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Welcome to the Hammer Factory. This month we dissect The Reptile (1966).

While Hammer Studios has been in business since 1934, it was between 1955 and 1979 that it towered as one of the premier sources of edgy, gothic horror. On top of ushering the famous monsters of Universal’s horror heyday back into the public eye, resurrecting the likes of Frankenstein, Dracula and the Mummy in vivid color, the studio invited performers like Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt and so many more to step into the genre limelight. Spanning a library housing over 300 films, Hammer Studios is a key part of horror history that until recently has been far too difficult to track down.

In late 2018, Shout Factory’s Scream Factory line began to focus on bringing Hammer’s titles to disc in the US, finally making many of the studio’s underseen gems available in packages that offered great visuals as well as insightful accompanying features.

Oscar certainly loves mothers. All five of this year’s Best Actress nominees — Jessica Chastain (“The Eyes of Tammy Faye”), Olivia Colman (“The Lost Daughter”), Penelope Cruz (“Parallel Mothers”), Nicole Kidman (“Being the Ricardos”) and Kirsten Stewart (“Spencer”) — play mothers. Ditto four out of five supporting nominees: Jessie Buckley (“The Lost Daughter”), Judi Dench (“Belfast”), Kirsten Dunst (“The Power of the Dog”) and Aunjanue Ellis (“King Richard”); the fifth contender is Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”).

Actresses love getting maternal sinking their teeth-and sometimes claws-into mother roles whether they be good, bad, ugly or downright evil. Here’s a look at some early memorable mother performances that made Oscars history.

The mother of all mothers was Ruth Chatterton. Though she is not as well-remembered as other actresses from the Golden Age of Hollywood, she was extremely popular in the late 1920s and early ‘30s. Though no nominations were officially announced for the second annual Oscars,...

7 random things that happened on this day, December 30th, in history 

Veidt, Lee, and Rickman as "Rasputin" in various projects

1916 Russian mystic Raputin, who had great influence with the Romanov family, is assassinated in his sleep. He's been portrayed dozens of times onscreen. Some famous actors who have played him include Conradt Veidt, Lionel Barrymore (Rasputin and the Empress), Christopher Lee (Rasputin the Mad Monk), Alan Rickman, and the voice of Christopher Lloyd (Anastasia). The next actors to play him will be Rhys Ifans, and maybe Leonardo DiCaprio in a biopic though Leo doesn't even make a fifth of the projects he's attached to. He's currently attached to 45 titles (!!!) according to IMDb Pro... though most are only "optioned" or in some unknown stage of development.

Miley Cyrus, Daniel Sunjata, Kiss Me Kate, Way of the Dragon, "My Way" and more after the jump...

Starting out in 1939 as the little studio that could, Hammer would finally make their reputation in the late fifties reimagining Universal’s black and white horrors as eye-popping Technicolor gothics – their pictorial beauty, thanks to cameramen like Jack Asher and Arthur Ibbetson, was fundamental to the studio’s legacy. So it’s been more than a little frustrating to see such disrespect visited upon these films by home video companies happy to smother the market with grainy prints, incoherent cropping and under-saturated colors. The House of Hammer and the film community in general deserve far better than that.

Thanks to Indicator, the home video arm of Powerhouse films based in the UK, those wrongs are beginning to be righted, starting with their impressive new release of Hammer shockers, Fear Warning! Even better news for stateside fans; the set is region-free, ready to be relished the world over.

Hammer Vol. 1 – Fear Warning!

The delightful British comedy The Smallest Show on Earth headlines a great Saturday matinee offering from the UCLA Film and Television Archive on June 25 as their excellent series “Marquee Movies: Movies on Moviegoing” wraps up. So it seemed like a perfect time to resurrect my review of the movie, which celebrates the collective experience of seeing cinema in a darkened, and in this case dilapidated old auditorium, alongside my appreciation of my own hometown movie house, the Alger, which opened in 1940 and closed last year, one more victim of economics and the move toward digital distribution and exhibition.

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“You mean to tell me my uncle actually charged people to go in there? And people actually paid?” –Matt Spenser (Bill Travers) upon first seeing the condition of the Bijou Kinema, in The Smallest Show on Earth

In Basil Dearden’s charming and wistful 1957 British comedy The Smallest Show on Earth (also...

Over at my other haunt, Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule, there is currently posted, in honor of Halloween week, what I think are two very special treats (and possibly tricks). The first is a very challenging frame grab quiz in which readers are asked to guess the titles of 31 movies based on eerie images that may or may not be so easy to identify. The other is a special edition of the traditional interview-type quiz I occasionally come up devoted entirely to the harrowing world of horror. It features the usual batch of questions for which there are no wrong answers, only your answers, which makes it much more fun to fill out and especially to read. As usual, it’s taking me a while to get around to submitting my own answers to the quiz, but in the creeping shadow of the approaching holiday I thought I...

The day monster kids have dreaded for some time has arrived. Mournful, nostalgic, and melancholy – it’s the end of an era for more than one generation of horror fans. It seemed like Christopher Lee would live through all eternity, but unlike some of the characters he played, there’s no bringing him back to life this time. He made it to 93 and went out on a high note, appearing in the final Hobbit film just this past winter. He had an amazing career of fantastic performances and remains the greatest villain actor in film history. Rip to the last classic horror star and thank you for all the monster memories.

Christopher Lee was married to his wife Birgit (Gitte) for 54 years.

Here, according to Movie Geeks Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and myself, are Christopher Lee’s ten best roles.

10. Frankenstein

It’s only fitting that The Curse Of Frankenstein,...

To mark the release of The Witches on October 21st we’ve been given three copies to give away on Blu-ray.

Following the releases of the fully restored Hammer classics, The Devil Rides Out, The Mummy’S Shroud and Rasputin The Mad Monk last year, Studiocanal are delighted to announce the release of The Witches fully restored just in time for Halloween! This new restoration will have 2 screenings at the 57th BFI London Film Festival on October 11th and 16th, and will be out on DVD/Blu-ray Double play on October 21st.

Originally released in 1966, The Witches is an unforgettably chilling pastoral horror from legendary British production company Hammer. Adapted for the screen by Nigel Kneale (The Quatermass Experiment) it also stars Joan Fontaine (Rebecca, Suspicion) in her last major film role.

Gwen Mayfield, an English schoolteacher working as a missionary in Africa, suddenly finds herself being victimised by a tribe of local witch doctors.

Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman

The film career of legendary English actor Sir Christopher Lee began in 1948 and continues to the present day. Lee is best known for his roles in horror films, especially the string of seven Dracula movies he starred in for Hammer Studios between 1958 and 1974, but be may be best known to younger audiences for his roles in the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films. Almost all of the roles that Lee has played have been villains and here, according to We Are Movie Geeks, are his ten best.

10. Frankenstein

It’s only fitting that The Curse Of Frankenstein, the film that truly began England’s Hammer Studios’ theatrical run of full color gothic horror epics, should team (well, they’re both in the 1948 Hamlet, but have no scenes together) their greatest stars, Peter Cushing as Baron Victor Frankenstein...

Five of the best film appearances from everybody's favourite outmoded audio format

Cassettes represent a very specific window in history, having only been of widespread popularity for about 25 years, from the 70s to late 90s. They are wrapped up in nostalgia. Film depictions of cassette tapes and their decks have been surprisingly diverse. Here's a few of the most memorable highlights – can you think of any more?

Wayne's World

Wayne, Garth and co. singing along to Bohemian Rhapsody in the car to open the legendary 90s slacker bromance. No explanation needed.

Reading on mobile? Watch the clip on YouTube

High Fidelity

It wasn't easy to pick just one clip from this film (the Walking on Sunshine 'Monday tape' scene was a close second), but ultimately the record store owner Rob (John Cusack)'s summary of the very important and complex art of compiling a mix tapes made the cut.

Reading on mobile?...

From the abolition of slavery to the 'war on terror', this year's Academy Awards are dominated by heavyweight political films

Follow our live coverage of the Oscars 2013 red carpet

Early in 1927, Louis B Mayer, the head of MGM studios and soon to be the highest-paid executive in the world, met a handful of fellow conservative thinkers to create an elite Hollywood organisation with the grandiose title of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The aim was to deter the development of unions, or at least to control and arbitrate their operations. The academy, and the awards set up the following year as an expression of the good taste of its members (of whom there are now 6,000), began in politics and continue to be influenced by it.

Twenty years later, MGM went for three years without winning an Oscar and Mayer was fired by the company's ultimate boss in...

Last year the Hammer horror name made a welcome return with The Woman In Black and now there are three new Blu-ray releases of Hammer classics, The Devil Rides Out, The Mummy’s Shroud and Rasputin The Mad Monk.

Back in my teenage years, when there were only four channels of TV to watch in the UK, these were the kind of films that would turn up on BBC2 or Channel4 late on a Saturday evening at what was colloquially known as pub-chucking-out-time so I’ve sat through many of them before though my original recollections of them, while fond, may be understandably hazy.

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Rasputin the Mad Monk (1966) is Hammer’s take on the life of Rasputin with Christopher Lee as the wild-eyed monk of the title. The quality of the Blu-ray conversion is fabulous and I’d have to guess that this is the closest experience you’ll get...

It’s Monday, so we all know what that means! Yes, it’s time for another rundown of DVDs and Blu-ray’s hitting stores online and offline this week. It’s a jam-packed week, with plenty of movies waiting to take you money, so let us breakdown the new releases and highlight what you should – and shouldn’t – be buying from today, October 22nd 2012.

Pick(S) Of The Week

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (Blu-ray/DVD)

From visionary filmmakers Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) comes this visceral, satisfying thriller based on Seth Grahame-Smith’s best seller. Benjamin Walker turns in a killer performance as Abraham Lincoln, who must risk the presidency, his family and his life to protect America from bloodthirsty vampires. Led by the diabolical Adam (Rufus Sewell), the vicious creatures plot to create a nation of their own–the U.S. Thrust into an epic fight against the hideous undead killers,...

Following on from their recent releases of the fully restored and re-mastered Hammer classics, The Reptile and The Plague of the Zombies last June, StudioCanal have released the next three iconic Hammer titles in their new restored and re-mastered collection: The Devil Rides Out, The Mummy’s Shroud and Rasputin The Mad Monk. Not only are the films restored, but they are also accompanied by a host of specially created new extras, produced in collaboration with Hammer expert and author Marcus Hearn (author of The Hammer Vault), including brand new making of featurettes and interviews with original cast members.

The Devil Rides Out

Stars: Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi | Written by Richard Matheson, Dennis Wheatley | Directed by Terence Fisher

Starring Christopher Lee in one of his personal favourite roles and based on the celebrated novel by Dennis Weatley, The Devil Rides Out sees the debonair Duc de Richleau trusted...

Hammer Blu-rays The Devil Rides Out (1968, dir. Terence Fisher)

Hammer applies its trademark Gothic veneer with considerably greater care than usual in this, the second and best of the company's three stabs at the satanic stylings of author Dennis Wheatley. Christopher Lee comes over to the light for a rare foray as central hero the Duc de Richleau, teaming up with friend Rex van Rijn (Leon Greene) to prevent the evil Satanist Mocata (Charles Gray) from enmeshing the son of his old friend (Patrick Mower) into a devil-worshipping cult.

The Devil Rides Out is perhaps best remembered for what Lee argues in his commentary to be Hammer's most enduring image, that of our heroes fighting a series of spectral and psychological nemeses from within the protective confines of a ritual circle. And yet the most chilling scene contains no special effects, but is instead a simple conversation between the wife...

Following on from the recent releases of the fully restored and re-mastered Hammer classics, The Reptile and The Plague Of Zombies last June, Studio Canal are delighted to announce the releases of the next three iconic Hammer titles in our new restoration series: The Devil Rides Out, The Mummy’S Shroud and Rasputin The Mad Monk – out to own individually on Double Play (DVD & Blu Ray) from 22nd October.

In celebration, the restored releases are accompanied by a host of specially created new extras, produced in collaboration with Hammer expert and author Marcus Hearn (author of “The Hammer Vault”), including brand new making of featurettes and interviews with original cast members.

To celebrate these releases, What Culture has three copies of each Blu-ray to give away to our readers.

The Devil Rides Out (Released 22nd October)

The debonair Duc de Richleau has been trusted with the care of his deceased friend’s son,...

Welcome horror fans to the UK debut of the August edition of Horror Bites, the Horror Channel’s monthly guide to some of the highlights coming your way in August… Yes, you did read that right folks, our good friends at the Horror Channel have let us have the exclusive UK debut of their monthly show Horror Bites.

Hosted by Emily Booth, you’ll see Horror Bites right here on Blogomatic3000 before anywhere else!

Given that August is the month all horror fans love – at least in the UK – given that it’s the month that London’s Frightfest takes place, this month on the Horror Channal sees a special Season of Director’s Night specials with introductions by the four FrightFest supremos as the team behind FrighFest pick 6 of their favourites from the festival’s past 13 years and tell you why you should be watching them. Featuring Martyrs, Bad Biology,...

It’s here! Yes, the announcement I’ve been waiting all year for is finally here – the line-up of this years London FIlm4 FrightFest. Check it out:

Film4 FrightFest the 13th is delighted to unveil its most ambitious line-up in history. From the sensational Sinister starring Ethan Hawke, the Sam Raimi produced The Possession and Jennifer Chambers Lynch’s jaw-dropping Chained, to the Maniac remake, the surgical underground of American Mary and the V/H/S anthology everyone is talking about, this year’s event is definitely something to scream about.

From Thurs 23 August to Monday 27 August the UK’s leading event for horror fantasy fans will be back at the Empire Cinema in London’s Leicester Square to present 48 films in three screens. Empire 1 will house the main event while the Discovery and the newly-created Re-Discovery strand will play in Empires 4 & 5. There are eleven countries represented, with a record-beating...

Scour your basements! Crawl through your attics! Hammer Films has put out the call for assistance in locating some excised footage they would love to include in their upcoming DVD releases of numerous classic titles. They are in the midst of a restoration project that spans the globe in helping hands, and now they need yours. If you have access to rare film stock.

The iconic British studio posted the following on their site this week:

“We’ll post at length next week but here’s a list of “lost” scenes that we’d love to restore if we are able to source materials. Anyone who knows the whereabouts of such, please email us.

1. An extended “knife in neck/snake bite” scene from The Reptile (this is thought to exist, but no known evidence).

2. The “eyeball” scene from The Curse Of Frankenstein (this footage definitely exists somewhere).

3. The “head in...

Hammer is in the process of restoring many of their classic films. On top of the usual digital restoration and work on bonus features, they are also on the hunt for rare and missing scenes to restore into the original films:

“We’ll post at length next week… but here’s a list of “lost” scenes that we’d love to restore if we are able to source materials. Anyone who knows the whereabouts of such, please email us.

1. An extended “knife in neck/snake bite” scene from The Reptile (this is thought to exist, but no known evidence).

2. The “eyeball” scene from The Curse Of Frankenstein (this footage definitely exists somewhere).

3. The “head in acid bath” scene from The Curse Of Frankenstein (this scene may not have been filmed, though stills exist).

4. The “under-dressed maidens” in the flashback procession from The Mummy (this scene may not have been filmed,...

Studiocanal are pleased to announce the fully restored HD release of iconic Hammer classic, Dracula Prince Of Darkness. The first in an ongoing collaboration with Hammer to restore and re-release some of the most celebrated titles from their extensive library, Dracula Prince Of Darkness will be released on double play March 7th. We have three copies to gives away!

Over the course of 2012 the project will see subsequent remastered HD releases of The Reptile and The Plague Of Zombies in May, and The Devil Rides Out, Rasputin The Mad Monk and The Mummy’S Shroud later in the year in a continuation of Studiocanal’s commitment to investing and restoring the best of British Cinema. Preceding the Home Entertainment release fans will be delighted to know the restored version of Dracula Prince Of Darkness will screen alongside The Reptile And The Plague Of Zombies at a special Frightfest Extra event...

On the eve of Woman In Black’s appearance in U.S. theaters, Hammer has provided a thorough update on the restoration process happening with a number of their catalog titles, an exciting project we first reported several weeks ago. I spoke with Hammer CEO Simon Oakes this morning and got the scoop on all thing past, present, and future with the historic brand, and you will love reading all about it in the next issue of Famous Monsters. Sneak peek: there are more titles in the restoration queue than what they have listed below, and yes, there will be “re-boots” of some of their biggest titles.

For now, here is the latest on the restoration, courtesy Hammer:

“This post will deal with UK vs. Us main/end titles, update you all on the “lost” Dracula footage restoration and talk about the seemingly contentious topic of Digital Vision Noise Reducer...

Last week, Hammer announced that they will be restoring a number of their classic horror films for release on Blu-ray. The first film on their slate is Dracula: Prince of Darkness, which will be available in the UK on March 5th. Not only do we have a list of bonus features and cover art, but images from the newly restored film.

Studio Canal will be handling the title releases in the UK and Dracula: Prince of Darkness is already available for pre-order. While Us release plans have not been revealed, we can’t imagine these films not hitting the states in the near future. Hammer has already announced that they are discussing restorations with their Us studio partners. Here is some more information on the restoration from the previous press release:

“In a landmark collaboration, Hammer today announced that Studiocanal, Anolis Entertainment (Germany), Pinewood, illuminate Hollywood fka Htv and others...

Hammer Films, who re-defined horror films in the 1950's and early 1960's, confirm they have teamed up with international distribution and production partners to restore its classic library, for release on Blu-ray and other 'future media formats'.

The first title to be restored is the 1966 feature, "Dracula Prince of Darkness", starring Christopher Lee, to be released in conjunction with Studiocanal, March 2012.

Other titles to be restored and released this year include, "The Reptile", "The Plague of The Zombies", "The Devil Rides Out', "Rasputin the Mad Monk" and "The Mummy’s Shroud".

Hammer said it will also be releasing 'definitive versions' of "The Curse of Frankenstein" and "Horror of Dracula".

"Our decision to restore some of Hammer’s most famous titles not only allows existing fans to experience the films again in high definition, but also encourages a new global audience to discover Hammer for the first time", said Hammer CEO Simon Oakes.

Legendary British horror film studio Hammer will collaborate with such distributors as StudioCanal, Germany’s Anolis Entertainment, Pinewood and illuminate Hollywood fka Htv to perform a major restoration of the studio’s iconic movie studio. The partnership will reformat 30 films into HD for Blu-ray and new media exploitation. ‘Dracula Prince of Darkness’ is the first movie that is scheduled to be released as part of the global restoration project. It will be released in the UK in March 2012, in conjunction with StudioCanal. Other films scheduled to be restored by Hammer include ‘The Reptile,’ ‘The Plague of The Zombies,’ ‘The Devil Rides Out,’ ‘Rasputin the Mad Monk’ and ‘The Mummy’s Shroud.’...

Released on DVD for the first time ever this week, The Scarlet Blade and The Brigand of Kandahar come from director John Gilling and the famous Hammer Film Productions and both star the legendary Oliver Reed. And we have a copy of each to give away to you, our readers, courtesy of StudioCanal.

The Scarlet Blade is a historical adventure set during the English Civil War. Oliver Reed is in devilish form as a Roundhead soldier who kidnaps the King on the orders of his tyrannical Colonel (Lionel Jeffries). It’s down to a local group of loyal soldiers to rescue him, led by Royalist cavalier, known as The Scarlet Blade.

In The Brigand Of Kandahar, Oliver Reed continues his villainous streak in another Hammer historical adventure. The setting is the Indian desert, where the British army faces scorching temperatures and savage warrior, Reed playing Eli Khan, leader of some...

Hammer’s restoration project is great news!

The other day, the newly resurrected Hammer Films announced news to make our heart sing: in association with some key partners, they would be launching a significant restoration of many of the studios classic titles. Or, as the boring press release stuff says:

In a landmark collaboration, Hammer today announced that Studiocanal, Anolis Entertainment (Germany), Pinewood, illuminate Hollywood fka Htv and others are coming together to undertake a major restoration of the iconic Hammer film library. The project will bring over 30 movies into HD format for Blu-ray and new media exploitation in the 21st Century. This represents substantial investment by Hammer and its key partner Studiocanal, and is testimony to the extraordinary regard with which the Hammer legacy is held internationally, with some materials for the project being provided by Hammer’s original Us production partners Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures.

A number of studios are taking the effort to restore their classic films this year. We recently reported that Universal would be restoring Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Bride of Frankenstein. Today, Hammer Films announced that they will restore more than 30 of their classic films and release them on Blu-ray. The first newly restored film to be released is Dracula Prince of Darkness:

“19 January 2012: In a landmark collaboration, Hammer today announced that Studiocanal, Anolis Entertainment (Germany), Pinewood, illuminate Hollywood fka Htv and others are coming together to undertake a major restoration of the iconic Hammer film library. The project will bring over 30 movies into HD format for Blu-ray and new media exploitation in the 21st Century. This represents substantial investment by Hammer and its key partner Studiocanal, and is testimony to the extraordinary regard with which the Hammer legacy is held internationally, with some materials for the project being...

© Hammer

In a landmark collaboration, Hammer today announced that Studiocanal, Anolis Entertainment (Germany), Pinewood, illuminate Hollywood fka Htv and others are coming together to undertake a major restoration of the iconic Hammer film library. The project will bring over 30 movies into HD format for Blu-ray and new media exploitation in the 21st Century. This represents substantial investment by Hammer and its key partner Studiocanal, and is testimony to the extraordinary regard with which the Hammer legacy is held internationally, with some materials for the project being provided by Hammer’s original Us production partners Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures.

Dracula Prince of Darkness is the first title scheduled for release in the global restoration project and will be released in the UK in conjunction with Studiocanal in March 2012. The partnership continues throughout the spring for the releases of The Reptile and The Plague of The Zombies, and...

There's no doubt about it ... when it comes to horror, few studios are as synonymous with the genre as Hammer. The long and rich history they have with some of the world's greatest monsters and movies is nothing short of legendary, and they're looking to take steps to preserve these gems for many generations to come!

From the Press Release

In a landmark collaboration, Hammer today announced that Studiocanal, Anolis Entertainment (Germany), Pinewood, illuminate Hollywood fka Htv, and others are coming together to undertake a major restoration of the iconic Hammer film library. The project will bring over 30 movies into HD format for Blu-ray and new media exploitation in the 21st Century. This represents substantial investment by Hammer and its key partner, Studiocanal, and is testimony to the extraordinary regard with which the Hammer legacy is held internationally, with some materials for the project being provided by Hammer’s original...

Hammer's classic horror titles are to be restored in high definition for DVD and Blu-ray release in the UK. Dracula Prince of Darkness will be the first movie to be reissued in the HD format, available in the territory in March through StudioCanal. The Reptile, The Plague of The Zombies, The Devil Rides Out, Rasputin the Mad Monk and The Mummy's Shroud will follow later this year. Hammer will also reissue its iconic films The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy in the new format, complete with newly-filmed extras, including interviews with cast members. StudioCanal, a key Hammer backer, has teamed up with Anolis Entertainment, Pinewood Studios and Htv for the initiative. (more)...

A unified push to get the Hammer Films library restored is currently underway with over 30 titles making their way to HD, thanks to Studiocanal and the various U.S. studios that own the rights to the movies made by the UK's house of horror. Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures are all involved in this endeavor.

Dracula Prince of Darkness is the first title scheduled for release in the global restoration project and will be released in the UK in conjunction with Studiocanal in March 2012.

The partnership continues throughout the spring for the releases of The Reptile and The Plague of the Zombies, and will also include The Devil Rides Out, Rasputin the Mad Monk and The Mummy’s Shroud during the course of the year.

Read more...

Hammer have today announced that Studiocanal, Anolis Entertainment (Germany), Pinewood, illuminate Hollywood fka Htv and others are coming together to undertake a major restoration of the iconic Hammer film library. The project will bring over 30 movies into HD format for Blu-ray and new media exploitation. Dracula Prince of Darkness is the first title scheduled for release in the global restoration project and will be released in the UK in conjunction with Studiocanal in March 2012. The partnership continues throughout the spring for the releases of The Reptile and The Plague of The Zombies, and will also include The Devil Rides Out, Rasputin the Mad Monk and The Mummy’s Shroud during the course of the year.

From the press release:

This [collaboration] represents substantial investment by Hammer and its key partner Studiocanal, and is testimony to the extraordinary regard with which the Hammer legacy is held internationally, with some materials for the...

He was born in Australia, but worked mostly in England. Don Sharp directed several Hammer Horror films including Kiss Of The Vampire, one of the best and most unusual. Sharp directed Christopher Lee in six films including Rasputin The Mad Monk and two .60s Fu Manchu movies. His bizarre biker/zombie hybrid Psychomania was way ahead of its time and with Curse Of The Fly he showed himself to be a master of making the best with low-budget conditions of work, hiding his monsters in the shadows and employing atmosphere and music to create effective horror. Sharp also worked on British television, directing several episodes from The Avengers. Don Sharp died Sunday December 18th at age 89.

From the tribute by Hammer historian Marcus Hearn at the official Hammer website:

Don Sharp had never seen a horror film before producer Anthony Hinds screened a selection for him at Hammer House in...

"In 1962," begins Ronald Bergan in the Guardian, "Don Sharp was a minor ex-actor, hack writer and jobbing director of British B-films, when he was offered the chance to make a gothic horror movie for Hammer, 'the studio that dripped blood.' In the event, The Kiss of the Vampire (1963) rescued both Sharp, who has died aged 89, and Hammer from the doldrums. The studio, which had suffered several expensive flops, turned to Sharp due to his experience in low-budget filmmaking. Sharp, who claimed to have never watched a horror movie, let alone directed one, quickly steeped himself in the Hammer style by spending a week or so watching past successes, principally those directed by Terence Fisher and Freddie Francis. The Kiss of the Vampire, made with a smaller budget and an unstarry cast, recruited mostly from television, scored at the box office, and Sharp became associated with horror movies thereafter."

The Kiss of the Vampire...

The director Don Sharp, whose long career included a string of Hammer classics, has died aged 89.Born in Tasmania, Sharp headed for England after the Second World War, embarking on a film and television career that spanned four decades. He started out with acting roles in the likes of The Cruel Sea and the famous BBC radio sci-fi series Journey Into Space, but soon turned to writing and directing.Following some domestic dramas, crime thrillers and teen rock'n'roll movies in the fifties, he scored his first job with Hammer on 1963's Kiss Of The Vampire, the studio's second attempt at a Dracula follow-up without Christopher Lee (or indeed Dracula). He did however get to work with Lee on the subsequent The Devil Ship Pirates and Rasputin The Mad Monk, and away from Hammer, the pair also collaborated on the first two films in the Fu Manchu series, before the reins slipped to Jesus Franco.

Part of a series by David Cairns on forgotten pre-Code films.

Alice Brady said of her face: "It skids, that's the trouble with it. It needs chains. Just when I'm trying to be serious on the screen the thing skids, and I'm doing a tragic scene with a comic face. Look at it. I've often seen those little blonde babes around here giving me the once over. I'm sure they wonder how a face like that fits into pictures."

Stage Mother (1933) offers Brady, best remembered perhaps as the ditzy mom in My Man Godfrey (with Mischa Auer as her louche live-in lover), one of her rare dramatic roles, and she manages to keep her wonky face on the road throughout. With her unlikely, low voice, wide smile and indescribable cackle, Brady has a repertoire of grotesque traits to dazzle the viewer, but she also has an innate sympathy which she...

Voluptuous vampire vixens, high society diabolists, meandering mouldy mummies, rapacious reptiles, and zillions of zombies… Sound like fun? Well the new Hammer Horror Halloween season on Horror channel will be most definitely for you then! Showing on the channel from October 1st to October 31st, the Hammer season is introduced by author, broadcaster and critic Kim Newman.

The line-up includes:

Sat Oct 1st | 23:10 | Scars of Dracula (1970)

Christopher Lee’s fifth Dracula picture and was directed by Roy Ward Baker who was determined to do it in as gory a style as possible. The film’s greatest innovation, however, was to present a surprisingly verbose Count as Lee had been given very little dialogue in the previous Dracula movies, Bereft of an American pre-sale, Scars of Dracula and its support feature, The Horror of Frankenstein, were both produced on relatively low budgets

Sat Oct 8 | 23:10 |

Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) One of...

Believe it or not, there’s much more to Ethel Barrymore than the fact that she was Drew Barrymore‘s great-aunt. In fact, Ethel Barrymore was the grand-dame of the Broadway stage in the early 20th century. She was the daughter of stage actor Maurice Barrymore, and the sister of John Barrymore and Lionel Barrymore, with whom she shared the screen in the 1932 MGM melodrama Rasputin and the Empress. According to author and critic Harold Clurman, Barrymore possessed a natural, effortless "regal" demeanor. He then elaborated: "It is a spiritual rather than a social quality. Very few kings and queens have possessed it." Enhancing her regal bearing — I can’t think of a single king or queen who possesses one — was a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for the 1944 drama None But the Lonely Heart. Better yet, Barrymore could be a truly effective screen presence, making great use of her wide-open,...

I first thought of featuring this film in the Foreign Region Report a couple months back, when my friends Fahran Nehme Smith, largely known as The Self-Styled Siren, and Lou Lumenick, a film critic for The New York Post, announced that they would be co-programming a January 2010 series on TCM entitled "Shadows of Russia." The series is devoted to well-known and not-so-well-known pictures, made in Hollywood, about Russia. In many eras. There’s von Sternberg’s The Scarlet Empress, about Catherine the Great, on the one hand, and the multi-Barrymore-starring Rasputin and the Empress, on the other. And then there’s 1943’s Mission to Moscow, starring Walter Huston, which will play on TCM on January 20th but will be screened at Bam’s Rose Cinema this very evening, January 12, at 7 p.m., followed by a panel discussion featuring Lou, The Siren, myself, and film historian Ed Hulse. Come around, if you are around.

Angela Lansbury, Laurence Harvey in The Manchurian Candidate Below is the complete "Shadows of Russia" schedule on Turner Classic Movies: Wednesday, Jan. 6 Part One: Twilight of the Tsars 8 p.m. The Scarlet Empress (1934) – starring Marlene Dietrich and John Lodge. 10 p.m. Rasputin and the Empress (1932) – starring John, Ethel and Lionel Barrymore. Part Two: Red Romance 12:15 a.m. Red Danube (1949) – starring Walter Pidgeon and Ethel Barrymore. 2:30 a.m. Reds (1981) – starring Warren Beatty, Diane [...]...