We love Hammer horror around these parts, so we were pretty excited when we found outBonhams will have several lots of Hammer Films movie scripts coming to auction June 6. Curated by Bonhams specialist and horror expert, Joe Moe, the auction will include production-used shooting scripts from some Hammer horror classics like The Mummy, Horror of Frankenstein, The Reptiles, Plague of the Zombies, The Gorgon, and The Satanic Rites of Dracula.
The collection includes producer Anthony Nelson Keys’s personally hand-annotated shooting script for Dracula: Prince of Darkness as well as 40+ pages of composer James Bernard’s Dracula: Prince of Darkness musical score. Excuse us while we pick our jaws up off the floor.
Dracula Prince of Darkness 40+ Pages of Musical Score by James Bernard. Read on for details below.
Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000 – Details
Hammer, 1966. Studio bound and bradded 111-multi-color revision page shooting script including some carbon copy typed pages tipped between printed pages. Interior title page attributed as written by "John Sansom" and dated "4th March. 1965". While this script is marked for the publicity department, it obviously came from a person of authority as there are copious notes, production markings, dialog changes, comments, cuts, and edits. One clue is a butter yellow revision page 45 with "A. Keys" handwritten at the top, indicating legendary Hammer Producer Anthony Nelson Keys. Handwritten highlights include technical notes like "Candles. No Wind" and during a stake-through-the-heart-scene, "Dummy required for Japanese version." In a scene marked for a close-up of "Dracula" (Christopher Lee) "No Colored Eyes" then later in the scene "Eyes in for Drac". There are also some examples of leavening of language for an international audience as when the line, "There's something the matter" has been changed to "There's something wrong." An insider's look at the making of a Hammer Horror Classic. Exhibiting age and production wear.
Some of the other offerings include:
Hammer Dracula - Prince of Darkness Annotated and Edited Producer's Shooting Script.
Estimate: $2,000 – 4,000 – Details
Hammer The Mummy Final Shooting Script.
Estimate: $400 – 600 – Details
Hammer Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell Script with Horror of Frankenstein Lobby Cards.
Estimate: $300 – 500 - Details
Not a Hammer Films production, but another exciting and iconic British horror movie offering — Browsing around the Bonhams sale page, we also came across Ashley Laurence's annotated pre-production script for her role as Kirsty in Clive Barker's 1987 Hellraiser. The auction also includes letterhead stationery from producer Christopher Figg, thanking Laurence for her recent visit, recommending she meet with the Executive Producer and including the handwritten note, "Please read for Kirsty." Lot also includes 1-"Kirsty" bracelet from production and 1-box of Hellraiser-themed marshmallow peeps, hand painted by Laurence.
