THE HOUSE OF HAMMER--VOLUME ONE

 

The current Hammer Films company has been churning out plenty of product in the last few years--so much product that you'd have to be Elon Musk to buy it all. I've been very carefully picking & choosing when it comes to the latest Hammer home video box sets, but I took the plunge with THE HOUSE OF HAMMER--VOLUME ONE. It is a two-disc region free Blu-ray set that also includes a 120-page booklet. 

The discs and the booklet contain a number of programs, documentaries, and articles that examine not only various facets of Hammer history, but the entire English Gothic genre overall. 

Some online have commented that this set is a group of extras looking for a feature, while others have suggested that the release should have been called THE HOUSE OF NON-HAMMER. (As you can see in the photo of the front of the set case above, Vincent Price takes prominence, and yes, I'm well aware he never appeared in a Hammer film.) I've actually watched all the programs on both discs, and I've read the entire booklet, and I will say that there is plenty of material here relating to Hammer. 

The highlight on Disc One is a nearly two-hour documentary on American-International Pictures--and this is just part one of the entire program. Titled MASQUES, MONSTERS AND MADMEN, the program covers the beginnings of AIP, how it took advantage of the entertainment industry conditions of the 1950s, and the company's relationship with filmmaker Roger Corman. The documentary mostly focuses on the British horror and sci-fi films AIP was involved in or at least distributed in the U.S. (It doesn't cover the Beach Party movies.) It goes up to about the end of the 1960s. Overall it is an extensive examination of some of the most famous horror films made in the 1950s and 60s. 

Disc One also contains an entertaining look at the life and acting career of Michael Gough by Jonathan Rigby, which runs about 45 minutes. There's also a program discussing the connection between Cornwall (an area of southwest England) and Birtish horror, which actually spends a lot of time talking about movies that don't have anything to do with Cornwall. 

Filling out Disc One is a short film made by Hammer in 1959 called TICKET TO HAPPINESS. Running about a half an hour, this is a lighthearted tale involving an industrialist trying to obtain land in a small British town. This short is so obscure, it's not even listed on IMDB! The most notable thing about it are the names involved in it that will be familiar to Hammer fans, such as director Peter Bryan, cinematographer Michael Reed, and actors Michael Goodliffe, Jeremy Longhurst, and Charles Lloyd Pack. 

Disc Two contains a feature documentary called DEEP CUTS, which examines the history of censorship in American and British cinema, and a program on makeup artists Lou and Dave Elsey, two full-on Hammer fans who have made their mark in plenty of big-time movie franchises. There's also a deep examination of various Hammer music soundtracks by David Huckvale, who is the ultimate expert in such matters. 

Disc Two also has footage of Roger Corman from a 1995 Festival of Fantastic Films convention, and, finally, a Q & A held after the premier screening of the 4K restoration of THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN in London in October 2025. The panelists include Kim Newman, Wayne Kinsey, Lucy Bolton, David Pirie, and actor Melvyn Hayes, the last surviving member of the COF cast, who steals the show. 

Now....I have to talk about the booklet!! That contains a look at the making of the AIP British film CRY OF THE BANSHEE, written by English Gothic expert John Hamilton. There's also articles on the British companies other than Hammer that delved into horror features, an appreciation of AIP's Edgar Allen Poe series, a look at Caralan, the production company that made DOCTOR BLOOD'S COFFIN and THE SNAKE WOMAN, and an essay by Wayne Kinsey showcasing the non-horror films made by Hammer. 

One article I need to point out is Dick Klemensen's look back at the beginnings of his fantastic magazine LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS, a publication which has played a major part in Hammer history. In that article Mr. K points out that no other film company has had nearly every aspect of its history as thoroughly examined as that of Hammer Films--and he's absolutely right, with this set being a perfect example. 

Needless to say, this set is jam-packed with material, and it comes in a slipcase with impressively-designed packaging. The booklet is well-illustrated, and the documentaries contain plenty of talking heads that are true Hammer and English Gothic experts, such as John Hamilton, Jonathan Rigby, David Pirie, John Logan, Wayne Kinsey, and Richard Klemensen. 

This is a hardcore set for hardcore fans. You'll certainly learn about Hammer and English Gothic history, but if you are not a major fan of the subject to begin with, you're going to be a bit lost. I personally loved it--there are some times in the programs where things jump about a bit, and the focus wavers, but all in all there's plenty of entertaining and informative material here, and this is a set that is made specifically for English Gothic enthusiasts. I've no doubt there will be multiple volumes of THE HOUSE OF HAMMER in the future, and I can only wonder what will be contained in them. (By the way, if Hammer and John Gore want to talk to someone who has spent some time with some of the Hammer ladies, I do know a guy....)