B

y the mid-1950s, Britain’s Hammer Films had been in busi-

ness for about two decades, but it had never enjoyed much

success, routinely producing such forgettable B movies as

Dick Barton Strikes Back and Dr. Morelle—The Case of the

Missing Heiress. Now it faced its most serious obstacle yet:

television. For the first time, entertainment was readily

available in people’s living rooms—for free, no less. How

could Hammer compete?

The British Board of Film Classification had recently intro-

duced an X rating, which barred anyone under the age of 16

from seeing the films with that rating. Unlike the X in the

United States, the British designation did not signify explicit

sex but rather any content deemed too extreme for young audi-

ences. Most studios considered the rating box office poison

and went out of their way to avoid it, but Hammer thought

they could use it to their advantage. No one could see X-rated

70 LIFE FRANKENSTEIN

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