There seems to be a few on here collecting Hammer Film related autographs, so maybe it would be a good "non football" starting point for some healthy discussion, and sharing of information, tips, stories, etc.
What Hammer autographs do you have? What are your favourites? Does your Hammer collecting go beyond the horror films to their non horror films also?
Anyone who grew up with the original Hammer films enjoys them, what are your favourites from that era? Did you watch the Hammer tv series? Do you like the new Hammer films?
Other than Sir Christopher Lee who sends stamped signatures, and has also sent preprint signed pictures, is there anyone else connected with Hammer who sends facsimiles or secretarials?
I am certainly not a prolific Hammer autograph collector, but have my favourites and have picked up a few autographs related to these great films.
I have seen Let Me In and Wake Wood of the new mainstream Hammer films, but the media seems to forget that the first new Hammer film was actually Beyond The Rave which was released in an episodic format on the internet free of charge. It is almost as if it has been whitewashed from new Hammer history which is a shame as it is the best of the new films to date (still to see The Resident though). Wake Wood was quite good, and a decent stab at horror film making, and it was nice to see Timothy Spall. I was bored to death watching the original Let The Right One In, so it was no surprise that new Hammer's remake Let Me In was equally as boring. At least Beyond The Rave had a good mix of known British faces in it's cast, and married some humour to it's modern day tale of vampires to make it fun viewing. I hope they improve, and do not forget what made them great. The past should not be forgotten, and can be used to influence films of today with good effect. So far, the new mainstream films have ignored the past apart from Sir Christopher appearing in The Resident. The late and much missed Ingrid Pitt did also appear in Beyond The Rave. The Woman In Black may be a chance to put together a classic horror film, so fingers crossed it works.
I was a member of Ingrid's fan club, so have many autographs from her. She will always remain a favourite of mine, and Countess Dracula by default is my favourite Hammer film. We recently picked up Christopher Lee's 1966 Rasputin film on DVD, and rewatching it after many years it is still a good film experience. He is such a powerful actor, and works so well in the title role. Great supporting cast as well. Some creative licence with history, but accurate history does not always make for good film viewing. 🙂
I did try collecting signatures from Beyond The Rave for a while on my own customn 4x6 photos, but had a lot of people not reply. I may revisit this sometime as it is the launch point for new Hammer, and try getting some more. I have a section for this on my website which you can view directly via the following link -
http://www.cyshp.co.uk/brmain.htm
My best bargain purchase related to Hammer was one of Peter Cushing's compliments cards sent to a German fan. He was so considerate he wrote in German also. I picked it up on eBay in 2003 for £1 from a German seller.
I will not throw in all my scans in one post, but save some for another time. Just wanted to get this thread started, and hope it will be of interest.
