Although he directed 29 films for Hammer, including all their biggest and most iconic hits, he did not have a harmonious relationship with the company, least of all with the big boss, James Carreras. After the box-office failure of "The Phantom Of The Opera" (1962), a rather grander Hammer production than usual, he was dropped by the company and spent some time making B-movies for smaller firms before his return with "The Gorgon" in 1964. Fisher was struggling with alcoholism in his later years. He only directed his last film, "Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell", because its star, Peter Cushing, insisted on him. His funeral in 1980 was attended by only a handful of his former Hammer colleagues.