STABBINGS CORPSES AND BAD BEDS : THIS WEEKS GIF GIF GIF WEDNESDAY!

#CUSHINGGIFWEDNESDAY: MICHAEL RIPPER as we all know, was one of the Hammer repertory players of Hammer films. He played lots of small supporting roles, but occasionally he got a larger slice and a larger role in a film. Amicus films, 'TORTURE GARDEN' features Ripper in a supporting role, that is quite a surprising 🙂 Do you have a favorite MICHAEL RIPPER role??

#THEGORGON is a Peter Cushing Hammer film, that has suffered from a quite horrible symptom since the first day of its release back in August 1964. I am not referring to the death gaze of Prudence Hyman's Magaera's baleful spell. The 'SNAKES". And as Hammer film fans, we all know it. The film IS a 'Hammer film Classic' made during that ten year golden era, of those Bray studio Magical Gothic Nightmares, that made Hammer more than just a step above, most that had gone before. THE GORGON has the perfect ROMANCE TRIANGLE, it has TRAGEDY,  CONFLICT, superb direction, art direction and cast, but ever Hammer Horror HAS to have a figure that truly frightens. That with the help of Cushing, Lee, Shelley and Co however fantastical, is believable. Pru looked and performed amazingly. Those serpents however and that 'head' on the deck, did not then and doesn't now. The story of the struggle that the props and effects department had with the 'twitching head set', is well documented, so we'll pass here. 

 OUR FEATURE AND GALLERY on Hammer films

 'THE GORGON' (1964) CLICK HERE!

IN OVER FORTY YEARS, cries have remained largely the same, 'Shot with too much light!' 'You see her, too early' 'Why didn't they surround her in mist, dry ice, fog . . .anything!?' It's true. In 90% of Magaera's shots, she IS seen. Clearly. I still do love the film, I love the sets, the costumes, it looks beautiful. There were enough of the sets and props left around from the 1958 'Horror of DRACULA' 'Curse of FRANKENSTEIN' and 'Revenge of FRANKENSTEIN' that the film can clearly been seen to be more than a cousin, of those other Hammer classics.  Such a pity. Maybe the tweaks and 're-imagining' of the SPIDER and the horse-bound ANGEL OF DEATH, should be tried on MAGAERA too? Not that Studio Canal or anyone else will ever be in a hurry to try that out again. Like some great Greek Shakespearean tragedy, 'Some quarters, they doth protested too much, methinks' . . . .


JOSHUA KENNEDY HAS PLANS to produce an amazing NEW FILM called, 'THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON' which will star Hammer film actors, Veronica Carlson, Caroline Munro, Martine Beswicke and Christopher Neame! FIND OUT MORE and how YOU can help to make this film a reality in our PCAS FEATURE CLICK HERE!

#CUSHINGGIFWEDNESDAY! The film, 'ISLAND OF TERROR' (1966) has always been very popular here. The love for those Silocates is always evident whenever, we post an image of them. Considering the budget for this film, it looks as though someone had the foresight to understand, a monster film, has to have convincing monster and pose a threat that looks real. Someone, maybe director Fisher thought to make sure a sizeable slice went to making the special effects.

THAT SHRIVELED CORPSE that Cushing's Dr Stanley finds, was quite a moment for me when I first saw this film when I was around ten. In ANY Cushing film, can you think of any effect 'special or otherwise' that made an impression on you when you first saw it???

AMICUS FILMS 'MADHOUSE' (1974) is a film that revels in the many cliques and well trod dramas and dilemmas of the celebrated  thrillers and horror films of the 30's, 40's and 50's. Vincent Price plays Horror film star PAUL TOOMBES, driven crazy when off screen life unravels and starts to imitate the scripts of his DOCTOR DEATH movies. Like his 'PHIBES' films and 'THEATRE OF BLOOD' (1973) lots of ingenious scenarios of 'horrible deaths' follow and Peter Cushing's HERBERT FLAY tries his best to help his desperate friend, but despite his best efforts, DOCTOR DEATH came after TOOMBES time after time. Just like in the above GIF ;)

PART SIX of 'The Amicus Films of Peter Cushing' covers MADHOUSE and includes a gallery of RARE images. You can find it HERE!

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     

AGREE WITH OUR SCORING? HORRIBLE DEATHS WEDNESDAY! GIFS!

I JUST LOVE that cutaway shot to Cushing, as poor ol stunt man Jock Easton, blindly stumbles around. ON FIRE, before he falls through the skylight window. It's almost as if Cushing's can not believe, what Hammer has managed to get this poor stunt man to do, for his couple of quid! Peter Cushing as the Baron with Christopher Lee, stunt work by Jock Easton in Hammer films, THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1957) Painful and ungraceful way of exiting. 7 out of 10.

I GUESS after CATWEAZLE, CROWMAN and maybe Herbert Lom's psychiatrist in Peter Sellers PINK PANTHER STRIKES AGAIN, the late and lovely GEOFFREY BAYLDON  will always be remembered for that incredibly frightening laugh while  bumping off ROBERT POWELL, in AMICUS films 'ASYLUM'. (1972) I often wonder while watching this scene . . .did Geoffrey, just DO the laugh, for the very first time, when they shot that scene OR had everyone on set, already heard it, before, while rehearsing...and if they didn't have any clue that Bayldon was going to do that. I would have LOVED to have seen their faces, and heard the silence AFTER Roy Ward Baker called, 'CUT'! A TRULY CREEPY 9 out of ten.

#HORRIRBLEDEATHSWEDNESDAY! Jeepers CREEPERS! Peter Cushing's Herbert Flay and friends, bring about his gruesome end in MADHOUSE (1974) When you consider the grief he put Price's PAUL TOOMBES through, it seems  only right that, Flay should deserve such a terrible fate.  There's that very  nasty bit, in the beginning of this shot, just before the dissolve, where one of the spiders, walks across Cushing's MOUTH! Anything for the good of the scene, that was Peter, I am sure. Picture it, 'Yes, Yes . . ' says Peter, 'Let the chap wander, and over my face if nesscessary.....!' Nibbled, and paralyzed by several Arachnids,  in a tank. Good show! EIGHT out of TEN.

DAVID OXLEY as the evil Sir HUGO Baskerville, getting set upon by the Hound of Hell, and there by starting the legend, of the giant canine that roamed the moors, just waiting to snag the next toff from the Baskerville clan. I love the detail, of the dripping blood running from the rock, where the slain servant lies. Yup, he was a violent piece of work, and I hate a guy, who can't handle his booze. He certainly, deserved worse. Mangled like a dog's favorite rubber chewie bone. SIX out of TEN

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

SIGN ON THE DOTTED LINE, DR VICTOR! A WINK AND THREE NEW DOCTOR WHO BANNERS

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: ABOVE IS THE LEGAL contract between Peter Cushing and Hammer film Productions, for Cushing's LAST FRANKENSTEIN film for the studio, 'Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell' (1973) Along with details regarding Cushing's daily rate of £250.00 ( that by todays rate, allowing for inflation is around £3,000 pounds sterling) there is also an allowance for Peter Cushing's accommodation at Browns Hotel in London and a supplement payment of £25 per week towards the cost of Cushing's driver!

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  . . .

VINCENT, KATY, EDDIE AND PETER ARE SHOCKED! GIFS! GIFS!

#SILENTBUTDEADLY! Here's #VINCENTPRICE as 'Sinister Man' in probably one of his sharpest put-downs on film in 'Blood Bath At The House Of Death' (1984), an interesting little black comedy staring Kenny Everett . . he is SHOCKED, and the line he delivers, is sadly unrepeatable here . .  our silent disposition serves us well!  I thought his jibbing before the delivery, was well worth posting . . .

#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY!: KATY WILD IS SHOCKED! But sadly her character, BEGGER GIRL, is MUTE! Hey, thought Anthony Hinds, she can't speak, she doesn't NEED a name! But Cushing gets it. There's nothing like a 7foot tall ex wrestling champion, in mashed-up make up, wearing diving boots and a mean look . . . carrying a wrought iron spear, to sharpen the senses. This leads into one of those scenes, that you can see, Cushing REALLY enjoyed. A right royal scuffle, with crushing grips, heroics, floppy fringe flying and Cushing's Baron comes out looking hair ruffled, but still sharp and smart! It's a pity the girls didn't get to play though... I just love the way, Cushing flings our poor 'Begger Girl' out...of..frame....! 'The Evil of Frankenstein' (1964), certainly is from the good ol days, when monsters were mean and big, and girls screamed, until a CHAP stepped in...!

#SILENTBUTDEADLY!: In #STARTREK lore, there's a there's a theory. If a cast member in the 1960's tv series was wear a red top as part of their uniform, they were for the chop. After they had set down on the planet, while checking out the sandy desert terrain, you could count the seconds before a scream went up, and the red top guy, had bought it! Dead. Not so the case with the 1966 Cushing film, 'Island of Terror'. Actor Eddie Byrne was the go to guy in the late 50's early 60's, if you wanted a strong, straight talking, serious detective, police office or doctor. Here he plays Dr. Reginald Landers, strong, straight talking, serious and tentacled silicate, tea time snack! You can see the shock in his eyes. Who could have known? In Hammer films, 1959 The Mummy, Bryne had played the SSS Detective Inspector Mulrooney. For him it was double added value, playing to his strengths Police AND IRISH! He played it very well, feeding Cushing's British archaeologist all the right questions, that lead us through a complicated flash back story about how, Christopher Lee's High Priest Kharis had ended up minus his tongue and wrapped in enough bandage, to stretch to Tut's tomb and back! So, that he should die, for me was a surprise and sad. I am not one of these cinema goers who spends their time wasting my ten bucks, trying to find the clues to end of the film, when I have paid good lolly, for them to tell me. I also happen to be a fan of Eddie's work. so, for him to leave film three quarters in, was a downer. Still, he died well. Convincing audiences you are being SUCKED to death, could be a tall order for some actors. Not Eddie. He's a strong, straight talking, serious doctor here. He was never going to suck in this role.....

#SILENTBUTDEADLY! 'Corruption' (1968) is a motion picture that is full of SHOCKS, and that's even without the CENSORED shock shots! Here Cushing shockingly bites the dust. It's interesting, despite how carefully director Robert Hartford Davies set up this clever shot, so that we get the full impact of the Laser Zap on PC, my dear ol Mum, when she saw this many years ago was distracted. 'Hasn't Peter Cushing got really BLUE eyes!', she exclaimed. And yes, he DOES. The weird thing is, if you look at at Cushing's death pose as Gustav Weil in Hammer films, 'Twins of Evil' (1971) and the last death shot of Cushing's Sir John Rowan . . .they are uncannily similar!

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! DONALD PLEASENCE REMEMBERED PLUS NEWS ON BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN AND

REMEMBERING: Actor Donald Pleasence who was born today in 1919... Pleasence appeared alongside Peter Cushing in a surprising amount of titles. From the quite early on brilliant BBC production of '1984' to the not so brilliant 'The Devil's Men', 'Flesh and the Fiends', 'Trial By Combat' and 'From Beyond The Grave' In a very lengthy career, with many highlights, Pleasence was always entertaining, especially with nervous, evil obsessive characters. Pleasence is probably best known for his role of Dr. Sam Loomis in the 'Halloween' films...a role interestingly enough that Peter Cushing was originally approached to play...

 Whether Cushing had any real interest in play Sam  Loomis or

or not, it still would have made . . . a very nice blu ray cover!

Pleasence as the 'not as weird as he first seems' Jim Underwood

in Amicus films 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE (1974) 

As Valentine De'ath, in 'THE UNCANNY' (1977)

Dr.Sam Loomis, 'Halloween 4'

As  Dr. Jack Seward, in the 1979 production of 'Dracula'

The President in 'Escape from New York' (1981)

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY!: NEWS! It looks like Universal's 'reboot-rebrand-remake' of the classic Monsters series, has no sooner started, first with a nose dive response to the recent #TomCriuse, #THEMUMMY release... than things stall with the studios planned #TheBrideofFrankenstein remake....Production was set to start this February in London, but the studio and director Bill Condon have paused plans to ensure the script is in tip-top condition. Condon has been working on the script with David Koepp, and while the screenplay is in good shape, sources say both men want more time to rework it to better reflect their vision....a wise move I'd say.

Our chap, only made one brush with the concept of creating 'A Woman' in Hammer's own Frankenstein franchise #Frankenstein Created Woman in 1967. It turned out quite well, granted fans were a little disappointed there was no 'monster' as such, rather the attractive #SusanDenberg, going on a psycho killing spree instead. It did good box office in a time when scriptwriters and studios weren't so fixated on 'super-heroes' and 'making-everything-thing-look-the-same-as-the-last-box-office-SF-blizt'..... yeah. A films with a story and real characters, would be a nice change . .. what do you think???

 MORE ON FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE: HERE! 

MORE ON 'THE UNCANNY' : HERE!

THE UNMADE PETER CUSHING FEATURE WITH

GREAT UN-MADE BLU RAY COVERS : HERE! 

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