Editing Hammer Film Productions (section)

===Early history (1935–1937)===
In November 1934, [[William Hinds]], a comedian and businessman, registered his film company, Hammer Productions Ltd.{{sfn|Meikle|1996|page=3}}{{sfn|Hearn|Barnes|1997|page=8}} It was housed in a three-room office suite at Imperial House, [[Regent Street]], London. The company name came from Hinds' stage name, Will Hammer, which he had taken from the area of London in which he lived, [[Hammersmith]].{{sfn|Sheridan|1978|page=40}}

Work began almost immediately on the first film, a now [[lost film|lost]] comedy, ''[[The Public Life of Henry the Ninth]]'' at the MGM/ATP studios. Filming concluded on 2 January 1935. The film tells the story of Henry Henry, an unemployed London street musician, and the title was a "playful tribute" to [[Alexander Korda]]'s ''[[The Private Life of Henry VIII]]'' which was Britain's first [[Academy Award for Best Picture]] nominee in 1934.<ref>"[http://www.bfi.org.uk/nationalarchive/news/mostwanted/public-life-of-henry-the-ninth.html BFI Most Wanted: The Public Life of Henry the Ninth] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101117173042/http://www.bfi.org.uk/nationalarchive/news/mostwanted/public-life-of-henry-the-ninth.html |date=17 November 2010 }}" ''[[British Film Institute|BFI]]'' Retrieved 28 October 2010</ref> During this time Hinds met Spanish émigré Enrique Carreras, a former cinema owner, and on 10 May 1935 they formed the [[film distributor|film distribution]] company Exclusive Films, operating from an office at 60-66 National House, [[Wardour Street]].{{sfn|Kinsey|2005|page=9}} Hammer produced four films distributed by Exclusive:

* ''[[The Mystery of the Mary Celeste]]'' (1935; ''Phantom Ship'' in the U.S.), featuring [[Bela Lugosi]]
* ''[[Sporting Love (film)|Sporting Love]]'' (1936)
* ''[[Song of Freedom]]'' (1936), featuring [[Paul Robeson]]
* ''[[The Bank Messenger Mystery]]'' (1936)

A downturn in the British film industry forced Hammer into [[bankruptcy]], and the company went into liquidation in 1937. Exclusive survived and on 20 July 1937 purchased the leasehold on 113-117 Wardour Street and continued to distribute films made by other companies.{{sfn|Hearn|Barnes|1997|page=9}}