AND FROM SHERLOCK HOLMES TOO! RARE BBC SHERLOCK VINTAGE AUTOGRAPHS!

#PETERCUSHING #AUTOGRAPHS : The 'going rate' for Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee autographs has always been quite heathy, for those who trade in such memorabilia. After BOTH Cushing's and Lee's passing, as one would expect, the value of their signed notes and 'best wishes' certainly went UP in value. For the past 20 years a signed photograph of Cushing has remained steady, with prices from £150 to £250. Many would include, after the passing of his wife, Helen in 1971 to include the sentiment of 'May God's Blessing Be With You Always, In All Sincerity,  Peter Cushing' That's NOT Force but God's Blessing' 😉 IF the signature also included a dedication of, for example 'To Fred' or 'To Aunty Mary', it would carry a value of  LESS than a autograph WITHOUT a dedication! All autographs, without the 'May God's Blessing' inscription, pre-1971 always carry more value, even if the autograph is JUST his signature, on a piece of paper or a photograph!

THE AUTOGRAPH that most are seeking these days of course is Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin from 'Star Wars' ... most desirable, with a dedication. These have sold for between £2,500 and £3,000.. again, in all these 'market-places' something is only worth, what I guess what they WILL actually pay for it.. unless either person sadly gets duped..and there are many, like THIS example of a .... FAKE!

ABOVE ANOTHER SHADY FAKE!... If you have a Peter Cushing autograph, enjoy it, look after it and keep it safe 😉A Tale of Caution : A few years ago, a very dedicated Hammer film and Cushing fan got in touch wanting some advice, on what I thought MAYBE the value of his EIGHT signed photographs of Peter Cushing... 'Well, I am no expert but I can take a look' says I 😊 So, I asked him how did he come across them, 'I bought them years ago from collectors!' he said. 'Are they in good condition' I asked. 'Oh yes...!' said he, 'I will take a photograph of them all now, laid out on the table, for you too see them' he replied. After twenty minutes, an email arrived of a grand display of all eight colour 10x8 photographs, laid out and all catching the light, from the living room window, upon their... plastic lamented SEALED covering!!! Eight colour photographs : Signed amazing! Sealed in plastic, every one of them : worthless.... 😮☹️😖 😢- Marcus

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STILL ON THE STEPS OF POPULARITY WITH AUTOBIOGRAPHIES THAT STILL ENTERTAIN!

#PETERCUSHING : Sherlock HOLMES! This rare photograph was shared this weekend at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE to an enormous response of LIKES and comments! Once again, proving that Cushing's interpretation of  probably the most popular detective in the world... is still just as popular as ever!

PETER CUSHING 'Past Forgetting' . . the publishing of Cushing's First autobiography . . 'Peter Cushing An Autobiography' in 1986.. was such a surprising and success to both him and his publishers, that another volume was quickly written and published in 1988, 'Past Forgetting' contained stories and anecdotes from his career before and after his time with Hammer films and his success appearing in fantasy genre cinema. 

MANY READERS FELT they wanted more, and maybe had his health improved, we may have also have received a third volume? A short time after the Peter Cushing Centenary in 2013 both the volumes were repackaged and published as 'Peter Cushing : The Complete Memoirs', with some new photographs... this book sold out within days, copies flew off the shelves in bookshops and drained the publisher!

ONE OF THE MANY positive things about the publishing of Peter autobiographers was, for both volumes he 'stepped out' and made signing sessions at book stores around the country. After a what was almost a 15 year period of quite reclusive living, leaving home in Whitstable only to work... Cushing was shocked by the love, affection and gratitude he received from the his public.

ABOVE: A LOVELY STORY from one of our followers and friends at the FACEBOOK fan page,  Jake! : RIGHT HERE!

FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS, it was common to see him on his bike in his home town, eating in public and appearing on chat shows and radio.. writing the books would be and were indeed, as his good friend Sir John Mills told him, 'Wonderful therapy'! . .. So, I am curious as to how many of us at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE actually own a copy, of either or both or the combined book..and have read it? I have therefore, requested everyone to feel free to snap a selfie of you or your book and share with us at the page! Who would have thought, so many copies! 😮😀 Stay Safe everyone... love and take care 😉 - Marcus

 

BBC DRACULA 2020 ALIVE OR DOA? PLUS TERENCE FISHER REMEMBERED ON ANNIVERSARY OF HIS PASSING

SPOILERS: Back at the beginning in 2020 when some of us started to invest eye-ball time in a much promoted and anticipated production the BBC was rolling out, little did we know what was just around the corner for many of us, many of our friends and families.... and now, six months later, have I found time to catch up on trivial matter like entertainment. Last night I watched the BBC serial of Dracula, written by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, starring Claes Bang as Count Dracula and Dolly Wells as Sister Agatha Van Helsing, plus a ship load of other talented cast members. Back in January I had managed to watch episode one and two, but wrapping the series has been out of my reach since then, so watching from scratch, was he treat last night. It was certainly something different, written and created by two pretty obvious fans of Lee, Cushing and Hammer - Gatiss and Moffat! 

THERE'S LOTS OF NODS and visual paying tributes to Hammer, in-particular, 'Dracula AD 1972' and 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula' .. the last of the Cushing/Lee Hammer series of Dracula films. All lovingly presented, sneaked in or peeping around the corner 😏😊The climax of the series also presented elements of the iconic Cushing and Lee 'fight to the death' from the 1958 movie. All very good and full of twists and turns. I couldn't help thinking back to how maybe many of the Hammer fans felt when Dracula AD and Satanic was released! 'What is THIS???' 😆😉What is it? In my personal opinion, it's all good, exciting and a great turn on a classic and much loved horror-tale, often produced and presented in a modern turn, but of all such modern packages, this was certainly my favourite! Well done, Gatiss and Moffat! Over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE, I've asked everyone to share their thoughts and opinions on the page post! It will be interesting to find out, what everyone thinks, having a few months to think about it!

REMEMBERING TERENCE FISHER TODAY who passed on this day in 1980. If you enjoy any of the better Hammer films of the 1950's and 60's . . this is the point, you doff your cap 😉 There can be few directors who worked for Hammer films, who did so much to develop that Hammer-in-house style. Terence Fisher, WAS Hammer. Along with Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and the players who helped under pin the rich vision of fairy-tale come Gothic nightmare style. Even when the 'monsters' were 'shaky' the script, with more holes than a Swiss cheese... the look, pace and world beautifully styled by Fisher, just sat so well. The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957 was the first, it also lit the rocket that would spin Peter Cushing into a new and long lasting career within the fantasy genre and Christopher Lee, on scraping off the make up and anonymity as 'the monster', would soon don a cloak and a feral shocking performance as Dracula, that set him on path, for more Fisher, Cushing Hammer classics to come. The Mummy, The Gorgon, and The Hound of the Baskervilles, still stand, as maybe the best of Terence Fisher and Hammer. 

TERENCE FISHER was one of the most prominent horror directors of the second half of the 20th century. He was the first to bring gothic horror alive in full colour, and the sexual overtones and explicit horror in his films, while mild by modern standards, were unprecedented in his day. Fisher although aware of the terrifying elements of his Hammer films, would only smile when questioned about their shock factor, and answer...'I make wicked fairy tales...!' Fisher also along with Lee and Cushing, had a wicked sense of humor, hints of which can often been seen on the screen. Given their subject matter and lurid approach, Fisher's films, though commercially successful, were largely dismissed by critics during his career. It is only in recent years that Fisher has become recognised as an auteur in his own right . . .

WHAT MAKES A GREAT SHERLOCK HOLMES : VINTAGE TRAILER : NAME THE MUSCLE MAN!

TWO FILMS and 16 Television Episodes! Over at the Facebook PCASUK Fan Page, I have asked : What Do You Think, Made Peter Cushing such a popular Sherlock Holmes? From 1959 and the Hammer film adaption of 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' the role of probably the world's most famous detective 'Sherlock Holmes', became quite permanently welded to Peter Cushing as one of his most entertaining roles... from a filmography containing over 90 motion pictures! From the many actors who portrayed Holmes, what was it in Cushing's performances that made him so popular?? . . . And as you wouks expect, there are some interesting theories and strong opinions... HERE!

A CHUMP AT OXFORD (1940) was the penultimate Laurel and Hardy film made at the Hal Roach studios. Stan Laurel played Stan / Lord Paddington, Oliver Hardy is Ollie! The film is of particular note to us, because Peter Cushing also featured in the cast.
 

#STANLAUREL was born Arthur Stanley Jefferson on the 16th June 1890, at 3, Argyle Street, Ulverston, Cumbria, England. He travelled to the US with the Karno trope, and after a long period eventually Laurel signed with the Hal Roach studio, so did Oliver Hardy, who was a member of the Hal Roach Studios Comedy All Star players...and the rest is history! If I were to pick anyone from this era of cinema history, Stan and Olly get my vote every time.

IF YOU HAVE NOT seen A Chump At Oxford, I highly recommend it, I have added the the theatrical trailer above! It's not just for an opportunity to see a young Peter Cushing at work, but also the joy of watching the skill and talent of the two 'boys'. It never got better. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Stan, you still remain head and shoulders above the rest!

#RichardBurton and Claire Bloom's 1956 production of 'Alexander the Great' might have been seen as 'not so great' at the box office, but #PeterCushing turned in a very good performance, even with such a damp squid of a script.. it also gave us a fabulous colour image like this this one, just months before Cushing's career would take such a dramatic turn!

ABOVE : HERE IS A GOOD FRIEND friend to Peter Cushing, who played more than one villain alongside him.. a STRONG character too! Over at the Facebook Fan Page, I have posted this and  asked if you name him and the two films in which he appeared with Peter Cushing? It's funny how some have complained that the question is too easy, while quite few.. are miles off and have ID the guy, incorrectly! 😀😉  

TELEVISIONS FIRST MR DARCY : BRIAN COX AND ROBERT POWELL : SIR JOHN MILLS AND CUSHING LAST SHERLOCK ADVENTURE

WAY BEFORE Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen got gals and ladies hearts a fluttering with their portrayal of Mr Darcy in Jane Austin's 'Pride and Prejudice' on film, #PeterCushing was gracing homes and living rooms of UK families, on their newly purchased cathode-ray tubed TV set, with every intention of going over the heads of hubby and grandad's ... making his wanted targets faint and call for the smelling salts with two #BBC drama productions!

IN 1952 CUSHING was well on his way to making BBC drama on tv and radio his domain. The chillers of his BBC Orwell's '#1984' and Nigel Kneale's 'The Creature' would have to wait a few weeks... right now he wasn't interested in STAKING hearts, his was really making them throb and pound with affection, passion and much interest! Cushing was television's FIRST Mr Darcy and he followed it just two years later with his portrayal of Beau Brummell... what a heat throb!

 

 

 

OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS we have marked and celebrated.. oh and forgotten to post, TWO great actors BIRTHDAYS! First, actor BRIAN COX, who as most of us know here, starred with Peter Cushing in the Hammer House of Horror TV series episode, SILENT SCREAM in 1980. We said, 'An extremely reputable actor with an outstanding CV and who has never stopped working since he started in the mid 1960's. Some amazing characters in movies and recently the role of Churchill in a very entertaining drama..... Manhunter is a firm favorite with many, with Cox playing Dr. Hannibal Lecktor in 1986 . . . maybe a firm fav with you?' Many of you did! This was a very popular post and several of you mentioned a recent interview were Cox shared his thoughts of working with Peter in 'Silent Scream' and had only very god things to say! So, it was Happy Birthday Brian Cox..

THEN ON JUNE SECOND, I did the unthinkable... thankfully just this once. I with my aged memory, forgot to share a banner i had made just a few days before, for marking actor Robert Powell's birthday! 😖 So with apologies here it is below and was posted with the following text along with a shared memory of my own.. I was surprised I could remember this, even if i couldn't remember what i had prepared just a few days ago! 😐 

“I never cease to say and I repeat it to the world since 1977. I am not Jesus Christ, I am just an actor and British comedian” - Robert Powell.

.. A BELATED #HAPPYBIRTHDAY! to actor #RobertPowell who was born on the 1st June 1944! I missed it! Powell is best known for the title roles in 'Mahler' (1974) and 'Jesus of Nazareth' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent in Richard Hannay in 'The Thirty Nine Steps' and its subsequent spin-off television series. For us, we recall his performance in one of the very ace AMICUS films of the 70's 'Asylum' his 'innocent' Dr. Martin! He had some superb scenes with both actors Geoffrey Bayldon and #HerbertLom.
 

 

'A few years ago at a press Q and A for a film Powell was appearing in and the press meet he was also attending, I over heard a stuffy reporter behind me say to his friend, 'I don't know why he always says that about telling people he was only PLAYING Jesus, it's like he thinks he as the only one who has! You never heard Graham Chapman say that!' Where I had to turn around and tell him..'That's because Powell played Jesus Christ... Chapman played Brian!!' ...... - Marcus

 

 

 

'ASYLUM' is one of the many portmanteau films that Amicus did so well. #PeterCushing played the 'suspect' Mr Smith in the 'The Weird Tailor' story along with Barry Morse, written by #RobertBloch and directed by Roy Ward Baker. Without giving any spoilers, Powell had the perfect face and demeanour for the role, where you just couldn't help but want to shout, 'BEHIND YOU!' Listen out for many voice overs from Powell on UK tv advertisements and documentaries, he has a gift for it! Please join us wishing a 'belated' Happy Birthday to #RobertPowell, our birthday wishes / card is not in the post, but right here 😊

BACK IN 1980, plans had announced for Peter Cushing to appear as Sherlock Holmes in a project that would see Holmes being encouraged out of retirement by Watson, for one last case. This project would eventually emerge in 1984 as Tyburn films 'The Masks of Death', a film for UK's TV Channel Four directed by Roy ward Baker. Roy described the film as 'a film made by Holmes enthusiast, for Holmes enthusiasts!' Cushing played an elderly but still spry Sherlock with John Mills as Dr Watson and Anne Baxter as Irene Alder. The production started rolling on July 21st 1984, a full four years after Cushing had signed on the line and after Cushing had been diagnosed and fought off prostate cancer

CUSHING PLAYED SHERLOCK with quite some punch and moxie! He would be around for another ten years.. and some of his best private and public days were yet to come 😊 There was plans for another Cushing Holmes film 'The Abbot's Cry' and another film based on the career of an actor much like Cushing... but PC decided it was time to hang up the deerstalker and all the other hats and give his last bow. In this post at the How do you think he would have worked out in that second and last Sherlock 'The Abbot's Cry' based on his performance in 'Masks of Death'? He was to have appeared in an episode of Jeremy Brett's Granada Holmes series 'The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes: The Last Vampyre' too! Even though he didn't think he could do Abbots Cry, would you have liked to have see him try?

YOU MAY REMEMBER I did a gallery of the amazing artwork of #DarylJoyce back in 2017 HERE and at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE? Well there's more! Here is a selection of some of his latest amazing Hammer film #PeterCushing #Frankenstein work! 

SOME YOU MAY have seen previously, but they have now been fashioned to carry tittles and casts, just like a cinema or press poster! I think 'Created Woman' and 'Destroyed' are my favs. Do you have a fav? Oh many thanks to good friend, Johnny Thunders Martin for suggesting this post and providing the details 😉😀 - Marcus

PART ONE OF 'BASKERVILLES' AND VINCENT PRICE INTERVIEW 1973

#WATCHWITHCUSHING! . . 'Can you hear GROWLING' ? For your weekend, and continuing our Peter Cushing Sherlock Holmes posts, over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE is Part One of a classic. Said by many to be the best of the BBC Cushing series. You think? We all know the ending, but it's a LOT of fun getting there 😃I'll be posting and sharing Part Two tomorrow!

HERE'S AN INTERVIEW shot back in 1973, when both #PeterCushing and #VincentPrice were busy making the AIP Amicus films, 'Madhouse'. This section of the interview, was shot by the #BBC tv show 'Film Night 74' also contained a longer section with both #PeterCushing and Price. This is a separate piece with just Vincent. Always good value for the lolly, VP starts with self-depreciation, slips in about six jokes and even ends with gallows humour! 😆 I have never seen a dull interview with Vincent Price..and you can catch this one today, at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE take care and stay safe, 😉- Marcus

CLICK HERE  TO FIND TWO GREAT RARE PHOTO GALLERIES of behind the sceneson the VINCENT PRICE and PETER CUSHING AIP Amicus films 'MADHOUSE'. Below TWO PCASUK promo banners during the launch of the galleries on our socila media platforms . .