HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLINE MUNRO AT HAMMER @WHITBY PLUS WINNERS READY?

PLEASE JOIN US in wishing actress CAROLINE MUNRO a VERY Happy Birthday today! A wonderful actress and an absolute sweety! Her Peter Cushing connection is of course her appearance in Hammer films Dracula AD 1972' in which Peter Cushing played Van Helsing and her co starring role in Amicus films 'At The Earth's Core' with Peter Cushing and Doug McClure. I know of no one who works harder on the convention circuit to make meeting her a special event! Many Happy Returns and Have Smashing Day, Caroline!

THE VERY POPULAR CAROLINE MUNRO PCASUK Dracula AD 1972 Gallery : 

Just HIT HERE!

THE LAST of the PCAS Cushing Christmas Competitions.. Number five, closed a few days ago. TOMORROW we will be revealing the winning entries and FIRST PRIZE WINNER NAME and RUNNER UP WINNER NAME too! First prize is copy of the #Indicator / #Powerhousefilms blu ray box set HAMMER Volume Four : Faces of Evil, which contains FOUR #Hammerfilms releases, 'The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll', 'The Damned', 'Taste of Fear' AND... 'The Revenge of #Frankenstein', starring Peter Cushing as The Baron, in the sequel to the first Hammer Frankenstein film of 1957, 'The Curse of Frankenstein'!

THE EXTRAS on the Indicator Box Set release are also really quite special and include the 'never before released' behind the scenes footage of Cushing on set during the making of 'The Revenge of Frankenstein' at #Braystudios! A full spec of the box set and it's extras, you can see below! As well, as winning this great box set, your win will also include a copy of Indicator's recent blu ray remastered release of the 1957 fab crime thriller, starring Michael Redgrave AND #PeterCushing, 'Time Without Pity'. . . there is also a copy of this blu ray for the 'Runner up!' SECOND WINNERS NAME drawn out of the deep and creepy hat! Are YOU our LUCKY WINNERS? Find out Tomorrow! 😉😃 - Marcus

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CUSHING COLLECTOR WEDNESDAY! DRACULA POSTER SELLS FOR OVER DOUBLE AND MORE FREE HAMMER FILM CONTACT SHEETS

#CUSHINGCOLLECTORS WEDNESDAY! Last week, we shared a RARE COLOUR CONTACT SHEET from Hammer Films, 'Dracula Has Risen From The Grave'. It was a VERY popular post, and I'd like to say thank you to the few of you, who downloaded the contact sheet of you  who not only emailed and messaged me to say thank you, but also to send us pics of the hi res contact sheet you downloaded, and printed off to make individual photographs which you FRAMED!  Pretty cool! Well, here are THIS WEEK'S digital images, or rather here are EIGHT digital images to choose from. This week, over at the PCASUK FACEBOOK FAN PAGE we are asking YOU to vote on which TWO we will be posting and sharing here on the website this week. 

ALL OF THE DETAILS on how to vote are over at the page. The choices include contact sheets from Hammer films, 'VAMPIRE CIRCUS', 'CAPTAIN KRONOS VAMPIRE HUNTER', 'LUST FOR A VAMPIRE' a FULL COLOUR CONTACT SHEET from the photo session that produced the iconic publicity shots of Christopher Lee and Veronica Carlson for Hammer films, 'Dracula has Risen From The Grave' There are also hi res full colour shots of Peter Cushing, Patrick Troughton and Christopher Lee. The voting closes 6am GMT. So even the US and OZ can join in! The two most popular pics will be uploaded here in HI RES watermark free TOMORROW! 

VOTE NOW! We'll give the voting a good six to seven hours. It's for fun! The most popular photographs will be posted later today.

#CUSHINGCOLLECTORSWEDNESDAY! You may remember our post about a Hammer 'Dracula' (1958) cinema poster about to go, under the 'Hammer' a few weeks ago? Well, if you do, you may recall, the estimate for this rare and valuable collectors item was between 6,000 and 8,000 UK pounds?? Well, at auction last night at Whyte’s auction house in Dublin, the final and winning bid was... SIXTEEN THOUSAND POUNDS! (22k US Dollars) Someone is a few quid lighter this morning, but probably very happy with this hanging on their wall.

THROWBACK Last week's PCAS post about the auction and estimated price !

THE LOCAL PRESS covered the story today: "A Dracula poster was sold for €16,000 – more than double its estimate at auction. Film lovers vied to get their hands on a fully-restored and linen-backed version of the 1958 print showing Christopher Lee’s iconic vampire. In it, the count is about to feast on Mina Holmwood, played by actress Melissa Stribling. After several minutes of furious bidding, lot 484, which had an estimate of between €6,000 and €8,000, took much more than what was expected. It was just one of 544 unusual lots up for grabs at Whyte’s auction house in Dublin last night. Autographs of all four members of rock band Led Zeppelin, which had an estimate of €1,500, sold for €3,400. Three volumes of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings sold for €6,400, while hair from French general Napolean Bonaparte went for €130......!

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   

ANOTHER HORROR OF DRACULA CINEMA POSTER READY TO GO UNDER THE HAMMER

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! For most Hammer fans it's known as THE cinema poster. It's a 30 x 40 inch sheet of vintage paper, that encapsulates every thing that was magical about British Horror films and the studio that not only rebooted the horror film genre in the late 50's, but made Christopher Lee a star and a household name. The studio was Hammer films, the named star was Peter Cushing, the film was Dracula aka Horror of Dracula (1958) The credits rolled, the title appeared, the blood splashed on the stone tomb... and things were never the same again...If you want to own this piece of that story and cinema history, it will set you back somewhere between Five and Seven thousand pounds sterling, at an auction taking place at WHYTE'S Auction House on February 3rd 2018. The last time another Dracula / Horror of Dracula poster was valued, it hit the over the 5000 pound sterling mark. (See Clip Below!) So, got your credit card ready??? Very cool . . .

REMEMBERING : Sir James Carreras, born today in 1909. Son of Enrique Carreras, the co-founder of Hammer Films and the Blue Hall theatre chain... and father of Hammer film producer and director, Michael Carreras. It was JC who hit on the formula of '..design a poster for a potential film, for the backers to actually see!' A simple but very effect method.  It is said that he, '..judged the success of his films not by critical plaudits, but strictly on the basis of box office returns.' Maybe so, but for a long time his approached worked, making very large profits for the backers, giving Hammer films the Queens Award to Industry Award back in 1968 and a loyal fan base that remains to this day. He is remembered each year by Variety: The Children's Charity, with The Sir James Carreras Award. '...This Award honors the name of Sir James Carreras MBE, who served Variety International with great distinction as one of its past International Presidents. It is presented annually to a physician who has demonstrated exceptional dedication and skill in the field of pediatrics'.

STARTING TOMORROW here at the WEBSITE and at the PCASUK FACEBOOK FAN PAGE #CUSHINGCOLLECTORSWEDNESDAY! Every week, a chance to download a piece of British Horror Cinema History. Some weeks rare CONTACT SHEETS, other weeks rare hi res colour transpaencies. Some weeks several items, others rare one off items. But ALL FREE!

AND FINALLY . . . Above this week's TUESDAY TOUGHY . .  ANSWERS FRIDAY!

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  

SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA MOMENTS OF TERROR RARE BEHIND THE SCENES CONTACT SHEET PHOTOGRAPHS

#MOMENTSOFTERRORMONDAY! 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula' The first of FOUR great fearsome clips for this week's themed post Little did we know when this scene played out on the big screen, that it would be the last time we would see Cushing's Van Helsing destroy Christopher Lee's Dracula for Hammer films . . . some felt a little cheated, by the method and staging of this symbolic scene. Dracula for them it seemed, has been thwarted by getting tangled in a bramble bush and poked by a piece of woodland fencing!!!!

I MAY BE in the minority . ..but I thought it was rather well done, and the pace of the scene, was a master stroke. It's almost graceful. Dracula is captured by his own thirst for revenge on the Van Helsing family. It is his anger and frustration that sees him trapped by the 'holy hawthorn' . ..the more he claws, the harder he pushes to reach Van Helsing, on the other side of the bush...the more the thorns hold him..until finally, he falls. Van Helsing doesn't even hurry to deliver that stake. 

AND THEN what appears to be a Crucifixion...and the pace changes again, what started as snarling and gnashing ...all slowly winds down. As time claws back the years, accompanied by the low musical score , flesh turns to bone, bone to ash...and finally dust. When compared to the blood and thunder action of all the other Hammer Dracula exits... this one is almost like a grotesque ballet. ....and the little nod to the final shot of the first Hammer Dracula in 1958, when only his signet ring remains . . . is a very good touch.

#MOMENTSOFTERRORMONDAY! VAN HELSING'S (Peter Cushing) granddaughter Jessica Van Helsing (Joanna Lumley) while investigating what appears to be a secret base for 'creepy goings-on' stumbles upon a cellar . ..with some unexpected creepies..and we don't mean spiders! Look out for actress Valerie Van Ost, who appeared with Peter Cushing in the pre slasher cult movie, 'Corruption' (1968) . .. Ost went on to leave the acting profession and become a theatrical agent!

#MOMENTSOFTERRORMONDAY!A bit of a shocking experience (sorry...) for one of Dracula's henchmen. In Hammer Dracula films of old school, he usually had one poor soul who did his bidding... one KLOVE played by Patrick Troughton in 'Scars of Dracula' (1970) and by Phillip Latham in the 1966, 'Dracula, Prince of Darkness' . .. now, there is an army of funky waitse-coated motor cycle ridding thugs, to protect him...complete with state of the art, CCTV! Michael Coles Inspector Murray, has a bit of a rough up with one, in this scene. Typical (see tv UK series 'The Sweeney') punch up, but with a very satisfying ending! Take that, villain!

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  . .

FREE CONTACT SHEETS 'THE VAMPIRE LOVERS' FOR CUSHING'S FEMME FATALES!

#CUSHINGFEMMEFATALESFRIDAY! This week, we present a gallery dedicated to one, who has proven to be larger than life itself, even in death . . INGRID PITT. In just over a week it would have been her birthday and the tenth anniversary of her all too soon passing . . . I have a few photographs to share here today, and whole gallery here at the website, some new and some favorite pics, of the only actress to have been friends with not only Peter..but also Helen, his late wife too . .To start the ball rolling... to mark Ingrid's inclusion in the FRIDAY FEMME FATALE GALLERY, I am giving away below, SIX rare hi res CONTACT SHEETS of rare photographs taken during the making of Hammer films 'The Vampire Lovers', for free! Join us on our NEXT #CUSHINGSFEMMEFATALES! POST TODAY, in just a few hours hours - Marcus

 

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  . .

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! COMPETITION WINNER AND ROLL OUT OF NEW PCAS COMPETITION VINTAGE PRIZES!

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! CONGRATULATIONS to JENNY ALLAN the winner of our SHE Peter Cushing Autographed photo prize!! A very popular competition. Many thanks to everyone who took part and entered 🙂 There will be quite a few comps between now and Christmas here at PCAS. Lots of opportunities to win yourself a signed photograph of Peter and much more besides. Again, CONGRATS to JENNY and thank you all for your support..!

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: PCAS ROLLS OUT VINTAGE PRIZES! MARCUS BROOKS: 'When I took over the reigns of PCAS back in 1979, I also purchased the entire PCAS collection from PCAS secretary Gladys Fletcher, who founded the society, upon Peter Cushing's request back in 1956. Many of the items in the collection we have doubles and triples of. All of these 'vintage collectables' came through Peter himself to the society, so they could be used in the posted members journals and newsletters. Everything we have multiple sets of or doubles, I am now offering up as prizes, for you to win !! There are press books, lobby sets, individual stills. No copies or reprints. Most come with stipes or press info from the time. As well as those vintage memorabilia prizes, there are dvds and blu rays, collectable magazines, original contact sheets from Peter Cushing films . .. a LOT of items, so lots of prizes, some of which will be bundled. I am sure we are going to have a lot of fun together, me compiling competitions, and you cracking those Cushing questions and puzzles. It's going to be a busy time here between now and Christmas, so hang in there, stay in the loop and join in the fun..and good luck'

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