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.