A WONDERFUL QUOTE from Peter Cushing, with his touching and typical shy
depreciation... 'Well, because of some...all sorts of reason' says he 😊
Incredible that he almost talked himself out of the role.. and we would
never have his Van Helsing! One of my favourite all time Peter Cushing
roles for sure
😊
... AND HE PLAYED THEM very well indeed..... and the list is endless 😄BUT over at the Facebook PCASUK Fan Page, I have open the door on asking followers and friends, if there was ever a character he played, that you didn't like?
FOR Petra Zemanova😊 TODAY we remembering the BIRTHDAY of UK actor BARRY WARREN, born today
in 1933. Trained at RADA, graduating in 1955, Warren was a handsome very
competent supporting actor in several theatre productions, and spent
the majority of his career on UK tv screens. 'The Wednesday Play' 'Play
of the Month', two characters in the Brit TV classic 'The Avengers in
1966 and and 68.
AROUND 1975, he vanished completely and continued his
life... in a completely different role and gender. WE know him best probably for his work with Hammer Films and the excellent role he played with Peter Cushing in 'Frankenstein Created Woman as Karl in 67.
WARREN ALSO worked with Christopher Lee as Manuel in 'The Devil Ship Pirate's' in 64 and probably his best role for #HammerFILMS
as creepy Carl Ravna in 'The Kiss of the Vampire' in 1963. Today we
remember Warren and the edge he brought to those 'bad cads' in 'Created
Woman' the haunted Ravna in '#KissoftheVampire'
and lets not forget his softer side even against the ranks of Lee's
Captain Robeles authority! all very sound roles and performances in
three classic Hammer films! Happy Birthday and thank you, Barry
A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to actress JUDY GEESON today! We interviewed JUDY GEESON back in the early 1980's, in her dressing room, at a London theatre, where she was appearing in a play at the time. She was sharp, bright as a button, and chomped her way through a pawn salad, as she regaled us with stories for our Marantz audio recorder and microphone!
JUDY GEESON had only worked with Peter once in FEAR IN THE NIGHT (1972), and Christopher Lee in 1975 in a film called, DIAGNOSIS MURDER. Thankfully, she had much to share on both. She also commented on his Cushing's laugh...and his pleasure on finding out that Judy kept a parakeet, and had a pet dog. She even brought the bird to the set of Fear In The Night, so Peter could sketch and paint it! It's interesting that most reports and reviews of Cushing's films that you read about, from this period of time, are usual tinged sadness, and concerned with Peter Cushing's grief and loss, of his wife, Helen. It's good to know, he did have sunny days, some light and shade.
JUDY GEESON was born in Arundel, Sussex, in 1948, Her father moved the family to London when she was 10 years old and enrolled her and sister Sally Geeson into the Corona Academy, Chiswick. Judy initially wanted to be a ballet dancer, but had to change course when she suffered from terrible headaches as a result of some of the moves. Acting had always been a great interest, however, and she chose to pursue this, making her first TV appearance in Dixon of Dock Green (1955) aged 12.
HER FIRST MAJOR FILM ROLE was as wayward teenager Pamela Dare opposite Sidney Poitier in To Sir, with Love (1967) at the age of 18. I am sure you can all name your personal favourite Judy film... I will vote for Fear in the Night and To Sire with Love... but there are many others, 10 Rillington Place, Doomwatch, Brannigian with John Wayne and a HEAP of tv dramas too! Please join us wishing Judy the BEST of birthday's today!
IT'S ONLY NATURAL that when we think of
the ladies of the classic Hammer Horror films, we think of the
countless, beautiful women that will forever be as associated with the
studio's name as that of Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing. We think of
names such as Ingrid Pitt or, First Lady of Hammer: Hazel Court.
However, the first woman to become anything but beautiful for the
studio, was the unknown, Prudence Hyman. Subsequently, it was after the
release of 'THE GORGON' (1965), that
Hammer would begin a long legacy of these dangerous females. And all of
it began with an ex-ballerina and ENSA performer named, Prudence Hyman.
LONG BEFORE she would become Hammer's Gorgon, 'Megaera,' Prudence Hythe was born in London, England
on February 2, 1914. She was a classically trained ballerina who
studied in England and Paris and made her dancing debut at the age of
seventeen in 'Twelfth Night.' Between 1934-1935, she toured with
various ballet companies, and during the second World War, she was a
member of ENSA; a traveling group of artists whose purpose was to
entertain the troops. It was while she was a member of the ENSA group,
that Prudence and her fellow members were once flown to safety during a
harrowing adventure through a horrible storm. The group's hero was a
young, Royal Air Force Lieutenant that, interestingly, she would manage
to meet-up with many years later: None other than Christopher Lee.
IN 1960, Prudence played a small, uncredited role alongside the once brave pilot in Hammer's, House of Fright / The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll. She
played the part of a tavern woman, while Paul Massie took on the dual
role of the mad scientist. However, it would be four years later that
Prudence Hyman would make horror history: She would be the first female
monster in Hammer's long, Gothic-style film legacy.
#CUSHINGFEMMEFATALESFRIDAY!
Blue Scar is a little seen 1949 British drama film, directed by documentary
filmmaker Jill Craigie, set in a Welsh village where the coal mine has
recently been nationalised. It focuses on the relationship between Olwen
Williams, a miner's daughter who leaves the village to live in London,
and Tom Thomas, (Emrys Jones) who dedicates his life to working in the
mine. Prudence Hyman plays a small role as Moira Thalberg , who shares a
dorm with Tom's girlfriend, Gwynneth Vaughan played by Olwen Williams,
when Gwynneth wins a scholarship to attend singing school....
THE GORGON was one of the last films to have been produced by Hammer during their six-year distribution deal with Columbia
Pictures. Seeing as their last two films had been shelved by the
distributor, the studio needed something new and exciting that would
bring audiences back to the theater. To do so, they went straight to the
public itself. An advertisement was placed in 'The Daily Cinema'
magazine, in which the film company was soliciting stories from anyone
with a good idea.The last line of the advertisement read as follows:
"Because good, compulsive selling ideas with the right titles are what
Hammer are looking for right now." Of the many submissions, a story by
J. Llewellyn Divine was selected. It was a rather involved and lengthy
story. But, after a bit of re-writing and initially naming the script,
"Supernatural", the script was rewritten a second time and given the
name, The Gorgon.
#CUSHINGFEMMEFATALESFRIDAY!
Prudence Hyman's appearance as 'Megaera,' in Hammer films 'THE GORGON'
is just two years away, as Prudence appears in three episodes of
'Richard The Lionheart' as Queen Eleanor in 1962. In the mid 1950's soon
to be mega money producer, Lew Grade kick started a whole trend of
Sword, Sandals and Jousting copy cats tv series when he sank all his
capital into 'Robin Hood' with actor Richard Greene, filling the Lincoln
Green tights. It was a mega success. So a whole raft of other medieval
style tv romps followed : Roger Moore as Ivanhoe, The Saint was just
around the corner. William Russell as Sir Lancelot. Conrad Phillips as
William Tell . . and all at sea with Terence Morgan, playing Sir Francis
Drake. And so, who would have thought, Richard The Lionheart would be
next? Taking more than a nod from Robin and his Merry chaps, this show
even had its own rousing theme song . ."Richard, the Lionheart, wrote a page in England's book of fame. History shall long recall his name.". . . . hmm.
SHOOTING BEGAN in December of 1963 at Bray Studios,where The Evil of Frankenstein had just wrapped
production. Due to budget and time constraints,as well as to give the
set the look and feel of 1910, many of the same interior sets from The Evil of Frankenstein were redressed and used for The Gorgon.The
film starred Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Hammer's most famous
female star of the time.The "First Leading Lady of British Horror,"
Barbara Shelley. On board as director was, in my humble opinion, the man
who made Hammer Horror what it is: The legendary Terence Fisher
(February 23, 1904-June 18, 1980).
IN THE ROLE of 'Carla Hoffman', Barbara
Shelley had wanted to simultaneously play the role of the title
character. As the film's possessed, amnesiac heroine, she felt that the
dual role would make the storyline more sensible and fluid; that it
should be she who "gorgonized" the film's victims. She also had a few
ideas for producer Anthony Nelson Keys on how to make Megaera more
frightening and realistic as well. Her idea consisted of using real
garden snakes, and to find a way to humanely weave them into a special
wig. However, due to the film's budget and short production schedule,
Nelson rejected her idea, and chose instead to use another actress to
play the part: Prudence Hyman.
NELSON KEYS ALSO FELT that with a different
actress playing the part, it would help to conceal the Gorgon's
alternate, "human" identity. Although, after seeing The Gorgon herself
on screen, the producer had regretted his decision about Shelley's wig
idea. It's difficult to say if it was Hyman herself, or the costume
which disappointed Nelson. Nonetheless, Christopher Lee's opinion of
Megaera was also less-than-flattering: "The only thing wrong with The
Gorgon, is The Gorgon!" Fortunately, fans today are less unforgiving.
TO CREATE THE APPEARANCE of The Gorgon and her
snakes, makeup man Roy Ashton applied the hideous skin and makeup to
Hyman, while special effects engineer, Syd Pearson, had a bit more of a
challenge by creating the snakes themselves. Pearson had twelve plaster
moulds made, and from each mould he cast latex rubber snakes.
CABLES WERE THEN PLACED through each of the snakes' bodies for movement, and
were then woven through the actress' wig. Each snake was then
individually attached to cables which ran down Hyman's back. The cables
trailed approximately twenty-five feet behind her where they were
controlled by a large contraption which contained pegs. As the pegs were
turned, the tension gave the effect of each snake moving individually.
THE GORGON FINISHED PRODUCTION in January, 1964, and was double-billed with Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb. Although
we only see The Gorgon herself for less than twenty minutes throughout
the entire film, each shot of Prudence Hyman's 'Megaera' is a treat, to
say the least. The cinematography of Michael Reed is simply superb and,
in true Hammer form, the sets are gorgeous. Hyman herself moves with a
grace and elegance that one would expect from a former ballerina.
Incredibly, she went back to playing uncredited roles for the studio.
She was given small parts in Rasputin: The Mad Monk, and The Witches, which were both were released in 1966.
IT IS TRULY INTERESTING to know that an
unknown actress with no starring roles, or major parts, made horror film
history as one of it's first female monsters; and the first for Hammer.
Sadly, the name Prudence Hyman remains rather unknown, and The Gorgon has only recently become appreciated as one of Hammer's lesser known and hidden gems. Very
little has been written about Prudence Hyman, or her incredible
contribution to the horror genre. As is normally the case with so many
important people throughout history, it is not in their lifetimes that
they are appreciated, or even understand what they have accomplished
while they're alive: such was the case with Prudence Hyman. She died at
the age of 81 on June 1, 1995 and was put to rest in her birthplace of
London, England.
Prudence Hyman was a bright young dancer when English ballet was
emerging. She was lithe and slim, possessing a clean technique, quite
notable for those days. Nurtured by the redoubtable Marie Rambert, she created a variety of
roles in early ballets by such budding choreographers as Susan Salaman,
Frank Staff, Frederick Ashton, Wendy Toye, Andree Howard and Anthony
Tudor. She danced Maria in Cross Gartered, Tudor's first ballet, in
1931, based on the Malvolio episode from Twelfth Night. She also created
the part of Eve in Tudor's Adam and Eve to Constant Lambert's music for
the Camargo Society at the Delphi Theatre, in 1932.
She danced Vamp de Luxe in Susan Salaman's Le Boxing to music by Lord
Berners, and was also in Andree Howard's Death and the Maiden (to music
by Schubert) and Ashton's dances for Purcell's Fairy Queen. She danced
classical roles in Swan Lake, Les Sylphides, Carnaval and Spectre de la
Rose and her Bluebird in Aurora's Wedding was exceptionally brilliant.
Arnold Haskell was in raptures about it!
BORN PRUDENCE Hythe, in London in 1914, she was trained by English
teachers and in Paris by Russian teachers, Lubov Egorova and Olga
Preobrajenska. She built her career with Rambert, and blossomed into
ballerinadom on the tiny Mercury Theatre stage, where Ashley Dukes and
his wife Marie Rambert, had established their centre for dance and drama : The Ballet Club
IT CAUGHT THE FANCY of the intelligentsia, and became fashionable,
eventually famous. The audience capacity was 99 persons; everything was
done on a shoestring. Dukes, a translator of plays, presented his international play seasons
during the weekdays with such masterpieces as The Man with the Load of
Mischief and Mandragola, and on Sunday evenings "Mim" had the theatre
for her Ballet Club. It was said that in those days of Sunday-night
performances at the club, dancers, whatever their status, received a
shilling a performance. Madame Rambert continually lost her stars; they
had to earn a living.
PRUDENCE DANCED BRIEFLY with de Basil's Ballets Russes (1934-35) and then
toured with the Markova-Dolin ballet. During the Second World War she
made some appearances with the London Ballet at the Arts Theatre in
lunchtime concerts and toured abroad with Ensa. Back in England, she
turned to commercial theatre, making notable appearances with Walter
Crisham, Hermione Gingold and Hermione Baddeley in intimate revues, a
form of entertainment then extremely popular.
ALL MUSICALS needed dancers and PRUDENCE worked in BOTH record breaking productions of PAINT YOUR WAGON in 1951 and 1953 in the WEST END London.
ABOVE: WHILE APPEARING IN the ballet 'BETTER LATE' in 1946. Prudence took this opportunity to appear in a PATHE NEW ITEM to give a little plug to the show! Thus proving the old adage, ANY publicity is GOOD publicity. Floral Dog Collars, indeed!
A SHORT TIME, after the Second World War, Prudence married Lt R. L Beckley from the USA and disappeared from the ballet
scene. . . . but ballet's loss would be for a short time, theatre, film and televisions gain . .
DEAR PRUDENCE PART TWO was edited and compiled by Marcus Brooks. Sections of this feature previously appeared in Part One of Dear Prudence written by KB Zorka. Sections of the Independent newspaper Prudence Hyman obituary June 25th 1995, was used as reference and source material.
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
Mark Gatiss directs Hammer Horror’s 'Unquenchable Thirst Of Dracula,' an
unmade Hammer Horror script set in 1930s India. Lewis MacLeod (Dead
Ringers) channels Christopher Lee as Dracula, whilst Michael Sheen
narrates. The cast includes Nikesh Patel (Indian Summers, Midnight’s
Children), Meera Syal, Kulvinder Ghir, Anna Madeley, Ayesha Dharker and
Raj Ghatek and is adapted for radio by Mark Gatiss and Laurence Bowen.
Hammer Films is synonymous with horror, after defining the genre in
Britain with classics including Dracula, The Curse Of Frankenstein and
The Mummy. This new Radio 4 dramatisation is the first new Hammer
Dracula production in 43 years and is part of Radio 4’s ongoing Unmade
Movie series.
Mark Gatiss says: “What better way to celebrate Hallowe’en than with a
lost Hammer movie? And not just any Hammer movie! Anthony Hind's
thrillingly titled The Unquenchable Thirst Of Dracula is a wonderful,
rich and atmospheric script and way ahead of its time - set in the 30s, a
sort of 'Heat and Dust and Fangs'! It was nearly made in the early 70s
on location in India and I was thrilled to assemble a fantastic cast
headed by Nikesh Patel, Michael Sheen, Meera Syal and Anna Madeley to
bring this forgotten gem to gory life.”
Michael Sheen says: "The prospect of a long lost Dracula script offering
itself to me like a succulent pale neck was just too tempting. I
devoured it in one sitting and cannot promise I won't strike again.”
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
