Hammer Horror - Fridays on TCM

[rkolinski]

HAMMER HORROR - FRIDAYS IN OCTOBER ON TCM

"IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE!" That's what horror fans were saying of their favorite genre during the 1950s through the early '70s, when the British studio Hammer Film Productions was producing a steady supply of old-fashioned Gothic fright films.

With American horror dying off in favor of sci-fi effects, there was no more shivery or stylish guilty pleasure than the Hammer movies, whose low budgets were belied by striking direction, imaginative sets and slumming star actors having the campy time of their lives. The gore quotient was quite high for the time, so much so that British censorship of some bloody sequences was not relaxed for years.

This salute to Hammer's heyday includes the studio's two breakthrough horror films, both directed by Terence Fisher and making stars of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee: The Curse of Frankenstein [1957], starring Cushing as the mad scientist and Lee as his monster, and Horror of Dracula [1958], with Lee as the bloodsucking count and Cushing as Van Helsing.

Among seven TCM premieres are such provocative titles from director Fisher as The Brides of Dracula [1960], which imbues the vampire myth with hints of incest, sadomasochism and homosexuality, and Frankenstein Created Woman [1966], with former Playboy centerfold Susan Denberg as the suicidal beauty given a new lease on life by the good doctor [Cushing again].

Appropriately enough, the festival leads into Halloween weekend, which offers a collection of "Deadly Jealousy" films on Saturday and movies about "Haunted Houses" on Halloween itself. So tune in to TCM.

Horror of Dracula Friday, October 1,2010 8:00 PM
The Brides of Dracula Friday, October 1,2010 9:30 PM
Dracula - Prince of Darkness Friday, October 1,2010 11:00 PM
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave Friday, October 1,2010 12:45 AM

The Plague of the Zombies Friday, October 8,2010 8:00 PM
The Devil's Bride Friday, October 8,2010 9:45 PM
The Reptile Friday, October 8,2010 11:30 PM
The Gorgon Friday, October 8,2010 1:15 AM

The Mummy Friday, October 15,2010 8:00 PM
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb Friday, October 15,2010 9:45 PM
The Mummy's Shroud Friday, October 15,2010 11:15 PM
Blood From the Mummy's Tomb Friday, October 15,2010 1:00 AM

X The Unknown Friday, October 22,2010 8:00 PM
Five Million Years to Earth
(British title: Quatermass and the Pit) Friday, October 22,2010 9:30 PM
These Are the Damned Friday, October 22,2010 11:15 PM
The Stranglers of Bombay Friday, October 22,2010 1:00 AM

The Curse of Frankenstein Friday, October 29,2010 8:00 PM
The Revenge of Frankenstein Friday, October 29,2010 9:30 PM
Frankenstein Created Woman Friday, October 29,2010 11:15 PM
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed Friday, October 29,2010 1:00 AM

[Drewza89]

I'll be watching.

TCM is great all year long, but they get even better every October!

[N8DOGG]

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for the heads up!

[mpstjohn]

Thanks. I know what I'm watching tonight.

[deadhatetheliving]

Originally Posted by rkolinski

HAMMER HORROR - FRIDAYS IN OCTOBER ON TCM

"IT'S ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE!" That's what horror fans were saying of their favorite genre during the 1950s through the early '70s, when the British studio Hammer Film Productions was producing a steady supply of old-fashioned Gothic fright films.

With American horror dying off in favor of sci-fi effects, there was no more shivery or stylish guilty pleasure than the Hammer movies, whose low budgets were belied by striking direction, imaginative sets and slumming star actors having the campy time of their lives. The gore quotient was quite high for the time, so much so that British censorship of some bloody sequences was not relaxed for years.

This salute to Hammer's heyday includes the studio's two breakthrough horror films, both directed by Terence Fisher and making stars of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee: The Curse of Frankenstein [1957], starring Cushing as the mad scientist and Lee as his monster, and Horror of Dracula [1958], with Lee as the bloodsucking count and Cushing as Van Helsing.

Among seven TCM premieres are such provocative titles from director Fisher as The Brides of Dracula [1960], which imbues the vampire myth with hints of incest, sadomasochism and homosexuality, and Frankenstein Created Woman [1966], with former Playboy centerfold Susan Denberg as the suicidal beauty given a new lease on life by the good doctor [Cushing again].

Appropriately enough, the festival leads into Halloween weekend, which offers a collection of "Deadly Jealousy" films on Saturday and movies about "Haunted Houses" on Halloween itself. So tune in to TCM.

Horror of Dracula Friday, October 1,2010 8:00 PM
The Brides of Dracula Friday, October 1,2010 9:30 PM
Dracula - Prince of Darkness Friday, October 1,2010 11:00 PM
Dracula Has Risen From the Grave Friday, October 1,2010 12:45 AM

The Plague of the Zombies Friday, October 8,2010 8:00 PM
The Devil's Bride Friday, October 8,2010 9:45 PM
The Reptile Friday, October 8,2010 11:30 PM
The Gorgon Friday, October 8,2010 1:15 AM

The Mummy Friday, October 15,2010 8:00 PM
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb Friday, October 15,2010 9:45 PM
The Mummy's Shroud Friday, October 15,2010 11:15 PM
Blood From the Mummy's Tomb Friday, October 15,2010 1:00 AM

X The Unknown Friday, October 22,2010 8:00 PM
Five Million Years to Earth
(British title: Quatermass and the Pit) Friday, October 22,2010 9:30 PM
These Are the Damned Friday, October 22,2010 11:15 PM
The Stranglers of Bombay Friday, October 22,2010 1:00 AM

The Curse of Frankenstein Friday, October 29,2010 8:00 PM
The Revenge of Frankenstein Friday, October 29,2010 9:30 PM
Frankenstein Created Woman Friday, October 29,2010 11:15 PM
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed Friday, October 29,2010 1:00 AM

I'll take all of these film you BD, Thank you very much.

[Deadset]

Originally Posted by deadhatetheliving

I'll take all of these film you BD, Thank you very much.

Dito, but for now I'll record them on my DVR. I hope I get TCM in HD...

[Rob71]

My DVR will be busy this month.

[rkolinski]

Originally Posted by Deads3t

Dito, but for now I'll record them on my DVR. I hope I get TCM in HD...

I hope you get TCM in HD too; I am so glad that I receive it in HD (and my DVR will definitely be busy this month).

[GORT]

[master_8ball]

Cool, I haven't seen a lot of these and get TCM in HD. Will be checking them out.

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by deadhatetheliving

i'll take all of these film you bd, thank you very much.

+100!

[Scooby Blu]

Originally Posted by Rob71

My DVR will be busy this month.

Mine too! God I love October !!!!

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by rkolinski

X The Unknown Friday, October 22,2010 8:00 PM
Five Million Years to Earth
(British title: Quatermass and the Pit) Friday, October 22,2010 9:30 PM
These Are the Damned Friday, October 22,2010 11:15 PM
The Stranglers of Bombay Friday, October 22,2010 1:00 AM

And we cannot emphasize this too strongly: WATCH Five Million Years to Earth aka Q&tP. In addition to being pure Hammer, it's the coolest sci-fi movie ever made, bar none.
Think "If Hammer produced an episode of Torchwood".

(Not to mention being a particular artistic influence on John Carpenter--
This post has been sponsored by a grant from the Halloween III Anti-Defamation League. )

[Drewza89]

In case anyone forgot, week 2 is tonight!

[Drewza89]

Week 3 is on right now!

[Rob71]

I actually have The Mummy on DVD. I am going to DVR the rest and watch them this weekend/next week. I really liked their version of The Mummy. The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb is pretty good as well. Haven't seen the other two, so I'm very interested in checking them out.

[Drewza89]

Week 4 tonight!

[rkolinski]

Originally Posted by EricJ

And we cannot emphasize this too strongly: WATCH Five Million Years to Earth aka Q&tP. In addition to being pure Hammer, it's the coolest sci-fi movie ever made, bar none.
Think "If Hammer produced an episode of Torchwood".

(Not to mention being a particular artistic influence on John Carpenter--
This post has been sponsored by a grant from the Halloween III Anti-Defamation League. )

Nice to see there is another fan of "Five Million Years to Earth!" One of my favorite British SciFi films.