HAMMER FILMS: THE BLACK BOX CLUB: HAMMER DRACULA MONTH: THE MEN WHO BUILT THE HOUSE OF HAMMER

When you think of it, the heading to this post should read: 'The Men Who Built The Walls, Doors, Castles, Homes and Labs Of Hammer'! To many out there, who know their Hammer from their Tigon, the names Bernard Robinson and Scott MacGregor are as well known as Fisher and Francis, Cushing and Lee. Between them they designed some of the most impressive sets for Hammer Films. Production design second to none and yet an ability to recycle elements from one set into another. Next time you view Hammer's 58 DRACULA, take a look at the detail in castle library and the wall that was also the staircase in the master hall. The laboratory in THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN all built with an eye for period and style. Come Hammer's period of 'back to back' production in the mid 1960's Robinson skillfully swapped and changed whole buildings! Spot the Turkish twisted pillars, the stained glass windows that turn up in every village from Dartmoor to Carlsbad. Along with the rich Eastman color processing, it's good enough to eat!

Scott MacGregor worked at on several films from 1969 onwards. Like Bernard Robinson, he too had to work with tight budgets and deadlines. But MacGregor's also had vision , resulting in many Hammer projects, appearing to have production values of  films budgeted five times greater than the pot MacGregor was dealt! Taste the Blood of Dracula looks and feels quite different from any other in film the series. Take a look at the wonderful entrance into Dracula's desecrated church lair. So too, Scars of Dracula. Like Bernard Robinson, MacGregor had his own style and marked films like Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell with some masterful strokes.    

The production design sketches featured above are scanned from the actual Robinson and MacGregor artwork.