Hammer Volume Seven: Ships & Giggles Blu-ray Box Set Arrives in May from INDICATOR
By Lio Renwick
INDICATOR is releasing Hammer Volume Seven: Ships & Giggles, bringing four of the studio's comedy productions to Blu-ray in a limited edition box set releasing in May. The collection includes The Ugly Duckling (1959), Don't Panic Chaps (1959), A Weekend with Lulu (1961), and Watch It, Sailor! (1961), all presented in high definition masters with original mono audio.
Don't Panic Chaps and Watch It, Sailor! are making their world premieres on Blu-ray, while The Ugly Duckling and A Weekend with Lulu are receiving their UK premieres on the format. The box set is Region B and strictly limited to 6,000 individually numbered units.
The release includes a substantial collection of new and archival extras. New features produced for this set include appreciations by horror author Stephen Laws for all four films, a discussion of Hammer's comedy output by Jonathan Rigby, and a profile of director Lance Comfort by film historian Robert Shail.
Archival material includes a 2016 interview with Vera Day, audio recordings from the BEHP featuring crew members Len Harris, Alfie Cox, and Tilly Day, and a 2002 David Benson presentation on Frankie Howerd.
The set also includes the 1960 charity appeal film Leslie Phillips Asks, the feature-length 1969 Children's Film Foundation production Up in the Air starring Jon Pertwee, the Don't Panic Chaps theatrical trailer, image galleries, and new English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Limited edition booklets feature new essays by Josephine Botting, Melanie Williams, David Cottis, and Mark Fryers, along with archival material and original pressbook extracts.
Hammer Volume Seven: Ships & Giggles releases May 18, 2026 from INDICATOR.
Full release details are below.
Description
Hammer Volume Seven: Ships & Giggles takes a look at the lighter side of the legendary film studio’s diverse output, with a quartet of comic classics starring a roll-call of British comedy greats.
The Ugly Duckling sees Carry On legend Bernard Bresslaw develop a split personality in this outrageous take on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, also starring future Doctor Who Jon Pertwee (Adventures of a Private Eye). Dennis Price (Fortune Is a Woman) and George Cole (A Prize of Gold) play feuding officers in the military farce Don’t Panic Chaps. Bob Monkhouse (Carry On Sergeant), Leslie Phillips (You Must Be Joking!), and Shirley Eaton (The Blood of Fu Manchu) are stranded in France during a disastrous holiday in A Weekend with Lulu. Finally, Price returns as a seaman who is late for his own wedding in the marital farce Watch It, Sailor!, which also stars the legendary Liz Fraser (The Smallest Show on Earth) and Irene Handl (Confessions of a Driving Instructor).
This collection of long-overdue UK and world Blu-ray premieres contains a wealth of new and archival extra features, including appreciations and interviews with members of the cast and crew, and extensive booklets. Strictly limited to 6,000 numbered units.
Special Features
- High Definition masters of The Ugly Duckling, Don’t Panic Chaps, A Weekend with Lulu, and Watch It, Sailor!
- Original mono audio
- Archival Interview with Vera Day (2016): the Watch It, Sailor! actor in conversation with filmmaker Derek Pykett
- Jonathan Rigby on Hammer Comedies (2026): the author of English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897–2015 provides a wide-ranging history of Hammer’s forays into comedy films
- Robert Shail on Lance Comfort (2026): the film historian discusses the director of The Ugly Duckling and his impressive career
- Introductions by Stephen Laws (2026): appreciations for all four films by the acclaimed horror author
- The BEHP Interview with Len Harris (1991): archival audio recording, featuring The Ugly Duckling’s camera operator in conversation with Alan Lawson and Manny Yospa
- The BEHP Interview with Alfie Cox (1992): archival audio recording, featuring the editor of Watch It, Sailor! in conversation with Alan Lawson and Syd Wilson
- The BEHP Interview with Tilly Day (1988): archival audio recording, featuring the Watch It, Sailor! continuity supervisor in conversation with Alan Lawson and Sidney Cole
- David Benson on Frankie Howerd (2002): archival audio recording of a presentation by the actor, comedian, and author of To Be Frank, staged at BFI Southbank, London
- Leslie Phillips Asks… (1960): charity appeal film for the Royal National Institute of Blind People featuring the A Weekend with Lulu star
- Up in the Air (1969): feature-length Children’s Film Foundation production set in a Victorian boarding school and guest starring The Ugly Duckling’s Jon Pertwee
- Don’t Panic Chaps theatrical trailer
- Image galleries
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Limited edition exclusive booklets with new essays by Josephine Botting, Melanie Williams, David Cottis, and Mark Fryers, an archival article on The Ugly Duckling, extracts from the original pressbooks, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
- World premieres on Blu-ray for Don’t Panic Chaps and Watch It, Sailor!
- UK premieres on Blu-ray for The Ugly Duckling and A Weekend with Lulu
- Limited edition set of 6,000 individually numbered units for the UK
Physical media enthusiast covering Blu-ray & 4K UHD releases.