I often tell my friends that true classic horror films died when Hammer Films made their last film in the late 1970s. Sure, there was a television series in the eighties, but the company ceased to produce films after it’s failed attempt to remake Hitchcock’s 1938 thriller The Lady Vanishes, which all but bankrupted and ended the great Hammer Films.
In the late 1990s, I began to discover some of Hammer’s greatest horror films. I saw many of them on cable television and on DVD. It was in my late years of taking film classes in college that I really learned about the company’s origins and some of its most famous films.
When most people think of Hammer’s horror films, they tend to think of faces like Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. But behind that talent was always a pretty face, a women who had some sexy flair and a greatness about her. The films always had a sex symbol attached to draw in the male audience. These ladies are celebrated in Marcus Hearn’s new book, HAMMER GLAMOUR.
HAMMER GLAMOUR tells the history of all the actresses who were cast in Hammer films. The book contains many photos of these bombshells in some of their most famous poses for publicity shots and in stills from some of the films in which they appeared. The book’s introduction gives a detailed history of all these women, from such faces as Barbara Payton, Eva Bartok, Diana Dors and Vera Day who where part of the early years of Hammer films in the fifties and early sixties, to stars like Veronica Carlson, Linda Hayden, Ingrid Pitt, Suzan Farmer, Madeline Smith and the legendary Raquel Welch. The book contains detailed stories of over fifty of the greatest actresses to ever appear in Hammer productions as well as an appendix of other lesser-known Hammer actresses.
HAMMER GLAMOUR is a necessary book for all fans of horror classics. Be aware that the book does contain some nude and otherwise revealing photos, but that’s not the only reason to purchase it. The book as a whole is a history lesson on the women who helped make some of Hammer’s horror films classics. It’s a must own for people who call themselves true horror fans.
– Horror Bob
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
