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| The Last Page (a/k/a Man Bait, 1951) | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 23 2011, 10:18 AM (482 Views) | |
| Laughing Gravy | Dec 23 2011, 10:18 AM Post #1 |
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![]() The history of Hammer Studios is fascinating but convoluted; a production company in the 1930s, then a distributor, then a production company that struck gold with a series of Technicolor Frankenstein and Dracula pictures in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. Makes for interesting reading. What concerns us here, however, is a series of dramatic pictures produced and released in the early 1950s through a special arrangement between Hammer and American producer Robert Lippert. It seems that Hammer wanted an American market for their films, naturally enough, but that required American names to star in them. So Hammer and Lippert signed a four-year accord by which Lippert would supply American film stars (and believe you me, I use the term “stars” loosely) and distribute the Hammer films in America, and Hammer would in return produce the film and distribute Lippert’s films in the U.K. The first film produced under the contract was called The Last Page in England and the more lurid Man Bait in the States; the stars provided by Lippert were George Brent (Bette Davis’ favorite leading man) and Marguerite Chapman (whose resume included Zorro’s Fighting Legion in 1939). Brent’s the manager of a small London shop that sells rare books; Marguerite is the employee that loves him, but it’s unrequited because he’s married, see. Diana Dors, then all of 19 and looking it, tears her blouse one night while working late with the boss, and her slimy boyfriend talks her into blackmailing Brent. The plans go awry when Brent’s wife, believing that her husband had an affair with this little hussy, kills herself, leading to further blackmail, murder, and the bobbies after Brent, who can only be saved by the love of good ol’ Marguerite. I was surprised; while low budget (everything takes place in the tiny bookstore except for a couple of scenes at a fancy table meant to represent a swanky club) the film’s quite good. A young film editor by the name of Terence Fisher was given his first chance to direct by Hammer, and he did quite a good job (his name would become legend ‘round the studio in a few years, of course, when he started directing their horror pictures). Hammer had rented a ramshackle estate on the banks of the Thames while they looked for a permanent home, and The Last Page was one of the first films produced there. The deal with Lippert turned out to be a pretty good one, and the American films that Hammer got in the deal did well in Britain, particularly the science-fiction films Catwomen of the Moon and Rocketship XM, leading Hammer to produce their own sci-fi films, including Spaceways, The Four Sided Triangle, and – most notably at all, ‘cause it put the studio on the map – The Quartermass Xperiment. Hammer ended up taking out a long-term lease on the propery, named it Bray Studios after the nearest village, and set about their business. The Last Page, under the U.S. title Man Bait, is available on DVD from VCI Entertainment, paired with with a little something called Bad Blonde. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
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| mort bakaprevski | Dec 24 2011, 08:12 AM Post #2 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Gravy, thanks for the posting. When I was a kid, I was a great fan of Lippert Pictures (& Screen Guild). As an adult, I'm somewhat nonplussed as to WHY I was a fan, but I think it was because I looked upon the firm as something of a replacement for PRC. Now why I thought PRC needed a replacement, of course, remains one of the mysteries of the ages!! |
| "Nov Shmoz Ka Pop." | |
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| mort bakaprevski | Jan 1 2012, 12:26 PM Post #3 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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She changed her name from Rebecca Heffener?? |
| "Nov Shmoz Ka Pop." | |
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| Frank Hale | Jan 1 2012, 03:17 PM Post #4 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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I think the replacement for PRC was called television. |
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| Sgt King | Jan 1 2012, 09:05 PM Post #5 |
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Charter Member
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Goof info Gravy. |
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| Sgt King | Jan 1 2012, 09:06 PM Post #6 |
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Charter Member
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That should say: GOOD info Gravy. |
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| mort bakaprevski | Jan 2 2012, 11:47 AM Post #7 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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.... except for Ms. Chapman's previous screen credit, that is!! |
| "Nov Shmoz Ka Pop." | |
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10:54 AM Jul 11