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Author Topic: Dates, etc, relating to early Hammer 8mm releases
Adrian Winchester
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 - posted November 27, 2013 09:39 AM      Profile for Adrian Winchester     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I'm contributing to an article that Phil Sheard is writing on Hammer releases, that will appear in the next edition of 'Film Collector'. I have good knowledge of Hammer films released after I started collecting in the early 1980s, but if anyone can confidenly answer any of the following specific questions about earlier releases, I'd very grateful for their help:

a) Approximately when did Derann release the 'Evil of Frankenstein' Std 8 feature?
b) Approximately when did the Americom releases of the 'Curse of Frankenstein' and 'Horror of Dracula' - with the accompanying sound on disks - first appear?
c) When did Derann start releasing their series of Super 8 400' and 4 x 400' digests of Hammer films, such as 'Scars of Dracula', 'The Devil Rides Out' etc?
d) I'm sure that the 'Scars of Dracula' Super 8 4 x 400' version was released in b/w as well as colour. Can anyone confirm if the 400' was also released in b/w? I think the Derann 4 x 400' of 'Countess Dracula' may have also been available in b/w as well as colour, so if anyone can confirm b/w versions of this or any other Derann b/w release of a colour Hammer film, that would be helpful.
e) Approximately when did Walton release their versions of 'Twins of Evil' and 'Vampire Circus'?
f) Approximately when did Ken start releasing their 200' silent editions of 'The Revenge of Frankenstein', 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed', 'Curse of the Mummy's Tomb', 'Taste the Blood of Dracula', 'One Million Years BC', 'When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth' and 'Moon Vero Two'?
g) 'The Revenge of Frankenstein' and 'Curse of the Mummy's Tomb' were also released by Ken as 200' Super 8 colour silent editions, but a collector once told me that he had sound versions without the usual subtitles of these, which is surprising as there seems to be no official evidence of sound releases other than in Germany. Has anyone come across sound copies of these?
h) Regarding the Ken 200' silent releases, I have compared the Std 8 and Super 8 versions of 'Moon Zero Two' and found that the Std 8 version - as is often the case with such 200' releases - is a bit longer. Does anyone know if that applies to Std 8 versions of any of the other releases? I'm not sure if they were all released on Std 8, so it would be useful to know any that definitely were on Std 8, and whether 'Revenge of Frankenstein' and/or 'Curse of the Mummy's Tomb' were also released as colour Std 8 versions.

The above questions don't cover all the potential content of the article, so please don't think that we will (e.g.) overlook the later full length versions of films such as 'Scars of Dracula' and 'Vampire Circus', as such releases will be included. But if you think of anything so rare that it's even harder to find than the French extracts from 'Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell', please mention it in case we don't know about it!

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Adrian Winchester

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Mark Williams
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 - posted November 27, 2013 01:38 PM      Profile for Mark Williams   Email Mark Williams   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I can help with the timelines etc [Smile]

Watch this space

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Adrian Winchester
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 - posted November 27, 2013 03:48 PM      Profile for Adrian Winchester     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Hi Mark - thanks for offering to help but I'd better flag up that I've just seen a PM from a forum member who has kindly responded with the very detailed information below. I'll check if he's happy to be credited but in the meantime I'll post the information to avoid any duplicated effort:
a) 1969
b) 1964 to tie-in with the Seven Arts double bill in the States
c) Scars of Dracula end of 1976
d) Countess Dracula 400 released in b/w following withdrawal of colour version
e) 1976
f) Revenge of Frankenstein (Columbia/Capitol) 1964
Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (Columbia/Capitol) 1965
Taste the Blood of Dracula/Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed/When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth/Moon Zero Two (Warner/Ken) 1972
h) Frankenstein M B Destroyed/Moon Zero Two/Taste Blood Dracula/When Dinosaurs Ruled all definitely available on Std 8

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Adrian Winchester

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Mark Williams
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 - posted November 27, 2013 04:31 PM      Profile for Mark Williams   Email Mark Williams   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Hi Adrian

Well that saved me a few hours of going thru back copies of Movie Maker etc 😊

I can elaborate on a few points too.

c) The Devil Rides Out was released in 1976 too.

d) Scars of Dracula was released as a Colour 400ft digest only,

g) Revenge & Curse were released as B/W & Colour silent versions only.

h) Revenge & Curse were only released on Super 8

Probably one of the rarest and early Hammer release's by Derann was Spaceways starring Howard Duff in 1973 as a 4 x 400ft b/w sound feature only,

There was also a long trailer reel for The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires released in the US which is ultra rare these days,haven't a clue who released it though??

I hope this additional info is of help

Regards Mark W

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Adrian Winchester
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 - posted November 27, 2013 10:48 PM      Profile for Adrian Winchester     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Hi Mark.
Many thanks, that's also very useful. 'Spaceways' is an entirely new one that wasn't on our list, so that's good to know. From the same Hammer era, Phil has mentioned a 4 x 400' Std 8 release of 'Four Sided Triangle', which was news to me. I'm very intereted to learn of the 'Seven Golden Vampires' trailer because Phil astonished me by referring to a rare US feature release of this film, so I expect the trailer is from the same (unknown) source. When you say a "long trailer reel", do you mean it had one trailer but was above average length?

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Adrian Winchester

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David Ollerearnshaw
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 - posted November 28, 2013 05:28 AM      Profile for David Ollerearnshaw   Author's Homepage   Email David Ollerearnshaw   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Didn't Derann release a "Dick Barton" on standard 8, not sure which one. I have a trailer (standard 8) to one I'll check the title. And did PC49 get a release?

And of course the three Quatermass films all on super 8 as 4x400ft plus 400ft. Experiment was also 400ft silent in an old Mountain catalogue. It was also complete I think in standard 8.

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Lee Mannering
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 - posted November 28, 2013 06:58 AM      Profile for Lee Mannering     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Curse on reg 8 snd is a good print

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Adrian Winchester
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 - posted November 28, 2013 07:31 AM      Profile for Adrian Winchester     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
David - You're right about a Dick Barton feature and trailer on Std although I can't recall offhand which of the Barton films it was. I'm not sure about PC 49 but Phil's article is on the horror/fantasy releases so not every Hammer will be included. Incidentally, regarding the non-fantasy films, I have a 4 x 400' Super 8 print of 'Women Without Men', which seem rare, and of course there's the 400' in scope and flat of 'The Lady Vanishes'.

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Adrian Winchester

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David Ollerearnshaw
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 - posted November 28, 2013 03:20 PM      Profile for David Ollerearnshaw   Author's Homepage   Email David Ollerearnshaw   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Was "The Lady Vanishes" the last Hammer Film? You could include that in the horror section. Really bad casting in the two leads.

I was surprised that "The Brides Of Dracula" was never released by Derann, even in a 'white box special'. I remember talking to Derek Simmonds about Hammer Films and that was one he wanted to get.

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Adrian Winchester
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 - posted November 28, 2013 07:22 PM      Profile for Adrian Winchester     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
David - 'The Lady Vanishes' was the last Hammer film, apart from the 1980s TV material, until the 'new' Hammer released 'Let Me In' in 2010. I'd agree that the leads are a weakness, although in every other respect I think it actually beats the Hitchcock version - a view that quite a few people seem to share.

In fact in the article, I believe Phil will give readers an insight into how close we came to seeing a 'Brides' feature.

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Adrian Winchester

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David Ollerearnshaw
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 - posted November 29, 2013 04:41 PM      Profile for David Ollerearnshaw   Author's Homepage   Email David Ollerearnshaw   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Totally agree with your comments, with two better leads this would have been a very good film.

With Angela Lansbury, Herbert Lom, Gerald Harper and Arthur Lowe (Charters) and Ian Carmichael Caldicott they made it far better. And the latter two were well cast too.

Of the Hammers Horrors I always enjoy their Dracula's, but only a couple of the Frankenstein's do I enjoy. The first was very good, both Lee & Cushing were perfect cast. Most of their output was good to watch, sit back and enjoy.

Of all the production studios I have quite a few from Hammer, you get the feeling from watching them that they enjoyed making them. They were a bit of a family type when you read some of the books about them.

And they are good to watch of course.

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I love the smell of film in the morning.

http://www.thereelimage.co.uk/

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Michael O'Regan
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 - posted November 29, 2013 05:08 PM      Profile for Michael O'Regan   Email Michael O'Regan   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Has there ever been a decent Super 8 release of Evil of Frankenstein ?

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Adrian Winchester
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 - posted November 30, 2013 08:53 PM      Profile for Adrian Winchester     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Michael - No, not on Super 8 (there was the Std 8 b/w release).

David - Hammer knew that Arthur Lowe and Ian Carmichael made a very appealing Charters and Caldicott, and there was talk of a spin-off TV series featuring them. But the company slid into bankruptancy at the time that the film was released, so even if it had been a hit, I expectg the idea was doomed.

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Adrian Winchester

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Michael O'Regan
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 - posted December 01, 2013 12:40 PM      Profile for Michael O'Regan   Email Michael O'Regan   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Thanks, Adrian. Another collector tells me that, in addition to the B&W print, Derann did, in fact, also have a colour Std 8 print for rental only. I hadn't been aware of this and I wonder if any of these colour prints survive?

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Mark Williams
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 - posted December 01, 2013 03:15 PM      Profile for Mark Williams   Email Mark Williams   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Yes that is correct Mike I think there were only 2 or 3 prints struck for rental only.

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Michael O'Regan
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 - posted December 01, 2013 04:30 PM      Profile for Michael O'Regan   Email Michael O'Regan   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Do any still exist, Mark?

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Mark Williams
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 - posted December 01, 2013 04:33 PM      Profile for Mark Williams   Email Mark Williams   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I vaguely recall a colour standard 8mm turning up on eBay a few years ago so there may still be hope,I think the print was letter boxed too.

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Michael O'Regan
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 - posted December 01, 2013 05:04 PM      Profile for Michael O'Regan   Email Michael O'Regan   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Thanks, Mark [Smile]

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Adrian Winchester
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 - posted December 01, 2013 07:00 PM      Profile for Adrian Winchester     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Phil thinks there were 4 colour prints although I once had a conversation with Derek about them in which I think he said there were 6. I owned one for a while in the 1980s but sold it. That may sound shocking in view of the rarity, but I have never seen a print with such 'perfect' scratches - it was as if people who had hired it has carefully ensured that the mass of lines covered every single part of the frame! There was also some lost footage at the star of a reel and it was a soft print. The only good point was nice colour. The master must have been a 16mm US TV print as it included the extra scenes shot for US TV screenings. It wasn't letterboxed. Derann sold the trailer in Std 8 colour, though, so that's easier to find.

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Adrian Winchester

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Paul Dann
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 - posted December 02, 2013 03:32 PM      Profile for Paul Dann   Email Paul Dann   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Evil of Frankenstein would have been part of the MCA package acquired by Derann in 1969 which also included Psycho (recently screened by ITV for the first time on Easter Monday 1968 I believe) and Universal's The Invisible Man and Phantom of the Opera.
The print would probably have been borrowed from Sound Film Services of Merton Park who were the exclusive distributors of the MCA 16mm catalogue in the UK
A colour print was available from Derann for £4.10s (£4.50) hire for 7 days

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Adrian Winchester
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 - posted December 09, 2013 04:01 PM      Profile for Adrian Winchester     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I still have a few loose ends regarding Hammer releases, so if anyone can comment on any of the following, I'd once again be very grateful. You would be contributing to what I'm convinced will be the most comprehensive listing ever of Hammer releases!
a) I know there was a 50' Americom 'Curse of Frankenstein' so I expect there was also a 50' 'Dracula'. Can anyone confirm this. Does anyone know if the 50' versions were only Std 8?
b) I believe the 200' Anericom releases ('Curse' and 'Dracula') were available in colour, on Std/Super 8 as well as b/w. I know there are rare sound versions with sound on stripe but does anyone know if these were both Std and Super and both b/w and col?
c) Can anyone confirm that 'Four Sided Triangle' was a Std (only?) feature? If so, was it full length or 4 x 400'? If it exists, it was presumably Derann?
d) Phil thinks 'Phantom of the Opera' was released full length in b/w Std 8 as well as b/w Super 8. Can anyone confirm the Std 8 release and if so, was there also a Std 8 400' version?
e) Phil also thinks there were Std 8 versiona of the Derann features 'Quatermass 2' and 'X the Unknown' but I've never heard of them. Can anyone confirm if they exist and if so were they full length or 4 x 400?
f) Has anyone ever come across Super 8 trailers to 'Rasputin the Mad Monk' and/or 'Plague of the Zombies'? If so, were they on Thunderbird reels?
g) Does anyone know of any other Hammer trailers, other than 'Horror of Dracula' and 'House of Fright' (i.e. 'Two Faces of Dr Jekyll') that were specifially released on Thunderbird trailer reels and have not been released by anyone else? This only applies to Thunderbird releases, and not releases by LA Films and others, as we are aware of those.
h) Can anyone remind me which of the Dick Barton films was released as a Std 8 4 x 400' and trailer?

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Adrian Winchester

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Guy Taylor, Jr.
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 - posted December 12, 2013 11:22 AM      Profile for Guy Taylor, Jr.     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Wasn't Mystery of the Mary Celeste an early Hammer Film? It was available from Blackhawk. Also Movie Magazine #2 The House of Horror, available, I believe, from Perry's was a compilation film of various scenes from Hammer Films.

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Guy Taylor

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David Ollerearnshaw
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The Mystery of the Marie Celeste Hired this from D G Hurst The Hammer reel was released by Derann.

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I love the smell of film in the morning.

http://www.thereelimage.co.uk/

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Guy Taylor, Jr.
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 - posted December 12, 2013 12:09 PM      Profile for Guy Taylor, Jr.     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
It was by Blackhawk as well. I have the Blackhawk catalog that lists it. I suspect that this title probably fell into public domain. Good little film.

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Guy Taylor

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Adrian Winchester
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 - posted December 12, 2013 03:40 PM      Profile for Adrian Winchester     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
David's referring to 'Movie Magazine No.2' being a Derann release - 'Mystery of the Mary Celeste' was only released by Blackhawk, on 16mm as well as Super 8. It was from Hammer's brief era of production in the 1930s. The Blackhawk releases are the full USA cut of the film, but there's a significantly longer British version that I believe is still unavailable in any form.

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Adrian Winchester

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