The World of Hammer

For over two decades, Peter Cushing brought an unparalleled dignity, grace and dramatic skill to his roles as Sherlock Holmes, Van Helsing, Baron Frankenstein and more, in dozens of classic movies. Whether stoically heroic or sadistically diabolical, Cushing truly became the heart and soul of the Hammer Films dynasty. Films included: The Abominable Snowman (1957) / The Brides of Dracula (1960) / The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) / Dracula (1958) / The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) / Fear in the Night (1972) / Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) / The Mummy (1959) / SHE (1965) / Twins of Evil (1971).

For generations of audiences, Hammer Films defined the legend of Count Dracula. As portrayed by Christopher Lee, the Count was brilliantly reborn as a seductive icon of forbidden desire and everlasting evil. Later, the studio would broaden their bloody palette of the undead to further redefine the entire vampire genre. Today, these movies remain among the most visually stunning and thematically provocative vampire films in all of cinematic history. Films included: The Brides of Dracula (1960) / Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter (1972) / Dracula (1958) / Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) / Kiss of the Vampire (1962) / The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) / Scars of Dracula (1970) / Vampire Circus (1972).

Few films had a greater impact on the '60s than the unforgettable genre known as 'Hammer Glamours' epics that delivered their own singular vision of history—and especially pre-history—with liberal doses of both flesh and fantasy. With special effects as eye-popping as the actresses, these films created puberty's essential bridge between the thrill of cool monsters and the sensation of gorgeous women. Films included: Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) / Creatures the World Forgot (1971) / The Lost Continent (1968) / One Million Years B.C. (1966) / SHE (1965) / The Vengeance of SHE (1968) / The Viking Queen (1967).

Through the years, Hammer's depiction of female vampires was consistently groundbreaking and always controversial. In exploring the fine line between forbidden desire and the curse of the undead, Hammer's vamps shocked critics and delighted audiences worldwide with explicit eroticism and stylish decadence. Films included: The Brides of Dracula (1960) / Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter (1972) / Dracula (1958) / Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) / Kiss of the Vampire (1962) / Lust for a Vampire (1970) / Twins Of Evil (1971) / The Vampire Lovers (1970).

The Wicked Women of Hammer included such cult icons and screen legends as Bette Davis, Ingrid Pitt, Joan Fontaine, Martine Beswick, Tallulah Bankhead, Lizabeth Scott, and more. From savage horror to tense drama to high camp, these deadly dames delivered some of the most surprising and shocking performances of their entire careers in some of Hammer's most infamous films. Films included: The Anniversary (1968) / Black Widow (1951) / Countess Dracula (1970) / Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) / Fanatic (1965) / The Nanny (1965) / Stolen Face (1952) / The Witches (1966).

Hammer's war films covered controversial stories such as The Camp on Blood Island and The Steel Bayonet, comedies including I Only Arsked and Further Up the Creek, and even a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's 1938 classic The Lady Vanishes. Films included: Break in the Circle (1955) / The Camp on Blood Island (1958) / Further Up the Creek (1958) / I Only Arsked (1958) / The Lady Vanishes (1979) / The Secret of Blood Island (1964) / Up the Creek (1958) / Ten Seconds to Hell (1959) / The Steel Bayonet (1957) / Yesterday's Enemy (1959).

Hammer's science-fiction films are a classic genre unto themselves. For nearly three decades, the studio presented fantastic tales of space travel, alien invasions, nuclear mutation, and more with a combination of rare intelligence and crowd-pleasing action. Even today, their adaptations of Nigel Kneale's Quatermass series remain provocative sci-fi. Films included: The Damned (1963) / Dick Barton Strikes Back (1949) / Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) / Quatermass 2 (1957) / Quatermass and the Pit (1967) / The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) / Spaceways (1953) / X the Unknown (1956).

Over the course of three decades, Hammer redefined the classic legends of the mummy, the werewolf and the zombie. More than mere 'monster movies', these films were frightening new takes on familiar tales, complete with chilling scares, startling violence, and the one-of-a-kind visual style that became a worldwide Hammer trademark. Films included: Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) / Captain Clegg (1962) / The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) / Curse of the Werewolf (1961) / The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) / The Mummy's Shroud (1967) / The Mummy (1959) / The Plague of the Zombies (1965).

Through the 1950s and 1960s, and running alongside the gothic horror films, Hammer made a series of what were known as 'mini-Hitchcocks', primarily scripted by Jimmy Sangster, and directed by Freddie Francis and Seth Holt. These low-budget suspense thrillers, often in black-and-white, typically had a twist at the end. Films included: Czech Mate (1984, from Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense) / Hell is a City (1960) / The Last Page (1952) / Maniac (1963) / Paranoiac (1963) / Shatter (1974) / Whispering Smith Hits London (1952) / Straight on Till Morning (1972).

Based on Mary Shelley's novel, Hammer's startling cycle of Frankenstein films were equally as popular—and controversial—as their renowned Dracula series. In the studio's hands, the legend was reborn as explicit thrillers of gothic horror, all in gloriously gory colour. Portrayed by genre icon Peter Cushing, Baron Frankenstein emerged as a fascinating combination of visionary intelligence, heroic passion and diabolical obsession. As for Frankenstein's monsters, these are the creatures that changed the stitched-up face of horror forever. Films included: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) / The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) / Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) / Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) / Four Sided Triangle (1953) / Horror of Frankenstein (1970) / The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958).

Christopher Lee was one of Hammer's most famous stars. From his debut in The Curse of Frankenstein, he went on to make the role of Count Dracula his own starring in eight of Hammer's Dracula productions. Lee also starred in many other of the studio's films from The Hound of the Baskervilles to To the Devil a Daughter. Films included: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) / The Devil Rides Out (1968) / The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964) / Dracula (1958) / Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) / The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) / The Mummy (1959) / Rasputin the Mad Monk (1965) / Scars of Dracula (1970) / SHE (1965) / To the Devil a Daughter (1976).

Hammer Films is one of the most famous independent British film production companies as well as one of the most successful. Its output continues to inspire many of the genre films made today and many of the cinema's foremost directors. Films included: The Camp on Blood Island (1958) / Cloudburst (1951) / The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) / Dracula (1958) / Holiday on the Buses (1973) / Men of Sherwood Forest (1954) / One Million Years B.C. (1966) / The Plague of the Zombies (1965) / The Nanny (1965) / Quatermass 2 (1957) / Quatermass and the Pit (1967) / The Steel Bayonet (1857) / That's Your Funeral (1972).

Films included: The Brigand of Kandahar (1965) / A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967) / The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964) / Dick Turpin, Highwayman (1956) / The Pirates of Blood River (1962) / The Scarlet Blade (1963) / The Stranglers of Bombay (1959) / Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) / Wolfshead: The Legend of Robin Hood (1969).