FIRST LOOK TRAILER FOR BBC 'DRACULA' PLUS HALLOWEEN 019 AT PCASUK!

FIRST TRAILER released today from the BBC supporting their eagerly anticipated new version of the classic Bram Stoker horror 'Dracula'. This series has been developed by #MarkGatiss and #StevenMoffat, the team behind the BBC series #Sherlock. Much of the filming for this three part series took place at Orava Castle in Slovakia and ... the iconic Bray Studios in England, home to #Hammerfilms and the location of many of #PeterCushing's and #ChristopherLee's classic Dracula and #Frankenstein films in the 50's and 60's.

PRODUCER #MarkGattiss has recently said, : “It’s seriously delightful that our new Dracula is being shot at #BrayStudios – the former home of Hammer Films! This wonderfully atmospheric and legendary studio gave birth to so many famous monsters and stars – most memorably Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. As we watch #Transylvania once again rise on the sound stages of Bray, it’s amazing to be able to say that Count Dracula has finally come home.” The cast includes Claes Bang as #Dracula . . John Heffernan, Dolly Wells, Mark Gatiss...and #DoctorWho, #Space1999 and Bond girl, #CatherineSchell. The series will be shown on the BBC first in the UK and on Netflix outside of the UK. It’s not yet been revealed when it will be screened on #BBC1 – however the festive period looks a fair bet. It's an interesting trailer.. what do you think?

THIS YEAR 019, we are going to mark our Halloween on Thursday Oct 31st, with a celebration of Peter Cushing's portrayal of THE fearless vampire hunter VAN HELSING! Some great pics, some very rare and never seen before archive photographs from the files of Hammer films, set designer Bernard Robinson, from Hammer's Dracula, Brides of Dracula, chat, facts and banners . . and if the support is there... TWO PCAS Competitions! 24 hours of a grand nod to one of Peter Cushing's most popular characters, who appeared in FIVE Hammer classic Horror movies! It will be fun. Come on IN or Miss Out! 😉 - Marcus

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 . . .

RARE BEHIND THE SCENES 'ON SET' FOOTAGE FROM HAMMER FILMS 'THE GORGON'

A REAL AND RARE TREAT! Here are some short GIFS taken from some very rare behind the scenes footage taken during the making of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee's 1964 Hammer film Classic, THE GORGON. Director Terence Fisher had a real job on his hands. The script was fine and had the making of an original horror / romantic / thriller. The key to the drama was a creature that lived holed up in Castle Borski, who on certain evenings took to meeting visitors, not with a warm welcome, but a STARE that turned them into stone! The creature was Megaera, long thought to be a fantasy of Greek mythology. Not only was she real, but she also had a dual appearance and personality. This no doubt suited actress Barbara Shelley, who played the meek and sensitive Karl Hoffman, Megaera's 'other side', as whoever was to appear as Megaera, would have to endure a few weeks of experiments and painful head-dresses, while make up men and props department Roy Ashton and Phil Leakey tired to solve the problem of producing a convincing Gorgon, who floated on air, while snakes wriggled and writhed on her head! No easy, with such a small budget!

ABOVE we see actress and classical dancer, Prundence Hyman, who stepped up for the role. Fisher believed that someone who could move with grace, like a dancer, would be best suited for the role. Prudence had worked in film, theatre and ballet for many years and had almost retired from her long and quite distinguished career.But she rose to the challenge. Here we see make up artist fit Prudence with Haptic contact lenses, a make up device that Roy was probably if not certainly responsible for bringing into horror films at this time, his first use was in Hammer's 'The Curse of Frankenstein', it was another first in bringing together Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee on screen.

AFTER MANY EXPERIMENTS the solution of using a series of strings and pulleys, all controlled through a cable to a crank box, was used to make the snakes twitch! The head device weighed seven pounds, and was worn under the wild and thick black wig, much like a crash helmet! It took some rigging, was not reliable and took several takes to 'do its thing' on command, after the Gorgon floated on casters into shot, over a floor of thick dry ice. ABOVE here is Hammer's Phil Leakey carrying the crank box, Prudence marches from the make up room at Bray studios, and down the stairs to the castle set, carrying the cabling over her shoulder, ready for her '...Close Up, Mr Fisher!'

ABOVE ON THE SET Prudence Hymen hits her mark,the crew turn the cranks on the box, the snakes twitch, the wind blows and she makes her exit, not walking forward, but keeps her balance, even with the weight on her head as she is  pulled backwards over the floor of the Castle Borski set at Bray studios . .. and CUT!

PETER CUSHING IN COSTUME and Christopher Lee out, both on set at Bray studios, during the making of Hammer films, 'THE GORGON'

 

FINALLY, HERES IS Hammer films make up artist Roy Ashton in some VERY rare footage in his make up room at Bray studios, demonstrating some 'fangs' he made for a particular Baron, who was the only vamp to have actually got his fangs into Peter Cushing's Vampire Hunter, Van Helsing . .!

WIN SCREAM FACTORY COLLECTORS EDITION OF 'FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN' TODAY!

THE LATEST PCASUK COMPETITION has just been launched at the You may want to nip along there and maybe try your luck at bagging one of a PAIR of PRIZES : A copy of the SCREAM FACTORY Collectors Edition of Peter Cushing's 'FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN'! As ever, our competition is OPEN to everyone, whoever, wherever you are! GOOD LUCK EVERYONE and be sure to enter and send your entry BEFORE FRIDAY AUGUST 2ND 2019!

ABOVE: ABOVE OUR PCASUK  full FEATURE REVIEW of the SCREAM FACTORY release, including GALLERY SPEC, EXTRAS and CAPTURES! CLICK HERE!
 

SCREAM FACTORY 'FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN' BLU RAY COLLECTORS EDITION: EXTRAS AND BONUS MATERIAL:

NEW 2K Scan From The Original Film Elements
NEW Audio Commentary With Author/Film Historian Steve Haberman And Filmmaker/Film Historian Constantine Nasr
NEW Interview With Actor Robert Morris
NEW Interview With Camera Assistant/Clapper Loader Eddie Collins And 2nd Assistant Director Joe Marks
 

Audio Commentary By Actors Derek Fowlds, Robert Morris, And Film Historian Jonathan Rigby
World Of Hammer Episode The Curse Of Frankenstein
World Of Hammer Episode Hammer Stars: Peter Cushing
Hammer Glamour Featurette
Theatrical Trailers
TV Spots
Radio Spots
Still Galleries – Movie Stills, Posters, And Lobby Cards

ORDER YOUR OWN COPY HERE: CLICK HERE!

ABOVE: The Girl From Pomerania : The PCASUK feature and gallery on the life and career of SUSAN DENBERG : CLICK HERE!

ABOVE AND BELOW: Frankenstein Created Woman is one of the few Peter Cushing films, to have been included in the weekly #MONSTERMONDAY role call! . .  SHOCKING! 😲😉😃 

RARE PHOTOGRAPHS : BEHIND THE SCENES AND LOBBY STILLS : FRANKENSTEIN FRIDAY!

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY OUR FIRST OF FOUR WEEKS Frankenstein Hammer Cushing fun! To kick us off to start, here are four from a set of eight quite rare lobby stills, from #Hammerfilms 'The Evil of Frankenstein'. These are the many photographs you would usually see in the lobby or outside the cinema in the glass cases. These particular original photographs were also hand tinted. They chose balck and white photographs, and tinted each set with liquid dyes. This was CHEAPER than colour photographs. Many of these sets were purchased by the manager of the cinema, were used once and then thrown away, after the film had played for it's duration in the local cinema. Colour transparency, were far too expensive, to be used for exhibition purposes, when used for only seven days!  Over the years they can fade and get a little tatty if not looked after. These were in good condition, but have also been freed of dust and slight damage of pin holes. They now, I think you'll agree, look GREAT!  We also have the first of a series of rare publicity and press photographs, from 'The Evil of Frankenstein'. . . .

  

ABOVE: SEVERAL OF MAKE UP ARTIST ROY ASHTON'S DIFFERENT DESIGNS

FOR THE 'EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN' CREATION. 

SCREAM FACTORY RELEASES EXTRA DETAILS FOR CREATED WOMAN PLUS RARE PHOTOGRAPHS!

SCREAM FACTORY  has released the run down of extra features that are part of what looks to be maybe the best of blu ray releases of Peter Cushing's 1965 Hammer films, 'Frankenstein Created Woman'. It's an impressive menu with TWO new interviews, actor Robert Morris and . . camera assistant/clapper loader Eddie Collins and 2nd assistant director Joe Marks. Along with it's NEW 2K scan from the original film elements, if you are looking to update your library of Cushing / Hammer films, or don't own a copy, this one I would personally recommend. Release June 11th. Region A. There is also a BONUS Special Offer: Order from ShoutFactory.com and get an EXCLUSIVE 18" X 24" ROLLED POSTER featuring the artwork of the slip sleeve and case, available while their supplies last!

PETER CUSHING AND MAKE UP ARTIST George Partleton on set during shooting at Bray studios. In the background, actor Thorley Walters send a message to Tom Edwards, the studio stills photographer 😀😃😮 

WHILE SHOOTING at Bray studios, the crew along with Peter Cushing and Susan Denberg, pause during tea break to celebrate and wish Ms Denberg a Happy 22nd Birthday . . below is a full page  of photographs from a trade magazine, that features a small function that 20th Century Fox held at London's 'Playboy Club' that evening... All Hammer and Fox executives attended, including Mr C  😉

THE PCASUK FEATURE on 'The Girl From Pomerania: the Life and Times of Susan Denberg' complete with gallery of rare 'Created Woman' behind the scene photographs, can be found HERE!

 THAT FEMININE TOUCH PART FOUR on SUSAN DENBERG

 you can find HERE!

ABOVE when the PCASUK FACEBOOK FAN PAGE followers were asked to vote on the character of CHRISTINA during our #MONSTERMONDAY themed day season . .