There are a number of film related books competing with Titan Books’ The Hammer Vault for your money this Christmas but I’ve not seen any which have drawn me back like this one. With its archive treasures and magnificent artwork Marcus Hearn’s book has sinks its teeth right in.
Part historical document, part artwork gallery, part peep behind the industry curtain, The Hammer Vault is a beautiful and plentiful resource, with delights on every single page, written with love and an innate understanding of what a film fan would want to see.
Hearn offers up a knowledgable commentary to the familiar and the obscure Hammer films, and gives access to a cornucopia of treasures. Few studios are as iconic, nor have suffered the slings and arrows of an outraged and indulgent industry as Hammer, their recent return gives a curious and tangible momentum to each new picture the studio takes on and the history on display here is both candid and humorous with revelations about each picture on offer.
We get to enjoy numerous posters for each film, contemporary reviews, letters sent to and fro from warring production staff as well as graceful letters from the pen of Peter Cushing. These sit alongside previously unpublished photos of actors relaxing on set with bloody knives thrust to the hilt into their hearts as well as some fantastic correspondence – one instance I enjoyed was the suggestion from Hammer’s American distributor that Twins of Evil should be retitled Twins of Dracula, a bizarre suggestion made even better as the letter to Sir James Carreras, M.B.E (one of Hammers founders). begins ‘Dear Jim Baby,’ Nuts the lot of them.
This is the book’s key strength. You find yourself drawn into the world of a studio who made their mark on a genre like no other, and the ability to see how as the years went on and the censors relaxed and audience expectation went up the decisions made (more nudity, less spookery) and the waning effect of their great monsters affected the studio to such a degree that they became a relic, before its fledging reinvention of the last few years.
Put this together with some glorious artwork and a plethora of behind the scenes material including the on set shots as well as facsimiles of scripts which contain deleted scenes and notes from various producers, censors and others. What I had never seen before were the press packs sent out by the studio and the Publicity Manuals which include instructions to cinema managers on how to dress up the foyers to take best advantage of Hammer’s latest horror and draw in a decent crowd.
I have a number of books on Hammer on my shelves and I enjoy each one, but none have given me more pleasure nor illuminated the bizarre history of Britain’s most notorious and loved studios than this. You’ll want to reach for this book often, and every delve into The Hammer Vault will be an enjoyable and rewarding one.
[Rating:5/5]
Find out more and order the book directly from Titan here.
