Editing Hammer Film Productions (section)

==Key horror films==

===''The Curse of Frankenstein''===
{{main|The Curse of Frankenstein}}

As production began on ''Quatermass 2'', Hammer started to look for another U.S. partner willing to invest in and handle the American promotion of new product. They eventually entered talks with [[Associated Artists Productions]] (a.a.p.) and head, [[Eliot Hyman]]. During this period, two young American filmmakers, [[Max Rosenberg|Max J. Rosenberg]] and [[Milton Subotsky]], who later established Hammer's rival [[Amicus Productions|Amicus]], submitted to a.a.p. a script for an adaptation of the novel ''[[Frankenstein]]''. Although interested in the script, a.a.p. were not prepared to back a film made by Rosenberg and Subotsky, who had just one film to their credit. Eliot Hyman however, sent the script to his contact at Hammer. Rosenberg would often claim he 'produced' ''The Curse of Frankenstein'', an exaggeration repeated in his obituary.

Although the novel by [[Mary Shelley]] was long since in the [[public domain]], Anthony Hinds was unsure about the story, as Subotsky's script adhered closely to the plot of the 1939 Universal film ''[[Son of Frankenstein]]'', featuring a second-generation Baron Frankenstein emulating his father, the original monster-maker. This put the project at risk of a [[copyright]] infringement lawsuit by Universal. In addition a great deal of polishing and additional material was needed, as the short script had an estimated running time of just 55 minutes, far less than the minimum of 90 minutes needed for distribution in the U.K. Accordingly, comments on the script from Hammer's Michael Carreras (who had joined his father James as producer in the early 1950s) were less than complimentary:

<blockquote>The script is badly presented. The sets are not marked clearly on the shot headings, neither is DAY or NIGHT specified in a number of cases. The number of set-ups scripted is quite out of proportion to the length of the screenplay, and we suggest that your rewrites are done in master scene form.<ref>Michael Carreras' letter to Max Rosenberg, quoted in Kinsey, p. 51.</ref></blockquote>

Further revisions were made to the script, and a working title of ''Frankenstein and the Monster'' was chosen. Plans were made to shoot the film in Eastmancolor{{spaced ndash}}a decision which caused worry at the BBFC. Not only did the script contain horror and graphic violence, but it would be portrayed in vivid colour.{{sfn|Kinsey|2005|page=80}}

The project was handed to Tony Hinds, who was less impressed with the script than Michael Carreras, and whose vision for the film was a simple black-and-white 'quickie' made in three weeks. Concerned that Subotsky and Rosenberg's script had too many similarities to the Universal films, Hinds commissioned [[Jimmy Sangster]] to rewrite it as ''[[The Curse of Frankenstein]]''. Sangster's treatment impressed Hammer enough to rescue the film from the 'quickie' treadmill and to produce it as a colour film.

Sangster submitted his script to the BBFC for examination. Audrey Field reported on 10 October 1956:

<blockquote>We are concerned about the flavour of this script, which, in its preoccupation with horror and gruesome detail, goes far beyond what we are accustomed to allow even for the 'X' category. I am afraid we can give no assurance that we should be able to pass a film based on the present script and a revised script should be sent us for our comments, in which the overall unpleasantness should be mitigated.{{sfn|Kinsey|2005|page=60}}</blockquote>

Regardless of the BBFC's stern warnings, Hinds supervised the shooting of an unchanged script.{{sfn|Kinsey|2005|page=63}}

The film was directed by Terence Fisher, with a look that belied its modest budget. British TV star [[Peter Cushing]] portrayed [[Victor Frankenstein|Baron Victor Frankenstein]], and supporting actor [[Christopher Lee]] was cast as the imposingly tall, brutish [[Frankenstein's monster|Creature]]. With a budget of £65,000 and a cast and crew that would become the backbone of later films, Hammer's first Gothic horror went into production.{{sfn|Kinsey|2005|page=63}} The use of colour encouraged a previously unseen level of gore. Until ''The Curse of Frankenstein'', horror films had not shown blood in a graphic way, or when they did, it was concealed by monochrome photography. In this film, it was bright red, and the camera lingered on it.

The film was an enormous success, not only in Great Britain, but also in the U.S., where it inspired numerous imitations from, amongst others, [[Roger Corman]] and [[American International Pictures]] (with their series largely based on [[Edgar Allan Poe]] &ndash; the so-called "Poe Cycle"). It found success on the [[Europe|European continent]] also, where Italian directors and audiences were particularly receptive.
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===''Dracula''===
{{main|Dracula (1958 film)}}

The huge box office success of ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' led to the inevitable desire for a sequel in ''[[The Revenge of Frankenstein]]'', and an attempt to give the Hammer treatment to another horror icon. Dracula had been a successful film character for Universal in the past, and the copyright situation was more complicated than for Frankenstein. A legal agreement between Hammer and Universal was not completed until 31 March 1958{{spaced ndash}}after the film had been shot{{spaced ndash}}and was 80 pages long.<ref>The agreement was between Cadogan, a Hammer subsidiary, and Universal. See Kinsey (2005) p.86</ref>
[[File:John Van Eyssen as Jonathan Harker - 1958.jpg|thumb|right|alt=John Van Eyssen as Jonathan Harker in ''Dracula'' (1958)|John Van Eyssen as [[Jonathan Harker]]]]

Meanwhile, the financial arrangement between a.a.p. and Hammer had broken down when money promised by a.a.p. had not arrived. Hammer began looking for alternatives, and with the success of ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' signed with [[Columbia Pictures]] to distribute ''The Revenge of Frankenstein'' and two films from the defaulted a.a.p. deal, ''[[The Camp on Blood Island]]'' and ''[[The Snorkel]]''. Hammer's financial success also meant the winding-down of the parent film distribution company Exclusive, leaving Hammer to concentrate on filmmaking.{{sfn|Kinsey|2005|pages=67, 91}}

Work continued on the script for ''Dracula'', and the second draft was submitted to the BBFC. Audrey Field commented on 8 October 1957:

<blockquote>"The uncouth, uneducated, disgusting and vulgar style of Mr Jimmy Sangster cannot quite obscure the remnants of a good horror story, though they do give one the gravest misgivings about treatment. [...] The curse of this thing is the Technicolor blood: why need vampires be messier eaters than anyone else? Certainly strong cautions will be necessary on shots of blood. And of course, some of the stake-work is prohibitive."{{sfn|Kinsey|2005|page=94}}</blockquote>

Despite the success of ''The Curse of Frankenstein'', the financing of ''Dracula'' proved awkward. Universal was not interested,<ref>Universal itself was having financial difficulties at the time. The talent agency [[Music Corporation of America|MCA]] would buy out the company in 1962.</ref> and the search for money eventually brought Hammer back to a.a.p.'s Eliot Hyman, through another of his companies, Seven Arts (which later merged with [[Warner Bros.]], now the [[Turner Entertainment|successor-in-interest to a.a.p.]]). Although an agreement was drawn up, it is alleged that the deal was never realised and funding for ''Dracula'' eventually came from the National Film Finance Council ([[Pound sterling|£]]33,000) and the rest from Universal in return for worldwide distribution rights.{{sfn|Kinsey|2005|page=92}} However, recent research suggests that the issue of who exactly funded ''Dracula'' is still not entirely clear (see Barnett, 'Hammering out a Deal: The Contractual and Commercial Contexts of ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' (1957) and ''Dracula'' (1958)’, ''Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television'', published online 19 November 2013).

With a final budget of £81,412, ''[[Dracula (1958 film)|Dracula]]'' began principal photography on 11 November 1957.{{sfn|Kinsey|2005|page=96}} Peter Cushing again had top-billing, this time as [[Abraham Van Helsing|Doctor Van Helsing]], whilst Christopher Lee starred as [[Count Dracula]], with direction by Terence Fisher and a set design by [[Bernard Robinson (production designer)|Bernard Robinson]] that was radically different from the Universal adaptation; it was so radical, in fact, that Hammer executives considered paying him off and finding another designer.{{sfn|Kinsey|2005|page=99}}

''Dracula'' was an enormous success, breaking box-office records in the U.K., the U.S. (where it was released as ''Horror of Dracula''), Canada, and across the world. On 20 August 1958, the ''Daily Cinema'' reported:

<blockquote>"Because of the fantastic business done world-wide by Hammer's Technicolor version of ''Dracula'', Universal-International, its distributors, have made over to Jimmy Carreras' organisation, the remake rights to their entire library of classic films."</blockquote>

Establishing the fanged vampire in [[popular culture]], Lee also introduced a dark, brooding sexuality to the character.<ref>{{cite news |title=Why Christopher Lee's Dracula didn't suck |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/what-to-watch/christopher-lee-dracula-movies-hammer/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/what-to-watch/christopher-lee-dracula-movies-hammer/ |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=18 March 2019 |work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The academic [[Christopher Frayling]] writes, “''Dracula'' introduced fangs, red contact lenses, décolletage, ready-prepared wooden stakes and – in the celebrated credits sequence – blood being spattered from off-screen over the Count's coffin".<ref>{{cite news |title=Hallowe'en: Why Dracula just won't die |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3668913/Halloween-Why-Dracula-just-wont-die.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3668913/Halloween-Why-Dracula-just-wont-die.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |access-date=18 March 2019 |work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The film magazine ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' ranked Lee's portrayal as Dracula the 7th Greatest Horror Movie Character of All Time.<ref>[https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-horror-characters/ "The 100 best horror movie characters"]. ''Empire''. Retrieved 18 March 2019</ref> 1960 saw the release of the first in a long line of sequels, ''[[The Brides of Dracula]]'', with Cushing returning to the role of Van Helsing, though Lee did not play Dracula again until ''[[Dracula: Prince of Darkness]]'', released in 1966.

===''The Mummy''===
{{main|The Mummy (1959 film)}}
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With the agreement in place, Hammer's executives had their pick of Universal International's horror icons and chose to remake ''[[The Invisible Man (1933 film)|The Invisible Man]]'', ''[[Phantom of the Opera (1943 film)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'', and ''[[The Mummy's Hand]]''. All were to be filmed in colour at Bray Studios, by the same team responsible for ''The Curse of Frankenstein'' and ''Dracula''. ''[[The Mummy (1959 film)|The Mummy]]'' (the title used for the remake of ''The Mummy's Hand'', which also incorporated significant story elements from that film's first two sequels, ''[[The Mummy's Tomb]]'' and ''[[The Mummy's Ghost]]'') was made in 1959, ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (1962 film)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'' followed in 1962, and Hammer collaborated with [[William Castle]] on a remake of ''[[The Old Dark House (1963 film)|The Old Dark House]]'' in 1963. ''The Invisible Man'' was never produced.

Principal photography for ''The Mummy'' began on 23 February 1959 and lasted until 16 April 1959. Once again it starred both Peter Cushing (as John Banning) and Christopher Lee (as Kharis the Mummy), and was directed by Terence Fisher from a screenplay from Jimmy Sangster. ''The Mummy'' went into general release on 23 October 1959 and broke the box-office records set by ''Dracula'' the previous year, both in Great Britain and the U.S. when it was released there in December.{{sfn|Kinsey|2005|page=166}}