TQS Staff
The biggest name in British horror, Hammer Studios, are appealing for information on missing footage that was cut due to censorship laws.
The studios that produced classic horror films such as the Dracula films starring Christopher Lee and this year’s The Woman in Black, have announced that there are nine missing scenes from six of the studio’s classic horror films, including The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), The Mummy (1959) and Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966). BBC News reports that the scenes were ‘deemed too gory or shocking’ for British audiences and have since been lost. However, it is possible that uncut footage has been retained by other countries in which the films were screened.
One of the lost scenes is said to be from The Curse of Frankenstein. It depicts a severed head being dropped into a vat of acid.
Hammer Horror was the first name in British horror cinema production for decades. As such, this year has seen a tremendous achievement and heart-warming comeback for the studios in the form of the box office hit The Woman in Black. People forget that Hammer were at the forefront of challenging the heavy censorship laws and pushing the boundaries of horror cinema throughout the 50s and 60s. The discovery of these cut scenes would mark the recovery of original cinematic classics in their full form. Hopefully the footage will cement Hammer’s often forgotten status as the original masters of horror and terror.
Jamie Fisher
