Hammer: The Haunted House of Horror by Denis Meikle

 

(oversized pb; November 2017: nonfiction)

From the back cover

“Hammer and Horror, they go together like horse and carriage. The legendary British studio ruled the genre in the 1950s through the 1970s, with its gloriously Gothic takes on classic monster stories that made stars out of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Now you can read the full story of Hammer’s rise and fall, and rise again in the modern age. . .

“Businessman and variety artist William Hinds (who adopted the stage name Will Hammer) first registered his company, Hammer Film Productions, in 1934. After scoring a hit in 1955 with a movie version of the BBC serial The Quatermass Experiment (1953, a.k.a. The Quatermass Xperiment), Hammer made history with its first full colour creature feature, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), a massive success that set the company on course for a profitable future in screen horror.

“This milestone book paints a colourful picture of a bygone era of filmmaking as it traces the history of Hammer in fascinating detail, revealing the full story behind its hits and misses, with contributions from many of Hammer’s key players, including Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Oliver Reed, producers Anthony Hinds and Kenneth Hyman and latterday studio head Michael Carreras.

“Profusely illustrated in full colour throughout, with never-before-published stills, posters, lobby cards, flyers, candid photographs and unused artwork, this lavish book is the definitive history of Hammer, and essential reading for every horror fan.”

 

Review

Published by the company that also puts out The Dark Side magazine, Meikle’s excellent and detailed charting of Hammer Film Productions’ successes, failures, and the events and personalities behind them is one of the best books I’ve read about the iconic British studio that breathed new life into the Frankenstein/Dracula/monster genres, a company that began in December 1934 under another name, Exclusive Films, before it—years later—was renamed with the Hammer moniker. If you’re a reader and a fan of Hammer’s Gothic movies, Meikle’s interesting, entertaining and fact-filled entry in the cinematic nonfiction genre is a worthwhile read and purchase, its charms further buoyed by its popping-with-vivid-color pictures, posters and other artwork. One of my favorite reads this year, and an all-time favorite read. If you're interested in purchasing it, go here.

The Hammer Horror Omnibus by John Burke

 

(pb; 1966: movie tie-in/novella collection)

From the back cover

“The Gorgon

“What is the terrible secret of the village of Vandorf, where a murderer’s victims turn to stone?”

 

“The Curse of Frankenstein

“Baron Victor Frankenstein creates a grotesque monster─and is himself condemned to death for the creature’s brutal killings.

 

“The Revenge of Frankenstein

“Escaping the guillotine Baron Frankenstein repays the dwarf who aids him─by giving him a new body! But his creation is a killer; worse─a cannibal.

 

“The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb

“From Egypt of 3000 B.C. to the London of 1912 comes the monster that would not die!”

 

Overall review

Hammer is an excellent quadrilogy of horror film-based novellas, with taut writing, succinct characterizations and descriptions, storylines that are mostly fresh takes and twists on familiar themes and tales. If you’re a Hammer film fan and a bibliophile, this out-of-print book is worth seeking out. Followed by John Burke’s The Second Hammer Horror Omnibus.

 

Review, novella by novella

The Gorgon: After his father and his brother die under mysterious circumstances, medical student Paul Heitz comes to the German town of Vandorf, where he─along with his mentor, Professor Meister─are caught between two dangers: the secretive, terrified and angry villagers, and a mythological, transformative beast that is stalking all of them.

In the ninety-page Gorgon, Burke’s prose is brisk, bare bones, and tight, with enough description and character development to give you the feel of an intense Hammer Film Productions tale and quick enough to focus mostly on the action, romance, and horror of Vandorf, a small village living in the shadow of the history- and dread-haunted Borski castle. Its ending is short, sharp, and startling, a fitting and memorable ending for a well-written and darkly entertaining work, which correctly identifies the Gorgon as Medusa, not Megaera (“jealousy,” one three Furies, sibling goddesses of revenge)─the film version calls her Megaera.

The counterpart film of the same name was released in England on August 21, 1964, half of a double bill with The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, also released in 1964. Terence Fisher directed Gorgon, from a screenplay by John Gilling, based on J.Llewellyn Devine’s original story.

Richard Pasco played the lovestruck Paul Heitz. Barbara Shelley played Carla Hoffman, the object of Paul’s affection. Christopher Lee played Professor Karl Meister. Prudence Hyman played Megaera, a.k.a. the Gorgon.

Peter Cushing played Dr. Namaroff. Jack Watson played Ratoff. Patrick Troughton played Inspector Kanof. Redmond Phillips played Hans.

Jeremy Longhurst played Bruno Heitz, Paul’s fanciful brother. Michael Goodliffe played Professor Jules Heitz, their father.

 

The Curse of Frankenstein: The aloof, unrepentant, and ambitious Baron Victor Frankenstein, awaiting state execution, narrates his journey from adolescent inheritor of his family’s Switzerland to adult scientist who has resurrected a dead, damaged brain in a patchwork-limb body─a brain accidentally scarred by his former tutor and assistant (Paul Krempe), who renounced Frankenstein’s experiment.

This new take on the iconic Frankenstein/created “monster” is a thrilling and adept reinvention, with the Baron as arrogant and forward-looking as ever (scientifically speaking), even in the face of certain, immediate death. Like the screenplay/film that birthed it, Burke’s writing, which adds a few non-filmic details here and there, is tight, fast-moving, and a clever re-working of the oft-replicated Frankenstein tale.

Excellent read, this.

The counterpart-source film was released of the same name was released in England on May 2, 1957. The film was directed by Terence Fisher, from a screenplay by Jimmy Sangster (who based his work on Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus).

Peter Cushing played the adult Baron Victor Frankenstein. Christopher Lee played The Creature. Robert Urquhart played Paul Krempe. Hazel Court played Elizabeth Frankenstein.

Valerie Gaunt played Justine. Melvyn Hayes played “Young Victor” Frankenstein. Andrew Leigh played Burgomeister.

 

The Revenge of Frankenstein: Picking up immediately after the events of The Curse of Frankenstein, Baron Victor Frankenstein escapes the gallows, with help from a murderous dwarf and prison guard (Karl Werner)─the experimental scientist-now-prisoner Baron struck a deal with Werner to move the smaller man’s brain into a bigger, more healthy body.

Upon escaping, Frankenstein (now Victor Stein) relocates to the faraway town of Carlsbruck, where he uses his medical skills to help rich and poor (the latter in Workhouse Hospital) alike. Frankenstein gains an earnest young assistant (Hans Kleve), who blackmails the former Baron into letting Kleve work with him. Another complication appears in the form of Margaret Conrad (fetching and ambitious daughter of an important official), who insists on playing nurse to the poor in Workhouse Hospital.

Of course, repercussions of Werner’s brain-in-another-body transfer are largely catastrophic, between Karl’s health issues, Margaret’s good intentions, and her sway over Hans. The ending is shocking, tale- and character-true, and exciting in one of the best genre ways.

Like the two previous novellas in this collection, Revenge is a consistently taut, brisk,and vivid Frankenstein narrative (Frankenstein/Stein again tells the story), scuttling that franchise’s tropes with aplomb.

The counterpart-source film was released of the same name was released stateside on June 18, 1958. Terence Fisher directed it, from a screenplay by Jimmy Sangster, with additional dialogue provided by Hurford Janes and George Baxt.

Peter Cushing played Baron Victor Frankenstein, now going by the name of Victor Stein. Michael Gwynn played Karl Werner. Francis Matthews played Hans Kleve. Eunice Gayson played Margaret Conrad. Oscar Quitak played “Dwarf.” Marjory Gresley, billed as Margery Gresley, played Countess Barcynska. Anna Walmsley played Vera Gresley.

 

The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb: In the early 1900s, a group of archeologists unearth the tomb of an ancient Egyptian prince (Ra Antef) and, in doing so, awaken curse that immediately begins a cycle of murders committed by the resurrected mummy. Mummy’s is a waste-no-words tight and fast-moving (if largely genre-familiar) work, with a solid, effective twist, and an abrupt and memorable finish.

The counterpart-source film was released of the same name was released in England on October 18, 1964. Michael Carreras directed and wrote the screenplay for the film.

Dickie Owen played The Mummy (Ra-Antef). Jeanne Roland played Annette Dubois. Terence Morgan played Adam Beauchamp. Ronald Howard played John Bray. Jack Gwillim played Sir Giles Dalrymple. George Pastell played Hashmi Bey. Fred Clark played Alexander King.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl

(1964: prequel to Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Illustrated by Quentin Blake.)

From the inside flap:

"Young Charlie Bucket can't believe his luck when he finds the very last of Mr. Willy Wonka's Golden Tickets inside his chocolate bar. He wins the trip of a lifetime -- a magical tour around Mr. Wonka's mysterious chocolate factory. once inside, Charlie and the four other winners -- Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, and Mike Teavee -- witness amazing wonders: rainbow drops, lickable wallpaper, and even a chocolate waterfall. But what happens when the children, one by one, disobey Mr. Wonka? In Roald Dahl's most popular story for children, the nasty are punished and the good are deliciously rewarded."

Review:

Whimsical, timeless, gently subversive morality work, this: by now most of us know the story, whether it's through the book, or the two movie versions.

One of my favorite all-time children's books.

#

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been filmed twice.

The first version, under the title Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, starred Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. Released stateside on June 30, 1971, it was directed by Mel Stuart, from a script by book author Roald Dahl, and an uncredited David Seltzer.

Peter Ostrum played Charlie Bucket. Jack Albertson played Grandpa Joe. Julie Dawn Cole played Veruca Salt. Roy Kinnear played Mr. Salt. Denise Nickerson played Violet Beauregarde. Leonard Stone played Mr. Beauregarde. Paris Themmen played Mike Teevee. Nora Denney, credited as Dodo Denney, played Mrs. Teevee. Michael Bollner played Augustus Gloop. Ursula Reit played Mrs. Gloop. Diane Sowle played Mrs. Bucket.

#

The second version, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, was released stateside on July 15, 2005. John August scripted; Tim Burton directed.

Johnny Depp played Willy Wonka. Freddy Highmore played Charlie Bucket. David Kelly played Grandpa Joe. Helena Bonham Carter played Mrs. Bucket. Noah Taylor played Mr. Bucket. Christopher Lee played Dr. Wonka. Julia Winter played Veruca Salt. James Fox played Mr. Salt.

The Man with the Golden Gun, by Ian Fleming

(pb; 1965: thirteenth book in the original 007/James Bond series)

Review:

Caveat: spoilers in this review.

A year after his disappearance -- and publicly presumed death -- at the finish of You Only Live Twice, Bond reappears at Ministry of Defense, requesting an audience with M. (aka, Admiral Sir Miles Messervy, to those who know him intimately).

Bond gets his face-time with M., and tries to assassinate him, nearly succeeding.

Bond has been brainwashed by the KGB.

The Ministry of Defence doctors set about wiping Bond's mind of that insidious Russian influence. They succeed.

M., once again figuring a real challenge will put Bond back on track, or at least allow him an honorable death, orders Bond to kill Francisco (aka, Paco, or "Pistols") Scarmanga. Scarmanga is a legendary free-lance assassin, the titular "Man with the [literally] Golden Gun," who's so bad-ass that he doesn't affect disguises or cover names when he travels.

Bond travels to Kingston, Jamaica, where he accidentally hooks up with his ex-secretary, Mary Goodnight (who was reassigned there when Bond disappeared). With her assistance, he "accidentally" bumps into the thin-skinned, trigger-happy Scarmanga at a local whorehouse, No. Three and a Half Love Lane, where Scarmanga hires Bond (working under the name Mark Hazard) to provide security at Scarmanga's next hotel investment meeting -- in truth an investment scam, and a meet with Scarmanga's KGB contact.

It goes south quickly. Fortunately for Bond, his old CIA friend Felix Leiter (from Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Diamonds Are Forever, Goldfinger, and Thunderball) and another CIA agent, Nick Nicholson, are working undercover at Scarmanga's hotel, as well.

Scarmanga, as a villain, isn't one of the more impressive ones. Not coincidentally, he reminded me of the lead villains from Diamonds Are Forever, Jack and Seraphim Spang, who were head of the "Spangled Mob" (whom Scarmanga worked for, years ago). It's Scarmanga's shooting skill, comparable (if not better) than Bond's, that makes him noteworthy, something Bond frequently acknowledges throughout Golden Gun.

Bond's final shoot-out with Scarmanga in a "cobra-infested" swamp is a wonder to read. Like On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice, the quintessential 007 plot dynamics aren't turned on their collective head, but sideways, with endings that are either cliffhanger-shocking, or disturbingly gelid (like Golden Gun's, which simultaneously fuses the cold-blooded end-line of Casino Royale, Bond's womanizing attitude, and the gentling effect that Bond's dead wife, Tracy, has spiritized him with).

Great wrap-up (novel-wise) to a consistently-good series, this. Followed by a four-story anthology, Octopussy and The Living Daylights.

The Man with the Golden Gun was released stateside as a film on December 20, 1974.

Roger Moore played Bond. Christopher Lee (step-cousin and regular golfing partner of Ian Fleming) played Francisco Scarmanga. Britt Ekland played Mary Goodnight. Maud Adams played Andrea Anders. Herve Villechaize played Nick Nack. Bernard Lee played M.. Lois Maxwell (once again) played Miss Moneypenny. Desmond Llwelyn played Q (whose character, again, doesn't appear in the novel).

Guy Hamilton directed the film, from a script by Tom Mankiewicz and Richard Maibaum.

Now And Forever, by Ray Bradbury

(hb; 2007: novella anthology)


From the back cover:

"In Somewhere a Band is Playing, a writer is drawn by poetry and dreams to tiny Summerton, Arizona, a community hidden in plain view, where no small children play, and where the residents never seem to age. Enchanted by its powerful rural magic -- and by a beautiful, enigmatic lady who bears the name of an Egyptian queen -- the writer sets out to uncover Summerton's mysteries before the inevitable arrival of a ruthless destruction.

"With Leviathan '99, the author who once colonized Mars returns to the cosmos to brilliantly reimagine Herman Melville's classic masterwork obsession and the sea, transforming a great whale into a worlds-devouring comet. In the year 2099, fledgling astronaut Ishmael Hunnicut Jones boards the Cetus 7, placing his fate in the hands of a relentless madman who is blindly chasing the celestial monster's tail. And in the merciless void, a crew of earthborn and alien star-travelers will face a divine judgment, and an 'enemy' wielding the most fearsome weapon of all... Time."


Review:

Somewhere a Band is Playing is a familiar but still-entrancing riff for Bradbury: magic in a small town --this time a town that is magic itself -- replete with quotable poetic passages about youth, the seasons and the inevitability of death. Worthwhile stuff, this.

Leviathan '99, with its Ahab-in-space storyline, is heavier, with a theocratic space program theme running thickly through it. It's good -- of course, it's Bradbury -- but I'm guessing the old radio program which had Christopher Lee providing the voice of the mad captain was more exhilarating. Not one of Bradbury's better works, though some last-minute twists made it memorable.

Overall, this two-novella collection is a good read for Bradbury fans. First-time Bradbury readers should probably avoid this until they've read other books by him.