BBC DRACULA 2020 ALIVE OR DOA? PLUS TERENCE FISHER REMEMBERED ON ANNIVERSARY OF HIS PASSING

SPOILERS: Back at the beginning in 2020 when some of us started to invest eye-ball time in a much promoted and anticipated production the BBC was rolling out, little did we know what was just around the corner for many of us, many of our friends and families.... and now, six months later, have I found time to catch up on trivial matter like entertainment. Last night I watched the BBC serial of Dracula, written by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, starring Claes Bang as Count Dracula and Dolly Wells as Sister Agatha Van Helsing, plus a ship load of other talented cast members. Back in January I had managed to watch episode one and two, but wrapping the series has been out of my reach since then, so watching from scratch, was he treat last night. It was certainly something different, written and created by two pretty obvious fans of Lee, Cushing and Hammer - Gatiss and Moffat! 

THERE'S LOTS OF NODS and visual paying tributes to Hammer, in-particular, 'Dracula AD 1972' and 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula' .. the last of the Cushing/Lee Hammer series of Dracula films. All lovingly presented, sneaked in or peeping around the corner 😏😊The climax of the series also presented elements of the iconic Cushing and Lee 'fight to the death' from the 1958 movie. All very good and full of twists and turns. I couldn't help thinking back to how maybe many of the Hammer fans felt when Dracula AD and Satanic was released! 'What is THIS???' 😆😉What is it? In my personal opinion, it's all good, exciting and a great turn on a classic and much loved horror-tale, often produced and presented in a modern turn, but of all such modern packages, this was certainly my favourite! Well done, Gatiss and Moffat! Over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE, I've asked everyone to share their thoughts and opinions on the page post! It will be interesting to find out, what everyone thinks, having a few months to think about it!

REMEMBERING TERENCE FISHER TODAY who passed on this day in 1980. If you enjoy any of the better Hammer films of the 1950's and 60's . . this is the point, you doff your cap 😉 There can be few directors who worked for Hammer films, who did so much to develop that Hammer-in-house style. Terence Fisher, WAS Hammer. Along with Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and the players who helped under pin the rich vision of fairy-tale come Gothic nightmare style. Even when the 'monsters' were 'shaky' the script, with more holes than a Swiss cheese... the look, pace and world beautifully styled by Fisher, just sat so well. The Curse of Frankenstein in 1957 was the first, it also lit the rocket that would spin Peter Cushing into a new and long lasting career within the fantasy genre and Christopher Lee, on scraping off the make up and anonymity as 'the monster', would soon don a cloak and a feral shocking performance as Dracula, that set him on path, for more Fisher, Cushing Hammer classics to come. The Mummy, The Gorgon, and The Hound of the Baskervilles, still stand, as maybe the best of Terence Fisher and Hammer. 

TERENCE FISHER was one of the most prominent horror directors of the second half of the 20th century. He was the first to bring gothic horror alive in full colour, and the sexual overtones and explicit horror in his films, while mild by modern standards, were unprecedented in his day. Fisher although aware of the terrifying elements of his Hammer films, would only smile when questioned about their shock factor, and answer...'I make wicked fairy tales...!' Fisher also along with Lee and Cushing, had a wicked sense of humor, hints of which can often been seen on the screen. Given their subject matter and lurid approach, Fisher's films, though commercially successful, were largely dismissed by critics during his career. It is only in recent years that Fisher has become recognised as an auteur in his own right . . .

SOCIAL UNREST GANGS AND GUNS : IVESON REVIEWS THE 1958 BAKER : CUSHING AND MCCALLUM DRAMA 'VIOLENT PLAYGROUND'

EVERY CITY HAS ITS DANGEROUS YOUTH! Stark explosive drama - as the CAMERAS LAY BARE the heart of a big city and probe the secrets of its Violent Playground  . . . 

MARK IVESON REVIEWS 
Starring Stanley Baker, Anne Heywood, Peter Cushing, David McCallum Directed by Basil Deardon
 

IT IS ALWAYS a pleasure to watch a Peter Cushing film for the first time, especially if it’s not horror related, and this gritty, if dated slice of social commentary is an interesting part of the actor’s movie portfolio.  

AFTER HIS TELEVISION success, Cushing’s burgeoning film career quickly gathered momentum with several high profile supporting roles. Had Hammer not intervened to make Cushing a star in The Curse of Frankenstein (1956), he would have still commanded some excellent film work throughout the late fifties, and in a variety of cinema genres.

VIOLENT PLAYGROUND is a British attempt to imitate the style of America’s popular juvenile delinquent films that included The Blackboard Jungle (1955), Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Crime in the Street (1956). It’s an important movie because it effectively presents the struggles of post war Britain, and is further emphasised by the striking use of locations, in this case the city of Liverpool. Val Guest later made excellent use of Manchester in Hammer’s Hell is a City (1960), and Sidney Hayers did the same for Newcastle in Payroll (1961). Interestingly enough, none of these films feature regional accents! 

THE SOCIAL REALISM in Violent Playground also pre-dates Jack Clayton’s Room at the Top (1959), a pivotal film that created the documentary style ‘kitchen sink’ drama that was influential in British cinema during the early sixties, and was followed by Karel Reisz’s Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1961), John Schlesinger’s A Kind of Loving (1962) and Lindsay Anderson’s This Sporting Life (1963).

THE PLOT:
DETECTIVE SERGEANT Jack Truman (Baker) is investigating the activities of an arsonist known as ‘Firefly.’ He is suddenly dropped form the case to be appointed juvenile liaison officer at a local inner city estate populated by mainly Irish families. Truman does not relish his new job because, being a bachelor, he knows nothing about kids.

A MEETING WITH twins Patrick and Mary Murphy (Fergal and Brona Boland, in their only film together) brings him to the attention of older brother Johnny (McCallum), leader of a street gang whose own activities seem to run parallel with his earlier investigation into arson attacks. The situation is further complicated by Truman’s emotional involvement with the twins’ older sister and guardian Cathie (Heyward). Also on hand is the tough but kindly priest (Cushing), who is aware of Johnny’s traumatic early life. This chain of events soon spiral out of control.

VIOLENT PLAYGROUND is a film of its time. It has dated, and some scenes are melodramatic, but it pulls no punches in showing the gritty realism of a working class area, and the increasing criminal activities of a younger generation left with no direction in life.  

THERE IS NOTHING feel good about the subject matter, and it is all down to producer Michael Relph and director Basil Deardon, who would later tackle the taboo subjects of racism in Sapphire (1959) and homosexuality in Victim (1961). The film has a nostalgic feel; all plain clothes cops wore trench coats and trilbies, the delinquents are a tad too well scrubbed and the ladies wore headscarves, but there are no stereotypes. 

THE CHINESE brother and sister (brilliantly played by real life siblings Michael Chow and Tsai Chin) are not ‘me so solly, no speaky English’ characters; it’s actually quite refreshing to see Tsai Chin not playing a double-agent or sinister daughter of a master criminal! Everyone is clearly defined and this is further enhanced by excellent performances from a well chosen cast.

PERHAPS THE MOST DISTURBING scene is where Johnny (why are all bad boys called Johnny in these movies?), armed with a machine gun, takes a class of school kids hostage. This uncomfortably echoes the recent shootings that have occurred in the States. It still makes for a tense and uncompromising climax. Basil Deardon directs with a sense of unease, and had it not been for the studio insisting on a happy ending, it could have ranked as a classic piece of British cinema. 

AS PREVIOUSLY STATED, the performances are excellent. Stanley Baker is his usual charismatic self, showing typical urban intensity mixed with the quiet authority of his position within the community. There is also a genuine chemistry between Baker and Anne Heywood, who is equally compelling in a somewhat underwritten role. 

SUPPORTING PERFORMANCES are of a typical high standard. Clifford Evans provides a nice touch of humour as the understanding headmaster, with John Slater being well served as Baker’s colleague. The Boland twins are a creepy pair; I wonder if they inspired Stanley Kubrick when he made The Shinning (1979)!
 

THE REAL STAR is David McCallum, who had previously worked with Baker in Hell Drivers (1955). At 24, his is a tad too old for Johnny, but his youthful good looks and fierce intensity makes him a passable teenager. As one of the new angry young men of British cinema McCallum shows real star promise with an aggressively powerful performance. Sadly future films failed to make use of his unique presence, and he subsequently got blander with each role, despite his major success in Hollywood in the mid sixties. 

WE NOW COME TO PETER CUSHING. As versatile as he was in period roles, it is difficult to place the actor in this kind of film as his classical approach could not be further away from the modern method acting style seen in Violent Playground. That said he gives a first rate performance. Moving away from the Miles Malleson ecclesiastical bumblers from previous British films, Cushing’s priest is convincingly street wise, and looks at home in the surrounding area. Although understanding of Johnny’s problems, he becomes a more forceful presence when confronting the boy during the climax. It is a winning turn, and one regrets Cushing not having more screen time. 

LOWER DOWN THE CAST we have Young Frankenstein himself, Melvyn Hayes, and comedian Freddie Starr, under his real name Freddie Fowell, as members of Johnny’s gang. You can’t miss Freddie; he’s the only one with a Scouse accent!
 

RELEASED IN 1958, Violent Playground did well in the UK and Europe, although it failed to do much business in America as the market for juvenile delinquent movies had pretty much been flooded by their home grown efforts. The success of The Beatles, and David McCallum’s TV popularity in The Man From UNCLE a few years later made Liverpool a popular city world wide, and as a result, the film got a belated Stateside release to reasonable box office success.

VIOLENT PLAYGROUND, is by no means a classic British movie, but it holds enough interest and does require repeated viewings. Of course it’s always wonderful to see Peter Cushing doing something against his usual style, and his performance here remains one of his best non horror efforts.

REMEMBERING MAX J ROSENBERG AND A HAMMER FILM PREMEIR!

REMEMBERING: Max J. Rosenberg (September 13, 1914 – June 14, 2004) Rosenberg was an American film producer, whose career spanned six decades. He was particularly noted for his partnership with co founder of Amicus films, Milton Subotsky who both found much of their success while working in England, producing #supernatural and fantasy cinema, many of which starred #PeterCushing and #ChristopherLee. Max was a clever businessman, Subotsky was the brains and imagination behind what was for most part, the only true competitor of the UK based #Hammerfilms. Sadly, the business partnership soured, then court and libel cases strangled the whole thing to death...a climax worthy of any Amicus film's big finish!

YOU CAN FIND OUR MORE about MILTON SUBOTSKY AND MAX ROSENBERG and AMICUS FILMS in our PCAS feature and REVIEW of THE UNCANNY RIGHT HERE 

 . . AND IN OUR SEVEN PART series on The AMICUS Films of PETER CUSHING HERE!

ABOVE: A RARE press photograph taken at the PREMIER of #Hammerfilms 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed' with #PeterCushing, #VeronicaCarlson, #ThorleyWalters, #CatherineSchell and producer, Anthony Nelson Keys, posing for the press with two Hammer fans in fancy dress! Schell was in attendence while working on Hammer's other film at this time, #MOONZEROTWO! 

FROM WEREWOLVES AND GIBLETS TO SOFT TOY AND PIGLET!

PETER CUSHING takes a break on set from playing Dr Christopher Lungren in Amicus films 'The Beast Must Die' (1974) An alternate version of the film was released under the 'interesting' title of, 'Black Werewolf'. For some weird reason this cut, edits and omits the wonderful "werewolf break" near the climax! now where is the fun in that????

HERE IS THE PCAS feature and gallery on Peter Cushing and Amicus films, 'THE BEAST MUST DIE' LOTS of interesting and rare pics! Have fun! 

FROM WEREWOLVES, TO PIGS! . On the LEFT is a soft toy and comfort to Peter Cushing from a very early age. He loved it all his life and throughout his entire life, it was always near his bed. On the RIGHT, Peter Cushing on the beach, in his woolen swim suit aged seven. He loved swimming all his life...and as an adult, would take daily early morning dips in the sea, which was virtually outside his front door at Seasalter, Whitstable.

AT THE FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE, many have asked WHERE IS PIGLET NOW? When Peter died, all of his personal things, his vast collections of books, model theatre's, war game figures, stamps, postcards...so many things, became part of the estate that became the property of Joyce and Bernard Broughton... the people who looked after Peter in the last ten years of his life...and the people who gave permission for the CGI Rogue One Tarkin, to become a reality. Joyce had been Peter's personal secretary, assistant and friend, since 1957. Most of Peter's belongings and collections were auctioned, not only for fans to own a special piece of something, but also to meet the demand of a huge 'death tax' demand. However, somethings Joyce kept or passed onto the display at the Whitstable Museum... and that is where 'Piglet' now lives! In a glass case, along with other personal Cushing items

I MONSTER : RARE PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY : PART ONE

EVEN AS THE CAMERA first began turning on 10th of October 1970,  it was felt that the Amicus film 1971 film,  'I MONSTER' was not going to have an easy time either during production or after it. What should have been a subtle dream-like and different gear, for the well worn telling of the JEKYLL and HYDE story, it was instead rapidly turning into a nightmare, just days into production. Amicus films producer, Milton Subotsky was, compared to his business partner, Max Rosenberg, quite a shy and reserved fellow. He left the contracting and book work to Max in the USA, while Milton managed the more creative side of production, at the studios in the UK. Milton though calm and reserved, could be quite passionate and stubborn, when he thought he had discovered something that would improve and enhance any of their film projects. He was known for dabble editing and probing into areas, where crews and managers, reacted in REAL horror. 

IN THE CASE OF 'I MONSTER', Milton thought he had discovered, a cheap and effective way of making the classic Jekyll and Hyde tale, a 3D masterpiece and CHEAPLY! His vision was discovered one day, when playing with his young son at home, looking through plastic candy sweet wrappers, colours blue and red. What Milton had come across was the school boy chemistry set, hit and miss theory of 'The Pulfrich Effect', so named after Carl Pulfrich its founder. It was a system that depending on your vision, could not be relied upon, and certainly not thought good enough, to stand as a 3D effect, to enhance an entire movie. The crew was instructed to suddenly rehash the many weeks spent blocking and plotting camera direction set ups. All of that went out of the window. On top of that, director Stephen Weeks felt rumblings of resistance and the beginnings of a sour working relationship with the crew, who resented an unknown 'young guy' being chief. The industry at this time,  was strongly union, tight and fighting cuts and lack of work. The  shrinking of what was once a major industry in the country, was dying a slow death and Weeks felt that his 'boyish looks and early twenty's age', was going against him. Even though he was more than experienced and competent, the crew made problems. All these factors, made for shaky foundations on what was, a tight budget, short schedule, that now appeared to have changed direction, with a ham fisted idea of 3D, that hardly anyone could see! You can read MORE about this in a NEW feature arriving here at the PCASUK website this week.   

I MONSTER, has been ignored and kept out of any chance of revival, that many other fantasy films made in the 60's and 70's, have enjoyed of late. No remastering, no DVD or blu ray repackage and that is shame. The film does have some issues, but it has three things in it's favor. The direction is very good, the performances of both CUSHING and LEE are as we would expect, excellent. Lee pulls off something quite different, compared to the many of his known characters roles, over those years, DRACULA, FU MANCHU and a VAST array of villains. Lee's Mr Blake is like a brain fractured child, with a sledge-hammer approach to anything he doesn't understand. 

IT REALLY IS SOMETHING quite different for Lee, and is wonderfully enhanced by make up artist Harry Frampton's touch, as Dr Marlowe's face and body, slides into a horrifying vision of  hate and evil! CUSHING did best with what he was presented, playing the 'good-guy' who will save the day. What is different in his role of Frederick Utterson, is how he applies his rules of inquisitiveness and doubt. Unlike with Vampier Hunter, Van Helsing there is no chasing and dramatic crosses and stakes. Here he is trying to rescue his friend and colleague, Marlowe from an unwelcome visitor called Mr Blake. Not knowing, they are one...and the same.  

THE PACE OF EDITING ACCOMPANIED by a beautiful musical score from composer CARL DAVIS, from the beginning flags up, this wasn't going to be anything like the tried and tested, familiar sights and sounds,  of market leader, Hammer films, who were Amicus films only genre competitor in the UK at this time. What we are given is a almost dream-like flip of a well known story. All sets look authentic for the time, as do the costumes. The language and reserved quality of communication among professional men, plays out well. All guys are emotionally tongue tied, stiff as their starchy collars and wrought in the game of upper class frigidness and good manners. 

IT'S BLEAK, and all wrapped up in soup like fog, which Blake LOVES and uses as cover, as he stalks, like some man-child-rabid rat. When the end comes, it's sad to see him go. Like a naughty child, who has no concept or understanding of what he has done wrong, the climax of his violent collapse plays like, the waking up from a personal bad dream. He fades away. But like those nightmares, the visions and echo's of what one has been experienced and seen, stay with you long after the lights have come up, and a new day begins . . .  'I MONSTER' deserves a better and a patience audience, who appreciates, not all tales are told with screaming sound and busty vampire bites!

PART TWO of our I MONSTER GALLEY will be posted here MONDAY 6th AUGUST. Some of the rare pics from this and part one gallery are also posted at our FACEBOOK PETER CUSHING APPRECIATION SOCIETY UK FAN PAGE where followers of the page and lovers of Peter Cushing work, can discuss and debate the film, 'I MONSTER' and Cushing's role in this and other films for Amicus. Wherever you are in the world, you are invited to join us at our PCASUK FACEBOOK FAN PAGE along with over 33 thousand other friends and fans. Just CLICK HERE  and CLICK LIKE THERE! We would love top have you along!