# Hammer Films and their contemporary composers



## Prodromides

Great Britain's Hammer Films produced pictures regularly from 1947 up through around 1975.

Perhaps more so than any other studio, Hammer had commissioned contemporary concert composers to write film scores for their movies (especially those made between '57 and '72).

James Bernard was Hammer's in-house film composer who had scored the lion's share of the output, most notably their line of Dracula/vampire flicks.

Besides Mr. Bernard, other classically trained composers (who may not have had a career in film scoring, per se) were called upon to write music for those genre pictures on which Bernard wasn't working on.
A number of these were "one-off" assignments, as with the Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott, whilst others, like the Australian Don Banks, scored upwards to a half-dozen movies.

The guys (and gal) in the above poll have all written concert pieces, some of which are currently available on discs. In some cases, classical music albums are the better (maybe only) way with which to explore their music because, for many, actual soundtrack albums simply don't exist.

Here's a few classical music CDs, that I've encountered, whose programs include works (mostly chamber pieces) by composers who have also worked on Hammer films. Intentional? Or co-incidence?

Signum Classics issued an album entitled "Red Leaves" with works by Lutyens, McCabe, Saxton, & Williamson. Although Robert Saxton wrote no film score for Hammer, his item here is called "Birthday Piece for Richard Rodney Bennett"! Makes me wonder, anyway, if this CD producer is/was a Hammer fan. 










Another CD on Meridian Records has one work apiece by Christopher Gunning and Wilfred Josephs, all for narrator with chamber ensemble:










NMC's "4 classic British film scores" does not have any Hammer soundtrack on it, but 2 of the 4 composers had worked with Hammer - Elisabeth Lutyens and Richard Rodney Bennett. One of the scores is "The Skull" by Lutyens, a horror film made by one of Hammer's competitors - Amicus.










Indicate, if you will, how many out of the 15 titles are favorites (favorite films or favorite film scores or favorite composers or any combo thereof.  )


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## millionrainbows

This is what I have. I was surprised to investigate Benjamin Frankel as a 12-tonist with 8 symphonies, string quartets, etc., and see that he has also done a lot of film scores.

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## Prodromides

Oh yes ... those compilation albums.

They're OK. I have more than 2 of those compilations myself, but they can hardly attempt to acknowledge all the studio's scores.
Even the lucky ones which get chosen for re-recordings might be only a 6-minute suite or the like.

A most satisfying re-recording of Benjamin Frankel's CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF appeared on Naxos:










This also includes another stand-out score by Frankel for 1955's THE PRISONER (which is not Hammer but an interesting play-to-film about an Eastern European Cardinal arrested & interrogated by Communists.)
Frankel was one of a group of British composers (including William Alwyn and Malcolm Arnold) who had a career in the film industry concurrent with their concert works.


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