Hammer Films' Psychological Thrillers, 1950-1972

by David Huckvale

Overview

Hammer Film's is justly famous for Gothic horror but the company also excelled in the psychological thriller. Influenced by Henri-Georges Clouzot and Alfred Hitchcock, Hammer created its own approach to this genre in some of the company's very best films.

This book takes a chronological, film-by-film approach to all of Hammer's thrillers. Well-known classics such as Seth Holt's The Nanny (1965) and Taste of Fear (1961) are discussed, together with less well known but equally brilliant films such as The Full Treatment (dir. Val Guest, 1960) and Michael Carreras' Maniac (1963). The films' literary ancestry, reflection of British society and relation to psychological theories of Freud and Jung, architectural metaphor, sexuality, religion, and even Nazi atrocities are all fully explored.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786474714
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	03/10/2014
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	6.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David Huckvale has worked as a researcher, writer and presenter for BBC Radio and as a lecturer for various universities in England. He lives in rural Bedfordshire.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction
1 deleteThe Uncanny in Les Diaboliques (dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955)
2 deleteEchoes and Inspirations in Four Hitchcock Classics
3 deleteHouses in The Man in Black (dir. Francis Searle, 1950)
4 deleteMisogyny in Stolen Face (dir. Terence Fisher, 1952)
5 deleteNarcissism in The Snorkel (dir. Guy Green, 1958)
6 deletePsychiatry in The Full Treatment (dir. Val Guest, 1961)
7 deleteThe Gothic in Taste of Fear (dir. Seth Holt, 1961)
8 deleteLove and Landscape in Maniac (dir. Michael Carreras, 1963)
9 deleteSex and the Dead in Paranoiac (dir. Freddie Francis, 1963)
10 deleteLoss and Deception in The Kiss of the Vampire (dir. Don Sharp, 1964)
11 deleteDreams and Visions in Nightmare (dir. Freddie Francis, 1964)
12 deleteThe Oedipus Complex in Fanatic (dir. Silvio Narizzano, 1965)
13 deleteArchitecture in Hysteria (dir. Freddie Francis, 1965)
14 deleteDomesticity and The Nanny (dir. Seth Holt, 1965)
15 deleteHomophobia in The Witches (dir. Cyril Frankel, 1966)
16 deleteDoppelgängers in Crescendo (dir. Alan Gibson, 1970)
17 deleteThe Past in Fear in the Night (dir. Jimmy Sangster, 1972)
18 deleteInsanity, Incest and Christianity in Demons of the Mind (dir. Peter Sykes, 1972)
19 deletePeter Pan in Straight on Till Morning (dir. Peter Collinson, 1972)
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

The book is well-written and does an excellent job of not only analyzing the movies as self-contained artifacts but also how they relate to one another...highly recommended”—ARBA; “from start to finish, the author delivers smart, insightful readings”—Bookgasm; “just when you thought that every aspect of Hammer Film’s prolific output had been covered, along comes this fine book.... [Huckvale’s] writing is first class and he explores his subject matter in great detail”—Destructive Music; “a highly useful contribution to the film buff’s bookshelf”—Crime Time.

From the Publisher

"a highly useful contribution to the film buff's bookshelf"

Crime Time

from start to finish, the author delivers smart, insightful readings

Bookgasm