Showing posts with label grimsdyke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grimsdyke. Show all posts

Tuesday 14 August 2018

REMEMBERING MADELEINE COLLINSON AND NEW QUESTION AND ANSWER TO THE TUESDAY TOUGHY!


TODAY WE REMEMBER one half of the Collinson twins who sadly passed on this day in 2014 . Madeleine Collinson was born on July 22, 1952 in Malta. She's the identical twin sister of Madeleine Collinson. The Collinson twins arrived in Britain in April, 1969. Noted British glamor photographer Harrison Marks cast the duo as saucy maids in his 8mm short "Halfway Inn." 



MARY AND MADELEINE were the Playmates of the Month in the October, 1970 issue of "Playboy;" they have the distinction of being the first pair of identical twins to pose for a nude pictorial in "Playboy." The Collinson sisters went on to act in a handful of movies together; they were especially effective and memorable as the radically contrasting siblings in the typically fine Hammer vampire horror outing "Twins of Evil" with Peter Cushing.


ABOVE THIS WEEKS CUSHING TUESDAY TOUGHY. BELOW THE QUESTION AND ANSWER TO LAST WEEKS TOUGHY . .



AS ALWAYS we make a point of, if you too would like to share your thoughts and memories of anyone who is included in a memorial post here at our website, you can join us at the FACEBOOK PETER CUSHING APPRECIATION SOCIETY UK FAN PAGE. You will be most welcome to add your message onto the thread!

Tuesday 14 February 2017

VALENTINE MONSTER MONDAY : HE'S ALL HEART!


#MONSTERMONDAY.... Peter Cushing's Arthur Grimsdyke, THE Valentine Monster...HAD to be really, didn't it? It's that time of year...Valentine, when we, to paraphrase Monty Python, 'Bring Out OUR Dead; and present you with Peter Cushing's portrayal of his touching performance of his little ol man, who is all heart...YOURS! Tales from Crypt (Amicus 1972) still ranks very high, in your list of Cushing favorites, and always gets the tears a-runnin and the heart a-pumpin! So, where does he weigh on our scales of #MonsterMonday Madness?? Grimsdyke was he a monster OR victim??

Friday 11 November 2016

FIGURES WE LIKE VERY MUCH : FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING PART TWO


#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: OK so, I am posting this on a #THURSDAY in our #THROWBACK spot, because this features serves as a SECOND look at models and figures of Peter Cushing. Some are self assemble kits, some are bespoke commissioned pieces and some are tableau's, depicting something in connection with Cushing. So, the strap says, 'That we Like Very Much'. You might ask yourself, well what's the criteria here? Is it points for likeness of Cushing The accuracy of the face, the costumes, the setting? Well, not necessarily. If it LOOKS like Cushing, that helps, but over the years I have seen some great 'HEADS', but the costume looks like a cross-between a sleeping bag and a fat suit! So, we are looking for, a good job. Attention to detail, and I don't mean that the figure has the right number of eyes, that are BOTH looking in ONE direction! If the figure is depicting Cushing as Tarkin from #STARWARS, then the correct colour of the uniform, the style and cut of the cloth, if it's a solid resin figure, that the figure have a 'life' about it, not a 'solid lump of dead resin look'. Paint jobs are well done . . .  basically, something I would be happy to give pride-of place on my study shelf, and part with my hard earned lolly for too. Some of these figures cost . . . !

THE BRIDES OF DRACULA TABLEAU





THIS CHARMING three figure piece above from #thebridesofdracula, has some handsome figures of Peter Cushing, David Peel and Andre Melly. I love the bits and pieces in miniature, the flagon, the bucket. Even Van Helsing's holy water flask on the ground, is very nicely done.

THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN TABLEAU



 

This a pretty neat tableau featuring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee from THAT shot in their frits Hammer films together, 'The Curse of Frankenstein' (1957) This I believe is a two figure set, but the lab, the flasks, jars and bottles with suspect contents, were all made later by the person who owns the figures and also did the paint jobs! This #Curseoffrankenstein also made part of a #TOOCOOLTUESDAY post we made earlier this year, along with the Christopher Lee #SCRAOFDRACULA figure below. . .




THIS PETER CUSHING bust by Paul Fay, looks very noble and has caught a great likeness too!


PETER CUSHING'S Arthur Grimsdyke, zombified is always popular with model makers, there are quite afew few kits out there, but this one is one of the best. I love the curled lip half smile... 


 
THAT VAN HELSING FIGURE again, but in isolation, still looks just as good!


MORE CUSHING VAN HELSING, this time from Hammer films 1958 Dracula  Horror Of Dracula. I like the stance and the base is very nice, though the likeness of Cushing is a little, just a touch, off.


HERE IS ONE THAT really hits the button! Peter Cushing as Baron Frankenstein from 'Frankenstein Created Woman'. This could be a full size figure, as in life -size. It was shown at the Monsterpalooza in 2010, but I have not seen this image until now. Superb!


ANOTHER MODEL OF GRIMSDYKE, and a very good one. I guess you can't under estimate the importance the paint job, on any model. It can often help to enhance, the figure, the textures of the resin, plastic or plaster. This Grimsdyke figure certainly has had the benefit of a very skilled application of paint.

HOWEVER FOR EVERY GREAT FIGURE, there are always some that just miss the mark . . . 


THE IS ONE ABOVE of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing from Hammer films, THE MUMMY, REALLY could have been super special, it's so close! The positioning of the figures is great, the clothing and textures look real, and it it is presented on a VERY nice base... Lee looks passable, but Cushing John Banning, needed just a little more work. It's a pity, because you don't get to see many figures from the Hammer Cushing class film . . .


AND FINALLY, in that category of 'almost but not quite', we present a Dr Terror, A Tarkin, A Baron Frankenstein from Hammer's '.....Destroyed; and '...Created Woman' a Christopher Lee from '....Curse Of' and A Dr Stein from '...Revenge' that are all good tries, but no cigar!

All photographs belong to the respected owners and makers of the models.


 

Saturday 22 October 2016

#ONSETSATURDAY: PERTWEE PITT AND GIFS


  
#ONSETSATURDAY: AT THE TOP:  Pertwee and Pitt camp it up with glee on the set of 'The Curse of the Bloodsuckers', the 'film within a film' within the story of 'The Cloak'... one of the four stories in the Amicus portmanteau film, The House that Dripped Blood' (1971) ...which also starred Peter Cushing in a tale called, 'Waxworks'!  TRIVIA: Among the photographs in the frame of Paul Henderson's mirror in his dressing room, is one of Jon Pertwee driving "Bessie," the car he drove as the Doctor in the BBC television series,Doctor Who. When Pertwee made THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD in 1971, he was still playing the Doctor. Interesting too, that VINCENT PRICE was first offered the part of Paul Henderson.


#ONSETSATURDAY : Director Freddie Francis during the shooting of the 'Wish You were Here' story from 'TALES FROM THE CRYPT' (1972)... actors on set are Roy Dotrice and Barbara Murray. 'Tales of course is the film in which Peter Cushing played Arthur Grimsdyke, in the story, 'Poetic Justice' TRIVIA: Peter Cushing was originally intended to play Ralph Jason, but after looking at the script he persuaded the producers that he would do more justice to the role of Mr. Grimsdyke. Robin Phillips who played Grimsdyke's nasty neighbor, was only cast as James because original choice Ralph Bates was not free.  


EVERY SUNDAY HERE AT THE WEBSITE AND OUR FACEBOOK FAN PAGE: THE BEST OF PETER CUSHING : A TERRIFYING CLASSIC SCENE : ANALYSIS, GIFS AND CLIPS


#ONSETSATURDAY Director Alan Gibson blocks out the action for the scene during the making of Dracula AD 1972 TRIVIA: Gibson was not the first choice of director for the film, Paul Annett, who later went on to direct Peter Cushing in Amicus films, THE BEAST MUST DIE was first offered the chance to direct this project. The character of Jessica Van Helsing has been played in each respective Hammer Dracula by an actress who'd portray a character romantically linked to Ken Barlow in the UK soap opera Coronation Street - Stephanie Beacham, in 2009, and Joanna Lumley, in 1973!  






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Thursday 25 August 2016

FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING: THE FIGURES AND MODELS OF PETER CUSHING


I GUESS FOR ME, IT STARTED with those fabulous figures in the mail order pages, in the back of any issue of Forry Ackerman's Famous Monster mag. Just flicking through the pages, and longing for them, was very much like dreaming about the gifts to be won by collecting vouchers, on those little pieces of grease-proof shiny paper, inside the American penny bubble gums called BAZOOKA JOE. No chance! To every child seeing these in the UK, it was an unreachable goal. The figures in Ackerman's mag of Chaney's Phantom and the bubble gum X-Ray Specs, were not for the likes of snivelling kids of the sixties, sitting in a cold and damp Blighty...


MAKING ENQUIRIES to my mother and father about maybe buying a 'International Money Order' or some dollars, then maybe sending the order off to the United States, was about as achievable in 1969, as sending a postcard off into outer space, and asking the recent moon treading  astronauts, to send you back a photograph of 'the man in the moon'!  Kids in down-town back of beyond, had no business sending off anything to anywhere as far off as the USA. 'You sent your Aunty Mary in Doncaster, a postcard from Blackpool while we were on holiday! What more do you want? That's you all over! Never satisfied. International Money what? I don't know who you think you are, Marcus?!' Well, I KNEW who I was, I was Marcus Brooks, the eight year old kid who disparately wanted his own Aurora Monster model!


THEN ONE DAY, quite by accident, I actually got my hands on one! The nearest town to where I lived, was some thirty miles away. Trips there in the family car were rare. This town also had a thriving dockland. Ships were powered by our local steam coal, ships  that sailed off to  far off and exotic places like Spain, Greece and the USA! On their return journey, the holds of ships would be filled with all kinds of goods to control the ballast of the ships, during their long journey home. Much of these goods would find their way into our local shops in our town, in an area known as 'The Arcade'. It was a shady indoor affair, of Victorian dusty windows, pre war gas lamps and faded shop fronts, selling all  manner of knocked off goods from, silk stockings, fruit, furniture, carpets, American comics and I was to find out...Aurora model kits! 


ON THIS DAY,  I was busy pouting and sighing, accompanying my mother being dragged around the said Arcade, in what was our annual trawl around the stores, to buy my new school uniform. Looking through a shop window, a horrendous garish multi coloured,  blown glass clown, had caught my Mother's eye. With a shrill shrike of excitement, my arm was grabbed and I was pulled into the dimly lit shop.


FED UP, I stood taking in the clutter of over stuffed shelves, the mountain of needles, balls of knitting wool, boxes upon boxes of 'Fancy Goods'. Glass cats, damaged china ducks and tacky paintings of 'blue ladies' and  tempted wives, mothers, grandmothers,  home makers of a certain age, who wanted something exotic and colourful to give their two up, two down, a touch of class, would all be inside ferreting for bargains. All this tack and chatter from bustling ladies with a couple of 'bob' to spare, from the house keeping money, filled the small shop from nine am until six pm. It was a little gold mine, stuffed to bursting point.


It was while I was examining a box of ornamental miniature nodding dogs, that the plump lady peering over the counter told me that, 'All damages MUST be paid for, Son!' Rolling her eyes, my mother give out a long suffering sigh and  'TUT!', then taking the nodding dogs  from my little mitts, she packed them back into the box with the tissue paper, and was placing them back on the shelf, when she was distracted by spotting what she was looking for, THE clown.


IN HER HEIGHTENED  excitement, she dropped the box of nodding dogs, which knocked another box from the shelf onto the shop floor. More 'tutting' this time from lady behind the counter, huffing she started her, 'All damages have to be...' speech, when she was interrupted by my Mother's profuse  apologies, delivered in her forced and strained telephone voice, 'Hi am Soo soore, Mrs Prue. It is ourwa Marcus, his ands, are everywhere-a. I told im. Uwe don't lewek with your-a ands! He-a is a Night-mare-a!' Well, I might have been, but right now, I was looking at MY Holy Grail! An Aurora box. I spotted the lettering on the side of the lid. The very same lid and lettering I had been studying for MONTHS inside Uncle Forry's Famous Monsters mag!


That night, I sat on my bed. You would think, after getting my mother to part with £2.50, and finally having a my very own Aurora kit, to make my very own Phantom of the Opera', I would be over the moon! I was, but one thing worried me. That mass of plastic bits and pieces? In my fuzzy fantasies of craving, I had over looked the fact that the model was a kit! It had to be carefully assembled AND painted. Me plus Glue plus paint, equals MASS MESS!


The evidence of my last attempt to assemble a scale model of the Columbus Mayflower ship, could be seen at various spots around my bedroom. The cat knocked over the model paint, and left puss prints all over my bedding! The new carpet 'that was your Aunty Patrica's 98% pure wool shag pile, that was... now ruined, with ship plank green, and our moggies sticky paw prints, of ship sail yellow all over it! To bed now!!!'  Yeah, my Aurora dream, was a job not worth starting. Just the smell of modelling glue and paint would have sent my mother off like a rocket!


ALL OF THIS,  in about 25 years would made a far off memory, when at last, certain talented individuals, decided to make life like models, of my favourite Hammer movie monsters and actors! EVEN Peter Cushing! No glue needed. No paint. Not all were spot on, but many had more than a passing resemblance

THE CAT IS NOW LONG GONE, now that it is been safe to prowl.  But,  I can hear my mother nowGod bless her.... 'Oh Marcus, that figurine of Peter Cushions..' ....It was my mother's strange habit to always make a plural of any name, that she was not sure of... ' ..Yes, Peter Cushions! His dark green jacket? And is it, Engrid Pitts?' Yes, Mum.  'Her dress?, I LOVE that green too. What you need now, on the wall above them, are those three green china ducks, I bought from Mrs Prue's shop. It would set that all off, loooovely!' Yes, already assembled and painted figures of Cushing and Ingrid. My mother would have approved, for sure!  


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Wednesday 20 July 2016

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: ROY ASHTON RARE SIGNED PIC, FRIENDS SOLVE A CUSHING PUZZLE AND SPENDING TIME WITH PC IN WHITSTABLE


#‎TOOCOOLTUESDAY‬: PHOTOGRAPHS OF PETER CUSHING in his award winning role of Arthur Grimsdyke from the Amicus films, 'Tales From The Crypt' are quite desirable. I got this one signed in 1980, during the filming of our PCAS interview with the great Roy Ashton who was responsible for this 'ground breaking;... for the time... make up, . . Roy still found the fact the gauze material in PC's eye-sockets, was a swatch of nylon hacked out of a pair of sockings!!


#‎TOOCOOLTUESDAY‬: DURING THE LAST FEW YEARS of his life, living in sleepy Whitstable, Peter Cushing befriended a young couple called Judith and Nic Gadd. They wrote a book and published it through Peter Cushing's own small publishing company entitled, 'Spending Time With Frankenstein' and it's certainly worth looking up...though it is a toughie to find.. Here is Judith with PC taking a walk through town . . . I LIKE that hat!


#TOOCOOTUESDAY : HERE'S A COOL LITTLE PIC, in the file with no credits. In THIS WEEK'S #TOOCOOLTUESDAY, we asked if any of you out there might have an idea as where this pic was taken. I was guessing it could be a Spanish television programe..and then we got some very cool feedback on the thread where this  was posted on ourPeter Cushing Appreciation Society Facebook Fan Page  
Rafael Martinez wrote to tell us, 'The program was in the spanish television, when Peter was in Spain filming "Horror Express". The program was named "Opened Studio" (Estudio Abierto) and hosted by José María Iñigo (on the left)It was at the time of "Horror Express", not "Monster Island" for sure. The TV program ended about 1975. "Monster Island" was filmed in 1981. I knew Peter briefly on original locations in Northern Spain, when he was filming "Monster Island" with Terence Stamp. Peter was a dear man. He often smoked on location, with a white glove to avoid nicotine stains.


'Peter was here only a few days, for a brief sequence in a beach (Terence Stamp was a few days filming too). The film had a very low budget. The rest of his brief participation was filmed in a studio in Madrid (The beach was Otur, Asturias, Spain)' 

 
ALSO EMPTY HEAD wrote to us with further info on the programme and a Christopher Lee connection, 'Incidentally, the late Sir Christopher Lee was also a guest on the programme "Estudio Abierto", though I don't know whether it was this particular episode or not. (see ABOVE) Those of us here who know our Spanish TV shows will probably be aware of José María Íñigo as a regular participant on "Que Tiempo Tan Feliz" (hosted by the legendary María Teresa Campos). I believe he also does the commentary for the Spanish transmission of The Eurovision Song Contest.

 
SO ALL IN A PRETTY PRODUCTIVE and cooL Tuesday! MORE NEXT WEEK HERE and at our FACEBOOK PAGE . CLICK HERE AND JOIN US NOW!
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