LEGEND HORROR CLASSICS AND REMEMBERING CHARLES GRAY : MYCROFT : MOCATA : ROCKY HORROR!

TODAY WE REMEMBER Charles Gray, who is best remembered for his outstanding performance as the evil Mocata opposite Christopher Lee in Hammer’s The Devil Rides Out (1968) and his role as 'the narrator' in 'The Rocky Horror Show' … other memorable roles in include Ernst Stavro Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and Mycroft Holmes in The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes TV Series… His Peter Cushing connection is that he co-stared with him in Amucis’s film The Beast Must Die (1974)

MORE ON THE BEAST MUST DIE HERE!

THIS WEEKS MAGAZINE FOCUS centres on a weird little UK series called. 'LEGEND HORROR CLASSICS'  Riding on the popularity of the UK Monster Mag, this too was a fold out eight panel affair. There was no huge flip side poster, instead a whole comic strip adaption of a 'Horror Classic' film. The first issue arrived in time for the release of the Dan Curtis adaption of DRACULA starring Jack Palance and Simon Ward. The whole thing sadly was stretched rather thin, with what room there was for editorial, the writing was rather limp and sparse. The comic strip art, was no way in the same league as the 'Hammer House of Horror' magazines, that were to follow, but as a 25 pence pocket money treat it gave a good deal to any youngsters, finding the likes of Hammer films, Cushing and Lee for the first time.  

EVEN THOUGH THE FOCUS was on the Curtis 1974 DRACULA release, both CUSHING and LEE are given a full page picture treatment, with PC looking rather funky in a comic art dotex version of the very familiar publicity photograph BARON from 'FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN'. Lee is represented in a still from 'DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE' ... though in neither pics, are the titles of the films given, and that sadly is the overall standard of all the magazines, in this series . .  little in the way learning or anything any fan would find new or interesting, even back in 1974!  

THE SECOND ISSUE had a 'Frankenstein' theme based primarily on the 1931 Universal film, although Victor Frankenstein was drawn to resemble Peter Cushing, in some of the Hammer series. Later the theme and comic strip  covered The 7th Voyage of Sinbad in issue 3, Blood Lust of the Zombies in issue 4, Hammer's Dracula has Risen from the Grave, under the strange title of "Dracula Must be Destroyed") in issue 5, Terror from Space was issue 6 and the story of Beowulf in issue 7. The comic stories from issue three became at times quite bizarre, and the connection with what were 'horror classics' either from cinema or TV, floated away and from issue 10, the magazine no longer carried comic strip adaption or stories.

KEVIN O'NEILL, who would also go on to work on that other 70's horror film mag, WORLD OF HORROR and the comic 2000 AD, was closely involved with the publication, providing some of the comic strips and serving as art editor, before becoming editor. Though little. if any of the comic adaptions ever came any where close to the benchmark that Hammer House of Horror would roll out, this magazine, was probably in the beginning aimed at a younger market, and in that case, one can see why, the issues lack any real maturity or muscle. For us Horror Film Fans, it was better than nothing and certainly whet our whistles, while we waited for, what was yet to come . .  

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A HOWLING DOUBLE BILL WEEKEND : CALLUM MCKELVIE ON SUNDAY CLIPS GIFS STILLS AND WHOLE MOVIE!

OUR FINAL Cushing-double feature this week is intended to go against the grain somewhat. The Curse of Frankenstein and The Revenge of Frankenstein were thematically, visually and stylistically linked being the first two entries in a series. The Skull and The Creeping Flesh on the other hand, despite being years apart shared the same director and had very similar thematic interests. Today’s final double bill features two films that both belong to the same sub-genre but apart from that are stylistically and thematically different. It is those differences I want to discuss and those differences that I feel make The Beast Must Die (1974) and Legend of the Werewolf (1975) the perfect ‘werewolf’ double feature.

DESPITE BEING THE ONLY TWO Werewolf movies Cushing made (well unless you count the segment in 1964’s Dr Terrors House of Horrors that he’s not in) there’s very little to connect these two films. The Beast Must Die is in reality more of an action thriller, attempting to ride the ‘Blaxploitation’ wave that was occurring at the time. Thus the film is accompanied by a ‘funky’ soundtrack and numerous action set-pieces.

TELLING THE STORY of Calvin Lockhart’s obsessive hunter Tom Newcliffe, the plot follows his gathering of five individuals at his home. Early on he reveals that he believes one of the gathered number to be a werewolf and he is determined to hunt the creature down. The film is the same manner as a contemporary thriller but mixed with an Agatha Christie like sensibility. Legend of the Werewolf on the other hand (along with the excellent The Ghoul) is one of a number of Tyburn films that were deliberate throwbacks to the early years of Hammer . A period piece, the film reverts to the traditional ‘werewolf as tragic figure’ mould and has a number of similarities to 1961’s The Curse of the Werewolf.

SO IF INDEED, other than both featuring a werewolf and Peter Cushing, there is very little to connect these two films, why would I suggest watching them as a double bill? Well put simply that is the reason. Two films from the dying days of the British horror boom, they demonstrate remarkably different approaches to the crisis. Both use the Werewolf myth (why that monster in particular I have no idea) but it is the difference in treatment of this well-known monster that makes these two films interesting.

THE BEAST MUST DIE looks across the pond to the American thrillers being produced at the time and thus chooses to rely less on the horrific and more on action. I did a larger piece on The Beast Must Die sometime back and it’s a film which though certainly entertaining, few would call outright successful. However when watched back-to-back with Legend of the Werewolf, I actually found myself gaining much greater appreciation for Beast. Now I want to point out that I adore Legend but when viewed in the context of the time it was made, it appears a very odd move to do something that relies as much on old tropes and conventions as this film does. 



IN THE FACE OF MUCH DARKER and more visceral horror’s along the lines of The Exorcist, Night of the Living Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre it seems a bizarre move to emulate the early years of Hammer, a studio who by this point was on its last legs. Watched devoid of any of this context, Legend is a rip roaring gothic melodrama in the style of old. Watched within this context it’s a fitting tribute to the main figures within Hammer but can only really be viewed as something of poorly judged exercise in nostalgia, looking back to the past, when the present was taking the genre in new and exciting directions.

THE BEAST MUST DIE on the other hand is a similar misfire, but all the more enjoyable for the brave attempts to try and escape the rut that most of its British Horror contemporaries had entered. Unfortunately poor production values and a script that stretches its thing plot far beyond its means, doom what could have been a powerful early 70’s thriller. As it is Beast stands as a fascinating artefact of the bizarre ways that the giants of British Horror cinema were attempting to cope with the ‘new wave’.

 

 

I REALISE THAT throughout this piece I’ve sounded incredibly negative towards these two films, truth be told both are incredibly enjoyable. Which is the best? Well without doubt Legend but Beast has its moments too. Before starting this double bill I suggest watching the third instalment of Mark Gatiss’s excellent A History of Horror which contextualises the environment in which these two films were made and shows what they had to compete with. As it is, Cushing’s two entries into the werewolf sub-genre make an excellent pairing, demonstrating two different approaches to dwindling box office returns on British Horror films. 

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 'WHO-DONE-IT WITH-BITE! : CALLUM MCKELVIE TRIES TO SOLVE THE MYSTERY OF THE 43 YEAR OLD THRILLER

SOON TO BE RELEASED IN A REMASTERED BLU RAY COLLECTION, CALLUM, TRIES TO SOLVE THE ALLURE OF THE DOG THAT WONT LIE DOWN . . .

DESPITE HAVING TACKLED  classic monsters such as Frankenstein and Dracula, it wouldn’t be until the mid-1970’s when Peter Cushing appeared in a Werewolf film. Indeed two in as many years, 1974’s The Beast Must Die! And 1975’s Legend of the Werewolf. The latter of these was a much more traditional werewolf tale, whilst the former was something of an innovative attempt to twist the tale with a murder mystery drama and Blaxploitation elements popular at the time. After all, it was only a mere three years since the release of Shaft and Blaxploitation horror films were not unusual with Blacula in 1972, its sequel Scream Blacula Scream! In 1973 and others such as Sugar Hill following later. Add to this a ‘funky’ soundtrack and a unique gimmick, the ‘Werewolf Break’, which stopped the film just before the third act to give the audience the chance to guess who the werewolf might be.

BASED ON JOHN BLISHE'S 1950 story; There Shall Be No Darkness, the script by Michael Winder sticks particularly close to the material on which it’s based, updating the period and sensibilities appropriately. Cushing play Professor Lundgren, one of several individuals invited by Calvin Lockhart’s Tom Newcliffe, to his home. Newclifffe is a millionaire who is convinced one of his guests is a werewolf and is determined to hunt them. Like the varying versions of And Then There Were None, from which the film borrows a great deal, it’s the cast that immediately draws attention. Alongside Cushing and Lockhart are a young Michael Gambon, Charles Gray, Ciaran Madden, Marlene Clark and Tom Chadbon. One of the main joys of the film is the interactions between these various characters, particular those scenes between Charles Gray’s pompous diplomat and Tom Chadborn’s psychotic artist. Anton Differing appears for a welcome few scenes as a security technician who meets a grisly end at the hands (or perhaps paws) of the beast.

IT'S A SIMPLE ENOUGH premise but one that provides an entertaining spin on the usual werewolf tales of reluctant monsters and is therefore all the more interesting for it. There are several missed opportunities in the script however, it drags a little in the middle and lacks debate on Lockhart’s desire to kill a beast that is a human being who cannot help the horrific changes that occur. Considering the sluggish scenes in the middle where Lockhart chases an unknown suspect through the woods or some of the admittedly endless scenes of conversation between the various guests in which they demonstrate the same levels of paranoia again and again, subtext such as this would of helped enliven these duller portions.

THE FILM RELIES a lot on its action and suspense, which is handled very well by director Paul Annett, who has apparently fond memories of the production. He states that due to the sorry state of the werewolf, he decided to concentrate on the small cast, an approach which works wonders.  The beast itself is admittedly somewhat lacklustre when compared to the creature that would appear a year later in Legend of the Werewolf. Here a large dog in a rather shaggy fur coat is used instead of any prosthetics. In a few scenes with dim lighting, where only glimpses of the beast are shown, it proves to be somewhat effective. However in other scenes, for example the death of Anton Differing’s character, his terrified expression as he stares at what is clearly a rather docile animal, wagging it’s tongue, are laughable If the film was remade in the 1980’s let’s say, with similar effects to John Landis’s An American Werewolf in London then doubtless a more animalistic looking werewolf would have been successful. Honestly though, they should have gone for prosthetics on an actor.

THAT'S NOT to lambast the film however. On the whole The Beast Must Die is incredibly entertaining. A wonderful cast and generally fun atmosphere on the skeleton a thriller film work immensely successfully. It would prove to be the last horror production by Amicus and whilst certainly not up to the standard of other films such as From Beyond the Grave or my own personal favourite The Skull, allowed them to bow out of the genre with dignity.

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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  . .