Jimmy Sangster

Years active1955–2000SpousesChildren1

James Henry Kinmel Sangster (2 December 1927 – 19 August 2011) was a British screenwriter and director, most famous for his work on the initial horror films made by the British company Hammer Films, including The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958).^[2]

Early life

The son of an estate agent, Sangster was born in Kimmel Bay, North Wales and was educated at Ewell Castle School in Surrey, and Llandaff Cathedral School in Cardiff.^[4] He began his film career, aged 16, as a clapper-boy.^[2]

After service with the RAF, he worked as a third assistant director on Ealing Studios productions, then joined Exclusive Studios (later Hammer Films) in 1949.

Career

Sangster originally worked as a production assistant at Hammer Films, as well as being an assistant director, second unit director and production manager. After Hammer's success with The Quatermass Xperiment, he was approached to write X the Unknown, to which he replied "I'm not a writer. I'm a production manager." According to him, Hammer Films' response was: "Well, you come up with a couple of ideas and if we like it, we'll pay you. If we don't like it, we won't pay you. You're being paid as a production manager, so you can't complain."^[5] Sangster later turned to direction with The Horror of Frankenstein and Lust for a Vampire (both 1970) for the studio, but with far less success. His third (and last) film as director was Fear in the Night (1972), which resurrected the psychological woman-in-peril thriller he had begun with his script for Taste of Fear (1961). All three of the films he directed featured actor Ralph Bates, a friend of Sangster's and one of Hammer's better-known performers for the company during the 1970s.

Sangster scripted and produced two films for Bette Davis, The Nanny (1965) and The Anniversary (1968). His other scriptwriting credits included The Siege of Sidney Street (1960), which starred Donald Sinden and in which Sangster appeared as Winston Churchill. His many television screenwriting credits include Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Movin' On, The Magician, B. J. and the Bear, Most Wanted, Ironside, McCloud, The Six Million Dollar Man and Wonder Woman.

He is also the author of the novels Touchfeather, Touchfeather, Too, Foreign Exchange, Private I (aka The Spy Killer) Snowball, Hardball, and Blackball, all of which have been republished by Brash Books. His other books include the novel Your Friendly Neighborhood Death Peddler, the non-fiction memoir Do You Want it Good or Tuesday? and the 2003 screenwriting manual, Screenwriting: Techniques for Success.^[6] In 2019, Brash Books announced the discovery of an unpublished Sangster novel, Fireball, which they will be releasing in 2020.^[7]

Personal life

Sangster died at his home in Kensington, London on 19 August 2011.^[4] He was survived by his third wife, the actress Mary Peach; a son from an earlier marriage, Mark James Sangster;^[2] and two grandchildren, Claire and Ian Sangster.

Filmography

As a director

Year	Title	Notes
1970	The Horror of Frankenstein	Also producer and co-writer
1971	Lust for a Vampire
1972	Fear in the Night	Also producer and writer

As a screenwriter

Year	Title	Notes
1955	A Man on the Beach
1956	X the Unknown
1957	The Curse of Frankenstein
1958	Dracula
1958	The Revenge of Frankenstein
1958	Intent to Kill
1958	The Snorkel
1958	Blood of the Vampire
1958	The Crawling Eye
1959	Jack the Ripper
1959	The Man Who Could Cheat Death
1959	The Mummy
1960	The Brides of Dracula
1960	The Siege of Sidney Street
1961	The Hellfire Club
1961	The Terror of the Tongs
1961	Scream of Fear
1962	The Pirates of Blood River
1962	Paranoiac
1963	Maniac
1964	Nightmare
1964	The Devil-Ship Pirates
1964	Traitor's Gate
1965	Hysteria
1965	The Nanny
1966	Dracula: Prince of Darkness	As John Sansom
1967	Deadlier Than the Male
1968	The Anniversary
1969	The Spy Killer	Television film
1970	Foreign Exchange	Television film
1970	Crescendo
1970	The Horror of Frankenstein	Co-writer; also director and producer
1971	A Taste of Evil	Television film
1972	Fear in the Night	Also director and producer
1972	Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
1973	Scream, Pretty Peggy	Television film
1973	Maneater	Television film
1977	Good Against Evil	Television film
1978	The Legacy
1979	The Country Western Murders	Television film
1979	The Billion Dollar Threat	Television film
1979	Ebony, Ivory and Jade	Television film
1980	Phobia
1980	Once Upon a Spy	Television film
1981	No Place to Hide	Television film
1981	The Devil and Max Devlin
1984	The Toughest Man in the World	Television film
1985	North Beach and Rawhide	Television film

References

External links

• Jimmy Sangster at IMDb
• Jimmy Sangster at CinemaRetro.com
• "The British Entertainment History Project | Jimmy Sangster |". historyproject.org.uk.