50 Years of Hammer Horror

by John L. Flynn

50 Years of Hammer Horror by John L. Flynn, Ph.D. is the follow-up book to his popular 75 Years of Universal Monsters. Hammer Film Productions was the most successful independent film company in the world. Between 1935 and 1983, the company produced more than 250 motion pictures and television shows, and their signature productions headlined theater marquees all around the globe. Those productions included thrillers, comedies, historical dramas, and science fiction. The company was best known for its series of gothic horror films, now termed Hammer Horror, that were produced from the late Fifties to the middle Seventies. During those nineteen years, from 1957 to 1976, Hammer Films reigned supreme as the world's premier producer of horror movies, enjoying worldwide financial success and creative freedom. Chief among its box office successes were new incarnations of Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy, the Werewolf, the Phantom of the Opera, and many others. In fact, Hammer emerged as the successor to Universal Pictures' horror film legacy. Virtually, every creature-feature Universal had filmed in black-and-white monochrome, Hammer remade in glorious Eastman Technicolor. This book is a celebration of the small independent studio that changed the look of horror films forever.

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Dr. John L. Flynn is a retired academic who has spent the last thirty-two years of his life as a dean and college professor in higher education. He is also an author, screenwriter, and three-time Hugo nominee. He is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America and the Mystery Writers of America, and he has written 19 books. His 2014 romance novel, Intimate Bondage, has spawned a series of erotic thrillers, featuring a female homicide detective in San Francisco. With fellow film critic Bob Blackwood, Flynn also penned the humorous and always amusing Everything I Know about Life I Learned from James Bond in 2015. Between 2002 and 2004, John was nominated for three Hugo awards; the Hugo award is given for excellence in the field of science fiction writing. His published doctoral dissertation, The Etiology of Sexual Addiction: Childhood Trauma as a Primary Determinant, has broken new ground in the diagnosis and treatment of sexual addiction.

Reviews

[Ursula Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Amazing Run of Films

A wonderful review of the legendary studio and its many films. I was fond of the older Dracula and Frankenstein films featuring the superb Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Lots of great facts along with synopsis of the films and various series. A must for any fan of classical horror, the actors and the studio.

[Ruth Shulman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview

Hammer pictures were well known in the day for decent Dracula pics and other horror output. This book covers some of their prodigious output fairly well. Recommended as a quick overview before you watch the actual films.

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hammer Film Productions covers the years from 1935 to 1983. Hammer turned out around 250 motion pictures and television shows which is really a lot. They also presented some famous actors such as Peter Cushhing and Christopher Lee who both appeared in many films.

It's also noted how whole series of films were turned out about a particular monster such as Frankenstein and Dracula. There's also the Wolf Man.

For each movie they provide the title, the year, the length, the cast, what happens and some comments.

On the negative side, though, the book needed editing in a couple of areas where it becomes word salad. Fortunately that's just in a couple of areas and not very long either time but still it should have been fixed before printing.

One of the films covered is Phantom of the Opera. They also cover some vampire films.

There five appendix sections including a list of all of the Hammer films, whose been in the films and several other topics.

[Lorna Smart · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was pretty good but didn't go as deep as I would have liked. It is worth a read as it is well written.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well informed. Lots of information about films with some excellent history

[Nik Havert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an average film guide to Hammer Studios' horror, sci-fi, and thriller movies. There isn't much here in terms of amazing revelations or secrets about the films, actors, or crew. My copy also had several typos and basic grammar errors that should've been picked up by the editor. The best part of the book for me was the guide to the 13-episode "Hammer House of Horror" TV show that only lasted one season.