Hammer: What Lies Ahead… And the Film that could Cheat Death!
It’s been a heck of a half-year. Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1974) led the charge in terms of Hammer’s Limited Collector’s Edition range: a series of 4K restorations presented with specially created programmes, expert commentaries, new artwork and exclusive archive material. The Captain was swiftly followed by Four Sided Triangle (1953), Shatter (1974) and, of course, The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) and Quatermass 2 (1957). We recently confirmed that Blood Orange (1953) would join the range imminently, but what next?
We decided to take a breath and find out what’s going on in the medium and long-term. So we caught up with Hammer’s Steve Rogers who told us what’s been happening behind the scenes, and the big plans for the year ahead - and beyond! Plus Steve revealed which Hammer classic is currently being restored (in more ways than one) for its inclusion in the Limited Collector’s Edition range. Spoiler alert: Terence Fisher fans – prepare to rejoice!
Hammer News: This year has already been a bit of a bonanza in terms of releases. With the imminent peeling of Blood Orange it’ll be six titles in the Limited Collector’s Edition range in six months. Can fans expect this schedule to continue?
Steve Rogers: Well, there’s always the potential for force majeure, but we’ve already begun work on our 2026 slate of titles, which will see at least one release per month.
Heralding the way… Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter was an early entry in Hammer’s Limited Collector’s Edition range.
HN: And will future releases follow a similar pattern? I’m thinking of two things here… Will we continue to get a combination of classics and lesser known gems, and will they be supported by such an ambitious array of additional material?
SR: We know from the feedback we’re getting that fans and collectors are enjoying the mix of classics and rarities alongside all the contextual material, so they can rest assured this range will be ongoing.
The 4K restoration of Shatter, Peter Cushing’s last feature film for Hammer, was released uncut with a rich package of additional material.
HN: Sounds great.. Also, I assume ultimately there’ll be gaps, right? Presumably there are loads of ‘Hammer films’ that Hammer no longer owns the rights to?
SR: Not quite – the situation is a little more complex than that. Back in the 1950s, 60s and 70s Hammer would accept financial backing on projects in return for certain rights, usually distribution. Sometimes these rights would be time-limited and sometimes not, so even though some of these deals are 70-odd years old they’re still legally in force and will continue to be so. And sometimes there can be multiple distributors on a single film, just to make things more complex.
HN: I want to circle back to the implications of that in a second. But is that why Quatermass and the Pit (1967) didn’t follow Quatermass 2 (1957) as a title in the Limited Collector’s Edition range?
SR: It made perfect sense to release the two Donlevy films back-to-back, and given there was a large gap between the original release dates of the first two film and Quatermass and the Pit, in many ways this is an homage to how the films were originally released. It’s currently available on Blu-ray in the UK from StudioCanal and the US from Shout Factory if people haven’t seen it however – it’s a tremendous film.
Artwork for recent releases have often included artwork by the renowned Graham Humphreys.
HN: Bottom line – does that mean some Hammer favourites, like The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) won’t be getting the same treatment afforded Captain Kronos and so forth?
SR: Part of what’s been happening in the background over the last couple of years since Hammer was acquired by John Gore is outreach to all the historic co-production companies, rebuilding and strengthening relationships. There’s a lot of conversations happening at a number of levels with a view to enabling Hammer to create Limited Collector’s Editions of titles where distribution is controlled by other companies.
HN: Ha! That is so Baron Frankenstein! You’re literally toiling away in semi-secret to bring these things back to life! Are there any upcoming titles that fall into this category that you can tell us about?
SR: Well, I can certainly tell you about the one that is currently under restoration at Silver Salt – thanks to our partners at Hollywood Classics and Paramount we’re currently restoring The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) in 4K for UHD/Blu-ray release in the UK.
The Man Who Could Cheat Death stars Anton Diffring, a German-born actor whose later films included Shatter and the Sherlock Holmes picture, The Masks of Death (1984).
HN: What?! When will that be out?
SR: We don’t have a firm date yet, but we are working towards early 2026.
HN: Isn’t that one of the Hammers with some fabled ‘lost footage’?
SR: It’s not really ‘lost footage’ – it’s an alternate version of a modelling scene with Hazel Court which showed a bit more bare flesh than the BBFC would allow at the time and was used for the ‘export version’ that was shown in Europe and Japan. It’s not been seen anywhere for decades. There was also a BBFC-mandated shortening of the end scene (a fiery death). The upcoming release will see the UK and export scenes, along with the theatrical and extended endings.
HN: Okay, so that’s already ticking a few boxes – Christopher Lee, Terence Fisher, restored footage, classic Hammer horror… Can you tell us anything else about the release?
SR: That’s as much as I can say on this one for the moment as restoration is still ongoing, but it’s definitely one that Hammer fans will want to be pre-ordering when the time comes.
‘Horror Queen’ Hazel Court stars as Janine Du Bois in The Man Who Could Cheat Death.
HN: But overall, we can expect more Limited Collectors’ Edition releases of Hammer films?
SR: Yes, but we can’t say what or when at this time due to ongoing discussions. The upshot of all this behind-the-scenes activity, though, is a richer spread of titles from the full Hammer back catalogue for fans and collectors to enjoy for years to come.
HN: Will those also include releases from every era and genre that Hammer dabbled in? So, from the 30s right through to 70s and the TV spin-offs?
SR: As Hammer heads towards its centenary, we want to celebrate all of the productions made over the last 90 years – they’re all Hammer and so all worthy of restoration and re-release.
Four Sided Triangle recently completed its own Italian job
HN: I just want to finish by asking a couple of questions about the world beyond the Limited Collectors’ Edition range, if you can imagine such a thing. Are you plotting away on anything else?
SR: Following on from the success of Captain Kronos in cinemas, The Quatermass Xperiment is currently doing the rounds – with some screenings supported by introductions and Q&As. The plan is that all our restorations will be made available to cinemas to take up, should they so wish. As for festivals, this year’s Locarno festival is screening our new restoration of Whispering Smith Hits London alongside Hell is a City (on 35mm, I believe) and The Quatermass Xperiment and Four Sided Triangle recently played to packed houses at Bologna. And we are planning many more.
Both Quatermass movies starring Brian Donlevy as the Professor are now available as part of the Limited Collectors’ Edition range.
HN: Finally, what’s been the best part of your job to date, and what are you most looking forward to in the year ahead?
SR: The best part of my job to date has undoubtedly been working with the people who help me create these releases. We know from fan feedback that one of the key elements of every release is the amount of context we include and that is purely down to the collectors and the experts who contribute to each and every release. The wealth of material they are happy to share from their collections, along with the multiple viewpoints they provide, enriches the end product exponentially. If these editions were only me and my viewpoint then people would get bored very quickly!
As to the bit that I’m looking forward to the most... The year ahead will build and expand on the foundations we’ve created this year. The Limited Collector’s Editions were an obvious starting point and have been a massive hit with fans, but there’s more to come – next year will be such a cool year to be a Hammer fan. What you’re seeing with the Limited Collector’s Editions is the tip of the spear. Hammer are doing lots of things the company has never done before and before you ask – no, I can’t go into any more detail right now. But watch this space…
Many thanks to Steve Rogers for his time, and for affording us a glimpse into the future!
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