Deathblog:Roy Ward Baker(1916-2010)

Sad today to hear of the death of Roy Ward Baker at age 94. I can’t really claim any familiarity with Baker as a person, but I’ve seen his name scrolling across so many forboding, red-lettered Hammer credit sequences, it almost feels like I know the guy.

It seems Baker got his start in filmmaking serving in the 'Army Kinematograph Unit' during the war, and subsequently became a prolific jobbing director through the ‘40s and ‘50s, splitting his time between Britain and Hollywood and helming some surprisingly high profile pictures, including “Don’t Bother To Knock” (1952) with Marilyn Monroe and Anne Bancroft, and the definitive Titanic movie “A Night To Remember” (1958).

His horror credits include one of my all-time favourite Hammers “The Vampire Lovers”, a few I care for somewhat less (“Quatermass & The Pit”, “Scars of Dracula”), and a veritable hat-trick of Amicus anthology flicks, including the totally bonkers “Asylum” (whose Herbert Lom/Patrick Magee killer robot segment is so off the hook I can still scarcely believe it exists), “Vault of Horror” and “Now The Screaming Starts”.

He also found time for some true oddities, including the ill-stared Hammer/Shaw Bros crossover “Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires”, and Hammer’s swinging sixties ‘sci-fi western’ “Moon Zero Two”, which sounds like… a film I must see as soon as is humanly possible.

Innumerable episodes of “The Avengers”, “The Saint”, “The Persuaders”, “Jason King” and “Department S” help round out an impeccable CV of weird British pop culture, and his last feature film credit was horror old boy’s club nostalgia-fest “The Monster Club” in 1980.

Good work Roy!