Hammer Films – The Elstree Studio Years

Wayne Kinsey

Tomahawk Press

Web: http://www.tomahawkpress.com

Hammer Studios has fascinated the fan of horror and cult films since their earliest days. It is amazing to consider that in 2008 there are still a large number of books, documentaries and articles written about Hammer and indeed so many of their films are still being remastered and released on DVD. While there have been lots of titles covering the history of Hammer films in general and certain genres of films in particular, this is quite a unique volume as it focuses in on a specific period in the history of the Hammer Studios, from 1967 to the present day, during which it moved to the Elstree Studios.

This period has been a difficult if not terrible one for Hammer. During this period Hammer literally plummeted from being one of the most celebrated and successful British film companies to becoming bankrupt. In this fascinating volume, Kinsey examines what went wrong with Hammer during this period.

Using extensive records, interviews and primary source materials, Kinsey looks at all aspects of Hammer’s operations during this period including its battle with the censors and problems with bringing its product to a new market. Indeed this last dilemma proved the biggest disaster for Hammer, as the market transformed, Hammer was unable to sustain the pace and continued to produce the product for which it had been celebrated, sadly however, the world had moved on and success was not forthcoming. Even with the embracing of sex, nudity and increased gore in the Seventies Hammer seemed unable to grasp the demands of the changing market and did not appreciate the new forms of horror which were developing around it.

Hammer Films – The Elstree Studio Years is a superbly produced volume which is meticulously researched. The sheer volume of information of information in this book is astounding and the level of detail incredible - every possible reference, piece of trivia, reflection and memory the author can find is recorded ! While it is a solid tome and one which will take some time to work through, it is certainly worth the effort. It also includes over 700 rare photographs, images and documents and hence is also a superb book to just sit and look through.

Kinsey has done an admirable job documenting this period of Hammer’s history and this volume includes material which will not be found anywhere else.

It is a unique book, nicely produced, profusely illustrated and extensively researched.

For any Hammer film fan (and indeed for anyone with an interest in cinema history) it is a “must have” book !