WOMAN IN BLACK IN THE RED?

The new HAMMER FILMS co-production WOMAN IN BLACK opened in U.S. theaters this past weekend. It came in second only to action flick CHRONICLE. Ex-Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe is all growed up and gettin' scared by little girls in the ghost story that's long on atmosphere and jump scares, but apparently (I haven't seen it yet) short on originality. Time will tell if it ends up being profitable. Being from the House of Hammer, I certainly hope so!

According to the WALL STREET JOURNAL (sourced by Hollywood.com), WOMAN IN BLACK opened in 2,855 theaters across the country and took in $21 million. Spooky survival flim THE GREY starring Liam Neeson played in 3, 207 theaters and has accumulated $34.8 million in its first two weeks, coming in third. Coming fifth is Kate Beckensale's vampire fest UNDERWORLD: AWAKENING, which played in 2. 636 theaters and is running out of either steam or ammo at $54.4 million.

All-in-all, a good week for genre films, I'd say.

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HAMMER GLAMOUR X 12

It's not too late for another calendar this year, is it? Not to be outdone is Titan Publishing, the group that has given us so many great titles on Hammer Horror, with a pin-up calendar worthy to be on any red-blooded monster fan's wall.

Here's the synopsis from the Titan website: "Spinning off from Titan’s best selling celebration of Hammer’s Scream Queens, Hammer Glamour, comes this stunning calendar, fully licensed by Hammer Films. It features many of the actresses to have graced the films of the legendary British production company, including Ingrid Pitt, Madeline Smith and Caroline Munro!"

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IT IS A GOOD YEAR FOR HAMMER FILMS. The reinvigorated film studio has released two movies, Richard Klemensen's superb 'zine LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS is continuing its run with special issues on HANDS OF THE RIPPER and THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS, and author Marcus Hearn has now completed another book in his series about the Hammer Films empire. Beginning with THE HAMMER STORY in 2007, and followed by HAMMER GLAMOUR in 2009, and THE ART OF HAMMER in 2010, his latest opus, THE HAMMER VAULT, is releasing here in the States on December 20.

The book has already caught on and astounded readers in the UK. It is described as a "remarkable journey through the Hammer Vault" that includes props, annotated script pages, unused poster artwork, production designs, rare promotional material and private correspondence. Hundreds of rare and previously unseen stills help to create a rich souvenir of Hammer’s legacy, from the X certificate classics of the 1950s to the studio’s latest productions.

And, from Amazon: "Written and compiled by the official Hammer Films historian Marcus Hearn, and featuring exclusive contributions from the actors and filmmakers associated with the company, this is the most lavish book ever published on the legendary House of Horror."

Highlights include:

- Letters to and from some of the company's stars
- Pages from Peter Cushing's scrapbooks
- Pages from the scrapbook of managing director Michael Carreras
- Pre-production artwork, and poster artwork from films that were never made
- Production designs
- Rare and previously unpublished photos

[HAUNTED LIBRARY logo and accompanying illustration are Copyright (C) 2011 by Navroth. All rights reserved. Do not copy or distribute without permission.]

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HAMMER GAL GOES TO PRISON

According to the Associated Press, this week in Los Angeles, "A former Playboy Playmate of the Year who appeared in the horror movie ROSEMARY'S BABY has been sentenced to nine years in state prison for shooting her husband in the back at their Hollywood apartment.

Los Angeles County prosecutors say 66-year-old Victoria Rathgeb was sentenced Wednesday. She pleaded no contest to attempted voluntary manslaughter.

Authorities say Rathgeb shot and wounded her husband last October during an argument. Prosecutors say he recovered and was in court for the sentencing but did not make a statement.

Rathgeb was 1968's Playmate of the Year under the name of Angela Dorian. She had TV and movie roles in the 1960s and 1970s and played a recovering heroin addict in the 1968 hit ROSEMARY'S BABY.

Readers of MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD may also know that the gorgeous Miss Vetri/Dorian/Rathgeb was the stage name of the actress who played in other horror/adventure movies over the years, such as WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH and INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS (a,k.a. GRAVEYARD TRAMPS).

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