Publisher: Little
Shoppe of Horrors
345 pages
Full colour
illustrations
Hardback £44.95
Paperback £39.99
ISBN: 9798416550684
Review by Adrian
Smith
John Hamilton’s 2005
book Beasts in the Cellar: The Exploitation Film Career of Tony Tenser
(FAB Press), is probably the book in my collection that I have referred to the
most in the eighteen years since I bought it. It is an incredible piece of
research and writing and one which has inspired me with my own writing
projects. It was during his time spent with Tony Tenser writing that book that
the idea for this one first emerged, and now almost twenty years later John
Hamilton has given us a book solely dedicated to the films produced in the UK
by one of Tony Tenser’s frequent partners, American International Pictures. AIP
had achieved unheard of levels of success in the states with their teen-themed
drive-in titles such as I Was a Teenage Werewolf (Gene Fowler Jr., 1957)
and Invasion of the Saucer Men (Edward L. Cahn, also 1957) and naturally
as they expanded, they looked to the UK for skilled craftsmen, excellent studio
facilities and perfect locations for their often creepy, gothic-tinged films.
With in-house directors such as Roger Corman delivering fantastic films on low
budgets they could afford to take some risks, and they began by investing in
British projects such as Horrors of the Black Museum (Arthur Crabtree,
1959) before taking a more vested interest in bigger projects such as the giant
ape over London epic Konga (John Lemont, 1961).
After establishing
relationships with UK producers like Tony Tenser they were able to produce an
incredible run of films, many of which are still considered important today.
These include The Masque of the Red Death (Roger Corman, 1964), Witchfinder
General (Michael Reeves, 1968) and The Abominable Dr Phibes (Robert
Fuest, 1971), to name just three. And yes, they all also happen to star Vincent
Price. For more than a decade Price was on the AIP payroll and he loved working
in Europe and the UK for them as it gave him plenty of opportunities to scour the
art galleries and antique shops, as well as being able to dine at all the
finest restaurants and make occasional appearances on radio and television.
AIP’s contribution to
British film production during the 1960s and 1970s was massive and it is terrific
that John Hamilton has produced this equally massive piece of work to reveal
just what they were up to. As is to be expected, the research is exemplary, and
the book is packed with images from behind the scenes and publicity shoots,
posters and other promotional material, and also, where available, images
highlighting the different versions of the films, where occasional ‘hot’ scenes
were shot for the continental or Japanese markets. The writing is thorough,
leaving no stone unturned, and with its use of archival and new interviews, in
many cases the tales are being told by the participants themselves.
With a foreword from
the late Gordon Hessler, who made a few of his most memorable films for AIP,
and an afterword by Phibes co-star Valli Kemp, Witches, Bitches and
Banshees: The British Films of American International Pictures is an
essential read for anyone interested in the cinema of the 1960s. The British
horror film-focused magazine Little Shoppe of Horrors, now in operation
for more than fifty years (and effectively still a one-man operation), is to be
congratulated for finally branching out into book publishing, and we at Cinema
Retro look forward to seeing what they bring us next.
To order the book in
the US: https://www.littleshoppeofhorrors.com/Witches,%20Bitches%20and%20Banshees.htm
To order the book in the
UK: https://www.hemlockbooks.co.uk/Shop/category/40