Jimmy Sangster

Jimmy Sangster
Discussing his script for Intent to Kill (1958)
Born	James Henry Kinmel Sangster (1927-12-02)2 December 1927 Kinmel Bay, Denbighshire, Wales, UK
Died	London, England, UK
Nationality	British
Occupation	Screenwriter
Years active	1955-2000
Spouse(s)	Monica Hustler (1950-1968) (divorced) (1 child) Mary Peach (?-2011) (his death) (1 child)
Children	Mark James Sangster

James Henry Kinmel "Jimmy" Sangster (2 December 1927 – 19 August 2011) was a British screenwriter and director, known for his work for horror film producers Hammer Film Productions, including scripts for The Curse of Frankenstein (the first British horror film to be shot in colour) and Dracula (US: Horror of Dracula).

Career

Sangster originally worked as a production assistant at Hammer Studios, as well as assistant director, second unit director and production manager. After Hammer Films Productions' success with The Quatermass Xperiment, Sangster was approached to write The Curse of Frankenstein, to which he said, "I'm not a writer. I'm a production manager." According to Sangster, 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." He 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 1972's Fear in the Night, which resurrected the psychological woman-in-peril thriller Sangster had begun with his script for Taste of Fear in 1961. All three of these films featured actor Ralph Bates, one of Hammer's best-known actors of the latter period of the company.

Sangster scripted and produced two films for Bette Davis, The Nanny (1965) and The Anniversary (1968).

Other scriptwriting credits included The Siege of Sidney Street (1960) which starred Donald Sinden and in which Sangster appeared as Winston Churchill.

He died on 19 August 2011. He is survived by his third wife, the actress Mary Peach and by a son from an earlier marriage, Mark James Sangster and two grandchildren, Claire and Ian Sangster.

Filmography

As a director

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

As a screenwriter

Year	Title	Notes
1955	A Man on the Beach
1956	X: The Unknown
1957	The Curse of Frankenstein
1958	Horror of 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	The Maniac
1964	Nightmare
1964	The Devil-Ship Pirates
1964	Traitor's Gate
1965	Hysteria
1965	The Nanny
1966	Dracula: Prince of Darkness	As John Samson
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	Also co-writer
1971	A Taste of Evil	Television film
1972	Fear in the Night	Also writer
1972	Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
1973	Scream, Pretty Peggy	Television film
1973	Maneater	Television film
1977	Good Against Evil	Television film
1979	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

External links

• Jimmy Sangster at the Internet Movie Database
• Jimmy Sangster at Find a Grave
• Jimmy Sangster at CinemaRetro.com