Review of Hammer Horror Originals (3 Disc Box Set)

Introduction

These were the horror movies that made the name of Hammer Films in the late 1950`s. Universal Pictures had made a long-running series of classic horror movies through the 1930`s and 1940`s, but the genre had fallen into disrepair, providing stooges of Abbott and Costello as the world was overtaken by the horrors of the second World War and the upcoming terrors of the Atomic Age.

Hammer Films was an independent production company founded in 1947 to produce movies for its parent film distributor Exclusive Films. Exclusive, founded by Enrique Carreras and Will Hinds (aka Will Hammer) was a small operation that had begun to produce a limited number of movies. Hammer Films was to make a few modest thrillers and horror films up to the beginning of the 1950`s, when a partnership with an American film maker gave them both a foothold in the United States and access to American talent - vital at that time. The turning point for the company was a film adaptation of the BBC thriller serial "The Quatermass Experiment" made in 1955. Sufficiently scary to merit an "X" certificate, the film was a hit and the company started looking around for its next project.

Although pulp sci-fi was the horror genre of choice for the American market, the decision was taken to go back to the more human monsters of old with "Curse of Frankenstein". Hammer`s resident scriptwriter Jimmy Sangster adapted the screenplay from Mary Shelley`s novel rather than rehash (and pay copyright bills to) Universal`s 1931 version. Terence Fisher directed Peter Cushing in his first outing as Victor Frankenstein, and a young actor called Christopher Lee took the role of The Creature, launching a career in playing scary people that endures to this day. Photographed in Eastmancolor by Jack Asher, the blood flowed more freely and more colourfully than in the earlier movies, earning Hammer a certain notoriety. Today`s audiences may find the movie quite tame, but in the `fifties this was strong stuff.

"Dracula" made the following year (known as "Horror of Dracula" in the US) cemented Hammer`s reputation as Christopher Lee made his first, iconic appearance as the Count. With almost the same cast and crew as "Curse of Frankenstein", Jimmy Sangster`s screenplay had Peter Cushing as Van Helsing battling the Count to a memorable crumbling-to-dust climax that has only been equalled for effectiveness by "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and "Harry Potter and the Philosopher`s Stone".

The final film in the triple pack is 1959`s "The Mummy". Universal Pictures had recognised Hammer`s expertise in the horror genre and had signed a deal to release the studio`s output in the US rather than try to remake the pictures themselves in Hollywood. Based on John L. Balderston`s 1932 screenplay for Universal, Jimmy Sangster`s screenplay directed by Terence Fisher pitted Cushing against Lee once more, with the latter playing the crumbling Kharis. Also in the cast was veteran British character actor Raymond Huntley who had played Count Dracula in the original British stage production of the play that had inspired and formed the basis of the classic 1931 Universal horror starring Bela Lugosi.

Video

Visually, the three films are a treat. They`re full of the visual style that made the Hammer horrors what they were. All three are presented in full 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The age of the source material means the three films have suffered from decades of handling, and there is some print damage. Focus and colours are slightly soft and there is a little colour fringing which may be a shortcoming of Eastmancolor stock. Having said that, the movies look better than they ever have and the blood is just as red as it has ever been.

Audio

Audio is in plain mono in both English and German. James Bernard`s music for both "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" is of the classic "Dra-cu-la" (three notes) school of film scoring, and was a feature of Hammer soundtracks throughout the studio`s twenty-nine year film production life.

Features

The only extras on the three discs are original theatrical trailers and subtitles. The films come in a fold-out card box, lavishly illustrated with stills from the three movies (although a couple from other movies have slipped in unnoticed). Disc contents and details are included on the reverse of three original poster art cards included in the box. Shopping around, you can get this set for under a tenner per picture and that`s a real bargain.

Conclusion

The three movies are easily the best of Hammer`s output and deserve a place in the collection of any serious horror movie buff. Dracula is the strongest meat with a "15" rating, while Curse of Frankenstein manages a "12" and The Mummy a "PG". They`re not as out-and-out nasty as modern horror films, but they`re stylish and atmospheric and could teach modern horror directors a thing or two (but not necessarily from another planet).