The Hammer Horror Films That Were CENSORED in the U.S.!

[@RerunZone]

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[@1kylecurry]

Watching Hammer Horror is almost a must for fans of the genre both young & old....

[@shoresean1237]

In a way, Hammer got its start because of legal censorship. Universal, hearing that they were going to do these films, sent a legal warning not to use any of their noted designs and tropes in their efforts. This forced Hammer to create completely unique takes that kept them from being a footnote. There are so many disturbing layers to 'Curse Of The Werewolf' I can't list them all. But the worst is the implication that you can have the wrong birthday, and Heaven will curse you for something you had absolutely no say in. That isn't even Old Testament - that's Lovecraftian.

[@IAMTHECOUNT]

" The sins of the fathers.........."

[@varanid9]

There are several different myths about how one becomes a werewolf, the one presented in this film being one of them. The most prevalent is that witches turn themselves into wolves with the use of potions and incantations. A lesser known one is that one can become a wolf by drinking from certain rivers. But Hollywood took the whole bite thing, one of the lesser methods, and made it famous.

[@davidrosler5413]

Great analysis.

[@Emily-Whitfield]

Watched all of these growing up during the 70s!!!

[@Arturo-p1g4y]

Me too!

[@dravenvandross8281]

Another awesome video a lot of those films my dad and my uncle showed me those films are still fantastic.

[@tobiwalker7145]

I saw "The Damned" for the first time last year. I'd never heard of it before. Well worth watching.

[@artemisnectar7]

Hammer Productions are still my fave go to 4 classic films... Never disappoints 🥂🎊 HNY 🙏🏽

[@clarencewalker3925]

A little-known fact: "The Phantom of the Opera" was originally written for Cary Grant. He always wanted to do a horror film but the major studios felt his image forbade it. After filming "Walk, Don't Run" he decided to retire, leaving Herbert Lom to fill in.

[@TarkentonLarry-iu3qp]

And the rest is history.

[@FilmBuff54]

Herbert Lom did a fantastic job as the Phantom. I love Cary Grant, but I am glad the role went to someone.

[@earnestwanderer2471]

I always wondered if there were “unrated” versions of the Hammer films that were only shown in Europe.

[@dwgould2001]

Can't say about unrated, but the current owners of Hammer (look that one up, if you want a laugh) have bought Siver Salt restoration UK , and planning on doing 4k restorations of their catalogue. Hammer films are pretty tame by todays standards, So i should imagine at the very least, UK cut editions coming soon in 4K , maybe unrated Idk.

[@ajivins1]

There were extra scenes put in for Japanese releases. For Dracula, Michael Gough recalled filming throwing up scenes to be added for those releases, "A mouthful of red wine and Rice Crispies!"

[@kevodowd5282]

Hammer House of Horrors were a must watch for us as kids in the 60's, they were brilliant.

[@MISHKINPUSH]

Thanks for the video. I haven't thought about The Gorgon since I watched it on Saturday afternoons as a kid.

[@adventurecats4816]

I love these movies! They take me back to my youth, staying up past midnight for "Sinister Cinema". Just rewatched The Gorgon a few weeks ago, what a classic.

[@Barnabas45]

I seen almost every Hammer film in the early 70's as a kid at my local matinee theater!

[@montylc2001]

So did I with my sisters....back then we could walk the mile it took to get there without any worries.

[@davidfrost779]

@@montylc2001 Yes but did you see there comedies like On the Buses,Mutiny on the Buses and others and other films from Hammer like Man at the Top (1973) or Shatter (1974)?

[@sharonellis8776]

Hammer made lots of decent Gothic classics. Love Peter and Christopher together ! xx

[@benderbendingrodriguez420]

Hammer Horror still cant be topped 70 years later

[@zpy-nq7wv]

HAMMER FILM WAS ,AND WILL ALWAYS BE, THE BEST .

[@richierugs6544]

at Curse of Frankenstein masks of the monster with cut out eyes were given away at the theater--rko mt vernon new york--i was 6 and my brother was 9 and we went--he wore the mask and it was rather scary especially for a 6 year old in 1957--no one seems to remember these masks, not even my brother--anyone remember anything about them?

[@adamjenks9613]

The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) is one of my favorite movies. I find the story of the werewolf’s origin to be really interesting and refreshing. It was pretty bold for the early ‘60’s.

[@frankgesuele6298]

These films to me were the real Hammer Time!🔨⚒

[@ErrolConner-p8p]

I remember very well when" NBC Tues night Night at the Movies " ran " Kiss of Evil " back in the late 1960s. Universal-International helped NBC with the additional footage, and some of the scenes, especially the bat attack at the end were heavily edited, and darkened to the point that you couldn't tell what was going on. I saw " Taste The Blood of Dracula "in the theatre when it was released in the U.S. They trimmed the " bordello " scene and a few others to give it a PG Rating, that way, getting a bigger audience. I heard it was rated "R" in the U.K.

[@robertmallory1877]

Not sure the darkness was intentional. When I saw the first Hulk movie (the Ang Lee one) the fight with the Absorbing Man at the end was too dark to see what was happening. On the DVD I could see the end fight clearly so I think my theater either got a bum print or they didn't set the lighting of the projection right!

[@richardandrewz8841]

@ErrolConner-p8p No R rating in UK. At the time we had AA (14yrs or over), or X (at various times 16 yrs or over, or 18). These became 15 or 18 certificates in the 80s. Still current, with the addition of 12A ( PG13 equivalent). Hammer films were awarded X certificates generally. Nowadays they would play as 12A or 15 cert films. Times change!!

[@ErrolConner-p8p]

@@richardandrewz8841 Thanks for the clarification.I wasn’t sure about the rating system in the U.K at the time. They trimmed “ Taste The Blood of Dracula “ in the U.S to at least a PG rating.

[@dr.michaelr.foreman2170]

I remember the Gorgon. I was 11 years old and I never forgot that movie.

[@varanid9]

The monster may look kinda lame, but it is the most common representation of a gorgon. The film was really creepy, though, and the way people start to become petrified seemed agonizing. The gorgon's "song" in the night really freaked me out, especially when you're a kid watching it late at night after everyone else has gone to bed. In a remote suburb in the '70s, the whole world was asleep at night, and when 2:00AM came around, nothing was on TV. Plus, no cell phones.

[@TPaine1776]

I saw it on TV in the 70s.

[@howardwylie1620]

I would like to see them all again ...Uncut.

[@NerdXZ-pn4nt]

That kinda of odd. Since the UK censored more than the u.s

[@ianmoseley9910]

Not back then.

[@robertmallory1877]

The Return Of The Dragon (perhaps better known as The Way Of The Dragon today) was a Hong Kong movie starring Bruce Lee. In the UK they actually cut out Lee's nunchuckas scenes (I know, blasphemy!) and retained the nudity. In the U.S. they kept the nunchukas and cut out the prostitute's topless scene! This was in 1974 for the U.S. release (Lee was already dead at this point in time).

[@garfieldsmith332]

I saw a lot of them when they came out. The British versions were probably the ones shown here in Canada.

[@hebneh]

I remember watching - I think - "Twins of Evil" on TV in the 1970s, a few years after its theatrical release. By then, there wasn't much film censorship anymore but as I expected, the movie had had a lot of nudity which was just overtly chopped out without any attempt to disguise it, just for television.

[@varanid9]

Yes, back in the day, I remember watching "Thunderball" on TV and you could see where they made the cuts. I prefer it that way so that the viewer knows he's missing something, not this modern way of making seemless cuts that almost re-edit the movie in a deceptive way, leaving it neutered.

[@davidrosler5413]

​@varanid9 good point.

Surprisingly,there is one Hammer film re-edited with new scenes I'd love to get my hands on.Only KISS OF THE VAMPIRE,the theatrical version is available,not KISS OF EVIL,the Americanized version.I remember it being a satisfying alternate to the original.

[@Elmer_Gantry]

6:45 Okay, now Inspector Dreyfus playing the organ makes more sense.

[@robertmallory1877]

Now you've got it!

[@judyriley3373]

Hammer made the best horror movies

[@wesleyrodgers886]

Love the old hammer horrors. And classic Hollywood's vampire / werewolf / mummy.😊 (Also a big fan of charles grants quiet horror novels inc Oxrun Station).

[@MinhThu-xn2bt]

1:20 in "TCOF" this is what shocked me : the flimsiness of the chain fixture to the wall for a monster of such strength.

[@robertmallory1877]

I guess the couldn't believe the monster was THAT strong. Characters always learned things the hard way in old monster movies!

[@labgrrl7759]

The greatest thing about Hammer films, and Hammer-Adjacent films (films that featured Hammer alumni, like The Wicker Man) is that they'd take a really conventional horror film, or psychological thriller, and would regularly plonk a really well researched historical or anthropological concept in the middle of it.

[@mananimal3644]

Are any of these films mentioned available uncensored?

[@larrymrobinson1051]

I always thought some Hammer Films lacked something, maybe that's what it was!

[@Gothic55]

Thank you for interesting take on censorship of Hammer in the USA. Could I suggest that you reexamine four Hammer films: Captain Kronos, To the devil a daughter, seven golden vampires and satanic rites of Dracula. These films were significantly cut for US distribution. Thank you.😊😊

[@etrisb]

The only Hammer film I'm familiar with is Hands of the Ripper.

[@ajivins1]

I'm envious, you've got some treats waiting! 'The Reptile', 'The Gorgon' and 'Plague of the Zombies' are some of my favourites.

[@FilmBuff54]

I remember seeing the Hammer “Phantom of the Opera” with Herbert Lom in the early 60s. It was really good, although I am pretty sure we saw a censored version because I don’t remember extreme violence.

[@extraterrestrialfascisti7625]

I am a huge Hammer film fan!!!

[@TammyConn]

I love Hammer Films! However, one of my favorites is "And Now the Screaming Starts." It's a great movie. I love how it's filmed and just the entire look and feel of the movie.

[@emwa3600]

After the comedy-musical 1942 version with Nelson Eddy & Claude Rains (the Two Stooges Cop Pretenders), I was soooo happy to see 1962's Herbert Lom version. This was the drama I wanted, with modern filming techniques than 1925's original. Du-uh, "more modern" - du-uh, no kidding... but Hammer still couldn't recreate the depth of villainy for the Phantom.

[@robertmallory1877]

I often wondered at the cuts in The Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires when it played in the U.S. as The Seven Brothers Meet Dracula. They retained the nudity but cut the scenes that explained Dracula's transformation to escape his castle etc. When it played on U.S. TV the nudity was of course cut but the scenes explaining stuff were restored. Finally video gave us the whole of The Legend Of The 7 Vampires but my question remains, why was the movie release cut here and the name change done in the first place?

[@scallopohare9431]

I looove Hammer Films!

[@LarryPerkins78]

I would almost wager Kubrick must have seen 'The Kiss of the Vampire' - his masked ball looks so much like the one from that film...even some of the mask are nearly identical

[@ronm6585]

Thanks Rich.

[@areyoulying4937]

Good watch! I subscribed! Have you reviewed The Island Of Terror?

[@MinhThu-xn2bt]

You left out "The Mummy"(1959) with Lee & Cushing !

[@varanid9]

Was it censored?

[@MinhThu-xn2bt]

​@@varanid9 Seeing that even the goreless "The Gorgon" was censored (how do you draw blood from stoned corpses?) the goreless "The Mummy" must be too.

[@kohlert55]

@@MinhThu-xn2bt I remember "the Mummy" seemed very short when I saw it as a kid, Perhaps that was the reason

[@JonPage-t5q]

I believe that the American versions of hammer productions were edited heavily because of competition with the American horror films , hammer was killing the American films so the box office, so Hollywood decided to try to have the films cut to ruin the hammer films.

[@Biomass1]

Of course it's extreme, it's called Hammer not pillow.

[@gjpopper3863]

As a kid back in late 60's / early 70's when these movies made the late shows I had many a nightmare about Christopher Lee trying to turn me into a vampire.

[@davidrosler5413]

The Brides Of Frankenstein gets my vote for best atmosphere and alarming performances. Use the branding iron, Peter!

[@DocMoonlight]

One instance of Hammer censorship not mentioned is The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959). The original has a very nice, tasteful scene of Hazel Court posing topless for a sculpture. It's not in the US version. ps. it can be found on Google)

[@URSCSAN]

Thank you for the informative video. My question is can these films that you say were cut for American audiences be seen in their original?

[@Blakeneyd]

I have to confess to not being a Hammer fan. I admire the attempt to update classic stories and make them genuinely scary. But Hammer films always seem to have an underlying sleaziness. I can’t explain it, it’s just there. And I always feel that it detracts from the story.

[@ranchokitty1]

I once read that the water in England gives developed color film that softer look than the Hollywood water. This really shows that look.

[@scotpens]

That makes absolutely no sense at all.

[@MinhThu-xn2bt]

The late 50s & early 60s saw good American horror movies, their b/w contrasting with the lurid explosion of colors of contemporary Hammer productions. Nevertheless the 4 movies I saw are exceptional for their story & characters. 1- "Dracula's Return" with Francis Lederer.(1958) 2- "The Vampire" a heartrending story of a good man caught into a circle of evil though by no fault of his, with Kenneth Tobey (1957) 3- "Blood of Dracula"(1957) with Sandra Harrison 4- "The Werewolf" with Don Megowan (1956) I won't further spoil them for you !

[@robertmallory1877]

I've seen all of the ones you mentioned. Particularly liked the first with Francis Lederer. Did you know Francis originally agreed to the part because he thought it would be part comedic? It wasn't and he didn't get to scratch that "itch" till he played Dracula again on Rod Serling's Night Gallery. The segment in question was an adaptation of the old pulp story "The Devil Is Not Mocked" by Manly Wade Wellman and it was not totally devoid of humor. Marvel fans may have seen it adapted in one of the issues of their old black and white magazine Dracula Lives. Both these adaptions were done in the 1970's. Honestly I don't know why there were so many remakes of The Twilight Zone series when rod's Night Gallery was sooo much more interesting. Lots of H.P. Lovecraft adaptations etc.

[@leg414]

Hammer films....True horror and gore unmatched...With controversy combined with entertainment and special effects unmatched...Wished for those old days of no CGI or computers to do the work of talented people and creative magic....Peace

[@FilmBuff54]

“The Devil Rides Out” is an excellent Hammer film, and one of Christopher Lee’s very best performances and characters. Charles Gray, as the warlock Mocata, is supposedly based on Aleister Crowley, and he makes a great, sinister villain. The problem with this wonderful film is that some of the special effects are extremely cheesy and cheap-looking. They somewhat mar what would otherwise be a fantastic horror film. The little beard really suits Sir Christopher Lee as well. He looks great, and it’s nice to see him play a heroic character without bloodshot eyes for a change.

[@emwa3600]

I remain a big fan of Hammer.

[@cs19575]

What censoring? I remember here in California in the mid 60's my father took us to see Christopher Lee's Dracula over and over again. I hated it! I was only 5 years old. I never wanted to go. The noise of hammering the vampire while she screams and the blood squirting was horrifying. And her aging gave me nightmare. The censoring didn't help me. These went on through the 70's.

[@taker68]

Ok, so what exactly was cut? That's what I hoped your video would tell me.

[@eugeniaruggiero5451]

I love Hammer films! They're my favorite horror classics. Love the team of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. I don't get to see them enough(don't have cable).

[@hebneh]

0:55 - The sequence beginning with the Frankenstein monster tearing off his gauze bandages is a clip used in the 1961 film "Lolita" in which Lolita and her mother are seated in the front seat of the family's 1957 Ford station wagon at a drive-in theater, with Lolita's stepfather at the wheel. All three characters are scared by what they're watching but the stepfather ends up holding Lolita's hand instead of her mother's, who he's married to. This is because he's infatuated with the teenage Lolita and will end up in a relationship with her, as he plotted to do.

[@robertmallory1877]

Now that is horror-ble! Give me monsters over human evil any day!

[@ricksaint2000]

We like this stuff

[@jonhinson5701]

It's too bad Hammer made only one werewolf movie but perhaps it was for the best as shrinking budgets might have contributed to bad werewolf make-up .

[@labgrrl7759]

I really always felt that The Damned really really fed a lot of paranoid nonsense you can trace right to the current day.

[@bjbell52]

American - freedom of CENSORSHIP

[@davidrosler5413]

Now the only US censorship remains is the censorship of right-leaning comments on youtube, Facebook and X.

[@davidhabert]

One little know fact about Sir Christopher Lee is that he had a huge collection and knowledge of occultism-related literature that amounted to 20,000 books. This would prove to be very handy when it came to appearing in what he says was to the greatest movie he ever made *The Wicker Man.* However he also issued a warning, to never, never, never get involved in it. "You will not only lose your mind: you lose your soul.” I have studying paranormal based subjects for almost 40 years and I kid you not *HE'S RIGHT.* Even I won't get involved or study this part of the paranormal, there are boundaries in these subjects you don't ever cross Satanism and Black Magic is one of them.

[@Rich77UK]

Hammer films are brilliant.

[@Elmer_Gantry]

7:20 It shouldn't be hard to edit out two seconds here, two second there, and even throw in a shot with the violence out-of-frame.

[@lonegunman1960]

That's Frunk-n-steen

[@mikehobart]

And of course in Australia they were simply banned

[@davidfrost779]

Hammer were making horror films in colour while the yanks were still using black and white that's why British horror films will always the best they had the best actors,actresses and technicians no question

[@robertmallory1877]

With the likes of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee they sure did! Real actors and no "method acting"!

[@davidfrost779]

@robertmallory1877 Method acting is shit in my opinion I I've always considered people like Pacino, DeNiro and Hoffman overrated and also they do nothing for me

[@dirkbruere]

And there are some scene you leave out because you would get demonetized

[@katherineseward7287]

What about Lust/Love for a Vampire?

[@robgronotte1]

In "Rasputin" why would it have been too controversial to show a dead body with a knife in the back? Doesn't seem nearly as bad as other things in these films.

[@ajivins1]

There was an acid attack...

[@mikeadams8027]

The reason the RASPUTIN movie was changed is that the family threatened to sue Hammer so they had to fictionalize or drop real events due to that.

[@robertmallory1877]

Wait, Rasputin had family?

[@mikeadams8027]

That is what Hammer said. It was going to be a more realistic film about Rasputin but "someone" sued or threatened to so they changed it.

[@michaelgrant7322]

😮 THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL HAMMER FILM I'VE EVER SEEN IS STILL ON TUBI TO SURPRISE AND SHOCK.... IT IS THE VAMPIRE EPIC "VAMPIRE CIRCUS" 🧛‍♀️ 🧛‍♂️ 🎪 Rated PG in the United States (still rated PG on dvd & bluray) There is NOTHING PG about Vampire Circus.. Even the first 10 mins is as R rated a movie as I have ever seen! A Great Vampire Movie on All Levels. Stunning Atmosphere and Incredibly Brutal.

[@Merylstreep1949]

Yes yes yes

[@rebelrouser184]

If I was a film maker I wouldn't allow cuts or censorship. You don't like it? Then don't watch it.

[@dustbin5044]

Every film and TV ratings boards across the entire world don't like hearing those words; "you don't like it? Then don't watch it."

[@Jimvanhise]

Can't you get a narrator who has actually seen the films he's describing. Gorgon is not pronounced GORG-ON and in The Devil Rides Out the correct pronunciation of MENDES is spoken by Christopher Lee himself.

[@rubywatson1144]

❤

[@lucarvbraganca9766]

Well... more some great horror movies with bad final: The skull The creeping flesh Black Sunday (with Barbara Steele). Dr. Jekill and Sister Hyde ..

[@sheetmetaljesus]

I do not like Hammer films in the slightest. The only thing worse than American cheese, is British cheese.

[@bigdad1211]

Seriously, is this AI? Your delivery is so mechanical 😢

[@RerunZone]

It’s all me, my friend. I sometimes wish I could be more expressive but I keep trying.

[@paulohagan3309]

@@RerunZone I like the fact that you're an American who doesn't try to spice it up with lame jokes every 10 seconds. You just do you.

[@ajivins1]

@@RerunZone To be more expressive would be illogical...