Hammer Frankenstein Scrapbook Now Available

Hammer Frankenstein ScrapbookFans of Hammer and their Frankenstein series now have the chance to order an incredible volume for their library. Peveril Publishing just announced that this volume is now ready for orders. If you own one of their Dracula Scrapbook editions, then you know the kind of quality put into these. Simply stunning.

This hardcover volume is 344 pages, color throughout, is filled with stills, script pages, schedules and call sheets, press books, press reviews, set design notes, contracts, and so much more. It is like walking back in time, with so much information and little tidbits of nostalgia for Hammer fans. Kinsey and Peveril always do an exceptional job on their books and each one of them is a glorious piece of work. They are so cool just to page through and look at all the history laid out within the pages.

Keep in mind that there are only 700 copies of this book and that their Dracula edition sold out in 5 weeks, so don’t wait too long. And while these volumes are a bit pricy, keep in mind that their value will only go up. You can see the Dracula Scrapbook on ebay for close to $250 now.

To order your copy now, head over to their website HERE.

Soundtrack Review: Hammer Horror Classic Themes, 1957-1974

Hammer Horror - Classic Themes 1958-1974

One of the things that made Hammer Films stand out was their music. Yes, we had the boobs, blood, and beasts, not to mention an array of incredibly talented actors and technicians that worked on them, but the amazing soundtrack coming through the speakers made the impact even deeper. How can you not hear the blasting opening cues of James Bernard’s score for Horror of Dracula and not immediately get into the mood for some horror! Or even Harry Robinson’s march for the opening of Twins of Evil? Makes you want to grab your cross and stakes and go hunt some vampires! That is the beauty of the music that Hammer layered throughout their films. And now, thanks to the fine folks of Silva Screen Records, you can have a taste of themes from 18 different films, that range from 1957 to 1974.

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Suzan Farmer – Rest in Peace

Susan Farmer - RIPThis is a name that might not be too familiar, but if you’re a Hammer fan, then you’ll know the face. Farmer appeared in several titles from Hammer, including two of their swashbuckling  movies, The Crimson Blade (1963) and The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964). But it was mainly for her role in Dracula, Prince of Darkness when horror fans took note. She followed that film up immediately with Rasputin: The Mad Monk, once again coming up against the sizeable Christopher Lee. Another non-Hammer picture that she made that I remember fondly is Die, Monster, Die! (1965), starring alongside Boris Karloff. This was one that I saw in my youth and really made an impact with me. While she might not have been as glamorous or as known as some of the other Hammer starlets, her performances always stood out and are very memorable.

She passed away on Sept. 17th. Our thoughts go out to her friends and family. Thankfully, like all of our movie heroes and heroines, they will live on for fans of their films, especially for Hammer fans!

Hammer Horror Soundtrack Fans?

Hammer Horror - Classic Themes 1958-1974

Silva Screen is releasing a greatest hits so to speak of some Hammer Horror themes that helped make these films so memorable. While all of these have been released before in two different collections, entitled The Hammer Film Music Collections, Vol. 1 & 2, those might be a little tough to come across these days, or at least without paying a pretty pound. But these new release, called Hammer Horror – Classic Themes (1958-1974), is a collection of themes from 18 of their titles, such as Captain Kronos to Countess Dracula to The Devil Rides Out. Below is the complete listing of the themes and their composers. The CD is only $15.95. You can pre-order your copy HERE.

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Hammer Frankenstein Book

Hammer Frankenstein ScrapbookI must have missed when they mentioned this on their Facebook page, but Peveril Publishing is putting the finishing touches on their latest book, The Hammer Frankenstein Scrapbook. Just like their previous Dracula edition, it will cover all of the Frankenstein pictures that Hammer did from The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957 to Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell in 1974 and all the gooey bits in between!

Like all of the titles coming from Peveril, this book with be filled with wonderful images, both in color and black and white, and a ton of information about the films and the people behind him. These titles are a bit pricy, especially getting them shipped to here in the states, but they are more than worth every single penny. They are just beautiful editions and are a sound investment as well. They are hoping to have the book out by October or November of this year.

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Movie Review: Plague of the Zombies

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Plague of the Zombies (1966)
Directed by John Gilling
Starring Andre Morell, John Carson, Diane Clare, Alex Davion, Jacqueline Pearce, Michael Ripper

In a small Cornish village, strange happenings are a foot! Some sort of deadly disease is creeping through the town and the local doctor is clueless as to what is the cause. He sends a letter of distress to Sir James, his former teacher, for assistance in this grave matter. Cutting short his vacation, Sir James travels to the village with his daughter to see if he can be of any assistance, but has no idea the evil deeds he is about to uncover there.

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Book Review: Vampire Films of the 1970s

Vampire Films of the 1970sVampire Films of the 1970s
By Gary A. Smith
Published by McFarland, 2017. 240 pages.

Being the ’70s is the decade I grew up in, watching more than my share of flicks on TV, I’m always up for reading more about this wonderful decade and the movies that came out. Decades before zombies would finally take over, at this particular point in time, vampires still ruled both in theaters and television. This is more than proven with the amount of titles covered here by Smith.

The book starts with a brief overview of the sub-genre, some rules of vampires, then we jump right into the Hammer Film era, where he first gives a little history about the famous British studio before jumping to their ’70s Dracula flicks, then moving on to other fang flicks. Since Hammer made quite a few of them during the ’70s, they are all covered here, lumped together in different sub-categories. There are other groups in the book, like Asian vampires, the Mexican Santo movies, even one on vampire porn! So there are plenty of titles to seek out if you are relatively new to the vampire genre, or are always looking ones you have missed.

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Book Review: Rungs on a Ladder

Rungs on a LadderRungs on a Ladder: Hammer Films Seen Through a Soft Gauze
By Christopher Neame

Published by The Scarecrow Press, 2003. 131 pages.

If there is a book published about Hammer Films, more than likely, at some point in time, I will be adding it to my library. I mean, when you have an official Hammer section with over two dozen titles in said library already, it’s kind of a must have. So when I came across this title on Amazon, I added it to my wish list. The problem I had right away was that it was priced from $30 to $50, and it was for a book that was just over a hundred pages. That’s a tough sell, even for a diehard collector like myself. Okay, sure, I bought it eventually anyway, but just saying.

Now, let’s not get this Neame confused with the actor of the same name that appeared in a couple of Hammer titles, Dracula A.D. 1972 & Lust for a Vampire. The author Neame started at the bottom of the business and worked his way up. It was only a matter of time for him, since the film business really was in his blood. His father was Ronald Neame, a director and cinematographer, and his grandfather Elwin, was a director who worked in silent films.

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Yvonne Monlaur – Rest in Peace

Yvonne Monlaur - RIPHammer fans have lost another one of the lovely ladies from their childhood. Yvonne Monlaur passed away last week on the 18th, at the age of 77. Of course, she is probably best known to us horror fans as the young French school teacher that comes across a vampire, only to be saved by Peter Cushing’s Van Helsing, in the 1960 film The Brides of Dracula. Monlaur is just stunning here and actually gives a strong performance, making this a very memorable film. She had appeared in Circus of Horrors the year earlier, and would appear in Hammer’s Terror of the Tongs, playing alongside another Hammer icon, Christopher Lee.

The one sad thing about these Hammer films is that since they were made many decades ago, we are slowly losing all of these great performers and craftsman that worked on them. But we know that because these films continue to draw in new fans, that these names and faces will always be remembered, and that they will continue to entertain fans, both old and new.

Our thoughts go out to Monlaur’s friends and family during this sad time.

Horror History: Roy Ward Baker

Roy Ward BakerRoy Ward Baker
Born Dec. 19th, 1916 – Died Oct. 5th, 2010

Fans of British horror films of the ’70s will probably know this man, since between working with Hammer and Amicus, he was cranking out some entertaining films in a very short time. Starting his career at the bottom and working his way up, even as an assistant director on Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes (1938), he eventually became a director. He hit some critical fame with A Night to Remember (1958), a film about the Titanic, which is still regarded as one of the best films on that subject. His first film for Hammer was the 3rd of their Quatermass series, Quatermass and the Pit (1967). Then in 1970, he made a huge hit with horror fans with The Vampire Lovers (1970), starring the lovely Ingrid Pitt. After that, he continued working with both Hammer and Amicus turning out great films, like Scars of Dracula (1970), Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971), Asylum (1972), The Vault of Horror (1973), And Now the Screaming Starts (1973), and even The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974).

Baker’s films were simple. They had all the elements to make a great movie, which is what he continually turned out. He has quite a few films in his filmography that some critics might consider cheesy or even bad, but I think horror fans might just call classics, or at the very least, pretty damn entertaining. And after all, isn’t that what it’s all about?