Hazel Court appears as Elizabeth in this exceptional color glamour publicity photograph associated with Hammer Films’ THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957). Reclining across a bed of hay in a small white fur wrap and elegant slippers, Court is presented in an unusually imaginative composition that combines sophisticated 1950s glamour photography with the promotional world surrounding Hammer’s landmark Gothic production.

HAZEL COURT - THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957) White Fur Glamour Rare Hammer Horror Publicity Photo

The extraordinary styling makes this photograph immediately distinctive. Court reclines diagonally across the hay while the white fur provides a dramatic contrast with its coarse texture and warm natural tones. Her extended pose and elegant slippers create a strong visual line across the composition, while the deliberately uncluttered background keeps attention entirely on the actress.

Rather than resembling a conventional scene still, the photograph has the character of a carefully conceived star publicity portrait. Its combination of rustic surroundings, glamorous wardrobe and saturated color demonstrates how publicity photography could create memorable imagery beyond what audiences actually encountered within the finished film.

Court portrays Elizabeth, the cousin and fiancée of Victor Frankenstein, played by Peter Cushing. THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN also stars Christopher Lee as the Creature and marked a decisive moment in the development of Hammer’s Gothic horror identity. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film’s success helped establish the combination of vivid color, Gothic atmosphere and celebrated performers that would become synonymous with Hammer Films internationally.

Hazel Court would subsequently become one of the actresses most strongly associated with classic Gothic cinema, appearing in THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH (1959), THE PREMATURE BURIAL (1962), THE RAVEN (1963) and THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964). Her appearance in THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN places her at the beginning of Hammer’s enormously influential color Gothic cycle.

For collectors, this photograph offers an exceptional combination of film history and vintage glamour. Court’s white fur wrap, elegant slippers, dramatic reclining pose and remarkably creative hay setting give the image an identity entirely its own, while its association with THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN connects it directly to one of the foundational productions of British Gothic horror.

Carefully restored and professionally printed from archival source material, this museum-quality photograph is a distinctive collectible for admirers of Hazel Court, THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Terence Fisher, Hammer Films, Hammer Horror, 1950s glamour photography and classic British Gothic cinema.

Peter Cushing, who was then best known for his many high-profile roles in British television, had his first lead part in a movie with this film. Meanwhile, Christopher Lee's casting resulted largely from his height (6' 5"), though Hammer had earlier considered the even taller (6 '7") Bernard Bresslaw for the role.

Hammer refrained from duplicating aspects of Universal's 1931 film, and so it was down to make-up artist Phil Leakey to design a new look for the creature bearing no resemblance to the Boris Karloff original created by Jack Pierce. Production of The Curse of Frankenstein began, with an investment of £65,000, on November 19th,1956 at Bray Studios with a scene showing Baron Frankenstein cutting down a highwayman from a wayside gibbet.

The film opened at the London Pavilion on May 2nd, 1957 with an X certificate from the censors. The film was a tremendous financial success and reportedly grossed more than 70 times its production cost during its original theatrical run. In the UK, the film earned theatrical rentals of $1.9 million. According to Kinematograph Weekly the film was "in the money" at the British box office in 1957. According to another account the film made £300,000 in Britain and £500,000 in Japan.

In the US the outstanding box office success was a surprise. In its first week at the Paramount Theatre on Broadway Variety reported,"Curse" Wham $72,000" and noted,"it gave the Par flagship its biggest opening week on straight-film policy in the last two years". Variety continued to be impressed with its box office numbers as it opened across the US. "Curse" Terrific $30,900" in its first week in Los Angeles with supporting feature X the Unknown. In an era when horror films typically played for one week, Curse was often held over for two and sometimes three weeks in major markets like Boston.