#SILENTBUTDEADLY: GIFS SNAKES MUSTACHES AND MAKE UP!

#SILENTBUTDEADLY: Dr. Namaroff (Peter Cushing) attempts to destroy The Gorgon (Prudence Hyman), though makes the fatal mistake of looking directly at her, from Hammer's The Gorgon (1964). It's surprising how many times this scene has been requested. Despite the slightly disappointing SFX at the end, even by 1960's standards, everything else makes up for it in this Hammer classic. Everyone is on board, Cushing, Lee, Barbara Shelley and even Patrick Troughton get a look in! Haunting, score and top notch sets from the Bray team, 'The Gorgon' is one that grows on you. The script is imaginative, and the idea of The Medusa, 'monster' was original for the time. It's an idea that is bendy enough for Josh Kennedy, of Gooey Films to fit a contemporary setting. and Josh's 'Night of the Medusa' I would recommend. Keep an eye out here, for my review, sooon! This was requested by Tim The Smart (!) USA. Thanks Tim!

#SILENTBUTDEADLY: Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) about to add jail breaking to his list of crimes...this GIF from Hammer's 'The Evil Of Frankenstein' (1964). Requested by Albee Crawford.

 
#SILENTBUTDEADLY: Baron Meinster (David Peel) temporarily gets the better of Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) in Hammer's 'The Brides Of Dracula' (1960). Requested by Honest Sammy!

#SILENTBUTDEADLY: Before we go any further with this one..I have a confession. Christopher Lee as Prof. Karl Meister, in Hammer films, 'The Gorgon'? I get his performance, sort of, the voice I kind of believe, but it does distract me, every viewing. But, the  actual character, the age, the mustache? No. Why did they opt for trying to make him older? The whole grouchy Einstein thing?

When I interviewed make up artist, Roy Ashton, yeeears later, I asked him about it. You want to know what his opinion was? 'I don't know why. But, I do remember it came from the top. They wanted to try something different. Looking at it, it was a mustache which was made. Peter preferred to grow his own, he had a allergy to the gum we used. That's a wig, I would think. It usually was with Christopher Lee, some piece or another, and simple aging. ME: Did that happen often, the suits would suggest something, about the make up? ROY: Well, more often than not, they would leave you to it. Unless there was something they didn't like, they thought didn't work. Like the mustaches in Hammer's 'Curse of the Werewolf' They didn't like them. They said that it didn't look correct. But I had researched the era and location, for facial hair and whatnot, at the Victoria and Albert Museum. And presented my findings. And then they said, 'Oh alright'!  

ROY: Christopher's appearance was what they wanted, and I, as well as many others were too busy on the blessed snakes for the actual Gorgon, to worry. Oh it took sometime, and at the end of the day, you try your best. The same could be said, with the mask for Herbert Lom in their 'Phantom of the Opera'. They spent weeks and weeks leading up to the time, the actual day, that we were shooting a scene, where the mask had to be seen. They just didn't know what they wanted. I found some rags, some latex and a bit of paint, and put it together during my lunch break. 'That's it! That's it, they said, That's what we want!'..It was just as well, really'

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#HAMMERFILMSATURDAY: THE FAIREST BRIDE OF THEM ALL : HAMMER DOCUMENTARY

#HAMMERFILMSSATURDAY: FOLOWING the news of the sad passing of Yvonne Monlaur yesterday, I thought it would be a good time to revisit this very good documentary about the making of one of her best, The Brides of Dracula. There are interviews, including Yvonne, lots of stories, behind the scenes, the works. She really was a fine talent and a beautiful woman, with such a gentle attitude. Bless you, Yvonne....

WE WILL BE posting a in-depth feature on Yvonne Monlaur, her life and career, with rare stills gallery this week.

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#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: WHAT THE BEST DRESSED VAMPIRE HUNTERS ARE WEARING!

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: What at first looks like a pretty cool behind scenes photograph of David Peel, Yvonne Monlaur and Peter Cushing on the set of #hammerfilms 'The Brides of Dracula'...on closer inspection reveals it's a very cool shot of them rehearsing, and Cushing is wearing a comfy personal woolly sweater!! He is wearing his Van Helsing costume, under the sweater!

TRIVIA: The Hammer films, BRAY STUDIOS lot was a notoriously cold unheated place to work. The manor house of Down Place, where most of the interiors for #THECURSEOFFRANKENSTEIN and #DRACULA #HORROROFDRACULA were shot, were very cold in the winter months, the outer lot buildings were unheated too. When Christopher Lee as Dracula stands talking to Harker in the guest room, his breath can be clearly seen! When Lee played the Creature in 'Curse of Frankenstein' his bandages, post the huge water tank, were soaked with warm water, which cooled to freezing water within minutes, and gulps of brandy were consumed to stop him catching hypothermia!

 

 

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A COUPLE OF GRUESOME GIFS FOR WEDNESDAY!

 A BUSY WEEK and just time for a few requested gifs

GIMMETHEGIF: Above, Paul Toombs (Vincent Price) makes a run for it when he sees 'Dr Death' approaching from AIP/Amicus's Madhouse (1974) Requested: G Williams, Leeds UK

#GIMMETHEGIF: Linda Hayden is bumped of in a grisly fashion, in  making the next victim of Dr Death in 'Madhouse' (1974) Requested: Tammy Rexford Flordia, USA.

GIMMETHEGIF: A scene that really did put the scares on the audiences back in 1960.Greta (Freda Jackson) helps a 'fresh' vampire rise as Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) watches on in horror from Hammer's The Brides Of Dracula (1960) Requested: S. Jackson, VA, USA

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FINAL CUT HAMMER COLLECTION BLU RAY COMPETITION NOW LIVE!

 

CERTAINLY WORTH adding to your collection! Here's the spec...and GOOD LUCK!

FINAL CUT'S 'HAMMER COLLECTION : THE UNIVERSAL YEARS : SPECIAL EDITION is a FIVE 5 Disc Blu Ray Box Set featuring four classic Hammer films plus a disc of extras. The titles are as follows: 

Brides of Dracula, Kiss of the Vampire, Captain Clegg, Curse of the Werewolf. Each film has its own set of extras : 

OUR REVIEW OF BRIDES WITH STILLS GALLERY HERE

THE BRIDES OF DRACULA has The Making of Narrated by Edward de Souza and featuring interviews with Yvonne Monlaur, Jimmy Sangster, Hugh Harlow, Pauline Harlow, Don Mingaye, Margaret Robinson and Tony Hinds, Stills Gallery and trailer.

OUR REVIEW OF CAPTAIN CLEGG WITH STILLS GALLERY HERE

CAPTAIN CLEGG has The Making of --Narrated by John Carson, The Mossman Legacy documentary short on the George Mossman's Carriage Collection, many of which were used in Hammer films, plus gallery and subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing. 

OUR REVIEW WITH RARE STILLS GALLERY AT OUR SUPPLEMENT SITE

HERE

THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF has The Making of documentary with interviews from Catherine Feller, Yvonne Romain, Mike Hill, Don Mingaye, Margaret Robinson Jimmy Sangster. A doc on Lycanthropy : The Beast in All of Us. plus Censoring the Werewolf A new 13-minute documentary directed by Hammer Films historian Marcus Hearn and stills gallery. 

OUR REVIEW OF KISS OF THE VAMPIRE WITH RARE STILLS GALLERY HERE

KISS OF THE VAMPIRE has Commentary with Edward De Souza & Jennifer Daniel - Moderated by Peter Irving, Original USA Trailer, Stills Gallery, Subtitles for the hard of hearing. 

FINALLY, there is a whole fifth disc with the following, Past Masters: The Hammer-Universal Classics A new 50-minute documentary examining Hammer's relationship with distributor Universal. Directed by Hammer Films historian Marcus Hearn and featuring Alan Barnes, John J Johnston, Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby. Plus stills gallery posters and other promotional items from the Universal Years! A great release me thinks?

YOU CAN ORDER YOUR COPY OF FINAL CUT'S 'HAMMER COLLECTION: THE UNIVERSAL YEARS' HERE THE BLU RAY IS RELEASED ON JANUARY 20TH 2017! 

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ACTRESS VALERIE GAUNT DIES AGED 84

VALERIE GAUNT: Terribly sad to hear that actress VALERIE GAUNT (Reddington Valerie) has passed away, aged 84 after a short illness.

VALERIE'S short career on the big screen featured only in two films, and they were along side Peter Cushing. Just two roles, but they left a lasting impact, that would outlast many longer career! Her playing of Justine in 'The Curse of Frankenstein' (1957) and her performance in Hammer films,1958 'Dracula' hold a special place for lovers of fantasy cinema. Born Valerie Shelia Gaunt, on the 9th July 1932 in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England, following an interest in amateur theater, after leaving school embarked on a career as a model, before auditioning for Hammer and landing her first professional role in 1957. Gaunt married her husband Gerald Alfred Reddington on May 17th,1958.

Valerie will be buried today (November 30th ) following a service at St Helen's, Seaview, Isle of Wight, She is survived by her husband, Gerald and their four children.

CHA-CHA STAGE FOUR AT BRAY A CONE OF SILENCE AND RADIO DUSSELDORF

PETER CUSHING makes his entrance as Capt. Clive Judd in #CONEOFSILENCE (1960). Also in the cast, Michael Griag and Bernard Lee. Lee would turn up again in 1974 as Tarmutin Hammer's #FRANKENSTEIN and the Monster from Hell...Cushing's final hurrah as Baron Frankenstein.

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: An eclectic mix of subjects in this week's #TBT feature. One of the panels here below, features a radio play that Peter Cushing worked on in 1953. Almost forgotten, and maybe tucked away in a vault somewhere? MORE #TBT #PeterCushing next Thursday...!

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: 1953... and Peter Cushing is at a radio station in Dusseldorf taking part in a broadcast of the P.N. Walker- Taylor play, 'Portrait by Peko' transmitted on August 31st. The play had been broadcast live by the BBC on the 23rd and 27th August.

RALPH BATES AND CUSHING: PASSING ON THE BATTON?

 

PETER CUSHING and Ralph Bates on the set during the making of Hammer's REBOOTING of their Frankenstein franchise. 'THE HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN' seemed to be the answer the thought, to putting a little 'new blood' in the profitable series. They were wrong. The message came through loud and clear. They had TWICE tried to shoe horn another actor to play their most profitable characters. The 'hoodwinked' the cinema public with 'The Brides of Dracula', with David Peel playing Baron Meinster. The name was on the billboard and the screen...but there was no Dracula, and more to the point, no Christopher Lee. With 'The Horror of Frankenstein' there was no double cross. Hammer even allowed BBC television cameras onto the set of the film,they even went to the trouble of staging a photo-op of Bates shaking hands with Cushing, and had them chatting together on set! But, with 'Horror of..' director, Jimmy Sangster appearing to change track during production and presenting the revamped story of as a kind-of 'Curse of Frankenstein' black comedy... it spectacularly flopped. It was neither a true Frankenstein film nor a comedy.. sadly, it wasn't even a very well produced film.

 FEATURE COMING UP LATER TODAY

 

DURING ONE OF TIMES we met and interviewed Ralph Bates, the subject of 'Horror of Frankenstein came up. Bates had no doubt in his mind about his casting as the Baron. 'I don't think that was ever the real intention. I certainly didn't see it that way. It was a job, one I was happy to take, but to me it was another Hammer film, I didn't honestly think I was stepping into Peter's shoes. I mean, how could you? How could anyone? Peter has been very, very kind and helpful to me . He was extremely kind and went out of his way to help, at I time when I really needed it'. Ralph also had his own opinions about Hammer films, and two production in particular, 'The Horror of Frankenstein' and 'Lust For a Vampire'...but more that, in our next feature . . . 

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY EVERY FRIDAY HERE 

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BANGING THE DRUM IN CHICAGO PETER CUSHING WGN RADIO WITH NICK DIGILIO

LISTEN TO THE WHOLE INTERVIEW HERE 

YESTERDAY I was thrilled to be invited on to WGN Radio for another interview with NICK DIGILIO about our society and you! It was a blast. Nick really does LOVE Peter Cushing. He would easily be a contender for our UBER FAN feature!

AS ALWAYS it was a pleasure and I invite you to click the link below and hear all what YOU'VE been up to and how Nick floors me with an unexpected question...that I couldn't answer! Doh! Many thanks to Dan the producer, Nick, BOB who called in with a question... and everyone who made it possible for us all to indulge ourselves and wallow in Peter Cushing for half an hour!

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GIF GALLERY NUMBER 5 OF CUSHING HAMMER FILMS TOP MOMENTS

HERE'S ANOTHER GALLERY of great moments plucked from some of Peter Cushing's classic films with live links to features and vintage galleries on the film the gif was taken from, at our website.

PETER CUSHING in  full on Errol Flynn mode, swinging across the head of his congregation in Hammer films, 'CAPTAIN CLEGG' aka 'NIGHT CREATURES' (1962)

PETER CUSHING as Gustav Weil gives this Collinson twin the chop, in Hammer films, 'TWINS OF EVIL' (1971)

A FILM FULL of scuffles! Hammer films 'The Evil of Frankenstein' (1964) has Cushing hanging off curtains, swinging on ropes, fighting fires . . never one to shy away from the opportunity to do some swash and buckle, Cushing gives it his all! There's a whole gallery of beautiful colour transparenciesand stills to be found in our feature, if you CLICK right HERE! 

A LOOK of exasperation captured beautifully from the BBC series, Sherlock Holmes starring Peter Cushing in the title role and Nigel Stock as Dr Watson. This episode 'THE BLUE CARBUNCLE' is one of the better ones of the few that still survive. Appearing with Cushing in this scene is Australian actress Madge Ryan in the role of Lady Morcar.

ANOTHER FINE SCUFFLE! This time Cushing's Van Helsing wrestles with actress Freda Jackson in her role as Greta in Hammer films, 'THE BRIDES OF DRACULA' (1960) 

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