Jimmy Sangster is one name that is partially responsible for what Hammer Films is known for. While he may not think that what he did was all that special, he was an essential part of the mechanism that help give birth to a new generation of gothic horror films, resurrecting famous monsters that were not only long-thought passé, but giving them to fans like we’d never seen before.
Sangster had started in the industry, like most, at the bottom, as a third assistant director on the film Third Time Lucky (1949) for producer Mario Zampi. That same year, when Zampi was asked to produce the film Dick Barton Strikes Back for Hammer, he brought a lot of his crew to work on the film, including Sangster, who would now make his Hammer debut as Second Assistant director! At the age of 21, he became Britain’s youngest Assistant Director!
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Fans of Hammer Horror should be well aware of the name of Ralph Bates. He was one of the next generation stars of Hammer, one to take the lead from the likes of Cushing and Lee and continue the tradition that they started. Unfortunately, Hammer didn’t last that much longer. In that short time though, Bates did appear in a few of their pictures and always turning a memorable performance. He appeared in Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), Lust for a Vampire (1971), Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971), and Fear in the Night (1972). It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Hammer would have continued their ran of cinematic terrors.
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