Terence Fisher’s partnership with Hammer Films brought multiple incredible films to audiences everywhere. Fisher directed films like The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Dracula (1958), and The Mummy (1959).

Bringing our favorite monsters to life was no easy feat, though Fisher made it look simple. During an interview with The Daily Illini, Fisher expressed that it was the duty of a fantasy director to bring a certain “integrity” to filmmaking. Fisher’s films did more than just entertain audiences; they gave viewers a moral compass.

“If my films reflect my own personal view of the world in anybody, it is their showing of the ultimate victory of good over evil, in which I do believe,” said Fisher.

Founded by William Hinds and James Carreras, Hammer Film Productions was responsible for revolutionizing the horror film, giving audiences a more up-close viewpoint of the more gory elements of the genre. However, the occasional audience member rejected these films. Christopher Lee, a frequent actor in Hammer films like The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), pushed back against critics. Lee believed that there was merit in a film catering to an audience’s desire for entertainment, and nothing else.

“Hammer has never claimed to be here for anything other than to provide the general cinema-going public with the entertainment it wants,” said Lee. “That is the job of a showman, and in the Carreras family we had the best showmen in the British cinema for a very long time.”