To quote The Art of Hammer introduction (which quotes the poster for the Hammer Films flick Creatures the World Forgot): “They don’t make them like this anymore.” Bloody, heaving boobs, wild-eyed vampires, lusty werewolves – nothing promises such lurid poster art like a Hammer Films collection.
Edited by Marcus Hearn, The Art of Hammer is a collection of rare Hammer Films posters from the golden age of the British studio’s output of glorious B (and sometimes C or D) horror flicks, creature features and quickie-noirs. The surprisingly brief introduction tells you just enough about the book’s intentions and the studio’s history to ground you, then steps aside and lets the posters tell their story.
And what a marvelous collection it is. For fans of schlocky old horror flicks, Hammer Studios is nothing short of legendary. They gave the world the Dracula movies with Christopher Lee as the Count and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing – for this wondrous gift alone, Hammer gained a warm place in my heart. Beyond the films of these justly famous Gothic horror films (they also produced Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, and The Devil Rides Out), their movie posters are equally important to their legacy.
As the introduction notes, Hammer’s British posters were created by a handful of artists from London-based advertising agencies. Posters from artists like Bill Wiggins (whose early creations include posters for Dracula, The Mummy and The Curse of the Werewolf), and Renato Fratini (The Phantom of the Opera) formed the touchstone of Hammer’s influential early ads.
The Art of Hammer covers three major decades of Hammer output. 1950-1959 contains ads for noir flicks like Blackout and Mask of Dust, sci-fi movies like The Creeping Unknown and good old horror yarns like The Curse of Frankenstein, starring those Hammer stalwarts (eventually better-know for their roles in the various Star Wars incarnations) Cushing and Lee. 1960 – 1969 saw the influx of post-modernism and more emphasis on spirited photographic use, mixed with the traditionally painted posters, all with a sly, sexy wit, like possibly my favorite poster from the entire collection, advertising Dracula Has Risen From The Grave:
If the 60’s were Hammer’s cult classic heyday (One Million Years B.C., Bette Davis in The Anniversary), 1970 – 1979 featured Hammer at its most shameless (and I mean that as a compliment). Blood From A Mummy’s Tomb! Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde! The arguably wonderful Dracula A.D. 1972!
Why don’t they make movies like this anymore? Well, they do, but why aren’t they shown at the little 3-screen moviehouse up the block? Because they don’t exist anymore. Because although the vast majority of these posters are better than the movies they’re promoting, shit like Demons of the Mind with Patrick Magee and Paul Jones truly was made out of love – of the process, of the genre, of the good and bloody fun of the thing. And compare our rushed, Photoshopped movie posters with the lovingly crafted, often hand-painted creations in this book. Once upon a time, people took pride in all this.
Get this book. You won’t regret it, although it may keep you up at night, wondering about a world where Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter could be playing a double-feature with The Satanic Rites of Dracula just a bus-ride away. Who says progress is a good thing?
The Art of Hammer: The Official Poster Collection From the Archive of Hammer Films is now available.