Hammer Glamour [ハードカバー]

Hammer Films has a cult reputation throughout the world for their classic series of gothic horror and adventure films produced during the company's heyday from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. When one thinks of the performers who starred in Hammer's productions, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee immediately come to mind. However, one of Hammer's biggest attractions were the number of beautiful women who shared the screen with the likes of Cushing & Lee. Hammer Glamour is a celebration of fifty of the most popular of the British studio's actresses. All of the Hammer fan's favorites are here--Ingrid Pitt, Veronica Carlson, Caroline Munro, Raquel Welch--and a number of women not so well known, but still memorable. Each actress who is featured in the book recieves a full-page photo and a short biography. The photos are fantastic. As someone who has read just about every book and magazine about Hammer, I can say that most of the photos were ones that I had never seen. The book's quality and design are top notch. Most of the photos are in color. The book's text is written by Hammer expert Marcus Hearn. Titan Books is the publisher--the same company that came out recently with The Hammer Story, another great volume. If you are a Hammer Films fan, and you have always had a crush on the many spectacular women who graced their films, this book is a must-have. (NOTE: There are a couple of photos that do show a nipple or two, but they are very few.)

An incredibly beautiful book filled with gorgeous never before seen photos. Unfortunately some of the text is a tad condescending. It seems as if nobody can discuss Hammer without dissing their movies. I'm so tired of reading about how terrible Lust for a Vampire is. And why is there no mention at all of Dana Gillespie? But these a minor complaints. There is much to enjoy in this book.

As a major Hammer Studios fan I regret having to be the skunk at this little garden party. I believe, however, two points need to be made about this publication for those who are discriminating book collectors.

First, the cover on this (as well as on "The Hammer Story," which is also by Titan) is not cloth-covered hardbound. It is, instead, shiny paper-covered hardbound. Do you remember the type of covers on Dr. Seuss books? Think also of the books that they have in the discount bins at book retailers, the ones which look really cheaply produced. That's what you have here. I was appalled when I saw that they cut this corner. These covers do not hold up over the years. They get all dinged and scuffed up and look like junk in no time. I would have gladly spent another ten bucks, or more, for a quality production. Hammer fans are obviously going to be aesthetically oriented people, and this is low-brow book production.

Second, the photos of the female Hammer stars were disappointing. What you get here is one or two small shots of the star from the movie itself (if any), and then you get a full-page "publicity shot" of the actress which is not even remotely in the gothic context of the film. (She may be wearing a costume from the production, but the vast majority of the shots are entirely stripped of any connection to the film. She might as well be selling dishwashing detergent.) By way of contrast, on the back cover of the dustjacket you have a beautiful and seemingly hypnotized damsel walking amongst headstones in a cemetary while her nightgown is blown slightly open by the winds of menace. The lighting immediately brings to mind scary, and sexy scenarios. It is a haunting, weird, sensual photo which captures the trademark Hammer ambience. Well, you don't get much of that inside the book. Most of these photos are clinical promo shots which, if anything, are the antithesis to the Hammer vibe.

Yes, there is good information ("data") in the book, but I could have obtained that elsewhere. I wanted awesome shots which conveyed the characteristic Hammer beauty which we see and love in their films.

And, I wanted that ambience presented in a well-bound book which surely would have been destined to be a collectible. This book will disappoint the discriminating book-lover and many Hammer afficiandos.