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The birth of Hammer Horror (1955 to 1959)
Hammer's first significant experiment with horror came
in the form of a 1955 adaptation of Nigel Kneale's BBC
Television science fiction serial The Quatermass
Experiment, which was directed by Val Guest. As a
consequence of the contract with Robert Lippert,
American actor Brian Donlevy was imported for the lead
role, and the title was changed to The Quatermass
Xperiment to cash in on the new X certificate for horror
films.
The film was an unexpectedly big hit, and led to
an almost equally popular 1957 sequel Quatermass 2 —
again adapted from one of Kneale's television scripts,
this time by Kneale himself and with a budget double
that of the original: £92,000.[11] In the meantime,
Hammer had produced another Quatermass-style horror
film, X the Unknown, originally intended as a full part
of the series until Kneale denied them the rights.
Hammer Film Productions - Audrey Field
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