John Ernest Hollingsworth was born on 20 March 1916 in Enfield, Middlesex.
John Hollingsworth studied at the Guildhall School of Music, and, by 1939, was conducting concerts with the London Symphony Orchestra. The following year, he joined the orchestra of the Royal Air Force as an associate conductor, at the same time orchestrating wartime documentaries made by the Crown Film Unit. After the war, Hollingsworth alternated working on feature films with conducting for ballet and classical music, frequently performing at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
In 1954, he replaced Frank Spencer as musical director at Hammer Studios. As music supervisor, he worked on some of Hammer’s best-known films, such as The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)and Dracula (1958). Hollingsworth remained in his position at Hammer until his death.
John Hollingsworth died in London on 29 December 1963, from pneumonia, he was just 47.
John Hollingsworth’s Hammer Filmography
Year Released | Production | Role |
1952 | Never Look Back | Conductor |
1954 | 36 Hours | Music Supervisor (uncredited) |
1954 | The Stranger Came Home | Musical Director |
1954 | The Men of Sherwood Forest | Musical Director |
1954 | Mask of Dust | Musical Director |
1955 | Break in the Circle | Musical Director |
1955 | The Glass Cage | Conductor |
1955 | The Quatermass Xperiment | Conductor |
1956 | Women Without Men | Musical Director |
1956 | X - The Unknown | Musical Director |
1957 | The Curse of Frankenstein | Music Director |
1957 | The Steel Bayonet | Musical Director |
1957 | Quatermass 2 | Conductor |
1957 | The Abominable Snowman | Musical Director |
1958 | The Revenge of Frankenstein | Music Supervisor (uncredited) |
1958 | Dracula | Conductor |
1958 | The Snorkel | Conductor |
1958 | The Camp on Blood Island | Conductor |
1959 | The Hound of the Baskervilles | Conductor |
1959 | Ten Seconds to Hell | Musical Director |
1959 | The Ugly Duckling | Musical Supervisor |
1959 | The Mummy | Musical Supervisor |
1959 | The Man Who Could Cheat Death | Musical Supervisor |
1960 | The Stranglers of Bombay | Musical Supervisor |
1960 | Never Take Sweets from a Stranger | Musical Supervisor |
1960 | The Brides of Dracula | Musical Supervisor |
1960 | The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll | Musical Supervision |
1960 | Sword of Sherwood Forest | Musical Supervisor |
1961 | Taste of Fear | Musical Supervisor |
1961 | The Terror of the Tongs | Musical Supervisor |
1961 | Watch it Sailor | Musical Supervisor |
1962 | The Pirates of Blood River | Musical Supervisor |
1963 | The Damned | Musical Supervisor |
1963 | The Scarlet Blade | Musical Supervisor |
1963 | Cash on Demand | Musical Supervisor |
1964 | The Evil of Frankenstein | Musical Director (uncredited) |
1964 | Paranoiac | Musical Supervisor |
1964 | Nightmare | Musical Supervisor |
1964 | The Devil-Ship Pirates | Musical Supervisor |
1964 | The Kiss of the Vampire | Musical Supervisor |