1. Institutional Research
Hammer film productions: is a British film production company
founded in 1934 the company is best known for its ‘Hammer
Horror’ films mostly made in the mid – 50s until the 1970s,
hammer also produced science fiction, thrillers, film noir and
comedies in the later years. During it successful years hammer
dominated the horror film market, making films that were
enjoyed worldwide.
Its financial status grew considerably too this success however
was due to some smart partnerships such as one established with
Warner Bros. In recent years it has released some very popular
horrors such as Let Me In (2010), The Resident (2011) and The
Woman In Black (2012).
In November 1934 William Hinds registered his film company –
Hammer Productions Ltd.
Housed in a three roomed office suite at Imperial House, Regent
Street, London. The Company name came from hinds’ stage
name ‘Will Hammer’ which he had taken from the area of
London in which he lived, Hammersmith.
He began working n his first film almost instantly ‘The Public
Life of Henry the Ninth’ at the MGMATP studios, with filming
concluding on the 2nd of January 1935. The film tells the story
of Henry Henry, an unemployed London street musician and the
title was a playful tribute to Alexander Korda’s ‘The Private
Life of Henry VIII’, which was Britain’s first best academy
award nominee in 1934.
Hammer produced four films distributed by Exclusive:
The Bank Messenger Mystery (1936)
The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (US: The Phantom Ship)
(1936)
Song of Freedom (1936)
Sporting Love (1937)

2. An incident involving the British Film industry forced Hammer
into Bankruptcy and the company went into liquidation in 1937.
Exclusive survived and on the 20th of July 1937 purchased the
leasehold on 113-117 Wardour Street and Continued to
distribute films made by other companies.
Between 1938 and 1955 Hammer went through changes that
resurrected the company such as most of the crew getting
convinced to rejoin after The Second Great War.
The Birth of Hammer Horror (1955 – 1959) Hammer’s first
significant breakthrough with horror came in a 1955 adaption of
‘The Quatermass Experiment’ directed by Val Guest. As a
consequence of the contract with Robert Lippert, American
actor Brian Donlevy was imported to play the lead role and the
title was changed to the QuatermassXperiment to cash in on the
new X certificate fro horror films. The film was an unexpected
big hit, and led to a popular sequel Quatermass 2.