THE MAN WHO MADE A MONSTER : WHO MOST HAVE MISSED!

#CHRISTOPHERLEE Saturday! Lee as Mr Blake in Amicus films, 'I Monster' . . . a Amicus Stephen Weeks film that has been sadly MISSED by most! A film you would purchase if it was remastered and on blu ray?? Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee's stuntman Eddie Powell pull off quite the fight, in the climax of the film!

 

 

PART ONE OF THIS EXTENDED AND EXCLUSIVE FEATURE AND

GALLERY can be found HERE! 

 

THERE IS A WHOLE TWO PART feature and PCAS gallery of RARE images from AMICUS FILMS 'I MONSTER' elsewhere on thius website. MANY of the photographs have never been seen before and along with the on set snaps, it gives a interesting peek on the making of the film and Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee working together...and enjoying it too! It is a great pity that director Stephen Weeks did not get the opportunity to work with them again together. THOUGH it wasn't for the lack of trying! Read about Stephen in our interview and GALLERY right HERE!

 

 

ABOVE? JUST CLICK HERE! 

 

PART TWO is a gallery of ON SET and BEHIND THE SCENES look during the making of Christopher Lee's and Peter Cushing's 'I MONSTER' HERE!

 

 

 

 

 

IS 'I MONSTER' ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE CUSHING FILMS OR MAYBE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IT? COME SHARE YOUR OPINION AND THOUGHTS ON ONE THE LESSER TALKED ABOUT AMICUS FILMS AT THE FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! COME AND JOIN A FOLLOWING OF OVER 33 THOUSAND FANS OF THE PAGE! JUST CLICK : HERE!!

 

PCAS COMES TO INSTAGRAM AND THE TUESDAY TOUGHY CONNECTIONS!

COMING TO THE END of this '27 tests to see if anybody listening?' #PCAS series...THIS WEEKS Cushing Tuesday Toughy, shouldn't be too tough for some of you! Feel free to post your comment / suggestion / answer in thread at the FACEBOOK PCAS FAN PAGE, where you will also find the #ANSWER to last weeks puzzler 😉 Cleaners huh?

SNAP! Requested and relaunched today . . and waiting for you! Your #PeterCushing Appreciation Society is now on #INSTAGRAM. Come help put PC on the INSTA MAP! Regular postings often featuring #extras exclusive to the account! Come say hi and join us HERE!

COMIC TURNS AND MAGAZINES WEDNESDAY : WORLD OF HORROR SHORT LIVED BUT LONG REMEMBERED!

TWO GREAT PAGES, from a UK magazine, that made it's mark and sadly vanished, WORLD OF HORROR. It only made it to just nine issues, and vanished from the newsagents shelves in less than a year. It was launched in 1974 by the Dalruth Publishing Group / Gresham Publishing company and edited by, Gent Shaw. What happened to either of those, I have no idea. I  know I was not the only young teenager, who awaited each new issue, with much excitement. The range of subject matter and films covered in the magazine all fell under the 'horror and fantasy' banner, I suited my appetite and interest very well. Yes, Monster Mag, sits on the top of the pile, with those amazing posters, but because of the format, they only had eight pages, the other and underside of the poster, with limited panels, to write. So info was always limited, but the posters made up for that!    

WORLD OF HORROR also provided some excellent covers, not all nine issue covers images were wonderful, but several colour pages within, gave us some very impressive stills and portraits.  They always seem ed to have a good supply of both Hammer and Amicus films, NEW photographs. You have to remember, all three actors, Peter Cushing, Vincent Price AND Christopher Lee were still working, and in 1974, were still appearing in the films, that made companies, lots of lolly at the box office. The two page feature on Amicus films, MADHOUSE appeared just as the film was being released, so press offices, were keen to give synopsis's and lovely pics. It was a golden era for some TV shows too, that appeared in the magazine, like the BBC Dr Who, with Tom Baker. There was something to please everyone. We'll be posting more on this magazine and many others, over the next few weeks, as we turn our WEDNESDAY theme here at the website, to comics and magazines, that included and covered the films of Peter Cushing and friends. COMIC TURNS AND MAGS WEDNESDAY, has started today!

MEANWHILE this SUNDAY, you'll be getting more than the few images as included in the feature above from the Amicus film, MADHOUSE.  A TWO PART feature, with a mega gallery in each, MADHOUSE : ON SCREEN AND BEHIND THE SCENES, with Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, Robert Quarry, Adrienne Corri, Natasha Pyne, Linda Hayden, Barry Dennen, Jenny Leigh Wright, Julie Crosthwaite, Michael Parkinson and Director Jim Clark, all appear! PART ONE can be found here at the website, with selected extracts at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE!

IF YOU WANT to discuss, chat or debate the content of any of our posts, here at the website, please come join us at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE  There are over 33 thousand other friends and fans of Peter Cushing's work, who have joined the page, and it's a busy place. BUT we are always happy to meet new friends and chat. Photos, features, themed daily posts and competitions, lots to see! You will be MOST welcome!

CALLUM MCKELVIE: PART ONE OF DOUBLE FEATURE ON SCI FI AND HORROR : ISLANDS OF TERROR AND HEAT!

WHEN ONE THINKS OF PETER CUSHING'S  Science Fiction output, what usually springs to mind? Star Wars and the two Dr Who movies are the most obvious candidates. Aside from that the choices are somewhat limited. Horror Express (1973) and Biggles (1986) contain ostensibly science fiction elements (the monster being an alien in Express and the time travel plot in Biggles) but their feet are firmly rooted in other genres. Scream and Scream Again (1969) is another obvious candidate but sadly it has to be the film in which Cushing is the MOST wasted, barely appearing at all. 

THAT LEAVE JUST The Abominable Snowman (1957) and the films involved in this two-part feature; Island of Terror and Night of the Big Heat. This last pair are not only a sample of Cushing’s relatively small science-fiction output, their also two of famed Hammer Director, Terrence Fisher's four contributions to the genre (along with Four Sided Triangle (1953) and The Earth Dies Screaming (1964).

BOTH FILMS WERE MADE by the short-lived ‘Planet Films’ and share many of the same cast and crew. Both also belong to that curious, somewhat forgotten form of British sci-fi, pioneered by the likes of John Wyndham and Nigel Kneale. Namely, they feature small isolated intrinsically ‘British’ communities menaced by mysterious creatures. Night in particular sees much of its action take place in the local pub, a well-worn trend in British Science-Fiction films. However they’ll be more on that film next week, this time I’m tackling it’s predecessor- Island of Terror.

THE PLOT INVOLVES a cancer research establishment off the coast of Ireland where the locals are turning up dead. With the local Doctor having very little idea as to what is causing the mysterious deaths, enter Dr Brian Stanley (Peter Cushing), Dr David West (Edward Judd) and the wealthy jet-setter Toni Maerill (Carole Gray). The Scientists soon discover that creatures they dub ‘Silicates’ are loose on the island, created accidentally by the experiments. Bone sucking creatures, they multiply at an alarming rate and soon endanger the entirety of the Islands population…

OF COURSE THERE IS ONE MAJOR difference between the two films. Namely Cushing’s role. In Island of Terror, he’s an integral part of the film and one of the three main characters. Not only that but his character is given some genuinely interesting moments, for example a hero loosing his hand (or receiving any other sort of lasting damage) isn’t something we really see in a Cushing film. However, it defiantly works here and manages to ramp the tension up significantly, after all if one of our three leads can have his hand chopped off, why can’t one (or all of them) die? It’s an interesting tactic and Fisher doesn’t shy away from showing the whole thing. The effect might be a little cheesy, but the intent is there and it still works as a shocking moment. 

IN HEAT, CUSHING is given a substantially smaller role and essentially plays a victim- an interesting position to see him in at this point in his career. His character is friendly and affable, but that’s all. Cushing lays on the charm HARD and it certainly works when he reaches his demise, a scene which is easily the highlight of the film and one that is thick with tension throughout. However it’s clear which role is superior and it’s a shame the Planet Films team didn’t consider a direct follow up, re-using the character of Dr Stanley.

 

THE SILICATES THEMSELVES ARE . . . oddly effective. For the first portion of the film Fisher decides, wisely, to keep them off the screen. This builds the feeling of a menace that can be anywhere and strike at any time. Wonderfully, this isn’t just atmosphere for atmosphere’s sake and is actually used to provide genuine shocks (for example the aforementioned sequence involving Cushing's hand) when one appears out of nowhere. 

WHEN THEY ARE EVENTUALLY REVEALED When they are eventually revealed, the design is one that despite it’s cheapness, works wonderfully to compliment the films visual style and has a unique charm about it. One has to give the team credit as well for avoiding the tired cliché of a man in a suit and attempting something that’s a little more unusual, resulting in a striking (if admittedly not always convincing) design. 

THE CREATURE'S SLOWNESS doesn’t make them any less threatening and indeed helps in the slow menace that makes the film so effective. One rather spectacular sequence with the creatures features one on a glass skylight, as it smashes through and drops onto a hapless victim below.
 

ONE TRULY WONDERFUL SEQUENCE, occurs in the films climax (spoilers ahead be warned) in which, trapped with the creatures advancing, Edward Judd prepares to shoot Toni in order to save her from death by silicate. It’s a surprisingly dark moment for a film of this nature, all the more so given the nature of her character and how she came to be on the island. For a character that’s so innocent and outgoing, this fate seems incredibly troubling.

TO SHOOT TERI OR NOT???

INDEED ONE OF the enduring appeals of Island of Terror, is that what starts as an enjoyable 60’s sci-fi adventure- becomes progressively darker. The opening sequences in which we meet our characters, then see them journey to the island are far lighter in the tone, than the latter half of the film. Fisher allows his audience to let their guard down and then strikes when their at their most vulnerable.

ISLAND OF TERROR, really is something of a gem in Cushing’s output and for my money stands as his best Sci-Fi feature alongside The Abominable Snowman. This film may not have the intelligence of that earlier classic, but it has genuinely shocking moments and an atmosphere that oozes dread and menace. The question is, does Night of the Big Heat match it’s predecessor?

 

I’ll be finding out next week, so PLEASE JOIN US!
If you have any comments, suggestions or feedback about this or ANY of my features here at PCAS you can contact me HERE at spookycallum58@gmail.com

REMEMBER! 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

#HAMMERFILMSSATURDAY: THE VANISHING UK DRACULA TRAILER

#HAMMERFILMSATURDAY : Yesterday being #frankensteinfriday, we shared the trailer for The Revenge of Frankenstein and thinking about our previous post today, about the Hammer Queens Award for Export back in 1968, I had a quick scroll through the titles of Hammer film titles from 57 to 75, and most of the big winners in there were, the Frankenstein and Dracula series. It could be said, they were the most popular Hammer films, certainly if Peter and Christopher Lee appeared in them.

BUT THERE are other titles like One Million Years BC....which were also very popular indeed. With the exclusion of the Cushing and Lee Hammer films... what do you consider to be your personal Hammer film favorite? The Nanny? Plague of the Zombies? Nightmare? Slave Girls?? Surprise me. Send you comments, which will be posted below to our email address, petercushingpcas@gamil.com

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 reach our 30K following total for Peter Cushing BIRTHDAY on MAY 26th 2017 AND Help Keep The Memory Alive!

'A PARTNERSHIP IN DEADLY DEEDS' A TALENT TO TERRIFY: PART TWO BY TROY HOWARTH

 

A HEADS UP! A TALENT TO TERRIFY: PART TWO: 'A PARTNERSHIP IN DEADLY DEEDS' WILL BE POSTED HERE ON WEDNESDAY 18TH DECEMBER 2013

YOU CAN FIND MORE CUSHING AND LEE REVIEWS, GALLERIES AND FEATURES HERE AT OUR WEBSITE AND AT OUR FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

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Horror Express starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee HERE

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