out of the ashes is a 2010 british documentary film directed by tim albone , lucy martens and leslie knott .

it documents the story of the afghanistan national cricket team 's qualification for the 2010 icc world twenty20 tournament .

out of the ashes ( 2010 film )

aleem dar ' s all best decisions at brisbane 1st test ( ashes 2010 / 11 ) .
out of the ashes and over 2 million other books are available for amazon kindle . learn more
out of the ashes will be screened on bbc 4 ' s storyville later this year . you can watch the trailer here
i was at the world premier of out of the ashes at the edinburgh international film festival ( eiff ) 2010 . afghan cricket coach , taj malik , had arrived in edinburgh that morning so we heard him speak after the film . out of the ashes is definitely a must - see documentary even if like me , you know nothing about cricket . it was heartwarming to see a side of afghanistan that isn ' t about war . two big thumbs up !
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i pre ordered this book after seeing the film . i was lucky enough to meet tim at one of the screenings of his film and ask him about the whole process .
afghanistan ' s cricket team ' s rise out of the ashes and into a cauldron of associate nation cricketing fire , is an enlightening romp through some fascinating territory .
a terrific trailer of a film coming out in 2010 all about afghanistan . tim albone and his crew - leslie knott , lucy martens - have been following the team for yonks , and it ' s a great tale . do check out their site , too : urltoken . . to watch more please join us at urltoken
the mcc are planning to distribute this film to all their members as part of a fundraising drive to help develop cricket in afghanistan . there are also plans to show the film to british soldiers stationed in the country to help break down the barriers between the occupying forces and the population . out of the ashes is a film that can change perceptions of afghanistan in the uk . it deserves to be seen by as many people as possible , whether they care for cricket or not .
against a backdrop of war and poverty , out of the ashes , traces the extraordinary journey of a team of young , afghan men , as they chase a seemingly impossible dream , shedding new light on a . . . see full summary »
their journey from nobody - nomads to playing in the top tier of world cricket has consumed reams of paper in the past 18 months , with misty - eyed observers - myself among them for this website - leaning heavily on clichés in an attempt to contextualise their success . happily , someone else has done this far more creatively in an engrossing new film , out of the ashes , which premieres at the edinburgh film festival this week .
trailer of the upcoming afghan cricket documentary ' out of the ashes ' . the film will premiere at the edinburgh international film festival on june 17th . the struggles and joy witnessed by the unbeatable afghanistan national cricket team . this is a documentary made by timothy of the n . y times who traveled endlessly with the afghan cricket team all over the world to witness a nation beating the expectations of many . note : i do not own this and the copyright does not belong to me of this video . if this video is yours , please notify me and i will kindly remove it . thank you
what out of the ashes does best is draw out the characters of the players and their managers . by the end some of them will seem as familiar as friends . this is because of the genuine warmth between the people who shot the film and their subjects . the crew get access to the team ' s bus , their dressing rooms and houses and families , their nights out . their most intimate moments unfurl in front of us . we see how the eye - opening experience of travelling to the west for the first time splits the players one of two ways . some are repelled by what they find and become more devout in their faith , others cannot help but be seduced by the short skirts and fast bikes they see on their travels .
so impressed was sam mendes that he lent his considerable backing as executive producer , and the film is due to air on the bbc in the near future .
afghanistan ' s success on the pitch is the crux of the film ' s narrative : their struggle , then success , in jersey before leapfrogging everyone to reach this year ' s world twenty20 in the west indies . but the real fascination comes with the characters we meet .
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loved this film . it ' s very funny , very sweet and heartwarming . when i went to see it at the ica the crowd loved it and couldn ' t stop laughing .
perhaps the most striking aspect of the film is the closeness with which albone was embedded with the team . he , knott and martens travelled everywhere with them , sharing the bus , meals , good times and bad . imagine a documentary - maker trying to follow england , india or australia .
two cricket journalists set out to see whether test cricket has a future . in so doing they discover a conspiracy which starts at the highest echelons of cricket administration and politics .
tim albone , leslie knott and lucy martens , the young film - makers , embarked on this remarkable project several years ago , when albone , a former journalist for the times , was based in kabul .
that moment , he is keen to point out , was a rarity , however , and he remains more convinced than ever of cricket ' s unique ability to transcend boundaries and borders .
it ' s made me love cricket even more . there are very few sports in the world , if any , where the same thing could happen . cricket has given afghanistan the chance and they ' ve grabbed it with both hands . could you imagine a football team being created and making it to the world cup in 10 years ? in 2001 , the year they formed the cricket board , afghanistan were 90th in the world , the worst at the time . by 2010 they ' d made it to the world twenty20 . amazing .
feature documentary about the great west indies cricket team of the 1970 ' s / 80 ' s .
based on a true story , this heart - wrenching film follows the journey of gisella perl ( christine lahti ) , a jewish - hungarian doctor who manages to survive auschwitz . decades later , she ' s . . . see full summary »
and so the message that comes across is that cricket is the passport to seeing the world . as individuals , each has fought his own personal battle , and as judged by the rousing speeches before each match -
let ' s show the world afghanistan is a great nation
- their main aim is to spread the good name of their country . not that they don ' t take the sport seriously - far from it . their determination to win has upset opponents the world over . the film records a moment when one player is cruelly run out by his ball - watching partner .
why did you send me to play with a fucking bisexual ?
he screams at the coach .
out of the ashes had me laughing and crying - sometimes both at the same time . it has it all . it ' s brilliantly written , with some of the liveliest characters i ' ve ever seen portrayed in non - fiction . it really is a superb story of underdog spirit , struggle with adversity and hope and happiness amid war , terror and poverty . it shows how positive an impact sport can have on society and it shows afghanistan and its people in a different and much more positive light than that in which they are normally cast . follow the team from their humble beginnings in pakistani refugee camps across the border ( on donkeyback ) into afghanistan and through their meteoric rise up the rankings , from world cricket ' s worst team to one of its best . you will not be disappointed .
there often is not much joy that comes out of afghanistan these days . this book is the exception ! this is a book will appeal to book lovers , arm chair travelers , sports enthusiasts and especially cricketers . the remarkable rise of the afghan cricket team . a journey that , if it were not true , would cause people to shake their heads in disbelief . a real feel good book . afghanistan has an extraordinary ability to get normal people to achieve some remarkable things . alborne ' s book is supremely written and brings this wonderful story to life . if alborne ' s film of the same title was an achievement , this is a triumph !
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thriller charting the moral collapse of a police family . two cop brothers , smothered by the shadow of their former police chief father , must investigate a crime they themselves have committed .
a terrific and heart - warming story , a sort of kiterunner in batting gloves . this story of taj malik and his intrepid afghan team - mates makes you feel that with luck , everything might turn out all right after all . . .
- - michael simkin , author of fatty batter
taj malik and his team prove that the passion for cricket can survive anything . tim albone ' s labour of love is the tribute they deserve .
- - gideon haigh
it pays to remember that most of the team had never left their native country , let alone found themselves in the impossibly white and middle - class surrounds of jersey and its royal potatoes .
success turned the team into stars in afghanistan , and we see them treated to an open - top bus parade through the country , as happy masses line the streets , some of them shooting machine guns into the air , others setting fire to huge streams of deodorant that burst like flares into the night sky .
the strange ways of providence in my life : an amazing ww2 survival story ( a jewish . . .
despite the crowds , i never felt threatened . everyone was just so overjoyed at the team ' s achievements and so happy we were capturing it all ,
albone says on the team ' s triumphant return to kabul .
soldiers fired guns in the air in celebration , people hung out of windows of cars and screamed around the city ' s streets and the players were treated like heroes . the next day i left jalalabad for kabul . i was travelling in a car with only a driver . on the trip we came across some police who stopped us ; in the road were blood stains and spent bullet cartridges - only minutes before , we were told , the police had been in a gun battle with the taliban , some had been killed . it was a lucky escape .
dramatization of the 1932 / 33 test cricket series between england and australia . played in australia , the series gained notoriety in australian and worldwide cricketing history for the fact . . . see full summary »
two years ago a team of documentary - makers began to follow a cricket team around on their quest to make it to the world twenty20 . their labour of love is now ready to view
i just got this today and i ' m already half way through . it ' s one of the funniest , most touching books i have ever read . a real story of triumph over adversity .
in jersey the senior players can ' t keep their eyes off the titillating hemlines of the fairer sex . these snatched glimpses of excitable afghans undoubtedly raise a smile , but the message is clear and poignant : this group of men haven ' t seen much , at all , outside afghanistan . the sea was a mystery , as was swimming in it . bingo - winged ladies in their 80s , dancing ? that was new and a sight to behold , if only briefly . a lush - green outfield , as soft as feather pillows , was as alien as the pimms being sipped beyond the boundary .
nowroz mangal ( right ) and asghar salakhail of afghanistan leave the field after beating netherlands during the icc world cricket league division one match this month . photograph : christopher lee / getty images
at dubai airport there are scenes reminiscent of sacha baron cohen ' s borat , when one of the squad steps nervously onto an escalator for the first time before self - consciously regaining his composure in front of the camera . the irrepressible taj malik , who began as coach before he was emotionally dumped , then introduces himself ( and nation ) to weary travellers , including an american , who seemed both excited and confused at once , and a little scared .
they play cricket like war ,
says the british ambassador to afghanistan . but when they come up against international teams ,
they ' re going to be stuffed !
he guffaws , a little too smugly for comfort . like most observers of afghanistan ' s cricket team a couple of years ago , he didn ' t give the side much hope of making a lasting impact on the great game .
tim albone is the former times and sunday times correspondent in afghanistan . in 2008 he was shortlisted for the bayeux - calvados war correspondent award . he is currently making a documentary about the afghan cricket team and for the last fifteen months has had unlimited access to the squad during their remarkable effort to reach the world cup .
this is a fascinating account of a truly extraordinary story . it ' s as good an
underdog triumphing
story as you are ever likely to read . it charts the incredible rise of an afghan cricket team from refugee camps to qualification for the 2020 world cup . even if you ' re not a cricket fan you should read this . it ' s the other side of war - torn afghanistan that you don ' t see on the news . highly recommended .
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there are too many wonderful little moments to tell you about . best among them may be when we watch the team ' s original coach , taj malik , stare in fascinated horror at a group of old ladies line - dancing to a terrible rendition of amarillo by the house band in a hotel bar . that , or the look on his brother karim ' s face as he watches a lithe female flamenco dancer writhe on a chair in buenos aires . or , then again , perhaps it is when the team manager marches down to the sea in st helier only to report , intensely underwhelmed ,
in afghanistan we have rivers that are more impressive than this .
or when karim screams
why do i have to bat with a [ rude word ] bisexual ! he is a bisexual !
after being run - out by a team - mate .
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i love this book ! such a heatwarming tale of the underdog . i have no idea about cricket but am interested in afghanistan and thought this book would provide me with some good news . . .
comment : has been read but remains in clean condition . all pages are intact and the cover is intact . the spine may show signs of wear . all orders are dispatched within 1 working day from our uk warehouse . established in 2004 . no quibble refund if not completely satisfied .
my daughter sent me this book and with no knowledge of cricket , or afghanistan i found it a compelling and inspiring read .
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an amazing true story told both for those who love cricket and those who wouldn ' t know the first thing about it .
i ' d never heard of jersey . i thought it was new jersey in usa ,
says hasti gul , a lisp reinforcing his naturally gentle demeanour .
are there muslims and halal food in jersey ?
asks another .
no , they call it pork , i think . it ' s pork , isn ' t it ? god help us if we have to eat that meat .
the sight of a pizza is exciting , then terrifying .
are you sure this doesn ' t have any donkey meat ?
instantly receive a £10 urltoken gift card if you’re approved for the amazon platinum mastercard with instant spend . representative 21 . 9 % apr ( variable ) .
even if you don ' t like cricket go and see it . . . the best doc i have ever seen . . . truly incredible . taj is a legend .
a recent widow invites her husband ' s troubled best friend to live with her and her two children . as he gradually turns his life around , he helps the family cope and confront their loss .
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hotel transylvania 3 : summer vacation stars plan their dream summer getaways to some memorable movie settings .
after spending years in california , amir returns to his homeland in afghanistan to help his old friend hassan , whose son is in trouble .
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afghanistan and pakistan cricket 09 . 12 . 2013 part . 02 کرکت - بازی میان افغانستان و پاکستان
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milton subotsky ( september 27 , 1921 – june 27 , 1991 ) was an american film and television writer and producer .

in 1964 , he founded amicus productions with max j. rosenberg .

amicus means " friendship " in latin .

together , they produced a number of low-budget science fiction and horror films in the united kingdom .

milton subotsky

dr . who and the daleks amicus productions ; producers , milton subotsky and max j . rosenberg ; writers , milton subotsky and max j . rosenberg ; director , gordon flemyng .
dr . who and the daleks [ videorecording ] / amicus productions ; producers , milton subotsky and max j . rosenberg ; writers , milton subotsky and max j . rosenberg ; director , gordon flemyng . – national library
milton subotsky died in london on the 27th of june , 1991 of heart disease , at the age of 69 .
asylum amicus productions ; producers , max j . rosenberg , milton subotsky ; director , roy ward baker ; screenplay , robert bloch .
just for fun ( 1963 ) , columbia pictures , black and white , 85 minutes , director : gordon fleming , producer and screenplay : milton subotsky . - himself
asylum [ videorecording ] / amicus productions ; producers , max j . rosenberg , milton subotsky ; director , roy ward baker ; screenplay , robert bloch . – national library
around 1970 , carter was reported to have been involved in a deal to bring the conan property off the printed page and onto the big screen . milton subotsky ( c
milton subotsky ( 27 september 1921 - 27 june 1991 [ 1 ] ) produced and wrote the dalek movies produced in the 1960s and starring peter cushing as dr . who .
celebrating the legendary partnership of milton subotsky and max j . rosenberg with the production company amicus productions , who along with hammer films , dominated the horror film genre between the 1960s and 1970s .
cast : roy hudd , milton subotsky , david warner , linda hayden , edward de souza , john carson , paul stockman , simon greetham , simon flynn , john hamilton , amy hamilton .
— titre original daleks invasion earth : 2150 a . d . réalisation gordon flemyng acteurs principaux peter cushing bernard cribbins ray brooks andrew keir jill curzon roberta tovey scénario terry nation milton subotsky david whitaker …
cushing , peter , 1913 - ekland , britt , 1942 - lom , herbert . rosenberg , max j . subotsky , milton . baker , roy ward . bloch , robert . gamley , douglas .
vincent price : john carradine : the monster club : subotsky ' s last round .
by harold lawlor , producers  andrew donally & milton subotsky , photography  ted moore , music  david whitaker , makeup  tom smith , production design  david minty . production company  sword & sorcery productions .
subotsky died of heart disease in 1991 , at the age of 69 . his widow , dr fiona subotsky , is a prominent london psychiatrist , and an historian of psychiatry .
after ww2 experience , milton subotsky began his career in us television , producing and co - writing the youth musical rock , rock , rock ( us , d . will price , 1956 ) before moving to england in 1960 .
american writer and producer milton subotsky , known in the horror world primarily for being one of the founders of amicus productions , was born in new york city on the 27th of september , 1921 to a family of jewish immigrants .
amicus was formed by american producer milton subotsky , who moved to the uk in 1959 after distributing films to us television for ten years . his us based partner , max j . rosenberg , was the man who would find the money , while subotsky was in charge of the ‘artistic’ side – getting the films made .
correction : june 19 , 2004 , saturday an obituary of the film producer max rosenberg yesterday misspelled the given name of an actor whose career was advanced by mr . rosenberg and his partner , milton subotsky . the actor is terence stamp , not terrance .
prior to becoming a film producer , subotsky was a composer of rock ' n ' roll songs .
the black box club : vincent price : john carradine : the monster club : subotsky ' s last round .
after the break - up of amicus in 1978 , milton subotsky went his own way and formed sword and sorcery productions . there subotsky attempted to mount a number of interesting projects – thongor in the valley of the demons , a sword and sorcery film from lin carter’s sub - conan novels that would have starred darth vader himself dave prowse ; and several other productions that ended up being produced by other people – the tv adaptation of ray bradbury’s the martian chronicles ( 1980 ) ; the remake of cat people ( 1982 ) ; while subotsky also purchased the rights to a host of stephen king short stories that were eventually brought by dino de laurentiis to emerge as cat’s eye ( 1985 ) and maximum overdrive ( 1986 ) with subotsky receiving nominal producer’s credit . other than the psycho - thriller dominique ( 1978 ) , the monster club was the only of these projects that emerged directly under milton subotsky’s hand .
after the closure of amicus in 1975 , milton subotsky continued his work as a producer , founding sword & sorcery productions with frank duggan , although many of the company’s mooted projects were never able to go into full production for a variety of reasons . in later years , subotsky co - produced adaptations of novels by stephen king , including maximum overdrive ( 1986 ) and the 1991 tv movie sometimes they come back .
for the first time on dvd , the alpha archives collection proudly presents a two part feature length documentary celebrating the history of the amicus productions film company . founded in the early 1960s by americans milton subotsky and max j . rosenberg , amicus produced some classic ( now cult ) horror movies , including
here is the inside story on the making of the films , about the films and about the inside battles between max and milton that are almost as interesting as the films themselves .
hammer was a business set - up ,
the late , legendary horror director freddie francis told this paper in 1995 .
had it dealt in garbage disposal , it would have been just as successful . milton subotsky from amicus , on the other hand , was a real horror buff .
milton subotsky was a strange , nerdish character ,
says weeks now .
he wanted everyone to watch home movies of his damn kid .
subotsky ran out of money halfway through the production , but rather than give up , he simply told weeks to cut whatever scenes he had filmed into something resembling a finished movie . the film was released to terrible reviews - but , like most amicus films , it made a profit .
eventually , max and milton subotsky went their separate ways in the late 1970s . max continued working on low - budget genre films such as bloody birthday and homework , and overseeing the rich legacy of the amicus films catalogue , which has recently seen a renaissance through dvd releases of such titles as the house that dripped blood .
subotsky , milton . rosenberg , max . j . flemyng , gordon , 1934 - cushing , peter , 1913 - castle , roy , 1932 - linden , jennie , 1939 - tovey , roberta , 1953 - wilcox , john , 1905 - 1979 . hafenrichter , oswald , 1899 - gray , barry , 1925 - 1984 . lockyer , malcolm .
the son of a furrier , mr . rosenberg was born in new york and was a lawyer when he entered the film business in 1939 as a distributor of foreign films . he became a producer in 1954 . with his partner , milton subotsky , he made ' ' junior science , ' ' an award - winning series of tv science programs for children .
milton subotsky cut his cinematic teeth writing and editing technical training films while serving in the signal corps during world war ii . afterwards , he moved into television , writing and producing the tv series junior science before producing ( and composing nine songs for ) the film rock , rock , rock ! ( 1956 ) , which was co - produced by max j rosenberg .
max rosenberg was the producer of nearly 50 low - budget films , many of them cult horror movies , during a movie career that lasted for over half a century . with his partner milton subotsky , he produced such films as dr terror ' s house of horrors and tales from the crypt , plus the early rock ' n ' roll musical rock , rock , rock .
alas , for the social media , we had to
censor
bruce timm ' s fantastic cover art for
sword & sorcery productions ltd . - lost in lemuria : milton subotsky and harley cokeliss ' s unmade thongor in the valley of demons by micah s . harris . amicus ' former head tried to one - up conan . what could have been . uncensored cover in little shoppe of horrors # 37 .
the monster club was an attempt to return to amicus’s bread and butter – the horror anthology . subotsky brought back anglo - horror regular roy ward baker , who had directed asylum for amicus , and united three horror stars – john carradine , vincent price and donald pleasance . the film was adapted from the monster club ( 1976 ) , a short story collection by minor british horror writer ronald chetwynd - hayes , who had earlier provided the basis for amicus’s from beyond the grave . while the other amicus anthologies played themselves seriously , the tone in the monster club is jokey and in - referential – there is , for example , a vampire filmmaker named lintom butosky ( an anagram for milton subotsky ) . subotsky had intended the monster club as a horror anthology that could be seen by children . alas for subotsky , the monster club was a flop that sounded the death knell for the amicus horror anthology and fairly much the whole anglo - horror cycle .
together with partner max j . rosenberg , milton subotsky founded amicus productions in the early 1960s and they became the most successful of the companies exploiting the anglo - horror cycle created by hammer . amicus produced a number of horror anthologies during the 1960s and 70s including dr terror’s house of horrors ( 1964 ) , torture garden ( 1967 ) , the house that dripped blood ( 1970 ) , asylum ( 1972 ) , tales from the crypt ( 1972 ) , the vault of horror ( 1973 ) and from beyond the grave ( 1973 ) . indeed , subotsky and rosenberg defined the horror anthology as amicus’s trademark .
tags : 1960s , 1970s , amicus , amicus horrors : tales from the filmmaker ' s crypt , amicus : house of horrors , amicus : the studio that dripped blood , anthology , british , cat ' s eye , christopher lee , dinosaurs , dr who , freddie francis , max j . rosenberg , milton subotsky , monster movie , peter cushing , scream and scream again , sword and sorcery , the house that dripped blood , the monster club , the psychopath
to discuss the possibility of him playing the role of conan the cimmerian . not long after , the paths of prowse and subotsky would cross once more in regards to sword and sorcery .
here was a period in british culture - roughly the mid - 60s to the late 70s - when making a movie on the cheap , getting it shown in cinemas and turning a profit was actually possible . amicus studios , the brainchild of a socially inept scriptwriter called milton subotsky and a fast - talking hustler called max j rosenberg , hired everyone from vincent price to joan collins to star in hastily made horror movies with vague pretensions towards psychological depth . they even convinced hollywood boy wonder william friedkin to shoot an adaptation of harold pinter ' s the birthday party . remarkably , subotsky and rosenberg achieved this without having any money whatsoever , let alone a real studio .
in the mid - seventies , subotsky had toyed with the idea of filming robert e howard’s conan stories , but finding them too violent , instead went for lin carter’s conan knock - off thongor . subotsky planned a major action epic , family - friendly of course , with little dialogue , lots of stop motion effects and dave prowse in the title role . harley cockliss was brought in as director and the search for financing began . aip showed interest but wanted to make changes . subotsky declined , fearing that they wanted to turn it into an r - rated movie .
unable to purchase film rights to robert e . howard ' s conan the barbarian stories , subotsky instead bought the rights to carter ' s
thongor
stories in 1976 . subotsky himself adapted carter ' s 1965 novel the wizard of lemuria . united artists agreed to bankroll the project – now called thongor in the valley of demons – in 1978 , but subsequently withdrew for unspecified reasons .
amicus films were typically brooding and claustrophobic ; they were far darker , and much less camp , than the horror films of the same period produced by the more famous hammer studios . the scripts tended to reflect subotsky ' s obsessions . i , monster , its dr jekyll and mr hyde adaptation , is stuffed with freudian theories because subotsky ' s wife happened to be studying psychology at the time .
after his dissolution with his amicus partner max j . rosenberg in 1975 , milton subotsky set up sword and sorcery productions , ltd . built around mounting such a fantasy picture . in their short history , a good many projects went unrealized including a theatrical version of the incredible hulk , and the micronauts . among these unmade projects was thongor in the valley of demons . having secured the rights to lin carter ' s character , subotsky wrote a script based on carter ' s inaugural thongor novel from 1965 , ' the wizard of lemuria ' . additionally , a nine issue series of thongor adventures appeared in marvel comics creatures on the loose line beginning with issue # 22 in march of 1973 and ending in may of 1974 .
“below the crypt lies death’s waiting room…the vault of horror . ” milton subotsky and amicus return with another horror anthology the vault of horror , a direct follow up to tales from the crypt ( 1972 ) . roy ward baker steps in to take the director reigns from freddie francis bringing his own distinct but similar style with improved angles and composition with a more humorous tint . the blu ray also brings the film to the states for the first time uncut . the black saint and doc rotten tackle another groovy horror film from the 1970s .
subotsky was a vocal advocate of ‘family entertainment’ throughout his career – something that would have an increasing effect on his approach to horror and fantasy as time went on – and he seemed an unlikely person to create a studio that would rival hammer , who had eagerly embraced the ‘x’ certificate and were willing to push it as far as they could . but subotsky was first and foremost a businessman , and he knew that horror would sell .
thanks for this terrific post and for your research on subotsky ' s background . thought i would share with you a report from the july 11 , 1951 variety ( p . 10 ) which claims that subotsky and max rosenberg were already associated in 1951 when the tv program junior science was being produced . max is said to have
recently advanced part of the financing .
thought you ' d be interested to know that . cheers !
milton subotsky was born in new york . during world war ii he served in the signal corps where he wrote and edited technical training films . after the war , he began his career as a writer / producer during the
golden age
of television in the 1950s . in 1954 he produced and wrote the tv series junior science . he graduated to feature films in 1956 , producing rock , rock , rock , for which he also composed 9 songs . in 1960 he moved to england where he produced his first horror movie horror hotel at shepperton studios .
the amicus story should have ended when subotsky walked off in a huff in 1975 . but the films have endured , growing in cult status as the years pass . there ' s something about the way they were made on a wing and a prayer that gives them charm , while the underlying themes of paranoia , neurosis and sexual repression - subotsky ' s preoccupations , it seems - give some measure of depth behind the wooden dialogue and hammy acting .
his career as a producer started in 1954 , when he joined forces with milton subotsky to make an award - winning television series of do - it - yourself science programmes for children entitled junior science . the pair moved into films with rock , rock , rock ( 1956 ) , starring tuesday weld in her screen début , with her singing voice dubbed to good effect by connie francis . featuring the top disc - jockey alan freed , the film had guest performances by the rock favourites chuck berry , johnny burnette , the flamingoes , lavern baker and frankie lymon . rosenberg recalled ,
subotsky also co - produced several adaptations of stephen king novels , including maximum overdrive ( 1986 ) , sometimes they come back ( a 1991 tv film ) . and lawnmower man director ' s cut was dedicated to his memory .
after forming amicus productions in england in 1962 , mr . rosenberg and mr . subotsky made popular horror anthologies , including ' ' dr . terror ' s house of horrors ' ' and ' ' the house that dripped blood . ' '
opinions differ on what exactly went wrong . subotsky cheerfully blamed it on weeks’ ‘inexperience’ ; weeks says it was non - starter from day one . it was certainly subotsky who insisted on the 3d format ( which turned out to not work ) – he had something of a fixation with the format , announcing several 3d movies in the 1970s , none of which were made . even if the 3d had been successful , it’s hard to see how it would have saved this stilted , talky film .
the daleks were a merchandiser ' s dream . their inhuman likeness was ubiquitous by the mid - 1960s , appearing in books , comics , and newspaper cartoons ; on pencils , toys , masks and bedroom slippers . selfridges even designed a dalek cake for christmas 1965 . spotting a sure - fire money - spinner , producer milton subotsky acted quickly to secure screen rights to doctor who for his amicus company . according to amicus historian allan bryce , subotsky , a shrewd negotiator , persuaded the bbc and dalek creator terry nation to let his company make a film version of the first televised dalek serial , the daleks , with options for two projected sequels , for the knockdown price of £500 . to secure funding and distribution , this family - orientated film was to be deliberately distanced from the horrific fare amicus was generally known for , and was released under the newly created aaru production banner .
filed for bankruptcy entangling all rights in a pool of lawsuits ; some of which were levied against the company for failure to keep the books in circulation - - so this early conan deal failed to formulate . supposedly , the quotient of sex and violence in howard ' s works contributed to subotsky losing interest in wrangling the rights to conan ; another option were the less gruesome thongor stories of lin carter . while he was determined to make a sword and sorcery picture , there was one man subotsky had envisioned as a barbarian of cinematic sorts .
director – roy ward baker , screenplay – edward & valerie abraham , based on the novel by ronald chetwynd - hayes , producer – milton subotsky , photography – peter jessop , music – ( shadmock story ) douglas gamley , played by john williams , ( vampire story ) – john georgiadis , ( humegoo story ) – allan hawkshaw , music coordinator – graham walker , songs performed by night , pretty things , b . a . robertson & the viewers , background music – expressos & ub40 , animation – reg lodge , makeup effects – roy ashton & ernest glasser , monster masks – vic door , production design – tony curtis . production company – chips productions / sword and sorcery productions .
subotsky ' s sword and sorcery productions , ltd . did get a few films made before dissolving in 1980 such as dominique ( 1979 ) , the television mini - series co - production the martian chronicles ( 1980 ) , and the anthology the monster club ( 1981 ) .
subotsky was also driven by a deep - rooted hatred for hammer . in 1956 , hammer had rejected a script he wrote called frankenstein and the monster , only to go on and have huge success with a similarly themed film called the curse of frankenstein . to rosenberg , this proved there was money in british horror movies . to subotsky , the gauntlet had been thrown down .
hammer seem happy to make the same film over and over again ,
he told an interviewer in the early 1970s .
i ' m always looking for something different .
but subotsky overestimated his own abilities . he not only made a misguided attempt to improve on robert louis stevenson ' s jekyll and hyde story with i , monster ; he insisted it be filmed in 3d . the film ' s young director , stephen weeks , could chop out subotsky ' s monotonous dialogue about freudian theory , but making the 3d effect work was almost impossible , because the sets had been built the wrong way round . the script called for the action to go from left to right , but the building lines went the other way .
sword & sorcery ' s first film project to get off the ground was dominique . in 1980 , they co - produced the tv series the martian chronicles , adapted from the short story collection by ray bradbury . during the making of this miniseries , subotsky and donally parted ways .
by 1980 , subotsky was in something of a quandary . having poured most of his time and money into the now defunct thongor , he’d also spent his remaining financial resources buying the rights to six of stephen king’s short stories . he needed to make a film , and soon .
for reasons that remain unclear , subotsky lost heart in amicus in the wake of its biggest successes . in 1975 , the studio released an adaptation of edgar rice burroughs ' lost - world adventure the land that time forgot . it had proved a difficult film to shoot : its star , doug mcclure , was drinking heavily after the collapse of his marriage , while subotsky was rumoured to be spending more time at hamleys buying toys than running the studio . his only real involvement with the production was to turn up at a screening with his four - year - old - son , announce that the boy could tell there were men inside the dinosaur suits , and leave . soon afterwards , subotsky withdrew from the company and launched a lawsuit against his former partner that dragged on for the next five years - largely because the company had been set up on nothing more than a handshake .
unfortunately , the relationship between subotsky and partner rosenberg was becoming increasingly strained , and in 1977 the business was dissolved . although a further burroughs romp , the people that time forgot , was in development at the time , it would eventually be credited to american international pictures . rosenberg , never high profile to begin with , continued in distribution and production , often uncredited ( among his executive producer credits are the incredible melting man , bloody birthday , cat people and perdita durango ) . subotsky , not a great money man , was left floundering . he finally teamed up with andrew donally to form sword and sorcery productions .
prominent for producing mainly portmanteau films such as dr . terror ' s house of horrors and tales from the crypt , subotsky and rosenberg also produced two dr . who movies , a couple of low budget sci - fi movies , the psychological thriller the psychopath , and three movies based on edgar rice burroughs stories .
subotsky’s career was pretty much over . he did co - produce the tv mini series the martian chronicles , and in later years had credits on cat’s eye and the lawnmower man – that shrewd investment in stephen king stories at least paid off to that level . he died in 1991 . rosenberg died in 2004 .
rosenberg , who was the money man , was always in america and we never met him ,
says ingrid pitt , the polish - born actor who starred with dr who ' s jon pertwee as a sexy vampire in the house that dripped blood .
but milton was an angel . he was often on set and he had a way of making you feel wanted . we used to sit around and talk about medicine . he always thought he had something wrong with him .
now , you might wonder why , having bought the rights at a time when the author was at his cinematic hottest ( with the shining and hit mini series salem’s lot ) , subotsky didn’t make a king movie . instead , he dusted off an old screenplay and set about making his grandest folly , the monster club .
one of amicus ' s most notorious titles was asylum , also made in 1972 , another compendium piece based on short stories by bloch - this time revolving around the psychological aberrations of inmates at a psychiatric hospital . needless to say , subotsky was incapable of leaving bloch to his own devices , adding gratuitous scenes of limbs crawling across floors to the writer ' s original script . but asylum ' s director , roy ward baker , created a mood of sinister threat , and subotsky assembled a starry cast : the best story features charlotte rampling as a schizophrenic whose murderous alter ego is played by britt ekland . following a now - familiar pattern , asylum opened to atrocious reviews and huge returns .
subotsky was born in new york city , to a family of jewish immigrants . during world war ii , he served in the signal corps , in which he wrote and edited technical training films . after the war , he started a career as a writer and producer during the 1950s
golden age
of television . in 1954 , he wrote and produced the tv series junior science . he graduated to film in 1956 , producing rock , rock , rock , for which he also composed nine songs . in 1960 , subotsky moved to england ; he produced his first horror film , horror hotel , at shepperton studios . he was a regular juror on juke box jury on bbc television in the early 1960s .
wrongly classified as an amicus film ( it was in fact made by sword and sorcery productions ) as the final film of amicus producer milton subotsky , this later horror anthology has become commonly accepted as one . in return for a blood donation to a thirsty vampire , a writer is introduced to a secretive and supernatural club where he is told three terrifying tales . firstly , a beautiful woman finds employment at an isolated manor house and soon captures the heart of its wealthy and reclusive owner , but her dastardly designs on him soon go up in smoke . secondly , a shy young boy discovers that his father is a vampire who is being pursued by hunters who refuse to rest until he is caught . the final tale is of a remote norfolk village populated by utterly ghoulish dwellers . afterwards , the writer is admitted to the club as the ghastly members reveal that , in their eyes , humans themselves are the greatest monsters .
worse still , the film was incredibly dated and pitifully under - budgeted . i remember sitting in my local cinema watching this film as the audience hooted , howled and yelled abuse at the awful monster masks , the tired direction by roy ward baker and the terrible rock bands that subotsky though would add youth appeal ( b . a . robertson ? the pretty things ? ) . in the year that audiences were flocking to violent slasher films , subotsky was still thinking that vincent price and joke shop level werewolf masks were the way to go . rarely has a film been so spectacularly out of step with reality . the film bombed , failing to even secure us distribution , and plans for a sequel ( monsters and meanies , would you believe ! ) were quickly abandoned .
hendry ' s character in tales from the crypt was called maitland ; there ' s always someone of that name in anything written or produced by the splendidly schlocky milton subotsky . david quinlan , whose film reference books are much under - rated claims in his entry on hendry that his demotion to character roles may have been related to a refusal to wear a toupee as much as anything . it ' s been claimed by several sources that hendry was in casino royale , but i ' ve never been able to spot him in it ; given the mess that was its production and end result , it ' s probable that he filmed a scene that was cut out . similarly , i tried but honestly couldn ' t spot hendry ' s early bit part in the wet comedy the big money , when it was on at three in the morning a few years back ; the rank organisation were so embarrassed by it , they didn ' t bother releasing it for some years .
amicus broke up in 1975 , but subotsky continued producing . in 1980 he co - produced the tv series the martian chronicles , adapted from the book by ray bradbury . he also co - produced several adaptations of stephen king novels , incliding maximum overdrive ( 1986 ) and sometimes they come back ( 1991 , tv ) . he died of heart disease in 1991 at the age of 69 .
subotsky soldiered on , encouraged by rosenberg , for whom critical lashings mattered little in the face of increasingly large financial returns . subotsky ' s script for tales from the crypt , an anthology piece based on stories from 1950s pulp horror publishers ec comics , was described by variety as
laughably melodramatic
. a review in films illustrated said :
much of the dialogue is risible throughout , and much of the playing incapable of overcoming the vast obstacle of the script .
yet crypt , which stars joan collins as an unfaithful wife who kills her husband only to be killed herself by a man dressed as santa claus , was one of the most successful films of 1972 . it was second only to the godfather at the us box office , and spawned a follow - up , the vault of horror .
the first amicus film actually predates the company . the city of the dead , better known as horror hotel , was made before subotsky settled on the amicus ( meaning “friendly” ) name and the film is credited to vulcan films . made just prior to psycho , this occult thriller is notable for killing off the heroine midway through the story – much as hitchcock would do later the same year with janet leigh .
also in 1966 came two science fiction films . the terrornauts , directed by montgomery tully , was a pretty awful children’s film , while freddie francis made the slightly better they came from beyond space , a paranoid tale of invading aliens and mind control . science fiction , it seemed , was not something amicus excelled at , lacking the budget and the ideas to make it work . however , it did fit with subotsky’s wish to make family films .
other films that failed to get off the ground included comic book adaptations the incredible hulk , creepy and eerie and science fiction epic the micronauts . then sword and sorcery finally did get a film into production , it was a return to what subotsky knew best – a three story anthology about killer cats called the uncanny . this was followed by lacklustre psychological thriller dominique , like its predecessor a canadian - uk co - production . neither film was a success .
rosenberg kept amicus alive for two more years . the studio ' s swansong was a terrible science - fiction western called welcome to blood city . rosenberg cut his ties with the british film industry , set up a distribution company in california and produced films such as the natassja kinski - starring cat people . subotsky lurched from one disastrous production to another until dying of heart disease in 1991 . rosenberg kept working well into his 80s , dying in 2004 aged 90 .
the next four amicus films were of a very different strain – it’s trad , dad ( aka ring - a - ding rhythm – subotsky’s favourite of his films ! ) , just for fun , girl of the night and lad : a dog ( a ‘touching’ tale of a disabled boy and his pet ) were mostly forgettable youth and family films . there was little to suggest that the city of the dead had been anything more than a one - off .
he and subotsky initiated the hammer horror cycle when they produced the curse of frankenstein ( 1957 ) , which is credited with single - handedly reviving interest in gothic horror movies . its controversial , gruesome black humour , the droll performance of peter cushing as baron frankenstein , and christopher lee ' s unusually realistic monster ( fashioned by the famed make - up expert jack pierce ) resulted in a surprise hit that cost $ 250 , 000 and made a profit of $ 7m .
it perhaps shows how out of touch subotsky had become by this time with audience – and genre fan – tastes that he had a dislike of the film . interviewed by cinefantastique in 1973 , he commented “strangely enough , scream and scream again made a lot of money and that was different from any film we’ve ever done . i don’t know why , it wasn’t all that good . it might have been because we used three top horror stars and it had a very good title . ”
in 1964 , amicus returned to the genre with a film that set the scene for a decade of horror . dr . terror’s house of horrors took its title from an obscure 1940s film and its format from the classic dead of night ( 1945 ) . consisting of a series of short stories , linked together by peter cushing as a sinister tarot card reading doctor who predicts death for all his travelling companions during a train journey . the film set the tone for much of the subsequent amicus output – over the ensuing years , subotsky made the portmanteau film his trademark . while hammer concentrated on the gothic , subotsky mostly kept his films firmly set in the modern day , and had a particular affinity for the anthology ( he was once quoted as saying he liked the format because it didn’t give the audience time to get bored ! ) . it also allowed him to boast surprisingly starry casts , as it was cheap and easy to hire big name actors for a few days work on a short story .
curiously , amicus had their biggest hit at a time when the british film industry in general seemed on its last legs . in 1975 , they made the prehistoric romp the land that time forgot , which was a huge box office success . horror was suddenly out – not only were giant monster films making more money , but they also fitted in with subotsky’s own wish to make wholesome films for kids to enjoy . it was followed in 1976 with another edgar rice burroughs fantasy adaptation , at the earth’s core , which proved to be another popular success .
the popular team of cushing and lee worked in several of rosenberg and subotsky ' s films , which employed an exceptionally talented pool of actors . the cast of vault of horror ( 1973 ) included daniel massey , terry - thomas , michael caine , anna massey , denholm elliott , curt jürgens and glynis johns . veteran stars such as ralph richardson , who played the crypt keeper who linked the stories in tales from the crypt , and vincent price , who starred in madhouse ( 1974 ) , acted alongside younger talent such as donald sutherland and terence stamp in their films .
the final amicus horror film was the eccentric the beast must die in 1974 . you have to credit subotsky for taking a chance on this inadvertently hilarious film , which has calvin lockhart as a latex suit - wearing big game hunter who invites a group of people to his country estate , believing one of them to be a werewolf . a mix of murder mystery , horror and the most dangerous game , the film includes the infamous werewolf break , where audiences were supposed to shout out who they think the werewolf is . there are no records to show what audiences actually shouted…
the pair first dabbled in horror in the mid - fifties , and could claim to have kick - started the hammer cycle , as they submitted an idea for a new frankenstein film to associated artists productions , who in turn passed it on to hammer . while the subotsky / rosenberg screenplay , entitled frankenstein and the monster , was considered too short and too derivative to be filmed , the pair were paid off and the experience – not to mention the huge success that hammer subsequently had with the curse of frankenstein – set them on the road to fifteen years of horror and fantasy production .
lsohgirl wrote : hi
horrorboy
- you are going to see more material on calvin beck andcastle of frankenstein than you ' ve ever seen in one place . the research that christopher m . o ' brien has been doing is amazing . it has grown ( as has our thongor piece on the unfilmed milton subotsky project ) over the last months . one of the reasons we had to push our moon zero two coverage and the peter sallis interview to next halloween ( our spring issue is totally devoted to frankenstein the true story ) . i hadn ' t thought of monsters of the movies because i always considered it more of a
pro - zine
than a fanzine . you can make the argument that cof was a pro - zine too , but the way cal beck ran it and the irregular schedule and how virtually no one got paid - it has always seemed more in the mode of a fanzine to me . i would like to do horrors of the screen , if anyone should have a contact for alex soma . problem with l ' incroyable cinema is my friend harry nadler , one of the two men behind it , is dead . i ' m not certain if the other editor is alive . however , in the area of uk publications , i ' m looking into shock xpress . and among american zines derek jensen ' s children of the night . the roy skeggs interview runs 14 pages . lots of great images and artwork . more from roy in the future , too .
hi
horrorboy
- you are going to see more material on calvin beck andcastle of frankenstein than you ' ve ever seen in one place . the research that christopher m . o ' brien has been doing is amazing . it has grown ( as has our thongor piece on the unfilmed milton subotsky project ) over the last months . one of the reasons we had to push our moon zero two coverage and the peter sallis interview to next halloween ( our spring issue is totally devoted to frankenstein the true story ) . i hadn ' t thought of monsters of the movies because i always considered it more of a
pro - zine
than a fanzine . you can make the argument that cof was a pro - zine too , but the way cal beck ran it and the irregular schedule and how virtually no one got paid - it has always seemed more in the mode of a fanzine to me . i would have liked to do horrors of the screen , but according to facebook , the editor alex soma has passed away . problem with l ' incroyable cinema is my friend harry nadler , one of the two men behind it , is dead . i ' m not certain if the other editor is alive . however , in the area of uk publications , i ' m looking into shock xpress . and among american zines derek jensen ' s children of the night . the roy skeggs interview runs 15 pages . lots of great images and artwork . more from roy in the future , too .
1970 saw the house that dripped blood , a decent anthology film again based on bloch stories . it was more successful than torture garden , and even the token comedy story ( the cloak , starring jon pertwee and ingrid pitt ) worked . less successful was i , monster , directed by stephen weeks – a young filmmaker with a unique vision that often made his films hard work . putting an pseudo - arthouse director in charge of an adaptation of dr jekyll and mr hyde for a commercial filmmaker like subotsky was always going to be problematic . shooting it in a new , experimental form of 3d was utter madness .
in 1964 , with fellow expatriate producer max j . rosenberg , subotsky formed the company amicus productions . based at shepperton studios , they produced such films as dr . terror ' s house of horrors ( 1964 ) , dr . who and the daleks ( 1965 ) , daleks – invasion earth : 2150 a . d . ( 1966 ) , torture garden ( 1967 ) , scream and scream again ( 1970 ) , the house that dripped blood ( 1970 ) , tales from the crypt ( 1972 ) , asylum ( 1972 ) , from beyond the grave ( 1973 ) and the land that time forgot ( 1974 ) .
rosenberg and subotsky made several musical movies , valuable for preserving on film a host of legendary pop stars performing at their peak . jamboree ( 1957 ) featured 17 recording stars including fats domino and jerry lee lewis ( singing his big hit
great balls of fire
) . it ' s trad , dad ( 1962 ) , was the first film to feature the highly stylised direction of the future beatles director richard lester . helen shapiro and craig douglas were the stars , with chubby checker , john leyton , del shannon , gene vincent , chris barber , kenny ball , acker bilk and the temperance seven among the guest performers .
amicus was disestablished in 1975 , but subotsky continued producing . around this time he formed
sword & sorcery productions , ltd .
with frank duggan . at some point andrew donally joined the company . numerous well - publicised projects did not go into production . these include adaptations of lin carter ' s
thongor
stories , a live - action version of stan lee ' s the incredible hulk , film adaptations of stories that appeared in james warren ' s comic magazines creepy and eerie , and a co - production with former james bond film producer harry saltzman on saltzman ' s troubled
shrunken man
epic the micronauts .
the classic days of the british horror film . i miss good old hammer and amicus so much . it was indeed the two doctor who films that were my gateway into the world of the time lord . and those wonderful anthology films , amicus did them better than anyone before or since . saw the two time forgot films on the big screen . remember the second one had this awesome cardboard display of the airplane fighting the dinosaurs , a shame those days are over . pity subotsky was never able to get his other projects off the ground . but if they ended up being as weak as the monster club , maybe it’s just as well . but oh the memories .
amicus may have fashioned preposterous horror hokum out of love , but the studio came into being through hard - nosed opportunism . rosenberg , a new yorker , was a law graduate with a successful distribution company when he heard about the eady plan , a british subsidy set up to funnel government money into movie production and encourage filming in the uk . subotsky was a shy science - fiction film freak , also from new york , whose parents considered the movie industry disreputable . nevertheless , he managed to get into the feature film business , producing rock , rock , rock with rosenberg in 1956 , before he moved to england in 1960 . in 1964 , the pair came together again with the founding of amicus to take advantage of the eady plan .
modeler tony mcvey ( sinbad & the eye of the tiger , superman , return of the jedi ) built some early models of the lizard - hawks ( see insert ) with the actual animation being handled by barry leith , animator of british kids show the wombles ( 1975 ) . tony pratt ( hell in the pacific , the last grenade ) was the art director while harley cokliss ( warlords of the 21st century , black moon rising ) was on board as director . with storyboards , a presentation book of artwork on the characters in the proposed film ( see above ) , and models being built , subotsky and his co - producer andrew donally planned to begin shooting in june of 1978 and having it all tied up by june of the following year . the only problem was financing .
sharajsha attempting to thwart world domination by the dragon kings via the resurrection of their god . filled with monsters and elements bordering on science fiction , it was described by talent agent duncan heath as a
space - horror film
. among the intended highlights were giant flying spiders , giant snakes , magical swords and stones , a metal boat that flies , druids , princesses , and the lizard - hawks . these are just a few things to be visualized in what was an awfully ambitious endeavor . in hindsight , it ' s difficult to imagine so much being crammed into what was likely to be a moderately low budget picture at best . subotsky was so enthusiastic over the property , thongor was envisioned as a trilogy . the production was slated to begin shooting in the summer of 1978 , but through this time , there were doubts that thongor and the valley of demons would ever get off the ground at all .
like from beyond the grave , the film was based on short stories by r . chetwynd hayes . but unlike that film , the monster club became a textbook example of how not to make a horror film . again , part of the problem was subotsky’s fixation on family entertainment . as far back as the house that dripped blood , he’d wanted to make a film that kids could see ( in britain ; in america , these films were routinely rated pg anyway ) . he’d complained bitterly that the bbfc had rated that film ‘a’ , only to change it to ‘x’ on the insistence of the distributor . condemning sex scenes as ‘boring’ and expressing a dislike of ‘gratuitous’ violence , he was now determined to make a horror film for all the family . the only problem was that this was 1980 . a fangoria generation was fixated on dawn of the dead , phantasm and friday the 13th and were just gaining access to those films – and stronger – through home video . kids didn’t want to see a horror film aimed at them . and if the kids weren’t interested , adults definitely weren’t .
risible dialogue , busty vampires , huge profits . . . will hodgkinson tells the extraordinary story of the british horror studio that gave hammer a run for its money
four stories for the price of one . . . scene from the house that dripped blood ( 1970 ) . photograph : ronald grant archive
what amicus did have was its own , original genre : the portmanteau horror . these involved an anthology of related segments , more often than not adapted from the short stories of psycho author robert bloch . amicus favourites included such titles as dr terror ' s house of horrors ( rail passengers get their tarot cards read ) , torture garden ( carnival sideshow reveals people ' s inner cruelties ) , asylum ( inmates are interviewed by a psychiatrist ) and the house that dripped blood ( a copper investigates four crimes in one building ) .
the late rosenberg called amicus
a studio without walls
. there was no capital structure , so films got made through a combination of private investment , funding from the eady plan , and extremely low budgets . its first proper production , 1965 ' s dr terror ' s house of horrors , was made for less than £100 , 000 , yet starred horror giants peter cushing and christopher lee and was directed by francis , already an acclaimed cinematographer . rosenberg ' s technique for attracting high - profile talent was simple : he hired them on a competitive day rate , but only for a few days , so shooting schedules were brisk . the house that dripped blood was filmed over a couple of weeks .