Prudence Hyman as Megaera the Gorgon, 1964

Prudence Hyman as Megaera the Gorgon, 1964. Silver gelatin print. Reference photograph of Prudence Hyman (died 1995) as Megaera in 'The Gorgon' (1964), from the Ashton & Leakey Collection at the National Media Museum. Roy Ashton (1909-1995) and Phil Leakey (1908-1992) worked for Hammer Films during the 1950s and 1960s. They were pioneers of special effects make-up, using cosmetics and prosthetics to transform an actor's appearance. Hammer Film Productions, founded in 1947, initially made low-budget movies based on popular television and radio series, such as Quatermass. In 1957, it released the first colour gothic horror film, 'The Curse Of Frankenstein', which was an enormous succes. Hammer went on to produce a series of popular gothic horror films for which it has become renowned. ©SSPL/National Media Museum