PETERCUSHINGBLOG.BLOGSPOT.COM (PCASUK)

Thursday 25 May 2017

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR????

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: BACK IN the early 1990's Christopher Lee underwent some surgery for a faulty heart value, expensive work and not without it's risks..BUT not as risky as the last time Christopher Lee underwent Cushing's scalpel!!!!

TOMORROW we'll be celebrating the anniversary of PETER CUSHING BIRTHDAY (May 26th) ...and Christopher Lee and Vincent Price the following day on the 27th! Make sure you join us . .

IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us reach our 30K following total for Peter Cushing BIRTHDAY on MAY 26th 2017 AND Help Keep The Memory Alive!

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: WHEN CHRISTOPHER LEE AND FAMILY MET MOHAMMED ALI IN 76

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY A throw-back to December 23rd 1976, Christopher Lee, his wife, Gitte and daughter Christina meet the legendary Muhammad Ali. 'To Christopher Lee and family. From Mohammad Ali. I love you all. Dec 23-76. Peace Always'.

#SILENTBUTDEADLY: GIFS OF TRAINS, CREEPY SHOP KEEPERS, TEMPTRESSES AND A DREAM

#SILENTBUTDEADLY: NO MATTER HOW much you may hate or dislike the character of Johnny Alucard in Hammer films, 'Dracula AD 1972' you have to admire the playing of the role by actor, Christopher Neame. Upstart, swanky, dis-likeable and rude, you most certainly could not tag, Mr Neame. Born in London, in 1947, Neame was educated at the independent, "King's School" in Canterbury, Kent, UK. He started his film career at the beginning of 1970s, with two outings with Hammer films, Lust for a Vampire (1971), and after some TV work, he was cast in Dracula AD (1972), where he played Christopher Lee's personal assistant, one... Johnny Alucard. From that moment, he fell into a little type-cast, being usually cast as a villain. He continued to work on television in the 1970's making an impression with the viewing public in the BBC TV series "Colditz" (1972-1974), "Edward The King" (1975) and "Secret Army" (1977)

IN THE 1980's he started to make an impression in US films and TV series, Steel Dawn (1987) and D.O.A. (1988) and a nine year run in the television series, "Dynasty" in 1981, after which he returned to UK, appearing small roles in films like, the James Bond film License to Kill (1989). Returning to the US in 1990, he appeared in Ghostbusters 2 (1989), Edge of Honor (1991), Diplomatic Immunity (1991) and Suburban Commando (1991). He played villains in 'Street Knight' (1993), opposite Jeff Speakman and 'Hellbound' (1994) opposite Chuck Norris.

BUT, WE'LL TAKE Alucard over any of the above, as indeed does Angie McDonald who requested this gif!

#SILENTBUTDEADLY! LET'S FACE IT, would you buy anything from a man who peeps out from his shop like this? But, all the characters in 'From Beyond The Grave' quite happily, skipped into Temptations Limited, and thought they could also con, Cushing's proprietor into the bargain! How wrong they were!

OUR #MONSTERMONDAY TRIBUTE

FROM A FEW MONTHS AGO

WITH BOTH 'Dr Terror's House of Horror' and 'Beyond The Grave' Cushing took the role of character device, that was the narrative bridge between each tale. Small roles, but as ever, he was able to make each role, much more than was written on the page. Stan Partridge requested this GIF,and this particular shot!

#SILENTBUTDEADLY: HERE is a very interesting GIF selected by Gavin Porter, from the UK. He has chosen this particular shot, and asked if we knew the relevance of the guard who looks out from the train carriage... We do. But do YOU? If you know the answer, send us an email to the address at the bottom of this post....

#SILENTBUTDEADLY!: MORE TRAINS.... and here is the perfect example of why you should never talk to strangers on a train, pulling out of Karlsbadd! A young Derek Fowlds long before, his Mr Fowlds stint with a certain fox-hand puppet called Basil Brush and his excellent playing of Bernard Woolley in the BBC 'Yes, Minister' and 'Yes, Prime Minister.

THE VICTIM OF Susan Denberg's Christina Kleeves, in Frankenstein Created Woman in 1967, Fowlds gives an excellent commentary on the BLU RAY release of the film, revealing that Denberg was far from being the raving sex kitten during the making of this film, that the UK tabloids would have you believe. Many trued to date her from the pool of actors and technicians at Bray...but only Fowlds actually dated her. Fowlds didn't quite kiss and tell, but let's just say, they had a good time together!

#SILENTBUTDEADLY: CRUSHING! That is the only way to describe the closing moments of Cushing's 1973 film, 'The Creeping Flesh'. Here Cushing's Emmanuel Hildern is visited by his step-brother, James Hildern played with fine line in villainy by Christopher Lee. It's the beginning of the final psychological spiral downwards of Emmanuel's life...or is it?

THE CREEPING FLESH is a film that stays with you, long after the credits role, as you realize, the plot has left you with more questions than answers. It's got more twists and turns, than a roller-coaster at Coney Island. To quote John Lennon..'Was it just a dream?' I guess we'll never really know, for sure....

Tuesday 23 May 2017

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: A SCREAM CAPTURED AN AUDIENCE FOR HAMMER TV SERIES

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY... Many think that 'Shatter' was Peter Cushing's last appearance with Hammer films... Not at all, back in 1980, Hammer under the guidance of CEO Roy Skeggs produced a great television series entitled, Hammer House of Horror, hour long dramas, all in a contemporary setting.

PETER CUSHING APPEARED in the seventh episode (broadcast on October 25, 1980 ) entitled 'Silent Scream' a twisted little tale that also starred a young Brian Cox and Elaine Donnelly.

DURING THE WEEK leading up to the broadcast, very little was known about the story of the episode. Hammer were cute in their publicity, all that was released for the press to use in the editorial, was a chilling photograph of Peter Cushing screaming in terror...but at what, we would have to tune in, to find out! Peter gave gave several interviews to newspapers and Sunday supplements, which again ran the photograph.

OVER AT THE PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE we'd interested to hear any thoughts you may have on the episode, how it compared with the other episodes in the series etc... What I do remember of the episode was it was very COOL and even better on DVD in a great little box set!

Monday 22 May 2017

#MONSTERMONDAY: JACK PALANCE IS RONALD WYATT

#MONSTERMONDAY: COLLECTORS can be very strange folk! I have come across a quite few in my time, while managing PCAS. Not all weird, but ...some 🙂 The passion for collecting and completing is a strong force. When is it time to say, 'The collection is now, complete'? Where do you draw the line?

WE COVERED PETER CUSHING CHARACTER IN THIS

STORY A FEW MONTHS AGO

DIRECTOR FREDDIE FRANCIS ON JACK PALANCE:
“I loved working with Jack Palance, and I’m happy to say we were able to work together on two movies, although the second was less than memorable. He is a wonderfully educated man about many diverse subjects including, of course his passion, fine art. I always got the impression that acting was only a means to an end by allowing him to buy art. During filming it also became obvious that Jack would have loved to have been an Englishman as he seemed to like everything that was English. At the time I had a Bentley (business was good), and Jack used to love to ride in it either with me or my driver (business was very good). He would sit in the front seat, next to the driver, wearing a bowler hat. This was the most incongruous sight that you could possibly imagine. Picture if you can a Hollywood tough guy wearing an English bowler and sitting in a Bentley. I suspect this sight raised a few eyebrows in Knightsbridge when he drove up to the Royal Garden Hotel where he was staying. I never did find out whether Jack bought the bowler for the Bentley or whether he had possessed one before he was given free rein with the car. He would also wear it when we went to a pub called Harrows near Sheperton Studios because he thought that’s what Englishmen did. I have to tell you he stood out like a sore thumb.”

IN CUSHING'S 'The Man Who Collected Poe' story in Amicus films, 'Torture Garden (1967) the line is well and truly crossed, well before we join the story. Just WHAT is in that room? Jack Palance, as Ronald Wyatt needs to know. In a two-hander story, with Cushing and Palance, Amicus accidentally discovers a great feat of casting. Both Cushing and Palance appear to be really enjoying their roles, and playing off each other, in what is fabulous watch. And then, being a short story...it's over. It would have been great to have seen them again, in another film, maybe? Palance as Wyatt, passionate, driven, blinded, maybe? A Monster? You decide. . .

TRIVIA: The Man Who Collected Poe, was originally to have had Cushing AND Christopher Lee in the roles of Lancelot Canning and Ronald Wyatt. Lee was edged out by Colombia, who were financing the film for Amicus...and they wanted Palance as Wyatt instead...!

IN 'THE MAN WHO COLLECTED POE',” Palance manages to hold his own with horror icon Peter Cushing as the two actors discuss Poe’s work with great enthusiasm. Palance, much like Cushing, does not treat the genre with disdain and seems to relish his roll while chewing-up and spitting-out the scenery. His character is delightfully devilish and uncommonly urbane while he smokes his pipe and devotes his attention to Gothic literature. In the real world, Palance was a Stanford University graduate with a degree in Journalism and Theatre as well as a passionate art collector who enjoyed painting and writing poetry. You get a genuine sense of the real man that Palance was underneath his tough-guy Hollywood image in Torture Garden, which allowed the actor to flaunt his genuine appreciation for the written word as well as his sincere enthusiasm for collecting. Palance was also a reported Anglophile and must have relished being able to make movies in the United Kingdom with a British cast and crew.

OUR FEATURE ON THIS FILM CAN BE FOUND WITH GALLERY :HERE!

A FIGHT TO THE DEATH VINCENT PRICE AND PETER CUSHING!

#GETTHECUSHIONITSCUSHINGSUNDAY! SPOILERS! :Here's a clip that could have made exclusively for our weekly themed Sunday! Action, drama and shock, that gets you reaching for that CUSHION to hide behind! All provided by Peter Cushing, Vincent Price...and Adrienne Corri! Doctor DEATH is BACK! It's Amicus films, 'Madhouse' And, what a great scene!

Saturday 20 May 2017

VAN HELSING AND ALUCARD GO HEAD TO HEAD!

#HAMMERFILMSATURDAY: The scene that probably rankled Hammer film fans the most? The lifting of the Alucard motif from Universal's Son Of Dracula and death by.....well, you'll see. Personally, I could think of a dozen or more interesting ways to polish off Mr A, but I suppose Mr H had to improvise, with what he had to hand?? What do you think???