| Rungs on a Ladder: Hammer Films Seen Through a Soft Gauze Contributor(s): Neame, Christopher (Author), Lee, Christopher (Foreword by) |
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ISBN: 0810847353 ISBN-13: 9780810847354 Publisher: Scarecrow Press OUR PRICE: $78.21 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: June 2003 Annotation: Christopher Neame, son of director Ronald, started his film career in the early 1960s with Hammer Films. This account is told from the perspective of an amateur who observes 'through a soft gauze' many characters both in front of and behind the camera, including such producers of classic tales of Gothic horror as Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Anthony Hinds, Michael Carreras, and Anthony Nelson Keys, director Terrence Fisher, and screenwriter/producer Jimmy Sangster. Other stars less obviously connected to the company are also met along the way. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Performing Arts | Film - History & Criticism |
| Dewey: 791.436 |
| LCCN: 2002156725 |
| Series: Scarecrow Filmmakers |
| Physical Information: 0.6" H x 5.36" W x 8.98" (0.73 lbs) 144 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Rungs on a Ladder looks at part of the movie industry from a unique perspective. Christopher Neame, son of director Ronald, started his career (in the early 1960s) at the very bottom, but determinedly made his way to the top. Neame fondly recalls his learning years at Bray Studios and beyond. Simply and often amusingly, he recounts his days with Hammer Films and observes many of the characters both in front of and behind the camera-names synonymous with those classic tales of Gothic horror: director Terrence Fisher, producers Anthony Hinds, Michael Carreras and Anthony Nelson Keys, screenwriter/producer Jimmy Sangster, and of course, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Along the way, he encounters those less obviously connected to Hammer like Joan Fontaine, Joseph Cotten, Norman Lloyd, and Bette Davis. Never the one to reserve his critical eye for others alone, Neame willingly says mea culpa when deserved. The book begins with his rude awakening to the "string and sealing wax" world of Dracula Prince of Darkness and follows his journey through sixteen subsequent productions including three Frankensteins, The Devil Rides Out (which American distributors thought was going to be a Western!), and a couple of Mummy films. Neame also shares stories of his participation in non-genre ventures like Quatermass and the Pit, The Anniversary, Demons of the Mind and Fear in the Night. Includes 16 pages of photos. |