#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY: When Sir Christopher Lee relocated to US to
avoid typecasting in the late 70's he appeared in a number of different
genres of films comedy's, musicals . . . He did however make a few horror
films during this period..Here is one of the more stranger ones, 'The Howling 2' . . . a sequel to Joe Dante's 1981 werewolf classic 'The Howling'!
WHEN LEE WORKED with Dante in 1991 in Gremlins 2: The New Batch, one of the first things he did was apologize to director Joe Dante, for being in this film! Here is a fun clip of the finale of the film with Lee's confronting the werewolf Stirba. Are you a fan of this rather 'out there' film?
THIS OUR LAST COMPETITION to be ever launched or posted at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE...it will close TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT! So if you are going to enter,
NOW is the time!!
ALL competitions after this one, will be held ONLY at THIS PCAS WEBSITE..where they
are not hidden and crushed from reaching...er..over 33,000 people who
supposingly have joined the Peter Cushing page . .Good Luck with this competition, it's a GREAT release from INDICATION! YOU can ENTER HERE by posting YOUR answer to our WEBSITE email : petercushingpcas@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
THE 'DOUBLE BILL' is something of a tradition within the film industry. Simply put it meant- ‘two for the price of one’. Originally used pre-cinema in Opera houses, it came into prominence in the 1930’s after the Great Depression. With the film industry suffering heavy losses, a number of cinemas chose to offer the two-for-one scheme, as a hope of luring punters back into the seats.
SUFFICE TO SAY it worked and since then double bills were something of staple. However by the end of the 20th century, as the number of low-budget films being given theatrical releases lessened they began to go out of fashion and are now exceedingly rare. None the less the appeal to ciniphiles is still there and they can often be found at festivals, usually featuring two themed or related films.
THE 'THEMED DOUBLE BILL' is the subject of today’s
piece (and of two following pieces), namely what is the perfect Cushing double
bill? I’ll be discussing three trios of films that in my mind complement each
other. They can be directly related, as are today’s or can simply be of
thematic interest. However, they must of course both star Peter Cushing in some
capacity.
STATING WITH a somewhat obvious one, today I’ll be discussing 1957’s
The Curse of Frankensteinand 1958’s The Revenge of Frankenstein, but more
specifically, how they complement each other. Curse and Revenge are the
first two instalments in Hammer’s Frankenstein
series, one of course being the granddaddy of Hammer’s gothic output. Whilst
the first is a truncated retelling of the Frankenstein story, putting emphasis
on the Baron as more of a villain, the sequel brings events full circle. Together,
they show the rise and fall of Baron Frankenstein with his eventual fate as his
own creation.
TO BEGIN WITH, this probably makes the most obvious
pairing simply as Revenge picks up
exactly where Curse left off, meaning
that watched back to back it feels like one consistent epic. Furthermore, unlike some of the later
incarnations of the character (for example the more softer version seen in The Evil of Frankenstein or vicious
incarnation that features in Frankenstein
Must be Destroyed) these are clearly supposed to be the same man.
MUCH OF THE SETS are recycled and virtually identical and Hammer even got the same actor (Alex
Gallier) who played the priest in Curse to
reprise his role at the start of this film. This means that unlike other Hammer
sequels, Revenge often feels like a
natural progression of Curse. Terrance
Fisher returns and the only notable admission is James Bernard, who is replaced
by Leonard Salzedo. I for one adore Salzedo’s score and it’s certainly up there
with my favourite Hammer soundtrack, fitting the atmosphere of Revenge perfectly. The final end credits
fanfare is chillingly powerful.
WHAT REALLY MAKES these two films complement each
other however, is the rich thematic nature in which one story reflects the
other. I discussed briefly some of the varying levels in Revenge’s script during my tribute to Jimmy Sangster. However when
watched back to back these two films have elements which show a great
intelligence in Sangster’s work. The progression to brain transplants comes
across as incredibly natural and the bravery in having the revenge as not a
physical one (a slice and dice would have been so easy) but more of a
philosophical one (he has to prove himself
right), shows an incredible understanding of the character. With the Baron
somewhat younger in the first film, he is the pupil to Paul Krempe (Robert
Urquhart) who through the course of the film becomes the more dominant figure.
IN REVENGEthat Baron seems to have aged
tremendously due to his near death experience and this time it is he who has
the pupil, in Francis Matthews’s Hanz. Throughout the course of this film we
see Hanz grow and learn, until at the finale it is he who must perform the
brain transplant upon the Baron.
THE FACT THAT this then results in the only successful
operation, the final shot being Hanz looking on proudly at the new Baron,
presents a wonderful circularity to these films. We see the Baron first develop
his concept of creating life and then further this into brain transplants. We see
his two failed experiments but we also see him grow and develop as a character,
from pupil to teacher.
OF COURSE MUCH of this is down to Cushing, who in the
space of a year manages two performances of the same character but in entirely
different mind-sets. Thanks to him, we believe
that this is the same man and that he really has been through a horrific
experience, which has just made him more determined to continue. Indeed the
most horrifying thing in Revenge is
Cushing’s uttering of the line ‘they will never be rid of me’. The determination
is so powerful as to be utterly chilling.
WELL THAT'S IT for this weeks double bill, but join me
again next Sunday as I’ll be discussing another perfect pair…
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
#THROWBACKTHURSDAY! REPACKAGING Cushing and Hammer films classic films for new sales and
audiences, sometimes throws up the most interesting box designs . . .
what do we think of the covers of these two #HAMMERFILM classics: #bridesofdracula and #eviloffrankenstein ???
UPDATE:AN INTERESTING comment on our PCASFACEBOOK FAN PAGE from ZAK PEARSON who says, : 'I don't know why these companies don't just use the original posters,
gorgeous lush hand painted posters already in existence, rather than
these very clinical designs?'.
WE ANSWERED:' . . .Some
of the films the media rights, posters, stills actually are not
included in the license of having rights to distribute the film.
Although many dvd and blu ray distributors flaunt this fact when they
include the stills and posters in the extras... in the case of many of
Hammers films films, the media rights are owned by a completely
different company, to who owns the rights of the actual film . .. and
some differ from country and territory . .to use the poster on the
cover, would mean an paying extra lolly, so easier and cheaper, to have a new and bespoke design for the release . .'
#THROWBACKTHURSDAY:WHAT AN INTERESTING, unusual painting and study for artists Sharon Wong
to have painted...? I had to share it with you today . . .I have added
quote by Peter's late wife, Helen Cushing on her observations about
Peter, from the very first time she met him...and fell in love. . .
taken from Peter's autobiography, it may have provided the inspiration
for the painting perhaps? What do you make this? - Marcus
#THROWBACKTHURSDAY! AND FINALLY, here's a smashing photograph of actress KATE O'MARA, standing outside the WATFORD ODEON CINEMA back in October 1970, posing with poster of Hammer films, 'THE VAMPIRE LOVERS', in which she starred with Ingrid Pitt, Peter Cushing and Douglas Wilmer. Good for her!
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 . .
#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAYS! RELAXED and yet sharp, Christopher Lee interviewed back in 1968. The question of, do horror films, influence the vulnerable in society, and Lee's answer, is a blinder...which cramps any return, even from someone as cool and as accomplished as the late, Alan Whicker . .
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 . .
#THROWBACKTHURSDAY! PUBLICITY EXPLOITATION PRESSBOOK for the Amicus AIP feature film, 'Scream and Scream Again' (1970) slightly misleading claim . . .
#THROWBACKTHURSDAY!: How the 'Horror of Dracula' / 'Dracula' publicity campaign looked back in 1958 . . . . different!
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
#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! I have been asked for YOUR opinion please.... which of the designs do you PREFER. The original US Vintage cinema poster design on the left OR the NEW concept artwork on the right? Please don't be shy in sharing your opinions on the style and artwork and maybe the reasons for your choice. Thank You! It's #CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY Today and there's some goodies on baddies coming up during the day!
#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY: Christopher Lee like Peter Cushing and many other top actors at the time guested on the classic TV Show The Avengers. Lee made two appearances on the show, first in the Emma Peel era
episode 'Never, Never Say Die' And the second being from the Tara King
era called 'The Interrogators' which was directed by Oscar-nominated
Ealing Studios veteran Charles Crichton. Lee plays Colonel Mannering who is running a special interrogation course, established to determine the degree to which
agents can withstand interrogation. Except that everyone who passes the
course soon learns that all of their contacts have been murdered. And
then, Tara is called in for a run through the course as well. Its a fun episode with Lee delivering a great performance as Mannering
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.