Explores the production issues and cultural contexts of Hammer's unmade films Presents a previously undocumented history of one of the most famous British production companies of all time The first academic monograph to utilise the Hammer Script Archive, which includes over 100 files on Hammer's unmade film and television projects A significant addition to the burgeoning field of unmade film studies and the study of Hammer Films This book utilises never seen before materials held in the Hammer Script Archive to present a new perspective on one of the most famous British production studios of all time. While many studies of Hammer Films have been written, none have accounted for the significant amount of creative and economic labour that went into over 100 unmade projects at the company. Using primary materials such as screenplays and correspondence, the book examines the production contexts of an eclectic range of Hammer's unmade films, ranging from the Loch Ness Monster project Nessie to Dracula in India script Kali Devil Bride of Dracula. Using Hammer as a case study, the book represents a significant academic intervention by being the first sustained industry study to primarily use unmade projects. The book offers a fresh perspective on a legendary film studio, and argues for the importance and sustained study of unmade films within film history.
About the AuthorKieran Foster is a Teaching Associate in Film and Media Studies at the University of Nottingham. He was the Principal Investigator on an AHRC/M4C post-doctoral project that produced a live reading of the unmade Hammer script Vampirella (1975), staged before a capacity audience at the Regent Street Cinema in London in October 2019.
Reviews"Hammer Films is known the world over for its trailblazing, full colour, gothic horror films. Yet, despite its iconic status it failed to get many a project off the ground. In Hammer Goes to Hell, Kieran Foster explores a number of these projects. Drawing on new research, Foster offers a lively and engaging revisionist history bursting with new information and insight." -Johnny Walker, Author of Contemporary British Horror Cinema: Industry, Genre and Society and Editor of Hammer and Beyond: The British Horror Film.
Book InformationISBN 9781474496650
Author Kieran FosterFormat Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Edinburgh University PressPublisher Edinburgh University Press