Tags: hammer

Jimmy Sangster, whose scripts for The Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula helped seal the reputation of Hammer Studios as the home of British horror in the 1950s and 60s has passed away at the age of 83.

Born in Wales in 1927, Sangster started his movie career aged 16 as a clapper boy, working his way through various jobs, before ending up as assistant director on Hammer adaptations of BBC Radio serials.

Eventually landing the job of scripting the studio's adaption of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, he made one significant change to the source material, moving the emphasis in the story from the monster to the creator, consequently giving Peter Cushing his breakthrough starring role, and Hammer a hit movie, both in the UK and the US.(read more...)

Ingrid Pitt, best remembered to horror fans for her bloodthirsty and sexually charged roles in The Vampire Lovers, Countess Dracula, and The House that Dripped Blood has died at the age of 73. The BBC are reporting that she passed away in a London hospital after collapsing several days ago. (read more...)

Roy Ward Baker, who directed several British horror films in the late 1960s and early 1970s, passed away in his sleep on Tuesday, according to Guardian.co.uk. He was 93 years old. Born in 1916, Baker worked his way up the the ranks of the British film industry in the 1930s and 40s, moving from minor jobs to assistant director (he worked with Hitchcock on The Lady Vanishes). In 1947, he made his directorial debut with The October Man, which he made for Two Cities Films in 1947. He directed a number of notable pictures in the 1950s, including Don't Bother to Knock (starring Richard Widmark and Marilyn Monroe) and A Night to Remember (which documented the sinking of the RMS Titanic). As part of his extensive television work in the early 1960s, Baker helmed the episode of The Avengers which introduced Diana Rigg's Emma Peel to the world. (read more...)

This weekend I'm at Vividcon, a Chicago-based convention devoted to the art of fanvidding. Just a few hours ago, my latest concoction, a tribute to the Hammer Frankenstein series, debuted and I think it was pretty well received. Set to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now," the video is a slightly cheeky ode to mad science and the greatest of all mad scientists, Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein. I've embedded the vid below. I hope you enjoy. (read more...)

Christopher Lee has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, for his services to drama and his charity work. Although the 87-year-old has over 250 TV and movie credits to his name, he will probably always be associated with horror films. It was his work with Hammer that made him an international star, playing, amongst others, Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Mummy and Sir Henry Baskerville. From there he went on to appear in other genre classics such as The Wicker Man (his personal favourite of any film he's been in) and Death Line, as well as playing Bond villain Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun. More recently he found a new generation of fans playing the evil Count Dooku in Star Wars Episodes II and III, and Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Aside from his acting work, Lee has also been a supporter of the United Nations childrens charity UNICEF for many years.

Warner Bros., the studio that has the largest film library in the world, has taken a new approach to the problem of diminishing returns on archival releases. They've launched a new home entertainment label, the Warner Archive, a made-on-demand outfit that will offer a number of archival titles for $19.95 each through the new website WarnerArchive.com. Instead of mass-producing these DVDs, each one will be manufactured, along with its case art, as it is ordered. The shrink-wrapped DVD will then be shipped within five days of purchase.(read more...)

Back in December, we asked our readers to tell us which movies they'd like to see us review. We received a good number of responses and now, three months later, we've completed reviews for five of the requested movies. Which flicks made the final cut? You'll have to keep your eye on Classic-Horror for the next five days in order to find out. We'll be unveiling one title a day this week, starting Monday, March 9th and running through Friday, March 13th.(read more...)

Amazon.com is giving Hammer fans the opportunity to select the key art for Sony's upcoming "Icons of Horror: Hammer Films" box set. On a special voting page(read more...)

DVD Drive-in has word that Sony Home Entertainment will be releasing "Icons of Horror: Hammer Films" on October 14th. The DVD box set will contain four films (on two discs) from the classic horror studio: The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll, The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb, Scream of Fear (aka Taste of Fear), and The Gorgon. No specifics on special features as of yet, but DVD Drive-in says to expect commentaries, trailers, and newly remastered transfers.

We'll have more details on this set as they are released.

Legend Films, known for releasing excellent restorations of classic horror films in both their original black & white and newly colorized forms, has licensed a number of classic horror and sci-fi titles from Paramount, according to DVD Drive-in. This is great news for horror fans, as up until recently, Paramount has been reluctant to release these "library" films. Included in the deal are Amicus flicks like The Skull (1965) and The Deadly Bees (1967), the Hammer thriller The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959), Roger Christian's The Sender (1982), the slasher parody Student Bodies (1981), Saul Bass's ants amok movie Phase IV (1974), and the wacky Jekyll and Hyde Together Again (1982). Non-horror titles include ZPG (1972) and the William Castle-directed comedy The Busy Body (1967).(read more...)