Hammer Film Productions

Hammer Film Productions is a film production company based in the UK founded in 1939 by William Hinds, the company is best known for a series of Gothic “Hammer Horror” films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Hammer also produced: science fiction, thrillers, film noir, comedies and also television series.

During its most successful years, Hammer dominated the horror film market; they enjoyed worldwide distribution and financial success. This is due to the distribution partnership with major US studios, such as Warner Bros.

However, a slump in the British film industry forced Hammer into bankruptcy, but had survived and on the 20^th July 1937 purchased the leasehold on 113-117 Wardour Street and continued to distribute films made by other companies.

In 1938 James Carreras and Anthony Hinds (company directors) resurrected Hammer as the film production arm with a view of supplying ‘quota-quickies’ – cheaply made domestic films designed to fill gaps in cinema schedules and support more expensive features. They had revived ‘Hammer Film Production’ and set to work on Death in High Heels, The Dark Room and Crime Reporter.

During 1951, Hammer signed a 4-year production and distribution contract with Robert Lippert, an American film producer. They had effectively exchanged products for distribution on either side on the Atlantic starting with – The Last Page and ending with Women Without Men.

Films by Hammer Film Productions

The Curse of Frankenstein

The film was an enormous success, not only in Britain, but also in the USA, where it inspired many imitations. Hammer had turned their most successful horror film into series of 6 sequels to The Curse of Frankenstein (1959-1974):

-The Revenge of Frankenstein (1959)

-The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)

-Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)

-Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969)

-The Horror of Frankenstein (1970)

-Frankenstein and the Monster form Hell (1974)

Dracula (1958)

The huge box office success of The Curse of Frankenstein led to Hammer attempting on another horror icon. Financing for Dracula was proved to be awkward as no one was interested, it had eventually came from the National Film Finance Council (£32.000) and the rest from Universal in return for worldwide distribution rights.

Dracula was an enormous success, breaking box-office records in the UK, the United States, and Canada and across the world.

Hammer also produced 8 other Dracula films (1960-1974):

-The Brides of Dracula (1960)

-Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966)

-Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968)

-Scars of Dracula (1970)

-Dracula AD (1972)

-The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)

-The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)

Although Hammer films have been on hibernation for a while in 2009 it was announced that Hammer Films and Alliance Films are producing a film adaptation on The Woman in Black scheduled for a 2012 release, staring Daniel Radcliffe.