#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: HERE IS A GREAT interview with Christopher Lee, where he gets the opportunity to talk about Terence Fisher, Hammer and all sorts of things connected with the business of the industry. Very interesting interview. Even though this was recorded for use as an extra on a blu ray, the interview doesn't suffer the problem that many of later the interviews with Lee did... digging for info JUST about the film that the interview was packaged with, as an extra. This is the FIRST of TWO interviews with Lee we'll be sharing over the next few days. He's on form, sharp and entertaining as ever... coming up soon, both Christopher AND his wife, Birgit interviewed in one of the strangest interviews I have sen yet!
#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: Back last week we posted a photograph of Christopher Lee with the late, Mohamed Ali. I received requests asking if there were any more pics of that meeting and how did it happen. Well, I have made this banner...here are another four photographs, and Christina Lee's (daughter of Christopher and Gitte Lee) account of what happened...and more!
MORE GEMS FROM THE PAST EVERY THURSDAY HERE AND
OUR OTHERS NET PLATFORMS
IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. Please Us Help Keep The Memory Alive!
MICHAEL ARMSTRONG'S disappointment at the cuts in the final cut of The House Of The Long Shadows
was matched by the reaction of the stars of the film. Vincent Price, in
particular, was so upset that his role had been reduced by the cuts-
especially in the music room scene- that he denounced the film openly
and refused to aid in it's promotion or have anything more to do with
the film.
Michael Armstrong recalls: ' I got a call from Cannon just before the
film was due to open in the UK, telling me about Vinnie's reaction and
asking me if I could try and change his mind. Apparently, he had refused
to speak to anyone at the Cannon offices. He was staying in London at
the time, because his wife Coral Brown was at that time receiving
specialist treatment for cancer here. I called him and tried to persuade
him to talk to Cannon, but he was adamant. He was so angry and so very
upset because he'd loved doing the film and thought it was some of his
best comedy work and then to see so much of his performance cut...but
what could I say?'
Armstrong, continued 'I was totally in agreement with him and, as I pointed
out- the cuts to his dialogue were equally the cuts to my dialogue. We
were on the phone over an hour and a half. By the end, we were
commiserating with each other. He never did speak to anyone at Cannon,
although he and I continued to stay in touch right up to his death.'
ABOVE: PETER CUSHING PROMOTES THE HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS ON THE UK BBC BREAKFAST TIME PROGRAMME 1983. CLIP QUALITY FLUCTUATES BUT IT'S WORTH IT!
HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWSopened in London in 1983 at the
Carlton Cinema in the Haymarket to mixed reviews and a disastrous box
office. Cannon's decision to sell the film as a straightforward horror
film had only resulted in confusing both the critics and the audiences
who, without having the benefit of knowing beforehand that it was meant
to be a tongue-in-cheek lampoon of Gothic melodrama, mistook all the wit
and pastiche jokes as an attempt at the real thing. Those critics,
however, who did realise the films intent, raved- in particular over the
screenplay and the stars. Similarly the film went on to win prizes for
best film, best screenplay and best actors (jointly for the four stars)
at Avoriaz, Sitges, Paris and other genre festivals around the world.
DISMAYED AT THE London box office results, Armstrong persuaded
Cannon to let him experiment with a different approach for the regions
in the UK and sell the film as the comedy it was, rather than the horror
film that it wasn't. To test this the East Anglia release was launched with a specially
organised gala night audience in Stowmarket being issued with souvenir
programmes quoting those reviews recognising the film as a comedy. The
result was a packed house loving the film, laughing and applauding
throughout. As Armstrong points out, 'It was exactly the same audience
reaction we'd seen at Avoriaz and in Paris where it had won the audience
prize for Best Film at the Paris Film Festival'.
THE BRITISH QUAD CINEMA POSTER FOR 'HOUSE
OF THE LONG SHADOWS' WAS SCALED DOWN FOR THE
CANNON VIDEO RELEASE
DESPITE THIS EVIDENCE of the audience reaction, it was too late to
change anything. Cannon's original marketing plan remained and the film
continued to fail at the UK box office. With a far more tongue-in-cheek
marketing campaign the film fared better upon it's American and
international release, once more mainly garnering good reviews. Its
excellent entry into the video market, however, was cut short by the
collapse of Cannon. as part of the company's product sell off, the film
was included in a package required by MGM and along with so much of the
Cannon product was lost in the archives.
ARMSTRONG SAW THE PROBLEM, 'The problem with parody is that unless you know what is being parodied,
you miss the joke and I think that's where certain people missed out on
the film. It's a pity because The House Of The Long Shadows is
so full of jokes for the movie buff- almost every single line of the
dialogue has a reference point to some movie or another - I defy anyone
to get them all in a single screening. Apart from the movie references,
though, The House Of The Long Shadows exits on several levels,
which is why it really needs more than one viewing to appreciate it
fully. It was also made with a great love for the film it so
affectionately lampoons and as a swan song to the horror careers of the
four. Just take a look at their dialogue to see what I mean. I firmly
believe when it does finally emerge on DVD, it will finally be
recognised, not only as one of Pete Walker's best and most complex
films, but as a fitting tribute and elegy to a bygone era'
BUT IT DIDN'T STOP THERE . . 'The House Of The Long Shadows'until 2013 was still in limbo, regarding a legitimate release. Maybe Peter Cushing Centenary was an opportunity too good to miss? Whatever it was, the powers that be, finally gave us what we had been waiting for. 'The House of the Long Shadows' arrived in not only ONE blu ray package, but quite a few! The region FREE blu ray was followed by a German blu ray, then Spanish...and many more there after. The news is good, seems someone turned on the lights at the home of the Grisbanes, and now, the once foggy, under-lit scenes are presented, just as they should have been, when we spent our hard earned cash for groggy dvd copies. The picture quality is great, audio too! The Horror Channel has screened the movie several times over the past five years too! Seems, just like Roderick in the story, if WAIT long enough...you'll get what you want!
#MONSTERMONDAY: Requested By Tel Morrison, UK. David Peel as Baron Meinster... he comes in for a lot of stick, but I think he did very well. Peel really is acting his 'socks-off' here! A very gentle man, older that his casting, was met by his appearance on screen, with cries of 'But...he's NOT Dracula' and 'It Says DRACULA on the poster outside!!' Soul destroying, I would think. He wore lifts because his height was deemed not tall enough for the role (Tell me about it!) and a page boy blonde wig.... to give that look of innocence. All the more frightening, when he changes into the raging vampire beast, that the BARON really was.... I think he did a great job....
IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. Please Us Help Keep The Memory Alive!
#MONSTERMONDAY:
Here's a treat for our Bank Holiday / Labor Day Monday... It's a look
behind the scenes during the making of the first Peter Cushing Dr Who
movie at Shepperton studios in 1965. Cushing certainly seems to be
enjoying himself, as he and co star Roy Castle break into some song and
dance. It's great seeing Peter Cushing so relaxed. Whatever you may
think of the Cushing Dr Who films, they were very well made for the
time, and the audience of children, for which the film swas made,
certainly lapped them up, as did I. Nope Cushing isn't canon, and that
in some way is a good thing...he is OUR very own Dr Who!!
IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. Please Us Help Keep The Memory Alive!
#GETTHECUSHIONITSCUSHING:
AFTER ALL THE excitement of the Cushing, Lee and Price birthday fun
this weekend, what better than to follow it with this week's FIRST
Chilling Cushing Clip..which also features, Christopher Lee in his
celebrated role of Kharis in Hammer films, 'THE MUMMY'. You might think
it rude for mute and bandaged Kharis not to call first or ring the door
bell, but this creature is on a mission, and the mission is to KILL!
'The Mummy' followed the first TWO Cushing Lee classic Hammer films, in
which they were cast together...The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and
the 'Horror of Dracula' (1958) . Do you think it's as good, as the
previous first two Hammer horrors??
#GETTHECUSHIONITSCUSHINGSUNDAY! There couldn't have been a scene of more terror and shock for audiences back in 1958, when Cushing's Van Helsing staked the young Lucy, played by Carol Marsh in Hammer films, 'Horror of Dracula / Dracula'..well, if you don't count the seduction of Mina, the horrible death of Dracula in the sun, the slaying of the vampire woman in Castle Dracula, the shock value of Jonathan Harker being trapped in the crypt with Dracula...well, this film was and still is probably one of Cushing and Lee's most effective Hammer horror films, it turns up in most people's Top Five Hammer Horrors. Can you pick YOUR favorite MOMENT of terror in FIVE Cushing films...????
IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. Please Us Help Keep The Memory Alive!
TAKEN FROM our 'The Last Meeting' of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee
we present a NEW CLIP that fits our celebration and marking of the THREE
Princes of Terror, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Vincent Price
this weekend... Cushing was born on MAY 26th 1913, Lee on MAY 27th 1922
and Price was born on MAY 27th 1911. All THREE celebrated their
birthdays in MAY! So, how fitting this clip, posted for the FIRST time
today, perfectly illustrates how fond all three were of each other. You
can find MORE clips from 'Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee: The
Lasting Meeting' at our youtube channel . . . Enjoy!
Above Artwork by Maria Jose Montcast
IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. Please Us Help Keep The Memory Alive!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO VINCENT PRICE AND CHRISTOPHER LEE! You couldn't fail to notice yesterday, it was the anniversary of Peter Cushing's birthday yesterday?And today, as if that was enough excitement... we also celebrate another TWO great titans of cinema, Christopher Lee and Vincent Price! This is always a special treat we look forward to every year, when we have a TRIPLE opportunity, to indulge and enjoy, and binge on our favorite fantasy films...and everything that goes with that! Are you planning a Christopher lee and Vincent Price FILM BINGE this weekend?? If so, share your idea of the perfect playlist, I am sure many here would appreciate the suggestions, to make their BINGE go with a BANG!
WHERE MANY TODAY ACROSS the net are marking their birthdays in posts individually, we take the opportunity, where we can, to post items, that feature all three Price, Lee and Cushing together. TODAY we have a great example of that! Later we'll be posting a NEW clip from the Cushing and Lee, 'The Last Meeting' archive footage. Where back in 1994, Christopher Lee regales Cushing with an anecdote about Vincent Price!! 'The Last Meeting' archive is, raw video footage of the last time Cushing and Lee met before Peter Cushing passed away in August 1994. The occasion was the recording of a narration script, for the documentary 'Flesh and Blood'. During their time at the studio in Canterbury, England, a camera recorded their candid conversation, their jokes, chat, reminiscing and much more besides. As you can imagine, it makes for quite emotional viewing.
Over the past three years, we have uploaded and shared many clips and extracts from that hour long recording, all of which can be seen at our PCAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL, at this website and our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. So, do drop in during the day, to catch our NEW and never before seen clip and the final part of our 'The Making of the House of Long Shadows' feature...the only feature films where, Cushing, Price and Lee starred together in a feature film! help us to remember and celebrate the lives and work of Vincent Price and Christopher Lee on their SPECIAL DAY!
BTW: The Birthday Banner rare pic of #vincentprice and #christopherlee together in 1977 is a bit of a mystery to me... anyone have any idea where this was taken, I'd be grateful if you could let me know? Marcus. There is no Lee Fan Club at the moment, but I would recommend you seek out christopherleefan's sites https://www.youtube.com/user/ChristopherLeeFan. Vincent Price has an excellent facebook page, which is managed and maintained by his family. Seek em out here: https://www.facebook.com/MasterofMenace/
IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. Please Us Help Keep The Memory Alive!
