In an interview, sometime Hammer scribe Christopher Wicking said that Hammer briefly considered looking into Marvel Comics for future endeavors, with an eye toward their popular TOMB OF DRACULA monthly as the basis for a possible film (series).
shareI have been watching Hammer being "reorganized" and "resurrected" for years.
Still all talk and no product.
The time period Wicking was talking about would have been early to mid-1970s, as the studio was, alas, entering its final phase of feature film production. I know what you mean--there have been several announcements over the last decade of Hammer being revived, getting ready to launch new productions, etc. Unfortunately, these never seem to amount to anything more than licensing and merchandise deals. (At least, on the plus side, it has led to some Hammer titles finally getting decent DVD releases.) As I posted elsewhere, with all the media attention on the debate over human cloning, I think Hammer's FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE could be updated into a timely sci-fi thriller if the studio is ever resurrected as a "production company" once again.
shareRight you are! And loved FST. Bought it when AB released it, only watched it 3 months ago after I got interested in the career of Barbara Payton. One of her last films. She wound up a two bit hooker in Hollywood before she died at 39 of liver failure.
If Hammer were to be revived, I don't think the elements that made it famous in the 60's will be there. The cinematographers and directors are dead. Freddie Francis and Terence Fisher were such a huge influence on the product then. Gothic Horror these days can yes, have great special effects, but the atmosphere? I don't think. Pro-trained actors like Lee and Cushing are mostly dinosaurs now. The stories then were simple, the acting understated, the colors vivid. What really drew me in then was the horse-drawn carriages racing through the fog, the sets, the costumes. They were cheaply made but left lasting impressions on us. No gratuitous gore, but a bit sexy at times. Just remarkable, until the early 70's when the studio went insane.
Babbling, sorry.
Peace!
True, there are few actors or directors with the background that Hammer's regular "stable of stars" had. Christopher Lee has expressed interest in doing a remake of THE DEVIL RIDES OUT, but points out that while he was younger than the character should have been at the time the original was made, he would now be older than the character should be (when compared to the novel). Over the years, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg have both expressed interest in directing for the "new" Hammer, when talk of the studio going back into production comes up. (I think Spielberg was interested in remaking either one of the Quatermass movies, or X THE UNKNOWN...I forget now which title he mentioned, but it was one of Hammer's earlier B&W sci-fi films.) While I admire both directors, I don't think they are necessarily suited for Hammer. (However, no matter who is at the helm, a new incarnation of the studio would probably produce product with an entirely different feel to it. While I know the quality craftsmanship of the British cinema would still be there, the atmosphere and texture of that were so much a part of the originals would be impossible to recreate; those were films born of a particular time.)
As you pointed out, these films were cheaply made, but many look better than some of their bigger-budgeted contemporaries (or even some newer films). I just watched SHE the other day and was struck by how lavish it still appeared, especially when seen in the letterboxed format. It may have not had the budget of a DeMille production, but the filmmakers were able to create a convincing sense of scale without the benefit of CGI sets. And in spite of the speed with which many of these films were put together, there was usually a strong sense of story structure and pacing that propelled their plots along with few wasted frames of film. There was no room for egos on either side of the lens, unlike the current hedonism of the Hollywood film factory today, where "primping," "pampering" and "posing" often overshadow professionalism. The whole filmmaking mentality has changed over the years; back then, the emphasis was on making MOVIES, not multi-merchandise deals to sell cereal and action figures.
Said brilliantly. Thanks!
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