CATCH UP WITH FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE : VINTAGE DRACUA MAKE UP PLAN : KARLOFF AND LEE BEFORE THE HAMMER FILMS TOUCH!

AN UPDATE ON THE LAST FEW DAYS AT FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE!

ABOVE: A RARE BLACK AND WHITE photograph of  Peter Cushing, as usual looking very dapper, at the John Player NFT lecture in London in 1973. It was a night of interview with Q and A from the packed audience, lots of questions. Over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE I've posted this with a question too! Question? What would you have asked if you had been there? LOTS of interesting answer too!

SOMETHING that came my way a few months ago... the 'look' of #ChristopherLee's 'Dracula' back in the first Hammer films 'Dracula movie, was more than pivotal to the success and look of the film back in 1958. A tall, romantic and handsome noble-royal figure, with good English, manners.. no high camp collar, bat flapping .. and teeth and feral nature on display, only when survival or feasting was necessary.

FULL PCASUK REVIEW WITH SCREEN CAPS AND GIFS OF WARNER BROTHERS REMASTERED BLU RAY OF HAMMER'S 'DRACULA AD 1972' JUST CLICK RIGHT HERE!

IT WAS A 'LOOK' that stayed for the majority of the whole series of Lee's films. SO it's surprising who is responsible for the painting of this artwork, back in 1958 . . almost looking like comic back pre Hammer's 58 movie, with six fangs and eyes that could fry your bacon.. and that bat??? Hmmm.. who do you think painted this? You can find the answer on the post now at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE

ON SATURDAY... #CHRISTOPHERLEE Saturday! Here is a rare photograph... with TWO actors faces you might recognise 😉 ... I threw out the question, can anyone name them and the production year?? Suggestions were a little slow coming but one or two did solve the question. You'll find the answer HERE!

ANOTHER PAIR OF PHOTOGRAPHS, for #CHRISTOPHERLEE Saturday, was these two crackers! At the Fan Page the children's reading book held by Lee started the question of what kind of Captain Hook would have made? Several shared the quote from an interview Lee gave at the time Steven Spielberg was casting his production of 'HOOK'  and how much Lee was hoping he might have a 'look in' in playing the role. Of course, sadly it never happened . .
 

BACK AT THE WEEKEND I GAVE  a heads up to friends and followers at the page of the screening of 'ROGUE ONE' having only its second screening on UK television!  HEADS UP! #TODAY at 7pm if you are in the UK or able to receive the tv channel #ITV 😊 . . If you hated it and want to ignore it, loved it but don't own it... if you enjoyed it, and want another chance to see the CGI of Grand Moff Tarkin as played by #PeterCushing . . in a film that personally, I like very much indeed! . .. ITV screening #RogueOne : A #StarWars Story at 7pm tonight!

DURING THIS WEEK we also marked and remembered the birthday of SANDOR ELES who worked with Peter Cushing in Hammer films, 'THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN'  . . .HERE  

 . .  PETER CUSHING 'A CLOSE FRIEND, BARRY MORSE who worked with CUSHING during the early 40's on stage, appeared in the tv series 'SPACE 1999' and in Amicus films, 'ASYLUM' in 1972 . . . HERE

...AND ACTRESS SHELIA KEITH who worked with Peter Cushing, along with Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and John Carrandine, as sister Victoria Grisbane in 'HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS' (1983)

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NEWS : BRITAIN'S FIRST FRANKENSTEIN MUSEUM READY FOR CREATION!

IT WAS THE ROLE THAT nailed #PeterCushing to the movie map and made both him and Christopher Lee into household names, with a mini budget movie produced by an even smaller UK film company called, #Hammerfilms. Jimmy Sangster wrote a scaled down script of the classic novel by Mary Shelley, #Britishfilm director, Terence Fisher called the shots, and 'The Curse of Frankenstein' not only hit huge box office success, it also changed the style of horror films and rebooted the Frankenstein film. Peter Cushing would go on to appear in a further FIVE Frankenstein films for Hammer.  'The Curse of Frankenstein' also presented Christopher Lee as an often child-like but savage 'monster-creation', his appearance compared to that of the traditional Universal #BorisKarloff Jack Pearce make up artist style, was quite a different. Hammer films continued their #Frankenstein series, but again in a different style to the Universal horror films, in a clever turn, they created a focus on adventures of  The Baron himself, instead of the '#TheMonster'. It was a brilliant and box office friendly plan, as not only did the audience get a different creation for every new story and title, but also Cushing's amazing Baron for the price of one ticket!

FOR DECADES the character of Baron Frankenstein has fascinated audiences with new theatre, television and cinema productions being produced every year. And it is maybe this and the fact that that the company behind the Frankenstein Museum , #Bath Attractions . . is based in the very city where #MaryShelley wrote the iconic 'Frankenstein' novel in 1818! READ ON . . .  

PLANS ARE BEING DRAWN UP for ‘Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein’ to celebrate the author’s “extraordinary life and her most lauded work” - much of which was penned in the Somerset city. #Bath Attractions Ltd are planning to convert Grade II-listed offices in Gay Street - a few doors up from the Jane Austen Centre - and hope it could open later this year. The  planning application says: “Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein is a new multi-sensory, fully immersive family-friendly visitor attraction proposed for the City of Bath, and the UK’s first attraction dedicated to #MaryShelley and her novel, Frankenstein, one of the world’s most famous, iconic and lauded creations.

“Exploring her complicated and tragic personal life, literary career and the novel’s continuing relevance today in regards to popular culture, politics and science, the attraction aims to deliver a sophisticated, entertaining and visceral experience like no other, and one which we hope the city of Bath can be proud of.”

THE AUTHOR'S LINKS to Bath are commemorated on a plaque at the site of 5 Abbey Church Yard, where she took lodgings arriving in the city in September 1816, then named Mary Wollstenecraft Godwin. It was there that she wrote much of #Frankenstein , which was published anonymously in 1818 and is now regarded as the world’s first #sciencefiction novel.

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RARE FILM CLIP OF PETER CUSHING'S FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER ON SET PLUS THE 'EVIL' EXTRA US TV FOOTAGE!

RARE FOOTAGE! Following the popularity of the rare behind the scenes The Gorgon clips I shared with you a short while ago, here's another one! We are going back to October-November 1963 and the golden age of Hammer films, when the company, based at the tiny studios, along with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were making some of the best of the Hammer British Gothic bunch ...and above, here is a rare glimpse inside the legendary Bray Studios, in the Make up room of Roy Ashton . .

If you ever wondered, just how Cushing's Baron Frankenstein 'Creature' make up was applied... below is your answer.

BELOW IS actor Kiwi Kingston, with Roy Ashton, showing his solution to the problem of 'How to save the producers time and money, when it comes to applying make up when making a monster, who is ready for the camera and walk on set, in ten minutes!!' The studio hated the fact that prep, applying and daily making up a monster, took time...and time costs money. This solution, for the producers it worked . . but for Roy and the fans of Hammer horror, it was a compromise that sadly effected the credibility of the film...it's a complete over-head mask... and the audience knew it too. 

THE GIF CLIP ABOVE IS QUITE RARE, not often seen and proves even for a film like 'The Evil of Frankenstein' ...with a superb performance of the Baron by Peter Cushing, tight directing of Freddie Francis, very entertaining support cast of Sandor Elès , Katy Wild, Peter Woodthorpe, Duncan Lamont and Kiwi Kingston..and amazing sets, also used in Hammer films 'The Gorgon' from Bernard Robinson and Don Mingaye...even Universal Studios on-board... if you ain't got a great Monster...it's like a firework, that promises to shock...but fails when it doesn't that have THAT bang!

HAMMER TOOK A CHANGE in direction, with the making of 'The Evil of Frankenstein'. When the camera clogs first turned on Hammer's concept of a Frankenstein movie, they were very aware of having to start their concept from scratch. On hearing of Hammer's plans, Universal films wasted no time in despatching a warning to the producers, that if anyway Hammer's 'monster' resembled the famous Jack Pearce Boris Karloff creation in any way, they would be despatching a writ, with teeth, that would for sure make a real meal of their plans and production. Universal was also clear that their script and concept was also their property, and that Hammer should tread carefully. So make up artist Phil Leakey got to work creating a 'monster appearance' on Christopher Lee, that in no way could possibly be connected with the Pearce monster. So, was the case in the Hammer sequel, 'The Revenge of Frankenstein' too.

AFTER TWO MOVIES of managing quite well in creating the 'look' of a new monster appearance, with stories too that resembled little if anything in common with the Universal Frankenstein films, fate somehow took hold of the steering wheel and tiller, and Universal relaxed their hold on the 'monster look' and story concepts, and invited Hammer films into their party. Hammer films, Anthony Hinds wrote a script that rebooted the series, no connection to either 'Curse' or 'Revenge'  . .  and a 'monster', after weeks of designing and drawing, that gave more than a wobbly nod, to the Universal creation. The bolts, the flat top and big boots, were all in! 



AFTER THE SUCCESS of 'The Curse of Frankenstein' and 'The Revenge of Frankenstein', Universal wanted IN, along with Peter Cushing as part of the deal. 'Evil' would contain many of the Universal 'Frankenstein Tropes', and after it's cinema release would also be spread across the US television screens too. The problem was that 'The Evil of Frankenstein' came up short of duration of only 84 minutes and some scenes were deemed a little too intense for family viewing . .  so a whole new back-story was shot at Universal studios, where new and quite unrelated characters were slipped into the film. None of the film's established cast were included in the footage.. and Frankenstein's monster is seen by his boots only . . .

HAPPY THANKS GIVING AND BORIS HAS A BIRTHDAY!

TO ALL OUR FRIENDS, FOLLOWERS AND SUPPORTERS HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING TODAY!

#HAPPYBIRTHDAY #BORISKARLOFF . .TODAY marks the 130th anniversary of Boris Karloff. Born William Henry Pratt, in 36 Forest Hill Road, Camberwell, London, England . . Karloff is for some the Crown King of Fantasy films, his portrayal of Frankenstein's Monster, Imhotep in The Mummy, Fu Manchu..and MANY other classic horror creations. Like Peter Cushing, Boris the actor and family man couldn't have been further from the nasties he played on the big and small screen. Karloff set the benchmark for many others to follow, including other Universal films actors Chaney, Glen Strange, Lee and Co... Happy Birthday Boris, your legacy is as influential as ever!

TOD MORTEN has written in to ask, 'Did Peter Cushing ever work with Boris Karloff?' Hello Todd and Welcome... no, it's a great shame that Peter never got the opportunity to work with Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, yes...Peter sadly no. Here is a photograph of Lee and Karloff on set during the making of The Curse of the Crimson Altar', one of two films that Lee made with Karloff, the other being Corridors of Blood in 1958. Interestingly, Curse of the Crimson Altar was directed by Vernon Sewell who in the same year, 1968, also directed Peter Cushing in the 'Blood Beast Terror'.

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  . .

WATCH PETER CUSHING TALK HORROR AND VINCENT PRICE TALK DR DEATH AND MORE!

#GETTHECUSHIONSUNDAY! Here is a great clip with Peter Cushing being interviewed by the BBC. Here he explains why he doesn't actually like the term, 'horror'!

#GETTHECUSHIONSUNDAY! Vincent Price interviewed by Michael Parkinson in which he discusses Madhouse, working with Boris Karloff and being mistaken for Christopher Lee... a great chat!

 

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  . .

THE ARTIST WHO CAPTURED THE BEAUTY IN THE HORROR: BASIL GOGOS IS DEAD.

Very sad to hear of the passing of legendary artist, BASIL GOGOS today. . . I first became aware of his incredible work on the Famous Monsters of Filmland covers... and this one in particular, of Peter Cushing. He leaves behind an enormous body of work, which fans and the lovers of his art will appreciate for many years to come . . .Do you have a favorite Gogo piece... ?

MANY MOONS AGO . .. . I spotted the cover of a certain magazine, on a  magazine rack, the kind you  see at airport news and book stores at airports, in our local newspaper vendors, in a teenie-tiny village, in the South of England.  It was my sixth birthday, and my grandma was taking  holding my hand, making her daily trip , to by her newspaper. I was invited along, because being my special day,  I could pick some sweets / candy from the large glass jars, that stood on shelves, behind the counter. I settled on half a pound of loose Jelly Babies, and while my Gran and shop keeper chatted and he was  weighing them,  looking around, I spotted the strangest cover of a magazine. 

I didn't really know what the magazine was about, although I judging by that word 'MONSTERS' in white, and that amazing character on the front, which I guessed, was maybe the Phantom of the Opera ...I knew my monsters from watching the late night movies at my Grandma's . . . I wanted it SO BADLY. But my birthday treat was being poured from the weighing scales scooped sliver bowl, into brown paper bags. I'd blown it! If only I had seen the magazine before my sweet tooth had led me to the Jelly Babies . . . In hindsight, I didn't really need the sweets, because I had the sweetest, kindest Grandma in the world. I left the store holding my Grandma's hand with my right hand, and two bags of Jelly Babies in my left..... but under my arm, were was that magazine, with that amazing art on the cover. From that day on, things would never be the same. . . - Marcus

UPDATE: BASIL GOGOS NEW YORK TIMES OBITUARY

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  

UNIVERSAL BLU RAY BOX SET IS A MONSTER SUCESS!

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY : This weeks first Thursday nostalgia post is not Peter Cushing themed..but boy how I wish it was! Birthdays are wonderful things, well wishes and gifts are wonderful too... and even though my Birthday is a few weeks away yet, my sister treated me to an 'advance' on a gift 🙂 🙂 The Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection [Blu-ray] box set, is a VERY fine thing indeed.

IN MY TEENS I watched and read everything I could on these classic films, and watching them again is a thrill! I also love 3D films, and snap up anything I can find.. the Creature from the Black Lagoon 3D disc in this box set is worth the price alone! It's ALL here Karloff Frankenstein, Chaney Wolfman, Rains Phantom...and ALL remastered and looking and sounding superb on blu rays. Which leads me to ask..why couldn't the BEST of Hammer films be presented in this way?

THE EXTRAS, the booklet, even the lovely packaging is excellent. Is it because Lionsgate and co are cheap??? Hammer licensing distributors don't have the budget? They won't sell enough to make their money back on making a quality release...remastering is expensive??? Well, maybe it's all of those things. But over the years, we have had many re-releases of Cushing's Hammer films, and only WARNERS Horror Classics, Volume One has met anywhere near this Universal release, it's an outstanding presentation. I was very pleased that the remasters were well over what I expected, and they didn't cheap out on packaging either. So, both Universal and Warner, certainly show us how it could and should be done. So, let's stop with the cheapo releases, fans will always buy what's done well 🙂 Do you have this Universal box set? What do you think? How about the Warner Hammer set too?

THIS I ALSO RECOMMEND if you are a fan of the show. I know, Peter Cushing did himself enjoy the humor of Charles Addams... not sure if he saw the shows, but he did have a few of the Addams illustrations, in his scrapbooks! This box set kept me laughing all last weekend. Recommended.

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