By JASON COMERFORD To wit, Hammer Studios’ The Curse of Frankenstein raised the stakes, and their 1958 followup Horror of Dracula pounded them in. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster performed a feat of literary alchemy by stripping Bram Stoker’s epistolary original novel down to its bare essentials; the final result boasted a streamlined plot, combined characters, and lightning-fast pace. With the star power of Peter Cushing and especially Christopher Lee (as the elegantly malevolent Count) at full brightness, Horror of Dracula firmly cemented Hammer’s position as the horror studio to beat in the 1960s. Its success established a stylistic template of colorful photography, intelligent scripting, and larger-than-life performances that remained largely unaltered for over a decade, and which continue to inspire generation upon generation of filmmakers. The musical voice of Hammer’s productions fell largely upon the shoulders of composer James Bernard. The son of an army officer, Bernard served in the RAF from 1943-46, during which time he was encouraged by Benjamin Britten to develop his musical talents. After exiting the service, Bernard met the writer Paul Dehn, who introduced him to film work, and became his partner in both work and life (Dehn wrote the lyrics to the haunting song “O Willow Waly,” composed by Georges Auric for The Innocents, in addition to many iconic film scripts). Mention also must be made of the contributions of Hammer musical director John Hollingsworth, whose well-honed talents as a conductor and music supervisor were a key element of Hammer’s first wave of releases; pneumonia claimed Hollingsworth in 1963, at the untimely age of 47, just as Hammer’s golden age was in full swing. Bernard’s inimitable three-note ostinato for Horror of Dracula’s title character is established in the title sequence, and proves quite the flexible device as the score unfolds. Bernard uses the motive to both suggest the character’s menace and emphatically announce his presence, the orchestra almost literally pronouncing Dracula’s name, and it was the perfect central element of a musical style which came to define genre cinema in the 1960s. The tapes of Horror of Dracula’s original recordings are thought to be long lost, but Bernard’s frequently recorded “Dracula Suite” is a staple of Hammer music compilations, and to this day, it still retains its grand, evocative power.
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READER COMMENTS:
| Howlin' Wolf | The
contest period for
this installment will run until noon on
Sunday, October 16. The
constest period for Week 1 installments 1-3 is
now closed and the
drawing for that installment will be held soon
and the winner
announced. Any comments made for this
installment or previous
installments during the second week period
will automatically be
entered in the drawing for Week 2 installments
4-6. Prize information
for the Week 2 installments is coming soon! |
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| Jeremy |
Hammer was the
best, making movies... scaring us and doing it
with a accent. When I was a child I began
watching the films on the late night channels
on a black and white small television...
hiding it under my covers, sound low.
Remembering to fall asleep to the flicker of
the crap reception lines putting me in a
hypnotized state only to be jolted back to the
wonderful music that seem to capture the scene
well. Now at the time, it was more of a
frightful experience, now it's a pleasure to
relive that memory... HWR... thanks for the
great memory! Ps. I loved the really paint-like blood! |
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| jfv |
I love that style of scoring. It wouldn't fit
a modern film at all, but for the era it was
the perfect fit. The music was much more
expressive and over the top. I also like the
minimalist approach for horror (a la John
Carpenter, etc) but I'm nostalgic for scores
like this. I wonder if someone could make a
retro horror movie today. It would probably
flop, but it'd be cool. :-) |
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| Jonathan |
Too bad the score seems to be lost. I like the
re-recorded suite though. Well, we got a few
score that seemed to be lost lately. So there
is hope. |
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| John M |
I forgot how much I enjoyed the score for
this. I'm gonna go watch this now! |
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| Josh Mitchell |
I'm ashamed to admit that James Bernard is woefully underrepresented in our collection. I aim to remedy that in the years to come. We do, however, have The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires on CD, thanks to BSX. Hopefully there are more unreleased Hammer horror scores up their sleeves (pick up Dracula A.D. 1972 if you haven't already!). |
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| Howlin' Wolf | This marks the end of the second
week prize period - composer Robert Feigenblatt is drawing the winners for Weeks 1 and 2.
The Week 1 winner has been selected and is David Kessler (congratulations!) The Week 2 winner along with the Weeks 2 and 3 prize selection list will be announced soon! All comments from this point forward will automatically be entered in the third week's drawing. Please continue commenting on all of the installments - the more comments, the more interesting the commentary and analysis! |
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| Howlin' Wolf | The prize link above for the second week of installments has been updated. This prize period ended Sunday, October 16 at noon. The winner of the drawing has been selected by composer Robert Feigenblatt and will be announced soon. We will email the winner and also post an announcement here. Congratulations again to David Kessler for being the winner for Week 1 installments. |
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| Howlin' Wolf | Congratuations to the Week 2 Installment winner Jonathan! Thanks of course to everyone who has participated so far in 13 CHILLS. Don't forget, we still have 5 more installments to go and two weeks of prizes ...and of course a GRAND PRIZE. |