When The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films was first published in 1997 it was hailed by many as the definitive account of the iconic British studio. It’s been almost twenty years since the book’s last update, but a substantially revised and expanded edition is finally available, detailing – amongst many other things – every Hammer movie, from the pre-war rarities to Doctor Jekyll (2023).

We caught up with one of the work’s authors, Marcus Hearn, and asked him about this new edition, how he unearthed the lost secrets of Hammer’s past, why Quatermass fans are in for a treat, and much more. We also got Marcus’s personal take on everything from the film that got him hooked on Hammer, to which of the studio’s personnel from the past he’d invite to a dinner party…

Hammer News: Thanks for your time, Marcus. I’d like to start with the obvious question… Tell me about The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films. If someone’s picking up the book for the first time, what are they going to find?

Marcus Hearn: This is the official history of Hammer, compiled with all the research benefits that come with that status. The aim is to tell the story of Hammer Film Productions and its landmark movies/television series in a comprehensive but accessible way.

HN: Let me dig a little deeper. Is this primarily the overall story of the studio, how it evolved, the people behind the business and so forth? Or is it more of a deep dive into the films themselves? Their artistry and development. Cast, crews and reviews. Or is it both?

MH: It’s all of those things, really. When we compiled the first edition we didn’t know if we’d ever get another shot at this, so we tried to combine all the books that should have been written about Hammer into one. And now, 30 years later, here we are with our latest take on that same combination of corporate insight, nuts-and-bolts production information and critical review.

Snout (Jean Muir) watches Henry Jeckle (Bernard Bresslaw) mix up his ‘new patent medicine’ in The Ugly Duckling (1959).

HN: And we should stress that this edition is ‘revised and expanded’. What’s been revised, and what’s been expanded?

MH: The second edition of the book was published 19 years ago, which was just before Hammer returned to production. So there was a lot to do to bring the story up to date with the ten films the company has made since then. But we’ve also gone back into earlier eras to add new and expanded entries on such films as The Camp on Blood Island (1958), The Ugly Duckling (1959) and Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960). Some of the existing sections – such as the chapter on the TV series Journey to the Unknown (1968-69) – have been rewritten, while others have been re-edited and augmented with new information. There are 32 extra pages, but those pages haven’t simply been bolted on to the end of the last edition. This is a complete redesign, re-edit and, in places, rewrite.

HN: Thirty-odd extra pages sounds like a decent additional chunk! By the way, I read, and I quote, ‘The Hammer Story is the only authorised history of the company and was compiled with unlimited access to its archive.’ I wanted to ask what that means. I like to think the Hammer archive is located in a sprawling Victorian crypt festooned with cobwebs, but what’s the reality? And how did access to the archive help with the book?

MH: The catalyst for the book was being granted access to the Hammer archive at Elstree Studios in 1996. The notes that were made during that time have remained the foundation of the book across all three of its editions. Over the subsequent decades, during my consultancy work for Hammer, I must have read every film contract that’s been retained by the company – all the production, distribution and remake deals, past and present. At one point, about three years ago, our spreadsheet listing archive documents and rights had more than 20,000 entries.

The book has benefitted from all that accumulated information, but this edition is the first one to go significantly further with archive material that’s been discovered outside Hammer. For example, we’d always been frustrated that the company had retained so little from its first few decades. We’d pretty much finished the updates for the new edition in 2023, when we located a huge amount of Hammer paperwork dating from 1934 to the mid-1960s. In many cases these felt like missing pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. In particular, they’ve really changed our understanding of the way the company operated during the 1940s and 50s.

Using this source, and an earlier discovery, we were able to assemble everything that seems to survive the production file for The Quatermass Xperiment (1955). We now have a much better understanding of how Hammer’s first X-certificate film came about. This is one of the entries in the book that’s been extensively rewritten.

June Wiley (Vera Miles) in Journey to the Unknown: Matakitas is Coming (1968).

HN: Any other archive discoveries you can talk about?

MH: Well, since the last edition was published I’ve acquired images, paperwork, scripts and other items from the collections of people such as Roy Ward Baker, Michael Carreras, Peter Cushing and Jimmy Sangster. We’ve also been able to include things that turned up during the making of special features for so many Blu-ray and 4K releases.

HN: Talking of archive stuff, it drives me up the wall when I’m doing a piece on something like River Patrol (1948) and I find the same inaccuracies repeated by a string of film historians. How tricky was it to find fresh, new information on some of Hammer’s more obscure output? And how do you verify the ‘new’ details you discover?

MH: Quite a few myths have been exploded in this edition. Some of them relate to the pre-horror period you’re talking about, and a few in particular relate to The Quatermass Xperiment. We can, however, now draw upon something like 30 years’ worth of interviews and notes made from primary sources. What really surprised me about this new edition was that it was much harder to nail down what happened during the production of films made in the last 20 years, than films such as River Patrol. This is because relatively less has been kept from the more recent productions. But we got there in the end.

Co-author of The Hammer Story: Revised and Expanded – Marcus Hearn (photo © Julie Edwards).

HN: Glad to hear it! I should mention you co-authored The Hammer Story with Alan Barnes, who like you, has a great track record writing books covering classic film and television. How does that partnership work? Do you both have favoured genres, or specific eras you’ll cover individually, or is it more of a collaborative free for all?

MH: The way it’s always worked with The Hammer Story is that I’ve handled the picture research and the editorial has been divided between me and Alan. We’ll write various sections or chapters, and in some cases combine our contributions in the same section. We then review and interrogate each other’s work, and hopefully smooth it all out so the book speaks with a single voice. It’s never really been a case of allocating pages according to who has the most enthusiasm for a particular film – it’s more about who has the most interesting thing to say. I mentioned Journey to the Unknown earlier – that’s an example of a section that’s been transformed by Alan’s research. What he’s done on those pages goes some way to explaining why the series has been buried for so long.

It was Alan who said that this time round we should significantly expand a lot of the entries on the older films. Nobody asked us to include box-out sections in every single one of the film spreads – he was the one who pushed for that. And Peri Godbold, our designer, dovetailed all those interconnected pieces of text beautifully. I really can’t praise her work too highly. She’s made this edition look like the book we always wanted it to be.

HN: Were there any Hammer productions you and Alan disagreed about? I don’t know, one of you loved something like The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (1935) or Death in High Heels (1947) whilst the other loathed it? Be honest!

MH: I promise you we never had those conversations. I don’t think we ever did, even in previous editions. Nobody wants to spend money on a book like this to be told that what they like is awful. I’ve always had the same philosophy with audio commentaries and the other special features I’ve been involved in. I honestly think there are things to admire in every Hammer horror. That doesn’t mean I can’t recognise their shortcomings, but it’s so much more interesting if you can find positive things to say about dodgy films. There are essentially two ways to approach a movie like Moon Zero Two (1969) – you can either rip it to shreds, or you can look for parallels with Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). I know which of the two I’d rather read.

Director Roy Ward Baker on the set of Hammer’s space western, Moon Zero Two (1969).

HN: Without wishing to appear biased in any way, I’ve got to say that the reviews for your book’s first edition were excellent. I noticed a lot of readers were delighted with the photos and overall aesthetics of the work. How difficult was it to get that aspect spot on this time around?

MH: Most of the picture research was done alongside the writing, from 2022-23. The book looks very different from its previous editions – it’s much more colourful for one thing, and it’s stuffed full of rare shots. These things get more difficult as the years go on, because you aren’t just trying to top previous editions of The Hammer Story, you’re also competing with the official picture-led books – The Hammer Vault and The Art of Hammer – and the numerous other horror publications that are out there. But I’m really pleased with what we’ve achieved this time round. I think it’s the best-looking edition by far.

HN: And I’m guessing there are plenty of new shots in it?

MH: We had literally tens of thousands of images to choose from, and we selected about 800 for this edition. There are pictures in there that even the most dedicated fan won’t have seen. But we haven’t included images just because they’re rare or previously unseen – that’s been incidental to the fact that they’ve been the right images to illustrate each part of the story. People might also notice the more detailed picture captions in this edition. This is because, more than ever before, we’ve tried to use pictures to advance the narrative.

Brian Lawrence (centre) and director Gabrielle Beaumont on location at Hampden House for Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense: The Corvini Inheritance (1984).

HN: I’d like to take you back to when you and Alan first wrote the book. Whilst researching it, what surprised you most about the history of Hammer?

MH: We learned a lot in a short space of time, but what we really came away with was an understanding of the way Hammer worked as a business. And that’s what I meant about the initial research still acting as a foundation for the manuscript. The Hammer Story doesn’t just celebrate the films – I hope it also explains their context, describing how and why they came about. That research also gave the narrative a shape. At the heart of it all is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of British film.

HN: And during the process of updating the book, did anything take you aback? Aside from the difficulty of nailing down facts regarding the more recent films as you mentioned. Any misconceptions that you were able to expose, or fun facts you hadn’t previously known?

MH: Well there’s so much in there I could talk about… I’ve mentioned The Quatermass Xperiment and Journey to the Unknown already, but we’ve also overhauled the filmography. I hate to use a word like ‘definitive’ – I think anyone declaring the end of history is asking for trouble – but I’m going to stick my neck out and say that this edition includes the most accurate Hammer filmography ever published. We got pretty close to identifying every Hammer film in the previous editions, but back then we were mainly relying on Hammer’s own archive records. We’ve cast the net a bit wider this time, referring to other sources as well. But I don’t want to say too much more about the filmography, because I want people to discover its surprises for themselves.

HN: Fair enough! You’ve written at length about Hammer, of course, for this book, and you’re clearly a fan of the studio’s work. What makes Hammer so special, do you think?

MH: I’ve got a deep respect for so many of the films, but the company has also been an important part of my working life since the early 1990s. I’ve had some wonderful experiences and opportunities thanks to Hammer, so it’s been special to me on various levels.

The best of the Hammer horrors really are some of the most beautiful and compelling films ever made. And I think it’s easier to express that opinion now than it’s ever been, thank goodness.

HN: Can you remember which film got you hooked?

MH: Quatermass 2 (1957), which I saw on television when I was a youngster in the 1980s. It’s still my favourite Hammer film.

(l-r) Camera operator Len Harris, production manager Don Weeks, director Val Guest and leading man Brian Donlevy on location at the Shell Haven oil refinery for Quatermass 2 (1957).

HN: Just a couple more questions and the first one is another personal one, if that’s okay? You must have researched hundreds of people who worked with and for Hammer. For one magical night only, you can throw a small dinner party with three Hammer luminaries as your guests. They can be from any era, and they can have worked on any aspect of the studio’s productions. Which trio are you going to go for, and why?

MH: I’ve been lucky enough to know and work with many of the people who appear in the book, but there are three of the company’s executives I never met. I would invite Michael Carreras, James Carreras and Brian Lawrence to my imaginary dinner party. I’m not sure how much they’d enjoy all being in the same room, but it would be an interesting conversation. By the way, Brian was the pack rat on the Hammer board – much of the paperwork in the archive survives because of his hoarding instinct. If nothing else, I’d use our dinner as an opportunity to thank him for that!

HN: Absolutely – and having James and Michael Carreras around the same table, chatting about Hammer would certainly be… interesting! Let’s end with one final question about the book. What are you most proud of in terms of the new, revised and expanded edition of The Hammer Story?

MH: I guess it’s up to other people to decide if we’ve done a good job, but I’m proud of the fact that the remastered and remixed Hammer Story is still out here, after all these years.

Many thanks to Marcus Hearn for his time and insight.

The Hammer Story: Revised and Expanded Edition is available now from Hammer’s online store.