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Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the United
Kingdom. First founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic "Hammer Horror"
films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer films may have had low budgets, 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.
There were other British based film producers (ie Amicus)
around that produced movies that were often mistaken for the output of the better-known Hammer
Films, to which they are similar in visual style, and with which they share
many stars, including Peter
Cushing and Christopher Lee. Form
me Hammer movies (and perhaps others I have included
from producers such as Amicus) were all about the presence
of Cusing and Lee.
Christopher
Lee & Hammer
Lee's first film for Hammer was The
Curse of Frankenstein (1957) in which he played Frankenstein's monster, with Cushing
as the Baron. A little later, Lee co-starred with Boris Karloff in the film Corridors of
Blood (1958), but Lee's own appearance as Frankenstein's Monster also
led to his first appearance as the Transylvanian vampire in the 1958 film Dracula
(known as Horror of Dracula in the US). Stories vary as to why Lee did
not feature in the 1960 sequel The Brides of Dracula. Some
state Hammer were unwilling to pay Lee his current fee, but most tend to believe
that he simply did not wish to be typecast. Lee did, however, return to the role
in Hammer's Dracula: Prince of Darkness in
1965. Lee's performance is notable in that he has no lines, merely hissing his
way through the film. Again, stories vary as to the reason for this: Lee states
he refused to speak the poor dialogue he was given, but screenwriter Jimmy Sangster claims
that the script did not contain any lines for the character. This film set the
standard for most of the Dracula sequels in the sense that half the film's
running time was spent on telling the story of Dracula's resurrection and the
character's appearances were brief. Lee has gone on record to state that he was
virtually 'blackmailed' by Hammer into starring in the subsequent films; unable
or unwilling to pay him his going rate, they would resort to reminding him of
how many people he would put out of work if he did not take part.
His performances in the following three films Dracula Has Risen from the
Grave (1968), Taste the Blood of Dracula
(1969) and Scars of
Dracula) (1970) all gave the Count very little to do, but were all
commercially successful. Although Lee may not have liked what Hammer were doing
with the character, worldwide audiences embraced the films which are now
considered classics of the genre. Lee starred in two further Dracula films for
Hammer in the early 1970s, both of which attempted to bring the character into
the modern day era. These were not commercially successful. Lee's other work for
Hammer included performances as The Mummy (1959). Lee was well suited
for the role of Kharis the Mummy standing over 6'5" and in great physical shape.
This was one of Lee's best performances, despite only being able to convey
emotion through his eyes for the majority of the film. Lee's performance as the
Mummy was exceptional and is considered by many to be Hammer's best film and
Lee's greatest performance. Lee also portrayed Rasputin in Rasputin, the
Mad Monk (Lee apparently met Rasputin's assassin Felix Yussupov when he
was a child), and Sir Henry Baskerville to Cushing's Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the
Baskervilles (1959). He auditioned for a role in The Longest
Day (1962), but was turned down as he did not look like a military man
(despite having served in the RAF during World War II).
He was responsible for bringing acclaimed occult author Denis Wheatley to Hammer.
The company made two films from Wheatley's novels, both starring Lee. The first,
The Devil Rides Out (1967), is
generally considered to be one of Hammer's crowning achievements. According to
Lee, Wheatley was so pleased with it that he offered the actor the film rights
to his remaining black magic novels free of charge. However, the second film,
To
the Devil a Daughter (1976), was fraught with production difficulties,
and was disowned by its author. Although financially successful, it was Hammer's
last horror film, and marked the end of Lee's long association with the studio
that brought him fame.
Like Cushing, Lee also appeared in horror films for other companies during
the 20 year period from 1957 to 1977. Other performances included the series of
Fu Manchu films from 1965 to
1969, starring as the eponymous villain in heavy oriental make-up. the Jekyll
and Hyde roles in I,
Monster (1971), The Creeping Flesh (1972) and his
personal favourite The Wicker Man (1973). Lee was
attracted to the latter role by screenwriter Anthony Shaffer and apparently gave his
services for free as the budget was so small. Lee also appeared in Billy
Wilder's British-made film The Private Life of Sherlock
Holmes (1970), in which the actor plays Sherlock Holmes' decidedly
smarter brother, Mycroft and in Eugenie (1970) unaware that it was softcore pornography, as the sex scenes
were shot separately.
Peter
Cushing and Hammer
His first appearances in his two most famous roles were in Terence Fisher's films
The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
and Dracula (1958). Cushing is closely
associated with playing Baron Victor Frankenstein and Lawrence Van Helsing
in a long string of horror films produced by Hammer Horror. He later said that
career decisions for him meant choosing roles where he knew the audience would
accept him. "Who wants to see me as Hamlet? Very few. But millions want to see me as
Frankenstein so that's the one I do." He also said "If I played Hamlet, they'd
call it a horror film."
Cushing was often cast opposite the actor Christopher Lee, with whom he became best
friends. "People look at me as if I were some sort of monster, but I can't think
why. In my macabre pictures, I have either been a monster-maker or a
monster-destroyer, but never a monster. Actually, I'm a gentle fellow. Never
harmed a fly. I love animals, and when I'm in the country I'm a keen
bird-watcher," he said in an interview published in ABC Film Review in
November 1964.
In the mid-1960s, he played the eccentric "Doctor" in two movies (Dr. Who and
the Daleks and Daleks — Invasion Earth 2150
AD) based on the television series Doctor Who. He made a conscious decision to play
the part as a lovable, avuncular figure, in an effort to escape from his
perceived image as a "horror" actor. "I do get terribly tired with the
neighbourhood kids telling me 'My mum says she wouldn't want to meet you in a
dark alley'." he said in an interview in 1966. He also appeared in the cult
series The Avengers and then again in its
successor, The New Avengers. In 1986, he
played the role of Colonel William Raymond in Biggles. In Space: 1999, he appeared as
a Prospero-like character called
Raan.
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