Hammer Films-The Bray Studio Years

by Kinsey

Hammer Films was one of the most successful independent production companies of the 1950s and 60s. The company's movies conquered box offices around the world, but the movies it produced during this era were all produced at the same modest facility near Windsor, in the English Home Counties. Acclaimed Hammer expert Wayne Kinsey has gained exclusive access to production files and censor reports, and conducted numerous interviews during many years of research. The result is a definitive and exhaustive history of Hammer's golden age, as seen through the eyes of the stars and technicians who actually made the films.

Genres: Film

356 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

Reviews

[Tim Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been trying to read whatever I could find about Hammer films with an emphasis on their gothic horrors. Having read this, Tom Johnson and Deborah del Vecchio’s Hammer Films: an Exhaustive Filmography as well as Jonathan Rigby’s English Gothic cover to cover, and dipped somewhat into Howard Maxford’s Hammer Complete, this one is the best in terms of simply getting a handle on the operations of the studio and being able to place the productions into a broader scope.

Kinsey does an excellent job of giving the proceedings a narrative that is engaging and easy to follow. It also seems like most of the best scholarship on the subject comes from Kinsey here, as a lot of Rigby’s remarks in English Gothic as well as his on-disc commentaries refer to this book and its follow-up (which I wish I could get my hands on!) though I have noticed at times there have been small disagreements with minor details put forth here in other commentaries and written theories, which may be due to new sources or just errors and misrememberings. Regardless, the scholarship here seems impeccable.

Another thing I love about this book is the light touch that Kinsey gives in terms of his criticisms. Many other writers such as Johnson/del Vecchio and Rigby offer blunt criticism of films that many Hammer fans adore, and it’s never very in-depth, (Rigby does provide some interesting thoughts at times and in a deftly-written style, but never in much detail, which I realize is partly to do with the format of the work—it’s a broad survey) consequently, many of the critiques amount to “this movie is dumb and it sucks.” In this book, however, Kinsey takes more of an approach of, “here’s what they were going for and here’s how the film succeeds on those terms, or how it missed the mark.” I found that refreshing.

Overall, if you’re interested in doing a deep dive on the subject, and horror film fans ought to be, because it’s a fascinating story, this is the best book of its kind that I’m aware of, and I have no reservations on rating it 5 stars.

[Steve Payne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Packed with info, this and it's companion 'Hammer Films: The Elstree Studios Years' are not just great reference books about the studio, but are also great reads. The details on the discussions with the British censor are particularly fascinating, which include quotes of the specific requests/demands.

I've always loved the atmosphere (strangely warm and chummy as you again meet familiar friends) and the usually technical excellence of the sets, cinematography, lighting, music etc on such meagre budgets. It all still excites.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the Hammer horror movies , and some of the non horror ones too . This is an excellent exhaustive book by Kinsey , if you are a fan then you need this book .