Welcome to the Hammer Factory. This month we dissect The Reptile (1966).
While Hammer Studios has been in business since 1934, it was between 1955 and 1979 that it towered as one of the premier sources of edgy, gothic horror. On top of ushering the famous monsters of Universal’s horror heyday back into the public eye, resurrecting the likes of Frankenstein, Dracula and the Mummy in vivid color, the studio invited performers like Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt and so many more to step into the genre limelight. Spanning a library housing over 300 films, Hammer Studios is a key part of horror history that until recently has been far too difficult to track down.
In late 2018, Shout Factory’s Scream Factory line began to focus on bringing Hammer’s titles to disc in the US, finally making many of the studio’s underseen gems available in packages that offered great visuals as well as insightful accompanying features.
While Hammer Studios has been in business since 1934, it was between 1955 and 1979 that it towered as one of the premier sources of edgy, gothic horror. On top of ushering the famous monsters of Universal’s horror heyday back into the public eye, resurrecting the likes of Frankenstein, Dracula and the Mummy in vivid color, the studio invited performers like Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt and so many more to step into the genre limelight. Spanning a library housing over 300 films, Hammer Studios is a key part of horror history that until recently has been far too difficult to track down.
In late 2018, Shout Factory’s Scream Factory line began to focus on bringing Hammer’s titles to disc in the US, finally making many of the studio’s underseen gems available in packages that offered great visuals as well as insightful accompanying features.
- 9/25/2023
- by Paul Farrell
- bloody-disgusting.com
By the middle of the 1950s, gothic horror was dead. Modern-set films dealing with nuclear war, radioactive fallout, and the Red Scare filled American theaters with giant bugs and body snatchers. England’s Hammer Studios was no different, releasing successful films like The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) and X the Unknown (1956), which were firmly rooted in these science fiction-based fears. In 1957, however, they took a gamble and single-handedly resurrected the gothic monster movie with The Curse of Frankenstein, which became an international hit. The following year they outdid themselves by resurrecting the King of Vampires. Horror of Dracula (simply titled Dracula in England) completely redefined the character, and indeed the entire vampire subgenre, for a generation, and its influence would echo through the decades to come.
By 1958, Tod Browning’s Dracula, with Bela Lugosi in the starring role, had become deeply ingrained in popular culture. The 1957 debut of Shock Theater, the package...
By 1958, Tod Browning’s Dracula, with Bela Lugosi in the starring role, had become deeply ingrained in popular culture. The 1957 debut of Shock Theater, the package...
- 4/27/2023
- by Brian Keiper
- bloody-disgusting.com
Hammer’s first color Gothic horror show recovers its charnel house luster in the Wac’s ambitious ‘surprise’ restoration. The severed heads and Peter Cushing’s blood-smeared costumes are back to their crimson best again, and with the improved image Terence Fisher’s taut direction really grabs us, extracting maximum impact from Jimmy Sangster’s ‘did you see that?’ shock moments. The show seemed incredibly graphic and violent in 1964 so it must have been a jaw-dropper for audiences of 1957 — our parents can’t have known what their kiddies were watching. The Warner Archive Collection really delivers for collectors — the extras here are as thorough as those offered by the ‘usual suspect’ boutique outfits that fixate on classic horror.
The Curse of Frankenstein
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1957 / Color / 1:66 widescreen, 1:85 widescreen, and 1:37 Academy / Two-Disc Special Edition / 82 min. / Street Date December 15 (or maybe 1?), 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Peter Cushing,...
The Curse of Frankenstein
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1957 / Color / 1:66 widescreen, 1:85 widescreen, and 1:37 Academy / Two-Disc Special Edition / 82 min. / Street Date December 15 (or maybe 1?), 2020 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Peter Cushing,...
- 12/1/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
We have an eclectic assortment of titles on tap for this week’s home media releases, including some Hammer Horror, a post-apocalyptic television series, several brilliant modern genre classics, and a handful of indie horror to boot. Classic horror fans are definitely going to want to pick up Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition Blu-ray for Kiss of the Vampire, and if you’ve been holding out for the definitive release of A.T. White’s Starfish, your prayers have been answered with a new Deluxe Edition Blu that also includes a CD. 12 Monkeys: The Complete Series is headed to both formats on Tuesday, and if you’ve somehow missed out on seeing The Taking of Deborah Logan, you can remedy that by buying either the Blu-ray or DVD (and then thank me later).
Other releases for July 14th include Jurassic Shark, Game of Death, The Black Cat (2020), Killing Brooke,...
Other releases for July 14th include Jurassic Shark, Game of Death, The Black Cat (2020), Killing Brooke,...
- 7/13/2020
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Scream Factory will heat up the summer with Hammer horror with their Collector's Edition Blu-ray of 1963's The Kiss of the Vampire, and ahead of its release, we've been provided with the full list of special features, including a new audio commentary.
Press Release: This summer, brace yourself for the long-awaited Hammer cult film classic debuting on Blu-ray. On July 14, 2020, Scream Factory™ is excited to present the highly sought-after Hammer Film cult classic The Kiss Of The Vampire Collector’s Edition Blu-ray. Directed by Don Sharp and produced by Anthony Hinds (The Phantom of the Opera), this spine-chilling horror classic stars Clifford Evans (The Curse of the Werewolf), Noel Willman (Doctor Zhivago), Edward De Souza (The Spy Who Loved Me), Jennifer Daniel (Wuthering Heights), and Barry Warren (Frankenstein Created Woman). A must-have for movie collectors and loyal fans of Hammer Films, this definitive Blu-ray release contains special bonus content, including...
Press Release: This summer, brace yourself for the long-awaited Hammer cult film classic debuting on Blu-ray. On July 14, 2020, Scream Factory™ is excited to present the highly sought-after Hammer Film cult classic The Kiss Of The Vampire Collector’s Edition Blu-ray. Directed by Don Sharp and produced by Anthony Hinds (The Phantom of the Opera), this spine-chilling horror classic stars Clifford Evans (The Curse of the Werewolf), Noel Willman (Doctor Zhivago), Edward De Souza (The Spy Who Loved Me), Jennifer Daniel (Wuthering Heights), and Barry Warren (Frankenstein Created Woman). A must-have for movie collectors and loyal fans of Hammer Films, this definitive Blu-ray release contains special bonus content, including...
- 6/4/2020
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
He’s mean, he’s nasty, he carries a razor and he’s dating your sister! Cosh Boy was front & center in 1953 debates about ‘what’s wrong with the British cinema.’ It holds up well, if not as PC social comment, then as solid exploitation fare, with our verminous hero putting the moves on tough-but-vulnerable local girl Joan Collins. The entire cast will want to stand in line to get revenge against Roy Walsh, the punk who steals from his own mum and lets his criminal gang do the dirty work. Take it from me, he’s a dirty rat.
The Slasher (Cosh Boy)
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1953 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 75 min. / Street Date January 7, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 19.95
Starring: James Kenney, Joan Collins, Betty Ann Davies, Robert Ayres, Hermione Baddeley, Hermione Gingold, Nancy Roberts, Laurence Naismith, Ian Whittaker, Stanley Escane, Michael McKeag, Sean Lynch, Johnny Briggs, Nosher Powell.
The Slasher (Cosh Boy)
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1953 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 75 min. / Street Date January 7, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 19.95
Starring: James Kenney, Joan Collins, Betty Ann Davies, Robert Ayres, Hermione Baddeley, Hermione Gingold, Nancy Roberts, Laurence Naismith, Ian Whittaker, Stanley Escane, Michael McKeag, Sean Lynch, Johnny Briggs, Nosher Powell.
- 1/4/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Hammer’s key Satanic Mass epic comes to Blu-ray in a terrific improved transfer. Christopher Lee’s pitched battle with Charles Gray’s necromancer Mocata has long been a favorite of fans of symbolist rituals with candles, magic circles, Christian icons, etc. We’re happy to report that after all the monstrous demons and human sacrifices, good prevails through the agency of an ordinary housewife, who can sling a Latin incantation faster than you can say ‘The Goat of Mendes.’ This is yet another big-deal Hammer disc for 2019 — we also get a look at the earlier Blu-ray with its revised special effects.
The Devil Rides Out
Blu-ray
Scream Factory
1968 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 95 min. / The Devil’s Bride / Street Date October 29, 2019 / Available from Scream Factory / 27.99
Starring: Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi, Leon Greene, Patrick Mower, Gwen Ffrangcon Davies, Sarah Lawson, Paul Eddington, Rosalyn Landor.
Cinematography: Arthur Grant
Film Editors: James Needs,...
The Devil Rides Out
Blu-ray
Scream Factory
1968 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 95 min. / The Devil’s Bride / Street Date October 29, 2019 / Available from Scream Factory / 27.99
Starring: Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi, Leon Greene, Patrick Mower, Gwen Ffrangcon Davies, Sarah Lawson, Paul Eddington, Rosalyn Landor.
Cinematography: Arthur Grant
Film Editors: James Needs,...
- 10/19/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
What ought to be appreciated as one of the most prescient of 1950s suspense films holds a place among the best science fiction movies ever — and it formed a style template for a thousand paranoid spy thrillers to follow. Val Guest pares Nigel Kneale’s fantastic storyline down to its essentials, making his scientist-hero the perfect secret agent to confront a sinister techno-political conspiracy… from outer space.
Quatermass 2
Blu-ray
Scream Factory
1957 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 85 min. / Street Date July 30, 2019 / 29.95
Starring: Brian Donlevy, John Longdon, Sidney James, Bryan Forbes, William Franklyn, Vera Day, Charles Lloyd Pack, Tom Chatto, John Van Eyssen, Percy Herbert, Michael Ripper, John Rae, Michael Balfour.
Cinematography: Gerald Gibbs
Film Editor: James Needs
Makeup: Philip Leakey
Art Direction: Bernard Robinson
Original Music: James Bernard
Written by Val Guest, Nigel Kneale from his teleplay
Produced by Anthony Hinds
Directed by Val Guest
Here’s yet another fine 2019 Blu-ray release...
Quatermass 2
Blu-ray
Scream Factory
1957 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 85 min. / Street Date July 30, 2019 / 29.95
Starring: Brian Donlevy, John Longdon, Sidney James, Bryan Forbes, William Franklyn, Vera Day, Charles Lloyd Pack, Tom Chatto, John Van Eyssen, Percy Herbert, Michael Ripper, John Rae, Michael Balfour.
Cinematography: Gerald Gibbs
Film Editor: James Needs
Makeup: Philip Leakey
Art Direction: Bernard Robinson
Original Music: James Bernard
Written by Val Guest, Nigel Kneale from his teleplay
Produced by Anthony Hinds
Directed by Val Guest
Here’s yet another fine 2019 Blu-ray release...
- 8/6/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Hammer’s attempt at a budget monster romp for 1966 isn’t quite as good as its sister film Plague of the Zombies, but it has fine atmosphere and a couple of worthy grace notes, namely its fine actresses Jennifer Daniel and Jacqueline Pearce. Although the title monster bites some fans the wrong way, it works for this reviewer — it’s every appearance is a surprise, and for me it’s convincingly… reptilian.
The Reptile
Blu-ray
Scream Factory
1966 / Color / 1:85 + 1:66 widescreen / 91 min. / Street Date July 30, 2019 / 27.99
Starring: Noel Willman, Jennifer Daniel, Ray Barrett, Jacqueline Pearce, Michael Ripper, John Laurie, Marne Maitland.
Cinematography: Arthur Grant
Film Editors: James Needs, Roy Hyde
Production Design: Bernard Robinson
Makeup: Roy Ashton
Original Music: Don Banks
Written by John Elder (Anthony Hinds)
Produced by Anthony Nelson Keys
Directed by John Gilling
Here’s something fresh for this reviewer, a noted Hammer picture to enjoy that I...
The Reptile
Blu-ray
Scream Factory
1966 / Color / 1:85 + 1:66 widescreen / 91 min. / Street Date July 30, 2019 / 27.99
Starring: Noel Willman, Jennifer Daniel, Ray Barrett, Jacqueline Pearce, Michael Ripper, John Laurie, Marne Maitland.
Cinematography: Arthur Grant
Film Editors: James Needs, Roy Hyde
Production Design: Bernard Robinson
Makeup: Roy Ashton
Original Music: Don Banks
Written by John Elder (Anthony Hinds)
Produced by Anthony Nelson Keys
Directed by John Gilling
Here’s something fresh for this reviewer, a noted Hammer picture to enjoy that I...
- 7/27/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“Kinder der Eisigen Dunkelheit!” If those words don’t give you a chill, you may be one of ‘The Damned.’ Joseph Losey’s fascinatingly morbid reflection on atomic terror was too much for England in 1961, wasn’t released in the U.S. for four full years, and then only after being shorn of nine minutes of footage. An ‘impossible’ Cold War scenario puts military authority on the same moral plane as delinquent street thugs. Losey transplants his subversive sensibility to England, and the result is one of the top political sci-fi tales of all time.
These are the Damned
Blu-ray
Explosive Media GmbH
1961 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date June 13, 2019 /Sie Sind Verdammt / Available from Amazon.de
Starring: Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors, Alexander Knox, Oliver Reed, Walter Gotell, James Villiers, Tom Kempinski, Kenneth Cope, Brian Oulton, Rachel Clay, Caroline Sheldon, Rebecca Dignam, Siobhan Taylor, Nicholas Clay.
Cinematography:...
These are the Damned
Blu-ray
Explosive Media GmbH
1961 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 95 min. / Street Date June 13, 2019 /Sie Sind Verdammt / Available from Amazon.de
Starring: Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors, Alexander Knox, Oliver Reed, Walter Gotell, James Villiers, Tom Kempinski, Kenneth Cope, Brian Oulton, Rachel Clay, Caroline Sheldon, Rebecca Dignam, Siobhan Taylor, Nicholas Clay.
Cinematography:...
- 7/6/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The best of all Hammer horror pictures finally comes to Region A Blu-ray, with a bright transfer made to look like original Technicolor prints. This is where Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing came into their own as international stars, as the undead Count Dracula and the no-nonsense vampire killer Van Helsing. It’s the bridge between old-school gothic horrors and the modern age of sex and gore, and it’s as exciting as a breakneck action serial.
Horror of Dracula (Dracula)
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1958 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 82 min. / Street Date December 18, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, Carol Marsh, Olga Dickie, John Van Eyssen, Valerie Gaunt, Janina Faye.
Cinematography: Jack Asher
Film Editor: Bill Lenny
Production Designer: Bernard Robinson
:Makeup Artist: Philip Leakey
Original Music: James Bernard
Written by Jimmy Sangster
Produced by Michael Carreras, Anthony Hinds, Anthony Nelson Keys
Directed by...
Horror of Dracula (Dracula)
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1958 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 82 min. / Street Date December 18, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, Carol Marsh, Olga Dickie, John Van Eyssen, Valerie Gaunt, Janina Faye.
Cinematography: Jack Asher
Film Editor: Bill Lenny
Production Designer: Bernard Robinson
:Makeup Artist: Philip Leakey
Original Music: James Bernard
Written by Jimmy Sangster
Produced by Michael Carreras, Anthony Hinds, Anthony Nelson Keys
Directed by...
- 12/8/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Can a pirate be a substitute monster? Hammer Films gives yet another genre a spin with this box-office winner that launched a sideline in costume adventures. The Hammer crew makes it work: Christopher Lee, Marla Landi, Marie Devereaux, Michael Ripper, Oliver Reed and Andrew Keir, plus yank assistance from Kerwin Mathews and Glenn Corbett.
The Pirates of Blood River
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 87 min. / Street Date October 17, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Kerwin Mathews, Christopher Lee, Andrew Keir, Glenn Corbett, Marla Landi, Michael Ripper, Peter Arne, Oliver Reed, Marie Devereux.
Cinematography: Arthur Grant
Production Design: Bernard Robinson
Art Direction: Don Mingaye
Film Editor: Eric Boyd-Perkins
Original Music: Gary Hughes
Written by John Hunter, John Gilling, Jimmy Sangster
Produced by Michael Carreras, Anthony Nelson-Keys
Directed by John Gilling
Hammer Films didn’t start out as a horror studio, but after their big Technicolor successes in 1957-...
The Pirates of Blood River
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1962 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 87 min. / Street Date October 17, 2017 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Kerwin Mathews, Christopher Lee, Andrew Keir, Glenn Corbett, Marla Landi, Michael Ripper, Peter Arne, Oliver Reed, Marie Devereux.
Cinematography: Arthur Grant
Production Design: Bernard Robinson
Art Direction: Don Mingaye
Film Editor: Eric Boyd-Perkins
Original Music: Gary Hughes
Written by John Hunter, John Gilling, Jimmy Sangster
Produced by Michael Carreras, Anthony Nelson-Keys
Directed by John Gilling
Hammer Films didn’t start out as a horror studio, but after their big Technicolor successes in 1957-...
- 11/4/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
A thyroid operation every ten years, plus regular libations of an eerie green liquid, has allowed Anton Diffring to live over a hundred years without looking a year over forty. Hammer’s medical horror show features Christopher Lee, Hazel Court and sumptuous cinematography, but not a whole lot of surprises.
The Man Who Could Cheat Death
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1959 / Color/ 1:66 widescreen / 83 min. / Street Date March 14, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Anton Diffring, Hazel Court, Christopher Lee, Arnold Marle, Delphi Lawrence.
Cinematography: Jack Asher
Production Design: Bernard Robinson
Art Direction: Roy Ashton
Film Editor: John Dunsford
Original Music: Richard Rodney Bennett
Written by Jimmy Sangster from a play by Barré Lyndon
Produced by Michael Carreras
Directed by Terence Fisher
For its first two years of Technicolor horror Hammer Films could seemingly do no wrong. In just a few months their revivals of classic horror motifs were being bankrolled and...
The Man Who Could Cheat Death
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1959 / Color/ 1:66 widescreen / 83 min. / Street Date March 14, 2017 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Anton Diffring, Hazel Court, Christopher Lee, Arnold Marle, Delphi Lawrence.
Cinematography: Jack Asher
Production Design: Bernard Robinson
Art Direction: Roy Ashton
Film Editor: John Dunsford
Original Music: Richard Rodney Bennett
Written by Jimmy Sangster from a play by Barré Lyndon
Produced by Michael Carreras
Directed by Terence Fisher
For its first two years of Technicolor horror Hammer Films could seemingly do no wrong. In just a few months their revivals of classic horror motifs were being bankrolled and...
- 3/7/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Yesterday, amid a crush of sweaty people desperate for last-minute props, I visited a local Halloween superstore with my daughter, looking for a Pikachu mask. Well, there wasn’t much to choose from in the Cute Kid Division. But this particular hall of Halloween hell definitely had the adult sensibility covered. Of course there were the usual skimpy or otherwise outrageous costumes for purchase —ladies, you can dress up like a sexy Kim Kardashian-esque vampire out for a night of Hollywood clubbing, and gents, how about impressing all the sexy Kim Kardashian vampires at your party by dressing up like a walking, talking matched set of cock and balls! It’s been a while since I’ve shopped for fake tools of terror, but it seems there’s been a real advance in sophistication in the market for “Leatherface-approved” (I swear) chainsaws with moving parts and authentic revving noises,...
- 10/30/2016
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Hammer hits one out of the park with this 'ripping good' Sherlock Holmes tale, tilted heavily toward gothic mystery and horror. Peter Cushing and André Morell excel in heroic roles, while Christopher Lee doesn't have to play a monster, just a coward. Terence Fisher's directing skill is at its height. The Hound of the Baskervilles Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1959 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 86 min. / Ship Date June 14, 2016 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Peter Cushing, André Morell, Christopher Lee, Marla Landi, David Oxley, Francis De Wolff, Miles Malleson, Ewen Solon. Cinematography Jack Asher Production Designer Bernard Robinson Film Editor Alfred Cox Original Music James Bernard Written by Peter Bryan from the novel by Arthur Conan Doyle Produced by Michael Carreras & Anthony Hinds Directed by Terence Fisher
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In addition to their straight-up gothic horrors, Hammer films produced films in other genres, such as costume adventures and war pictures.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In addition to their straight-up gothic horrors, Hammer films produced films in other genres, such as costume adventures and war pictures.
- 6/18/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Warners answers the call for Hammer horror with four nifty thrillers starring the great Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. The transfers are immaculate -- Technicolor was never richer than this. The only drawback is that Chris Lee's Dracula has so few lines of dialogue. On hi-def, Cushing's Frankenstein movie is a major re-discovery as well. Horror Classics: Four Chilling Movies from Hammer Films Blu-ray The Mummy, Dracula has Risen from the Grave, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, Taste the Blood of Dracula Warner Home Video 1959-1970 / Color / 1:66 - 1:78 widescreen / 376 min. / Street Date October 6, 2015 / 54.96 Starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux, George Pastell, Michael Ripper; Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson, Barbara Ewing, Barry Andrews, Ewan Hooper, Michael Ripper; Peter Cushing, Veronica Carlson, Freddie Jones, Simon Ward, Thorley Walters, Maxine Audley; Christopher Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Linda Hayden, Isla Blair, John Carson, Ralph Bates, Roy Kinnear. <Cinematography Jack Asher; Arthur Grant; Arthur Grant; Arthur Grant.
- 10/6/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
(Terence Fisher, 1959, Icon/Hammer, 12)
The Mummy
After nearly 20 years of unmemorable programme fillers, Hammer Films found sudden international success with horror movies, first the black-and-white The Quatermass Xperiment, then Technicolor versions of the 1930s Universal classics, The Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula and The Mummy. Made in a sprawling country mansion on the Thames at Bray, near Windsor, all three films featured the same stars (Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee) and the same crew, headed by director Terence Fisher, screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, designer Bernard Robinson and cinematographer Jack Asher. A distinctive style was born, and Hammer became synonymous with horror. The Mummy drew on four Universal movies for its tale of an Egyptologist (Peter Cushing) being pursued back to Britain by the ancient, vengeful mummy of an Egyptian priest (Christopher Lee) that he has roused from his tomb in Karnak in 1896.
Alternately corny and magical, scary and comic, naive and perverse,...
The Mummy
After nearly 20 years of unmemorable programme fillers, Hammer Films found sudden international success with horror movies, first the black-and-white The Quatermass Xperiment, then Technicolor versions of the 1930s Universal classics, The Curse of Frankenstein, Horror of Dracula and The Mummy. Made in a sprawling country mansion on the Thames at Bray, near Windsor, all three films featured the same stars (Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee) and the same crew, headed by director Terence Fisher, screenwriter Jimmy Sangster, designer Bernard Robinson and cinematographer Jack Asher. A distinctive style was born, and Hammer became synonymous with horror. The Mummy drew on four Universal movies for its tale of an Egyptologist (Peter Cushing) being pursued back to Britain by the ancient, vengeful mummy of an Egyptian priest (Christopher Lee) that he has roused from his tomb in Karnak in 1896.
Alternately corny and magical, scary and comic, naive and perverse,...
- 10/12/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Hammer Blu-rays The Devil Rides Out (1968, dir. Terence Fisher)
Hammer applies its trademark Gothic veneer with considerably greater care than usual in this, the second and best of the company's three stabs at the satanic stylings of author Dennis Wheatley. Christopher Lee comes over to the light for a rare foray as central hero the Duc de Richleau, teaming up with friend Rex van Rijn (Leon Greene) to prevent the evil Satanist Mocata (Charles Gray) from enmeshing the son of his old friend (Patrick Mower) into a devil-worshipping cult.
The Devil Rides Out is perhaps best remembered for what Lee argues in his commentary to be Hammer's most enduring image, that of our heroes fighting a series of spectral and psychological nemeses from within the protective confines of a ritual circle. And yet the most chilling scene contains no special effects, but is instead a simple conversation between the wife...
Hammer applies its trademark Gothic veneer with considerably greater care than usual in this, the second and best of the company's three stabs at the satanic stylings of author Dennis Wheatley. Christopher Lee comes over to the light for a rare foray as central hero the Duc de Richleau, teaming up with friend Rex van Rijn (Leon Greene) to prevent the evil Satanist Mocata (Charles Gray) from enmeshing the son of his old friend (Patrick Mower) into a devil-worshipping cult.
The Devil Rides Out is perhaps best remembered for what Lee argues in his commentary to be Hammer's most enduring image, that of our heroes fighting a series of spectral and psychological nemeses from within the protective confines of a ritual circle. And yet the most chilling scene contains no special effects, but is instead a simple conversation between the wife...
- 9/30/2012
- Shadowlocked
In 2009 the ex Mr Madonna (otherwise known as Guy Ritchie) called upon the unlikely pairing of Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law to bring back to the screen two of crime fiction’s greatest heroes – Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson.
The pair are up there amongst the most filmed literary characters, Holmes has been sticking his nose into other people’s business since the earliest days of the cinema with one of the first versions being a Danish short from 1908 pitting him against his arch nemesis Moriarty and Raffles, the Victorian gentleman thief – now that really would have been a showdown worth seeing.
So, as Ritchie prepares to throw Downey and Law together again, we decided to do some sleuthing ourselves and find six of the pipe smoking detective’s best screen adventures. The results have proved anything but elementary!
6) Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
By the mid 1980’s there were few...
The pair are up there amongst the most filmed literary characters, Holmes has been sticking his nose into other people’s business since the earliest days of the cinema with one of the first versions being a Danish short from 1908 pitting him against his arch nemesis Moriarty and Raffles, the Victorian gentleman thief – now that really would have been a showdown worth seeing.
So, as Ritchie prepares to throw Downey and Law together again, we decided to do some sleuthing ourselves and find six of the pipe smoking detective’s best screen adventures. The results have proved anything but elementary!
6) Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)
By the mid 1980’s there were few...
- 12/16/2011
- by Guest
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The William Castle Film Collection (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $80.95) includes eight pictures produced and directed by master showman Castle. In Part One of this lengthy DVD review, I dissected four of them—13 Ghosts, Homicidal and the two best, The Tingler and Mr. Sardonicus. Believe you me, it was a ghastly business! As Sardonicus would say, “I have known a ghoul—a disgusting creature that opens graves and feeds on corpses.” Like a DVD reviewer. See here.
In this epic conclusion, I am fitted out with a Strait-jacket (about time!) and also chronicle Zotz!, 13 Frightened Girls and The Old Dark House, the three Castle entries new to DVD (which lack the short, individual “making of” documentaries accompanying the other five). Only two of these eight flicks were shot in color (Girls, House); theatrical trailers are included with all of the movies. And that’s all you need to know as we continue—in amazing Screamarama,...
In this epic conclusion, I am fitted out with a Strait-jacket (about time!) and also chronicle Zotz!, 13 Frightened Girls and The Old Dark House, the three Castle entries new to DVD (which lack the short, individual “making of” documentaries accompanying the other five). Only two of these eight flicks were shot in color (Girls, House); theatrical trailers are included with all of the movies. And that’s all you need to know as we continue—in amazing Screamarama,...
- 10/21/2009
- by no-reply@starlog.com (David McDonnell)
- Starlog
Former James Bond girls and Hammer stars Caroline Munro and Martine Beswicke reunited at Bray Studios
If you couldn't be at Bray Studios' historic Hammer Horror reunion last weekend, Cinema Retro's man on the scene Adrian Smith gives you the low-down:
On August 4, over 150 fans and many Hammer stars and personnel gathered at Bray Studios on the banks of the River Thames to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of The Curse of Frankenstein. Amongst the guests were writer-director Jimmy Sangster, director John Hough, Margaret Robinson, the widow of art director Bernard Robinson, and actors Virginia Wetherell, Madeline Smith, Ingrid Pitt, Janina Faye, Vera Day, Caroline Munro, Martine Beswicke, Carol Marsh, Yvonne Monlaur, Valerie Leon, Douglas Wilmer, Damien Thomas, John Cater and Edward de Souza. It was the first time for many of the fans in attendance that they had been able to visit Bray, the spiritual home of Hammer films.
- 8/10/2007
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
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