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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Thing of Unforgivable Error, 21 Jun 2008
A concise, affectionate potted history of the rise and fall of Hammer Films, Sinclair McKay's A Thing Of Unspeakable Horror is a breezy enough read for those seeking an introduction to the famous company and the movies they produced; however, it will certainly prove frustrating for those who would already class themselves as seasoned Hammer fans.
The writer is obviously quite familiar with Hammer horror movies, and seems to genuinely love them; unfortunately, when discussing the films, his tone is far too jokey. For instance, his first chapter is dedicated to listing the various `common conventions' (or clichés) that he seems to think are required of any Hammer film; in this he also reveals the limits of his `expertise', as this kind of generalisation is the kind of thing that is both despised, and easily disproved by those with more in-depth knowledge of the subject (for instance, the inn landlords of Hammer's Dracula films were variously played by George Woodbridge, Norman Pierce, Woodbridge again, George A. Cooper, and lastly Michael Ripper; McKay blithely states that Ripper always played the part). In fact, less-than-careful proof reading seems to have led to the inclusion of several factual mistakes, and not just concerning the topic at hand; when discussing Horror of Dracula, the basic plot of which every true Hammer fan will be very familiar with, McKay gets the roles (and fates) of the Lucy and Mina characters mixed up; he states that Oliver Reed made his screen debut in The Curse of the Werewolf in 1961 (Reed actually debuted in the Norman Wisdom comedy The Square Peg in 1958, and made his debut for Hammer in The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll two years later); and, unforgivably for a supposedly serious, expert film critic, he gets the title of one of the best known, most critically acclaimed British films of all time wrong; The Bridge OVER the River Kwai anyone?
Structurally, the book is all over the place, with McKay's supposedly chronological history doubling backwards on itself more than once; he clumsily repeats various facts (for instance, the point that Aida Young joined EMI after working at Hammer wasn't particularly interesting the first time, so I don't know why McKay decides to repeat it several chapters later), and breaks off in the middle of important discussions to talk about unrelated topics; an important chapter focusing on two supposedly `mold-breaking' Hammers, The Gorgon and The Reptile, comes to a halt halfway through so that the writer can give us a three-page history of Hammer rival Amicus.
The writer is at his best when poking fun at the really rubbish Hammer films (Moon Zero Two, Lust for a Vampire), and the tattiest aspects of British film history in general; he describes Robin Askwith, `star' of the excrable `Confessions of...' series of sex comedies as a `simian missing link'. Pleasingly, overrated `respectable' movies like Genevieve, Antonioni's Blow-Up, and To Sir With Love come in for plenty of stick too. Also worthy of mention are the photographs, most of which I had never seen before (and I've read a lot of books on this subject). McKay has obviously read, and admired, Matthew Sweet's masterful British film history book Shepperton Babylon, and has tried to capture some of its atmosphere of a vanished world, but the fact is that Hammer horror is still both too recent and too well-known a phenomenon to be appreciated as the kind of cinematic `lost continent' that Sweet conjured up when writing about the likes of Ivor Novello and Hugh Williams, Patricia Roc and Belle Chrystal. Plus, his final revelation that Hammer horror is being resurrected for the 21st Century by John de Mol will rightfully be greeted with a snort by anyone with any sense; tabloid stories of Hammer's apparent `resurrection' crop up every few years and nothing ever comes of them.
As already stated, the history of Hammer, and the British horror film in general, is one worthy of deep exploration, but so many books have done a far better job than McKay's lightweight effort. For a comprehensive history of Hammer, try Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes' The Hammer Story; or for a great look at the entire genre of British horror films, Jonathan Rigby's English Gothic is still hard to beat.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Extended Essay, 7 Jun 2007
As the earlier review of this book suggests, this is not a something that you should read if you want accurate information about the history and output of one of the world's most famous horror film studios. McKay drops factual clangers in almost every chapter. These are not merely in regard to Hammer, but to all films ( Riddle of the Sands starred Michael York, not Simon Ward!) At times this does look like an extended magazine article rather than a hardback, and he really should have done some proper research rather than rely on his memory.
That said, I really DID like this book! McKay has a genuine enthusiasm for these films and a breezy style which draws you along effortlessly. He is also, at times, very funny. The rather unhorrifying monster from the film THE GORGON is described as looking like ' a furious boarding house landlady interrupted in the course of setting her hair'. And I found myself chuckling at the suggestion that the rather pathetic sets in SCARS OF DRACULA lead one to suspect that the Count has now taken up residence in a branch of the Angus Steak House.
There is some attempt to place the films in the context of the times that they were made, and chapters dealing with the studio's treatment of feminism and class based politics. Refreshingly, the author draws back from suggesting that these films are coded Marxist texts, and points out that they are really timeless fairy tales. He even mentions that they were giving far more substantial roles to women as the years went on (albeit ones that required them to wear, flimsy low-cut nighties!)
All in all, I would recommend this book to you. It's a good, enjoyable read, and manages to avoid being either too reverential or too patronising. If you already know a lot about Hammer, you can have extra fun picking up on all the mistakes. If you DON'T already know a lot about Hammer, then it might be a good idea to order this with one of the more factually reliable Hammer books mentioned.
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Enthusiastic but fundamentally wrong..., 4 Jun 2007
McKay's obvious enthusiasm for the subject of Hammer should be welcomed, but the book does not deliver on its initial promises, and Hammer fans would be well advised to steer clear.
This is not a complete history of the company at all, it skims over everything before The Quatermass Xperiment, and is selective in the narrative from there on. Attention is focussed on the horror films, and the storyline itself darts back and forwards in the chronology making any straight comprehension difficult at times. There are a couple of interesting chapters expressing McKay's own theories on the films, but they are marred by the general poor quality of the research.
The book suggest McKay has interviewed many of the surviving members of the casts and crew of Hammer production, but the acknowledgments credit a mere handful (Bryan Forbes, Martin Jarvis, Francis Matthews, Kate O'Mara), and much of the remaining material is culled from other sources. Scarcely new material, or even exhaustive.
The text itself is sloppy and lazy for the most, and is littered with dozens of errors which bely McKay's laid-back attitude to research. He kills off Tony Hinds (who as of time of publishing in late May 2007 was still very much alive, albeit in privacy), suggests we all remember Ingrid Pitt in Hammer House of Horror (she wasn't in it), and Dean Stockwell was the star of X The Unknown (Dean Jagger was the star of that picture in 1957). And that's just for starters.
For a comprehensive history readers would be better picking up Meikle's Heritage of Horror, or even the Hammer-authorised Hammer Story (being republished later this year).
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