The Hammer Archive at DMU provides a great insight into the life of many of the Hammer films via the development of their scripts. Not only are there a treasure of unrealised projects housed on the archive shelves, but a quick glance through some of the screenplays here reveals how scripts can change when films go into production.
For example, I had a look at the script for Holiday on the Buses (1973) and found that the final scene in which Stan Butler finds employment on a demolition site was originally to show him laying tarmac on a road.
Whilst there I also had a look at screenplays for Straight on Till Morning (1972), Demons of the Mind (1972) and an unmade gem I forget the name of, but it came across as a terrible misfire somewhere between Tom Jones (1963) and Carry on Dick (1975). Wish I could remember what it was called, (perhaps it was The Haunting of Toby Jugg) but maybe it will feature as part of a proposed script reading / recording that Dr Matt Jones of DMU mentioned to me.
The archive which mostly consists of screenplays (at various stages of the films' production including shooting scripts) plus some publicity material, is open for public access dependent on staff availability and the academic timetable. It is certainly a great resource for all horror buffs and British film researchers.
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