Marcus Hearn has assembled an impressive collection of poster art for his latest book on Hammer and with Let Me In heralding Hammer’s return to the cinemas this week it seems like the appropriate time to cast an eye over the gaudy and wonderful history of the illustrious studio.
For those who associate Hammer with the twin towers of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee will be pleased to see various posters from the more popular classic Hammer horrors here with Hearn wisely including Draculas and Frankenstein galore, both UK and international posters.
Hammer’s foray into comedy and sci-fi is not overlooked and it’s a fascinating document of a studio who came to define a genre so completely that its name is intrinsically linked with it and the advertising of the film, awash with cleavage and carnage in equal measure, reflect not only the taste of the audience of the time but also how well Hammer played to the crowd.
There are some wonderful European posters on offer, the Polish and French takes on the first and second Quatermass films are quirky and surreal, extremely subtle alongside the detailed horrors of the British counterparts which, like the titles of the films (Enemy from Space! Bad Blonde!) leave little to the imagination.
Secreted between the more famous monsters are forgotten gems such as The Snorkel (if you saw this evil man it would be the last face you ever saw) and The Ugly Duckling (He’s a changed man after taking Jekyll’s old family remedy), and there is so much to discover – it’s a joy from cover to cover.
The book is thankfully very well put together with good quality prints throughout, and there’s no better way of demonstrating how great this book is than by giving you a flavour of what to expect.
Here are a few fantastic posters from the any within the book, and also see my preview of the book here for more fine examples.
The Art of Hammer by Marcus Hearn is published by Titan Books and is out now.
