By Dave Worrall

It’s hard to believe the now world-famous British television show The Avengers is 50 years old. To celebrate this event Titan Books have published a book as a tribute to the show that defined Sixties television and raised the bar for other British shows to follow. Written by Marcus Hearn (The Art Of Hammer, Hammer Glamour and The Hammer Story – the latter with Alan Barnes), with a foreword by Steed himself – the legendary Patrick Macnee, this large format hardback book is packed with newly discovered photographs and exclusive memories from the cast and crew. Although 50 years old, the show was so unique that it has yet to be rivaled for its wit, adventure and style. It became a worldwide sensation, its theme tune as familiar today as ever, and was syndicated to 90 countries, including America, where it was a prime time hit. The shows are today as original as they were when first transmitted, and The Avengers has become a cult status icon of the days when TV shows were not just good, but great. As one would expect from Titan, both the design and the quality of the printing is outstanding. A must-have for fans of the show - and for those who want to be reminded just how good British TV used to be.

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RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES

The Big Book of Biker Flicks by John Wooley and Michael H. Price is a long over-due tribute to the good, the bad and the ugly entries in this genre that came of age in the 1960s, though its roots can be traced back to Brando's early Fifties cult classic The Wild One. The book concentrates on 40 specific films and analyzes their merits and faults. the image of the biker chick on the cover is worth the price alone! Here is the description from Booklist:

"Wooley and Price consider the canon of the chopper epic enthusiastically and thoroughly, mixing stills and promotional graphics with dead-on thumbnail plot summaries, not to mention pithily noting particular films' peculiar distinctions. Less revered and studied than blaxploitation and smut, biker movies appeared, often at drive-ins, throughout America in the 1960s and 1970s, inspiring one of the most iconic sixties-culture films, Easy Rider, many of whose actors and plot wrinkles figured earlier in the likes of Hell's Angels on Wheels, The Trip and Angels Hard as They Come, all of which Wooley and Price hail here. Besides production notes, other, less easily accessed biker-movie information Wooley and Price provide include such things as the names of the biker gangs and their leaders in each movie. That Chino (Dennis Hooper) and his gang, the Black Souls, rumbled with Darryl (Jody McCrea) and the Stompers in The Glory Stompers is the kind of niche information American culture collections shouldn't be without. Now they don't have to be. Mike Tribby"

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By Dave Worrall

My first introduction to Hammer wasn’t seeing of one of their films (I wasn’t old enough), but looking at the wonderful posters that adorned the hoardings close to my home. The eye-catching posters – all painted by wonderfully skilled artists – with images of scantily-clad women and vampires and such-like monsters bursting forth were enough to both terrorize and tantalize the public. And that is exactly what they did. Audiences in their millions flocked to see these films during the Sixties and early Seventies, and it was the publicity material that was responsible in creating this horror phenomenon. The British quad poster for Hammer’s One Million Years B.C. is now an iconic image of the Sixties, and probably the most well-known film poster of all-time. It made millions for the studio and Raquel Welch became an overnight star. Hammer were the pioneers of film promotion - something only the James Bond films can claim to come close to – just.

Since I came of age to be allowed to see the Hammer films, I have been a major admirer of them. My attic is full of posters and stills, and when I was nineteen, I was lucky enough to be invited to their offices by Michael Carreras and meet Peter Cushing and Stephanie Beacham on the set of what was eventually to be released as Dracula A.D. 1972.

So it was with great pleasure when earlier in the year acclaimed Hammer historian Marcus Hearn (author of the recent best-seller Hammer Glamour) told me about his latest venture – again with Titan Books – a book devoted to the poster art of Hammer Film Productions. And what a book it is. Like his previous tome, this is large format, in hardback and beautifully designed and printed. Marcus has drawn, with the assistance of the Hammer archives and private collectors, a selection of nearly 300 examples of Hammer poster art at its best. From the Fifties through to the Seventies, a superb selection of all genres – vampires, sci-fi, drama and comedy, are represented here.

 I have always been a fan of the British quad size poster, especially those designed and painted by the genius of all poster artists, Tom Chantrell. I have some in my own collection, but there are many here that are incredibly rare and some that I have never seen before. Apart from being purchased by Hammer fans and movie lovers, this book will find itself onto the shelves of advertising agencies, publicity departments and designers the world over as the quintessential reference guide to the days when the world of film poster advertising was supreme. We will never see the likes of it again.

If you only buy one film book this year, buy this.

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Shane Rimmer, the Canadian actor who made a career out of playing Americans in British films, has released his autobiography. Titled From Thunderbirds to Pterodactys, Rimmer reflects on his long relationship with Gerry Anderson (who provides the foreword) on the legendary Thunderbirds series. He also discusses working on Dr. Strangelove, Out of Africa, Batman Returns and three James Bond films. Rimmer is universally regarded as one of the film industry's true gentlemen and his stories provide anecdotes that are as illuminating as they are amusing. Read more about the book on the MI6 web site.

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