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]
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.
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2003 screenwriting manual, Screenwriting: Techniques for Success.[6] In 2019, Brash Books announced the discovery of an unpublished Sangster novel, Fireball, which they released in 2020.[7][8]
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.
