warlord. He then sets up a zombie army to do his bidding. Professor Van Helsing is brought in to help fight his old enemy. He joins forces with a family of martial artists and that's when the fun begins.

I know it sounds silly, and quite frankly it is. At the same time it's also a real fine adventure film (it's not really scary). The performances are good and the action almost nonstop. It's a mixing of two genres that shouldn't work together but somehow do.

The film was originally cut up, retitled and rearranged for American release. If you've only see the shortened 75 minute version you really haven't seen the film, since that removed some dialog sequences and repeated some action and horror bits to bring the whole affair up to a reasonable running time. The shorter American version is okay, but it's nowhere near as good as the full original version (though I know at least one person who prefers it). The film is out on DVD in a version that has both the short American version and the longer, more graphic, original version.

One of the better Hammer Horror films. This is must see for anyone who likes horror and martial arts films.

For tickets and more information go here.

The Nanny (1965) Scary Movies 7

Joey returns home from a home for disturbed children after allegedly killing his baby sister. He is deathly afraid of his Nanny (Bette Davis) and refuses to eat the food she cooks or do what she says. As turmoil erupts in the house we're left to wonder who is the monster that is loose.

A great performance by William Dix as the potentially monstrous ten year old helps a great deal at keeping things off balance as to who is really to blame for the dire events transpiring. Is it the troubled kid or is it the nanny made up almost like a monster with too much makeup? I'm not saying but all is very much not right in the house.

One of the better films that came out in the wake of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane which gave new life to old school Hollywood stars in dark gothic and psychological thrillers, The Nanny packs a punch and is full of a great deal of unease. Things are very much rotten in Denmark, or in this case London and odds are you're going to be fearful of finding out just how rotten.

While I'm not a huge fan of psychological thrillers of this sort, The Nanny is one of the best, and it's easy to understand why Bobcat Goldthwait picked the film to show at Scary Movies.  If you've never seen it it's worth the effort to get to Lincoln Center and see it when it plays tomorrow with Bobcat doing an introduction.

Twins of Evil (1971) Scary Movies 7

I have a general rule that any Hammer film is better than no Hammer films. The rule has a list of exceptions for specific titles, but for the most part I’d rather watch any of the Hammer Horror films out there then most other horror films, especially if Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing is in them. Yes some are better than others but all are the cinematic equivalent of comfort food for me.

Twins of Evil is one of the lesser Hammer films for me. I like it, I’m hoping to see it when it runs at Scary Movies this weekend, but it’s not one of the best, however it’s still worth seeing.

The plot has two beautiful blonde twins going to live with their uncle (Cushing) who is the head of an order trying to wipe out a vampires. They are battling the evil Count Karnstein the main vampire in the area. The count is taken with the twins and one of the twins is taken with the count. Cushing isn’t happy.

Allowing that the plot is run of the mill as far as the Hammer vampire films go, it’s a Van Helsing character fighting a Dracula character, the film is pretty good. It doesn’t have many surprises but it does what it does very well. Basically if you’ve seen any of the other Hammer vampire films you know what to expect.

The problem with the film is that in trying to spice up the formula they derail the film. While the idea of beautiful twins as lust objects is keeping with the Hammer shift from blood to sex is a good one, the problem is that Mary and Madeline Collinson are not really that good at acting. Sure they look good, but once they open their mouths they just seem out of their depth. They aren’t horrible, but they aren’t up to anyone else around them.

While I’m not one of my favorite Hammer films, it’s still good, and if you’ve never seen a Hammer horror on a big screen you are ordered to get to Lincoln Center to see this when it runs this tomorrow  as part of Scary Movies 7.

Three Stops to Murder (1953) (aka Blood Orange)

I was given a copy of this film that was marked Three Steps to Murder, the actual title is Three Stops to Murder, I think Three Steps is a better title, especially since two murders occur when people fall down a flight of stairs.

A decidedly minor, but enjoyable, mystery has actor Tom Conway playing a detective named Tom Conway. Hired by a jeweler to find out what happened to some stolen jewels, he is suddenly thrown off the case when the jeweler has a change of heart. Suspecting that something is up he remains on the case and runs smack dab into much more centering around a custom dress shop.

A film that has a sense of being thrown together on a whim, the film seems more to be a draft than a full-fledged mystery/noir. The film remains interesting because Tom Conway is interesting. Sure he seems to have been walking through the role in a trench coat that he only removes once or twice in the entire 75 minutes, but he is charming and seems to be having a good enough time that it carries over to the audience.

As diverting as the film is the film is mostly of interest for fans of Hammer Studios. Here is a fine example of what Hammer was turning out before they turned to horror. I also think that bits of the film were filled at the Bray offices, I could be wrong, but some of it looks like some of the shots I had seen in a documentary on the studio.

Worth seeing if you run across it but I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it unless you are a Hammer completeist.