Hammer Films: The Bray Studio Years [Paperback]

Wayne Kinsey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2002

Hammer Films was one of the most successful independent production companies of the 1950s and 60s. The company's movies conquered box offices around the world, but the movies it produced during this era were all produced at the same modest facility near Windsor, in the English Home Counties. Acclaimed Hammer expert Wayne Kinsey has gained exclusive access to production files and censor reports, and conducted numerous interviews during many years of research. The result is a definitive and exhaustive history of Hammer's golden age, as seen through the eyes of the stars and technicians who actually made the films.

Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Reynolds & Hearn (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1903111447
• ISBN-13: 978-1903111444
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,403,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first half of the essential Hammer reference, August 17, 2007

By 

garv (DeKalb, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hammer Films: The Bray Studio Years (Paperback)

Wayne Kinsey's books on Hammer Films (The Bray Studios Years and The Elstree Studios Years) together form the essential reference on the short-lived British studio that brought us the greatest horror films of the 60's and 70's. The books are well-researched and packed with behind-the-scenes stories and photos. If you love Hammer, you need to own these books.

I was under the impression that the first volume, Hammer Films: The Bray Studios Years, was out of print, because I had tried ordering it from several online dealers that were unable to obtain the title. However, Amazon's sellers just delivered a new copy to my doorstep recently. Snatch up these books while you can!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and essential, June 27, 2004

By 

www.DavidLRattigan.com (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Hammer Films: The Bray Studio Years (Paperback)

I haven't put this book down since I first picked it up six months ago. Kinsey's history of Hammer's Bray years (i.e. until 1967) is full of fascinating details I have not encountered elsewhere. He really manages to inspire an affection and enthusiasm for both the films and the Bray studios themselves.

By far the best section, and the reason I keep returning to the book, is the multi-page illustrated tour through the history of Bray's backlot, packed with rarely seen photos of Hammer's most memorable sets.

Essential reading for Hammer fans.

3.0 out of 5 stars Exhaustively Researched . . . TOO Exhaustive. Very Dry Reading., August 11, 2010

By 

Erik Morton "Erik Morton" (Carmel, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hammer Films: The Bray Studio Years (Paperback)

I have to commend this book for the sheer wealth of information packed within its pages . . . one gets the sense that it took a lifetime's worth of research to be able to compile and compose it. BUT, the amount of detail comes at a price: it's very boring. The author's writing has no sense of style or enthusiasm. All it does is throw fact after fact after fact at you, and not very many of them come off as being particularly interesting. Scholarly or not, this book could have used some serious editing.
I respect what Mr. Kinsey set out to do with this book, but I'm afraid the end product isn't nearly as satisfying as one would hope. Do check out Marcus Hearn's 'The Hammer Story' (and its companion piece 'Hammer Glamour,' which focuses on the all the leading ladies of Hammer Films) for a far more enthralling, albeit less thorough, history on the studio and its films.