Robert Hamer (1911-1963)

To complement the excellent season of Robert Hamer films at the National Film Theatre (running until Saturday 29 January), Library staff have selected a few items from our collections to form a modest display of books and Special Collections.

Dead of Night (1945)

The chilling Dead of Night was the first 'omnibus' film produced by Ealing Studios, five separate stories linked together by one framing story, directed by four different directors. Hamer's segment, 'The Haunted Mirror' features a couple affected by murderous events of the past. View the original press book for this classic British thriller.

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)

Take time out to read the screenplay of Kind Hearts and Coronets and the analysis by Michael Newton in the bfi Film Classic of the same title. See the correspondence by the Bishop of Matabeleland expressing a complaint against the film.

Alec Guinness may also have had cause to complain as it is reported he was left submerged for rather too long holding his breath underwater at the end of the sequence where Admiral Lord d'Ascoyne goes down with his ship. However, he made four films in total with Robert Hamer and was on best terms with him throughout his life.

The Spider and the Fly (1949)

Set in a grim, grey Paris, far removed from the conventional view of the city we would later see in To Paris with Love, we have a duel between a master criminal and police detective, connected by their disdain of the incompetents that surround them. On display we have a still featuring Rolfe, Hamer and Portman on-set and an original press book for the film.

Long Memory (1952)

Hamer's first film on leaving Ealing, this story of how a man, wrongfully imprisoned for 12 years, seeks vengeance on those who had framed him for a murder charge, makes excellent use of the bleak landscape around the Thames Estuary. From Special Collections we have some production stills and a press book.

The Scapegoat (1958)

The story of a mild-mannered English schoolmaster who, because of an extraordinary resemblance to a French nobleman, finds himself tricked into taking the other's place at the head of the family. We are pleased to be able to display pre-production files and correspondence from our Special Collections on The Scapegoat (1958).

School for Scoundrels (1959)

School for Scoundrels was to be Hamer's last film. During filming he collapsed on set and was replaced for the last three weeks of filming by Cyril Frankel. Featuring Ian Carmichael, Alastair Sim and the caddish Terry Thomas, the film was based on the series of books by Stephen Potter - Gamesmanship (1947), Lifemanship (1950), Oneupmanship (1952), and Supermanship (1958) - in which he explained "how to win without actually cheating". On display we have the original press book and The Complete Terry Thomas by Robert Ross.

Further resources

For a comprehensive biography on Robert Hamer visit Screen Online.

bfi Special Collections holds the Robert Hamer Collection, from which a selection of items will be on display. Please forward any enquiries about the collection to Speacil collections.