Showing posts with label captain clegg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label captain clegg. Show all posts

Sunday 8 July 2018

HAVE WHEELS WILL TRAVEL : CLASSIC CAR AND CLASSIC PIRATE CAPTAINS! UPDATED!


ABOVE THIS WEEK'S TUESDAY TOUGHIE. Although Cushing had this car for many years, he rarely actually drove it! Most journey's to the studios in Borehamwood, Elstree and the BBC, a driver was provided. IF he did travel using his car, his friend, stand in and driver GEORGE, would be behind the wheel. SO WHICH make of CAR, DID Cushing own from the early 1960's until the late 1970's??? ANSWER NEXT TUESDAY! You'll find the to our LAST Tuesday Toughie BELOW! How did you do?






TAKE IN OUR extensive gallery of photographs and review in the ABOVE feature at our website! JUST CLICK HERE!




ABOVE NEW THEME for SUNDAYS! Starting SUNDAY 15th JULY!



WE UPDATE REGULARLY at our well supported Peter Cushing Appreciation Society FACEBOOK FAN PAGE! With over 33,000 followers, and archives of rare images and gifs, you would be most welcome! PLEASE come join us! JUST CLICK HERE AND CLICK LIKE THERE!

Friday 17 November 2017

HOW COLD WAS IT ON THE NIGHT THEY BURIED PETER CUSHING'S CAPTAIN CLEGG?


#THROWBACKTHURSDAY! HOW COLD was it on the NIGHT they BURIED Peter Cushing's CAPTAIN CLEGG??? Well, our behind the scenes photographs, tell all BRRRRRRR!!






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 . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA  . .

Friday 3 November 2017

CUSHING'S FEMME FATALES: No 1# YVONNE ROMAIN


YVONNE ROMAIN (Yvonne Warren) was born in London and was a young graduate of the Italia Conti Academy. From the age of twelve she appeared in children's shows and repertory theatre around the country. Romain started her film career in her late teens. Her exotic, dark looks and 38-22-36 figure saw her often cast in supporting roles as Italian or Spanish maidens in war films, horror films and comedies.


PLAYING 'BETTY', and before she took her professional name of Romain, Yvonne Warren appeared in the 1957 film 'Murder Reporter', was one of her first speaking roles.   




However, it is for her roles in numerous British horror films that she is perhaps most remembered. She has often been quoted as saying she very much enjoyed Corridors of Blood (1958), where she starred alongside Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee, and also in Circus of Horrors (1960) with actor Anton Diffring. She was also to star in the later Devil Doll (1964), about a malevolent ventriloquist's dummy.








Romain is probably best known for the Hammer film classic, The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) where she starred with Oliver Reed, in his first major role. In the CURSE, Romain plays a mute servant girl , who spurns the advances of the sadistic Marques. She is thrown into a prison cell with a deranged beggar who proceeds to rape her.




AS A RESULT, she later gives birth on Christmas Day to future lycanthrope Leon (Reed), though the effort kills her. Hammer studio's publicity stills for 'Werewolf' capitalised on Romain's obvious charms by having her photographed in typical 'scream queen' poses, alongside Reed in his werewolf make up. This publicity caused a little confusion, as neither she or Reed share no actual screen time together.







Perhaps her biggest role, was in another Hammer production, Captain Clegg (1962), aka Night Creatures (US title), playing alongside Peter Cushing and Oliver Reed again, this time as his fiancée. She also appeared alongside Sean Connery twice, in Action of the Tiger (1957), and the gangster film The Frightened City (1961), where she shared equal billing with the pre-Bond star. Romain also costarred in the Danger Man episode titled Sabotage in 1961.





Soon after, Romain moved to Los Angeles and starred alongside Ann-Margret in The Swinger (1966), her last film Hammer films, 'The Brigade of Kandahar' in 1967 and with Elvis Presley in Double Trouble (1967), which she herself calls a 'dreadful film', though she enjoyed the experience. After a break from the screen, Romain emerged from semi-retirement as the title character in the Anthony Perkins/Stephen Sondheim-scripted mystery thriller The Last of Sheila (1973), her last screen role.


Romain married the film composer Leslie Bricusse, who provided the lyrics for the classic James Bond themes Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice, and she later turned down a seven-year contract with Federico Fellini because it meant working away from her Hollywood-based husband and young son . . . 




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 . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA  . .

Friday 13 January 2017

HORRORS! ANOTHER BUMPER COMPETITION THIS WEEKEND!


PLEASE DO JOIN US FOR ANOTHER BUMPER PCAS COMPETITION 
THIS WEEKEND! 

HERE AT OUR WEBSITE AND OUR OFFICIAL
PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE HERE

Saturday 14 February 2015

OLIVER REED REMEMBERED


Today we remember Robert Oliver Reed, born today February 13th 1938. The 'Cushing Connection' spreads over three films, 'Captain Clegg /Night Creatures' in 1962, 'Sword of Sherwood Forest' in 60, both for Hammer films and a car crash of a film entitled 'A Touch of the Sun' in 1979... a film produced in Africa, and never found a distributor outside of it! A larger than life character both on and off the screen..who was always happy to acknowledge his 'Hammer film roots.... 'The Curse of the Werewolf in 1961 and 'These Are The Damned' in 1963. Happy Birthday Oliver!

Sunday 29 June 2014

WINNERS AND ANSWERS: SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW CAPTAIN CLEGG COMPETITION.


We have our WINNERS! Picked out of the hat, just two hours ago....Congratulations PAULA T (USA) and E Passmore (Australia)! Your blu rays of 'Captain Clegg are on their way! Many thanks to the guys at Final Cut Entertainment for generously providing our prizes

NOW... here are the questions and answers to the competition. How did you do?

1: WHO wrote the DR SYN novels? Please give their full name, the year and date they were born.
Answer: Arthur Russell Thorndike, born 6 February 1885

2: This author also had a famous SISTER. Please name her. Answer: Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike

3: What is the FULL name of DR SYN?
Answer: Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn

4: What was the FIRST DR SYN novel was called? What Year was it published and who were they publishing company?
Answer: Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh, published in 1915 by Nelson Press

5:The author of the DR SYN novels was also an actor. One of his last performances was in a film that also starred PETER CUSHING. NAME that film.
Answer: Hamlet (1948)

6: CAPTAIN CLEGG was released as part of a HAMMER FILM DOUBLE BILL in 1961. NAME the film that SHARED the billing. 
Answer: The Phantom of the Opera

7: DR CLEGG's producer was John Temple Smith. He was also the chairman of a small film company. NAME that film company.
Answer: Major Productions

8: When Anthony Hinds adapted the DR SYN script for Hammer Films, DR BLYSS wasn't his only name for the Captain he intended for the Captain...Which other name did he have in mind?
Answer: Dr Arne

9: WHEN did CAPTAIN CLEGG commence production? Tuesday 29th March.. Thursday 4th Feb.. Monday 25th September.. Monday 4th August..
Answer: Monday 25th September

10:CAPTAIN CLEGG was OLIVER REED’S FIRST? SECOND? THIRD? FIFTH? FILM FOR HAMMER FILMS?
Answer: Fifth

11: During the shooting of CAPTAIN CLEGG, OLIVER REED had an accident while driving his car, but he carried on not only shooting on CAPTAIN CLEGG but also doing some of his own stunt work. Did he break his: A) LEGG? B) FOOT? C) SHOULDER? Or D) HAND? 
Answer: Shoulder

12: DAVID LODGE played the BOSON in CAPTAIN CLEGG. Lodge is probably better known for his comedy work with Spike Mulligan and Peter Sellers. Which  FILM connects both Milligan and Peter Cushing?
Answer: Suspect (1960)t

13: Which Hammer film crew member was responsible for throwing the HARPOON, off camera, into CAPTAIN CLEGG’S/ Peter Cushing back? A) Peter Graham Scott B) Les Bowie C) Ian Scoones D) Tilley Day
Answer: Ian Scoones

14: Make Up Artist, ROY ASHTON not only worked on Hammer films CAPTAIN CLEGG in 1961, but also worked on the first production of the DR SYN story in 1937 for Gaumount Pictures. TRUE or FALSE 
Answer: True

15: During the making of CAPTAIN CLEGG Peter Cushing presented Hammer films’ script writer Anthony Hinds with a script and treatment for a DR SYN Hammer films sequel. The script was based on the second and third novels, Dr Syn on the High Seas and Dr Syn Returns. Cushing’s script was dated July 1961 and had a working title of a) Dr Syn, The Quality of Mercy ? b) Dr Syn : Wild Justice ? c) Dr Syn : Waiting Revenge ?
Answer: ANY of these three titles would be considered correct, as Cushing had all all THREE titles in pencil with title Dr Syn on his script!

16: Actor Patrick Allen played Captain Collier in CAPTAIN CLEGG. He had previously appeared in another Hammer film. Name the film and the character he played.
Answer: 'Never Take Sweets from a Stranger', Peter Carter.

That's it! Thank you to everyone who took part in the competition, it wasn't any easy one, for sure. Join Us THIS WEEK for our 'SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW: PETER CUSHING Competition! With THREE copies of 'The Peter Cushing Scapbook' up for grabs!


You can Purchase YOUR copy of CAPTAIN CLEGG BLU RAY
HERE 

You can purchase YOUR copy of The Peter Cushing Scapbook 
HERE 

CAPTAIN CLEGG: BLU RAY REVIEW : TROY HOWARTH


An English coastal town serves as the haven for a gang of smugglers and it’s up to the intrepid Captain Collier (Patrick Allen) to unmask them and bring them to justice …


In 1961, Hammer embarked upon adapting the adventure stories of Russell Thorndike, hoping to bridge the gap between their Gothic horror films and their recent attempts at more “family friendly” swashbuckler fare, including Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) and The Pirates of Blood River (1961). Their efforts were nearly squashed when word got out that Walt Disney acquired the rights to the stories and was mounting his own, bigger budgeted adaptation with Patrick McGoohan. Happily, a compromise was reached: Hammer would be allowed to use the 1937 film version of Doctor Syn as their template, provided they didn’t actually use the name of Dr. Syn.  Since this was the model they were looking to follow anyway, the matter was amicably resolved and the company was free to move forward with what would become Captain Clegg.


Released in the US under the more horrific title of Night Creatures, the film offers up some classic Hammer horror imagery while playing things in a lighter, more family-friendly key.  Bloodshed is kept to a minimum and the supernatural angle is rationally explained in the final reel.  The emphasis is more on derring do and adventure, with large doses of impish humor, though the opening scenes would seem to promise more scares and chills.  Many reference books therefore list the film as a horror film, but truth be told it’s no more horror in the strictest sense than their later “historical melodrama,” Rasputin the Mad Monk (1966).  Even so, the spooky imagery on display is very potent indeed and anybody willing to accept the film as a more genteel genre offering – a sort of Hammer Horror For The Whole Family – is hardly doing the film a disservice in doing so.


Peter Cushing gives one of his finest performances as the meek Reverend Dr. Blyss, who is in fact actually the notorious pirate Captain Clegg.  Clegg is believed to have been executed years before and indeed, for all intents and purposes this is the case: having narrowly escaped the hangman’s noose, he turns over a new leaf and settles down under his assumed identity, doing good deeds and rescuing his poor village from poverty… while still doing a little light smuggling on the side.  It’s a fascinating character which allows Cushing to switch between being soft spoken and grimly authoritative without missing a beat; in this sense, it’s something of a dry run for what is arguably his finest performance for Hammer, as Baron Frankenstein in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), wherein his courtly exterior helps to mask a perverse and vile reality.  Captain Collier is the nominal hero, but he’s scripted as something of a dolt and Patrick Allen sensibly plays him that way, allowing Cushing to quietly steal their scenes.  Allen is very effective in the part, truth be told, and his willingness to play up the character’s thick-headed and self-righteous persona makes him a very satisfying adversary for Clegg.  23-year-old Oliver Reed, just a few years away from becoming England’s biggest box office draw, is very good as the dashing Harry.


Reed was one of the few younger actors at Hammer who could take the romantic interest roles and make them into something interesting and he certainly makes the best of his screen time here.  His love interest is played by Yvonne Romain, arguably the most drop dead gorgeous woman ever to grace a Hammer film, and she does well enough as the usual under written damsel in distress.  The supporting cast includes a number of stellar character actors: Jack MacGowran (The Fearless Vampire Killers, The Exorcist), David Loge (Corruption, The Return of the Pink Panther), Martin Benson (Gorgo, The Omen)… but if anybody comes close to stealing the show from its star, it’s the wonderful Michael Ripper.  Ripper was often squandered in minor roles for Hammer, but he has a rare meaty role in this films and he delivers a moving and amusing performance.


Well directed by Peter Graham Scott and boasting a stirring Don Banks soundtrack, Captain Clegg also moves at a good clip and holds up as a marvelous piece of Saturday matinee afternoon entertainment.


Captain Clegg makes its Blu-ray debut courtesy of Final Cut in the UK. The region B presentation has garnered some controversy online, but truly: when DOESN’T a Hammer Blu-ray release garner a bit of grousing?  On the downside, the master provided by Universal is overmatted at 2:1. This is simply what Final Cut had to work with and that’s all there is to it: all the complaining in the world isn’t going to result in a new master being struck for a relatively obscure catalogue title such as this. With that caveat in mind, the framing is thoughtfully done and doesn’t look unduly tight, excepting one or two shots here and there.  Colors are vivid, detail is strong and the source materials are in good shape.  Some of the optical effects look a little weak, but on the whole the image is robust and pleasing to the eye. The mono English soundtrack is very good, too: Banks’ score has lots of pep and the dialogue is easy to make out.


English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing are included.  Extras include a 30 minute featurette narrated by the wonderful John Carson title The Making of Captain Clegg.  Hammer historian Wayne Kinsey scripted and introduced the piece, which is mostly comprised of Carson talking over behind the scenes images and documents; Carson’s marvelous, James Mason-like voice makes this a pleasure to watch and Kinsey’s script packs in plenty of interesting information and production background.  Up next is another featurette, The Mossman Legacy: George Mossman’s Carriage Collection, wherein Kinsey takes us on a tour of the collection of carriages leant by the late George Mossman to English production companies, including Hammer.  It’s an interesting glimpse into a crucial but often neglected aspect of film production and breezes by at a mere 6 minutes. Lastly, there is a stills gallery.



Images and Design Marcus Brooks


PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF CAPTAIN CLEGG HERE:
HERE 

 

WIN A COPY OF CAPTAIN CLEGG


Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...