WINNERS AND ANSWERS: SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW CAPTAIN CLEGG COMPETITION.

We have our WINNERS! Picked out of the hat, just two hours ago....Congratulations PAULA T (USA) and E Passmore (Australia)! Your blu rays of 'Captain Clegg are on their way! Many thanks to the guys at Final Cut Entertainment for generously providing our prizes

NOW... here are the questions and answers to the competition. How did you do?

1: WHO wrote the DR SYN novels? Please give their full name, the year and date they were born.
Answer: Arthur Russell Thorndike, born 6 February 1885

2: This author also had a famous SISTER. Please name her. Answer: Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike

3: What is the FULL name of DR SYN?
Answer: Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn

4: What was the FIRST DR SYN novel was called? What Year was it published and who were they publishing company?
Answer: Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh, published in 1915 by Nelson Press

5:The author of the DR SYN novels was also an actor. One of his last performances was in a film that also starred PETER CUSHING. NAME that film.
Answer: Hamlet (1948)

6: CAPTAIN CLEGG was released as part of a HAMMER FILM DOUBLE BILL in 1961. NAME the film that SHARED the billing. 

Answer: The Phantom of the Opera

7: DR CLEGG's producer was John Temple Smith. He was also the chairman of a small film company. NAME that film company.
Answer: Major Productions

8: When Anthony Hinds adapted the DR SYN script for Hammer Films, DR BLYSS wasn't his only name for the Captain he intended for the Captain...Which other name did he have in mind?
Answer: Dr Arne

9: WHEN did CAPTAIN CLEGG commence production? Tuesday 29th March.. Thursday 4th Feb.. Monday 25th September.. Monday 4th August..
Answer: Monday 25th September

10:CAPTAIN CLEGG was OLIVER REED’S FIRST? SECOND? THIRD? FIFTH? FILM FOR HAMMER FILMS?
Answer: Fifth

11: During the shooting of CAPTAIN CLEGG, OLIVER REED had an accident while driving his car, but he carried on not only shooting on CAPTAIN CLEGG but also doing some of his own stunt work. Did he break his: A) LEGG? B) FOOT? C) SHOULDER? Or D) HAND? 

Answer: Shoulder

12: DAVID LODGE played the BOSON in CAPTAIN CLEGG. Lodge is probably better known for his comedy work with Spike Mulligan and Peter Sellers. Which  FILM connects both Milligan and Peter Cushing?
Answer: Suspect (1960)t

13: Which Hammer film crew member was responsible for throwing the HARPOON, off camera, into CAPTAIN CLEGG’S/ Peter Cushing back? A) Peter Graham Scott B) Les Bowie C) Ian Scoones D) Tilley Day
Answer: Ian Scoones

14: Make Up Artist, ROY ASHTON not only worked on Hammer films CAPTAIN CLEGG in 1961, but also worked on the first production of the DR SYN story in 1937 for Gaumount Pictures. TRUE or FALSE 

Answer: True

15: During the making of CAPTAIN CLEGG Peter Cushing presented Hammer films’ script writer Anthony Hinds with a script and treatment for a DR SYN Hammer films sequel. The script was based on the second and third novels, Dr Syn on the High Seas and Dr Syn Returns. Cushing’s script was dated July 1961 and had a working title of a) Dr Syn, The Quality of Mercy ? b) Dr Syn : Wild Justice ? c) Dr Syn : Waiting Revenge ?
Answer: ANY of these three titles would be considered correct, as Cushing had all all THREE titles in pencil with title Dr Syn on his script!

16: Actor Patrick Allen played Captain Collier in CAPTAIN CLEGG. He had previously appeared in another Hammer film. Name the film and the character he played.
Answer: 'Never Take Sweets from a Stranger', Peter Carter.

That's it! Thank you to everyone who took part in the competition, it wasn't any easy one, for sure. Join Us THIS WEEK for our 'SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW: PETER CUSHING Competition! With THREE copies of 'The Peter Cushing Scapbook' up for grabs!

You can Purchase YOUR copy of CAPTAIN CLEGG BLU RAY

HERE 

You can purchase YOUR copy of The Peter Cushing Scapbook 

HERE 

CAPTAIN CLEGG : PIRATES, SMUGGLING AND MARSH PHANTOMS: SOON ON BLU RAY.

A small English village is beset by a horde of "phantoms" on horseback and it's up to the intrepid Captain Collier (Patrick Allen) to get to the bottom of things...

Author Russell Thorndyke hit paydirt in 1915 with the release of his book Dr. Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh.  The book proved to be so successful that he was able to revisit the character for further installments in the mid 1930s.  The story caught the attention of British filmmakers in 1937, when it was first adapted to the cinema as Dr. Syn.  The legendary stage and screen thespian George Arliss played the lead role(s): the mild-mannered parson Dr. Syn who is really just a front for his true, bloodthirsty persona of the smuggler, Captain Clegg.



The film was directed by the gifted Irish-born filmmaker Roy William Neill, who found success in Hollywood directing the superior Boris Karloff vehicle The Black Room (1935) before becoming identified with the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes sequels at Universal.

When Hammer decided to take a stab at the property in the early 1960s, they did so without realizing that filmmaking giant Walt Disney had already optioned the Thorndike property for a film of his own.  Hammer eventually got wind of this, however, and decided to change the name of the central character in  order to avoid any possible legal woes.  And so it came to be that Captain Clegg (as it was known in the UK; the film would be released in America as Night Creatures) went before the cameras, in slightly revised form. The film would beat the Disney version to the punch by one year and for many, it remains the superior film.

 

The Disney production had a top notch cast, headed by the great Patrick McGoohan (just a year from his turn as TV's Secret Agent, and several from his most iconic role as The Prisoner), but felt a bit watered down and too mild for its own good.  The Hammer version may have lacked the studio's traditional emphasis on bodice-ripping and Kensington gore, but it made up for it with oodles of atmosphere.

The film is inevitably dominated by the presence of Hammer's top star of the time, Peter Cushing.  Cushing approached the role of Dr. Blyss (as he had been renamed) with tremendous enthusiasm. Indeed, he was so pleased with his work on the film that he yearned to make a sequel of his own.  He even took it upon himself to pen a script outline, but it never went beyond that.  Captain Clegg thus presented him with his only opportunity to play the challenging dual role and he certainly made the most of every opportunity.  Cushing's studious and kindly persona is well suited to the outwardly meek character of Blyss but, true to form, he is able to switch off the charm at a moment's notice and play it properly ruthless when he lets his mask down and reveals his true nature as Captain Clegg.  Cushing's dedication extended to participating in some potentially dangerous stunt scenes, whether it be grappling with monolithic Milton Reid or indulging in some bouts of Douglas Fairbanks-esque derring-do.

In addition to Cushing, the film is graced with an outstanding supporting cast.  The delightful Patrick Allen is, well, a delight as the rather thick-headed but brave Captain Collier.  Allen's latern-jawed good looks and imposing frame make him an ideal adversary to Cushing's wily anti-hero and the two actors play off each other beautifully.  The scene wherein Collier tries to get the upper hand on Blyss but is too dim witted to be able to follow it through to its logical conclusion is a master class in acting, with Cushing subtly conveying a condescending air of contempt while Allen bluffs and blusters without realizing just how right he really is.

Oliver Reed is cast in the somewhat less rewarding role of Harry, the young juvenile.  Reed's magnetic screen presence helps to bring the character to life, but it's a wet towel of a role and there's only so much he can do with it.  Hammer fans will no doubt get a kick out of seeing him performing some love scenes with the statuesque Yvonne Romain, however, given that the previous year the two had played - get this - mother and son in Curse of the Werewolf!  Romain is adequate in her role, but the real meat is to be found in the character roles played so beautifully by the likes of Jack MacGowran (in his only Hammer horror), Derek Francis, Martin Benson and, most notably, Michael Ripper.

Ripper had played his fair share of grave robbers, village drunks and inn keepers for Hammer - he'd even been uncomfortably cast as a Japanese officer in Camp on Blood Island!  Few of these roles gave Ripper a great deal of screen time, but that changed with his appearance in this film as Mr. Mipps.  Mipps is Clegg's right hand man, a loyal and faithful retainer who is willing to lay down his life to protect his master.  Ripper is heartbreaking in the role, which gives him far more to do than any of his other roles for Hammer, barring his juicy parts in John Gilling's The Reptile and The Mummy's Shroud

The film is very well directed by the late Peter Graham Scott, who made his one and only film for Hammer here - fortunately for the fans, it's a good one.  Scott paces the action very well, ensuring that it seldom gets bogged down in overly padded dialogue scenes, and working in tandem with director of photography Arthur Grant, he creates some stunning images of the so-called phantoms (in reality, disguised smugglers) riding through the swamps at night.

It's a brisk and entertaining film, milder than the norm for Hammer, but still well worth seeing. Cushing and Ripper fans will find it to be essential, in particular.

Review: Troy Howarth
Images & Artwork: Marcus Brooks 

PETER CUSHING: YVONNE ROMAIN: OLIVER REED: CAPTAIN CLEGG : NIGHT CREATURES

SYNOPSIS:

During 1776 there was a notorious pirate sailing the high seas named Captain Clegg. When one of his crew, a mulatto (Milton Reid), killed his wife shortly after she gave birth, he cut out the man's tongue and marooned him on an island on the coral reef - however, this man was picked up by a passing ship later on... Moving forward to 1792, and the Romney Marshes in southern England are host to smugglers who the King's men are desperately trying to catch and stop from illegally importing alcohol without paying duty on it. 

One of the villages on the marsh has Dr Blyss (Peter Cushing) as its mild-mannered pastor, and today he is giving a sermon to the townsfolk in the local church. A troupe of the King's men led by Captain Collier (Patrick Allen) arrive in the area at the same time - will they uncover any wrongdoing?

COMMENTARY:

Captain Clegg, or Night Creatures as it was known overseas by a less giveaway title, was a Hammer exploit in the historical adventure stakes, a remake of the nineteen-thirties George Arliss vehicle Dr. Syn. Although it has elements of a horror film, it's not really part of that genre; in spite of the spectres haunting the marshes and the touches of macabre and the occasional brutalities, it's more of a romp, played straight but with the odd item of wit to lighten the story. It was scripted by Anthony Hinds under his John Elder pen name, with additional dialogue from Barbara S. Harper, and wins you over with its spirit and atmosphere.

That said, it's not what you could call surprising, so it's a better watch if you're feeling indulgent towards its predictability - although the film attempts to play games with the viewer's expectations, there's no doubt about who is doing the smuggling and who is really who under an assumed name. Cushing is a lot of fun here, whether preaching from his pulpit and encouraging his congregation to sing with more gusto, or revealed as the mastermind behind the illegal activities, here painting him as something of a Robin Hood figure with the best of intentions toward the villagers, if not the badly-behaved soldiers.

Every Robin Hood needs his Sheriff of Nottingham just as every good hero (or anti-hero, I guess) needs a formidable villain to show him off to his best advantage, and here the stern, booming-voiced Allen is the equal of Cushing. The plot throws in who turns out to be the daughter of Clegg, Imogene (Yvonne Romain), who works as the serving wench at the inn and wishes to marry Harry (Oliver Reed as a romantic type), the son of the squire, but how will he react when he finds out her lineage? 

Then there's the mute mulatto from the prologue who is kept on a leash by the soldiers and sniffs out any illegal alcohol - why does he seem to recognise Dr Blyss? Well, it's not too difficult to work out, is it? It's nice to see Hammer regulars like Reid and Michael Ripper, especially good as the undertaker, get a bit more to do than usual, and overall Captain Clegg proves most diverting, if never inspiring. What it really needed was a good old-fashioned swordfight. Music by Don Banks. 

REVIEW SOURCE: HERE
IMAGES: Marcus Brooks