3A. Verified Hammer 1970s slate and contacts (October 2026)
A. Verified Hammer 1970s slate and contacts (October 2026)
Checked against the distributors' own catalogue pages on October 14, 2026. Who books what is different in the US than in the UK — this is the most important correction to the earlier draft.
Who to contact
| Contact | Role | How to reach | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rialto Pictures | Studiocanal's US theatrical representative; holds the US Hammer titles below | bookings@rialtopictures.com (Rialto contact page) | The single general bookings inbox listed on Rialto's site. Start here. |
| Eric Di Bernardo, Rialto | Sales Director and Booking, US | Via the bookings inbox; listed in Film Allies. Film Forum's distributor list also shows rialto.sales@verizon.net | Use the bookings address first. Ask to be routed to him if you get no reply. |
| American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) | Nonprofit genre distributor; lists Twins of Evil in its theatrical catalogue | booking@americangenrefilm.com (AGFA catalogue) | Format isn't listed on the title page (AGFA Twins of Evil). Ask. |
| Park Circus US | Fallback for anything Rialto doesn't hold | us@parkcircus.com, or the film enquiry form (Park Circus contact) | Park Circus aims to reply within one working day. |
Rialto describes itself as the US theatrical representative of the Studiocanal library (MoMA Rialto overview). Its Hammer collection page lists six titles for theatrical booking, plus three that are non-theatrical only: Demons of the Mind, Fear in the Night, and Straight On till Morning (Rialto Hammer collection). Do not program those three for a ticketed theater event. Alamo Drafthouse has already run a Hammer program using Rialto's digital restorations (Alamo Drafthouse), which gives you a direct precedent to mention in your Alamo pitch.
Recommended five-film slate
All five are 1970s titles, all are from one distributor, and all are 1.85:1, so the projectionist won't need to change aspect ratio between films.
| Order | Film | Year | Runtime | DCP status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 — 11:00 am | Horror of Frankenstein | 1970 | 95 min | DCP listed | Rialto |
| 2 — 1:05 pm | Lust for a Vampire | 1971 | 91 min | Not stated — confirm | Rialto |
| 3 — 3:30 pm | Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde | 1971 | 97 min | DCP listed, currently booking (Washington, DC Oct 20; Atlanta Oct 26) | Rialto |
| 4 — 6:00 pm | Scars of Dracula | 1970 | 96 min | DCP listed | Rialto |
| 5 — 8:30 pm | To the Devil a Daughter | 1976 | 95 min | Not stated — confirm | Rialto |
Total running time: 474 minutes (7 hrs 54 min). With a 10-minute intro before each film and 20–30 minute breaks, the day runs about 11:00 am to 10:15 pm. That fits the 12-hour block in the budget workbook.
Why this order: you open with a lighter, darkly comic film. Jekyll and Sister Hyde and Scars of Dracula (Christopher Lee) get the two busiest slots, around 4 pm and 6–8 pm. To the Devil a Daughter goes last because it was Hammer's final horror film of the era, and Christopher Lee bookends the evening.
Alternate: Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971, 94 min) is on Rialto's Hammer list, but its individual title page returned a 404 error when I checked. It was one of the eight Hammer titles Studiocanal and Park Circus restored and released on DCP in 2017, alongside To the Devil a Daughter, Scars of Dracula, Horror of Frankenstein, and Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (Scalarama). Lust for a Vampire was not part of that 2017 group, so if Rialto has no DCP for it, swap in Blood from the Mummy's Tomb.
Questions to put in the Rialto email
- Confirm US theatrical availability for all five titles on your date and in your city.
- Do Lust for a Vampire and To the Devil a Daughter have current DCPs? Are they the 2017 Studiocanal restorations?
- Is there a package rate for five titles on one day, and what are the per-title terms (percentage vs. guarantee)?
- Are the DCPs encrypted? If so, what lead time do you need for KDMs, and can they be sent electronically or on one drive?
- Can you supply approved key art, trailers, and stills for marketing?
Titles to verify separately (not with Rialto)
The Vampire Lovers, Twins of Evil, Vampire Circus, Countess Dracula, Hands of the Ripper, Dracula A.D. 1972, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell, and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires were originally released in the US by other studios, including Universal, AIP, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Each one needs its own rights search. Twins of Evil is the easiest of these because AGFA lists it. Holding the rest back for a second marathon is a sensible way to build a series.