TELEVISIONS FIRST MR DARCY : BRIAN COX AND ROBERT POWELL : SIR JOHN MILLS AND CUSHING LAST SHERLOCK ADVENTURE

WAY BEFORE Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen got gals and ladies hearts a fluttering with their portrayal of Mr Darcy in Jane Austin's 'Pride and Prejudice' on film, #PeterCushing was gracing homes and living rooms of UK families, on their newly purchased cathode-ray tubed TV set, with every intention of going over the heads of hubby and grandad's ... making his wanted targets faint and call for the smelling salts with two #BBC drama productions!

IN 1952 CUSHING was well on his way to making BBC drama on tv and radio his domain. The chillers of his BBC Orwell's '#1984' and Nigel Kneale's 'The Creature' would have to wait a few weeks... right now he wasn't interested in STAKING hearts, his was really making them throb and pound with affection, passion and much interest! Cushing was television's FIRST Mr Darcy and he followed it just two years later with his portrayal of Beau Brummell... what a heat throb!

 

 

 

OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS we have marked and celebrated.. oh and forgotten to post, TWO great actors BIRTHDAYS! First, actor BRIAN COX, who as most of us know here, starred with Peter Cushing in the Hammer House of Horror TV series episode, SILENT SCREAM in 1980. We said, 'An extremely reputable actor with an outstanding CV and who has never stopped working since he started in the mid 1960's. Some amazing characters in movies and recently the role of Churchill in a very entertaining drama..... Manhunter is a firm favorite with many, with Cox playing Dr. Hannibal Lecktor in 1986 . . . maybe a firm fav with you?' Many of you did! This was a very popular post and several of you mentioned a recent interview were Cox shared his thoughts of working with Peter in 'Silent Scream' and had only very god things to say! So, it was Happy Birthday Brian Cox..

THEN ON JUNE SECOND, I did the unthinkable... thankfully just this once. I with my aged memory, forgot to share a banner i had made just a few days before, for marking actor Robert Powell's birthday! 😖 So with apologies here it is below and was posted with the following text along with a shared memory of my own.. I was surprised I could remember this, even if i couldn't remember what i had prepared just a few days ago! 😐 

“I never cease to say and I repeat it to the world since 1977. I am not Jesus Christ, I am just an actor and British comedian” - Robert Powell.

.. A BELATED #HAPPYBIRTHDAY! to actor #RobertPowell who was born on the 1st June 1944! I missed it! Powell is best known for the title roles in 'Mahler' (1974) and 'Jesus of Nazareth' (1977), and for his portrayal of secret agent in Richard Hannay in 'The Thirty Nine Steps' and its subsequent spin-off television series. For us, we recall his performance in one of the very ace AMICUS films of the 70's 'Asylum' his 'innocent' Dr. Martin! He had some superb scenes with both actors Geoffrey Bayldon and #HerbertLom.
 

 

'A few years ago at a press Q and A for a film Powell was appearing in and the press meet he was also attending, I over heard a stuffy reporter behind me say to his friend, 'I don't know why he always says that about telling people he was only PLAYING Jesus, it's like he thinks he as the only one who has! You never heard Graham Chapman say that!' Where I had to turn around and tell him..'That's because Powell played Jesus Christ... Chapman played Brian!!' ...... - Marcus

 

 

 

'ASYLUM' is one of the many portmanteau films that Amicus did so well. #PeterCushing played the 'suspect' Mr Smith in the 'The Weird Tailor' story along with Barry Morse, written by #RobertBloch and directed by Roy Ward Baker. Without giving any spoilers, Powell had the perfect face and demeanour for the role, where you just couldn't help but want to shout, 'BEHIND YOU!' Listen out for many voice overs from Powell on UK tv advertisements and documentaries, he has a gift for it! Please join us wishing a 'belated' Happy Birthday to #RobertPowell, our birthday wishes / card is not in the post, but right here 😊

BACK IN 1980, plans had announced for Peter Cushing to appear as Sherlock Holmes in a project that would see Holmes being encouraged out of retirement by Watson, for one last case. This project would eventually emerge in 1984 as Tyburn films 'The Masks of Death', a film for UK's TV Channel Four directed by Roy ward Baker. Roy described the film as 'a film made by Holmes enthusiast, for Holmes enthusiasts!' Cushing played an elderly but still spry Sherlock with John Mills as Dr Watson and Anne Baxter as Irene Alder. The production started rolling on July 21st 1984, a full four years after Cushing had signed on the line and after Cushing had been diagnosed and fought off prostate cancer

CUSHING PLAYED SHERLOCK with quite some punch and moxie! He would be around for another ten years.. and some of his best private and public days were yet to come 😊 There was plans for another Cushing Holmes film 'The Abbot's Cry' and another film based on the career of an actor much like Cushing... but PC decided it was time to hang up the deerstalker and all the other hats and give his last bow. In this post at the How do you think he would have worked out in that second and last Sherlock 'The Abbot's Cry' based on his performance in 'Masks of Death'? He was to have appeared in an episode of Jeremy Brett's Granada Holmes series 'The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes: The Last Vampyre' too! Even though he didn't think he could do Abbots Cry, would you have liked to have see him try?

YOU MAY REMEMBER I did a gallery of the amazing artwork of #DarylJoyce back in 2017 HERE and at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE? Well there's more! Here is a selection of some of his latest amazing Hammer film #PeterCushing #Frankenstein work! 

SOME YOU MAY have seen previously, but they have now been fashioned to carry tittles and casts, just like a cinema or press poster! I think 'Created Woman' and 'Destroyed' are my favs. Do you have a fav? Oh many thanks to good friend, Johnny Thunders Martin for suggesting this post and providing the details 😉😀 - Marcus

COMPETITION WINNERS AND LEE CUSHING AND ROONEY FEATURE REVIEW COMING UP!

#KINOLORBER HAS A NEW blu ray release of this #PeterCushing guesting, #ChristopherLee starring film and we have a FULL gallery of #BEHINDTHESCENES photographs and review of the BLU RAY here shortly . . .

SOMETHING TELLS ME, #ChristopherLee, #MickeyRooney and #PeterCushing had a fun time on the set of 'Arabian Adventure' ...

CONGRATULATIONS Dermot Harris (US) and Sue Dagnell (UK) A big thank you to EVERYONE who entered! There's something 'special' a-comin' on May 25th .. I may have to get me some 'super size roll' gift wrap! 😳😵😃 - Stay safe everyone! Marcus

'NO IMAGINATION NO HORROR!' SHERLOCK WATCH WITH CUSHING NOW LIVE!

#WATCHWITHCUSHING! OVER AT The FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE we have lanched our #WATCHPARTY for today, with ANOTHER dip into the 'Sherlock Holmes' BBC television series, 'A STUDY IN SCARLETT' with Peter Cushing again in the role of Sherlock Holmes 😊

#WatchWithCushing! 'Where there is no imagination, there is NO horror!' so says Peter Cushing's Sherlock Holmes in 'A Study in Scarlett', in this episode from his 1968 BBC television serial. Cushing had taken on the role for the BBC when Douglas Wilmer's Sherlock, left the series. It would not be a pleasurable experience for the actor, and when he and Wilmer were later united on the Hammer/AIP production of 'The Vampire Lovers' (1970), Cushing remarked that he would sooner spend the rest of his career sweeping Paddington Station than to work for the BBC again under similar circumstances. Cushing would later argue that the strain affected his performance, indicating a preference for his earlier, less hurried portrayal of Holmes in Hammer’s 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' (1958).

WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO CUSHING, however, I disagree – where his earlier performance is a bit mannered, he seems far more relaxed and comfortable in the role in the BBC series. Sadly, many of the episodes no longer survive – but the ones that do show just how effective Cushing really was in the role. 'A Study in Scarlet' wasn’t the first of the series that he did for the BBC, but it is the first in continuity of that surviving episodes. WHICH Cushing Sherlock portrayal do you prefer, the 1958 Hammer Baskerville or the BBC series? Stay Safe, Stay Inside, Stay Well Everyone 😉 - Marcus 

COME JOIN US : RIGHT HERE!

THE EVANSON TOUCH WITH CUSHING PRICE AND LEE ARTWORK : CUSHING COLLECTING WEDNESDAY

#COLLECTINGCUSHING Wednesday! Andrew Evanson has been busy! Here's his latest set of three individual pieces of artwork, each featuring the face of one of the fearsome three! See if you too can work out the influence of the text or design in the back ground of each portrait? Nice touch! Each would make a fine addition to anyone's Cushing Collection! Andrew has told me... ' I did them on my ipad Pro 12.9' with an apple pencil using Auto Desk Sketchbook Pro. They have been done to match my colour scheme as the intention is to frame them. Obviously, as they are digital, I can easily print them off onto A4 using archival quality paper and inks if people are interested but any larger prints would have to be done through a print firm' ....Thank you Andrew for sending this in today😉

Remembering Today.. the birthday of director Roy Ward Baker, whose work with Peter Cushing includes 'Asylum', 'And Now, The Screaming Starts!'. 'The Vampire Lovers' with Amicus films. 'The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires for Hammer films and 'The Masks of Death' with Peter Cushing for Tyburn films. Starting as a tea boy at the Gainsborough Studios in London in 1934, raising to the role of assistant director with Alfred Hitchcock on 'The Lady Vanishes' by 1939, then onto a career as director in Hollywood, working with Marilyn Monroe...Ward Baker had a very full career that covered just about every genre! Today we remember his birthday and the contribution to not only Peter Cushing's career, but the the world of cinema...

ABOVE AND THE LINK HERE! is for a great feature I put together a few years ago, in which WARD BAKER talks about Peter and the several different films he made with him! 

WHEN THE BARONESS DID YOGA IN THE NUDE AND THIS WEEK'S TUESDAY TOUGHY!

THIS WEEK'S Cushing Tuesday Toughy! . . Can you identify the TITLE of that film in our QUESTION this week?😕 I'll be giving you the ANSWER on Friday! Meanwhile . . as this one beat you? Feel free to join in on the suggestions of ANSWERS in the THREAD at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! Good luck!

ABOVE: HERE is ANSWER to last week's TUESDAY TOUGHY! Some of you got this one spot on! Well done 😃 I am happy to tell you, Hugh Harlow is still with us, Martita who was 59 at the time, sadly is not. Thankfully, this happening, was something she never did find out about . . ! PLEASE remember the PCAS Cushing Tuesday Toughies are just for fun. BUT if you want to try and bag yourself a PRIZE the PCAS SWORD OF SHERWOOD FOREST COMPETITION is STILL OPEN, here you can win yourself a copy of the FAB remastered TWILIGHT TIME REGION FREE BLU RAY until SUNDAY 9th of December 2018! Have a GO! 

HAPPY 54TH ANNIVERSARY OF HAMMER FILMS 'THE GORGON' : JOSHUA KENNEDY AND HOUSE OF THE GORGON!

TODAY HERE and at our FACEBOOK PCAS FAN PAGE we are marking the anniversary of the release of #hammerfilms THE GORGON starring Peter Cushing and Christopher lee, with Barbara Shelley, Richard Pasco, and directed by Terence Fisher 🙂 At the Facebook Fan Page, the text went like this...'We've covered this film many times here and at the website, it's still one of the most atmospheric and beautifually photographed films that Hammer made. It's got an amazing cast and an amazing musical score by James Bernard. Patrick Troughton, Michael Goodliffe are great too. And according to some fans, It's probably also.... hang on I'll wait for Joshua Kennedy to make his annual annoucement on the thread below.... ANY time now . . ' 😉 AND at THAT POINT, he did! HAPPY BIRTHDAY 'THE GORGON' !

HOW WE MARKED the GORGON anniversary a few years ago. Josh's comment was there on the post as usual, but this year, so was JOSH!

FOR THOSE OF YOU who don't know JOSH and the remarkable films he has made over the years, he has just probably leaped a further few giant steps in the opinions of his fans and friends. Josh is a life long fan of Hammer films, 'THE GORGON' having first seen it when he was just NINE years old. For the past ten years, I have made a tradition of posting a celebration banner, marking the release of THE GORGON, and every year, without fail, Josh has posted the same comment, in the thread below onour Facebook PCAS Fan Page or here at the website, 'THE BEST FILM EVER MADE'  

DRACULA AD 2105 and the promotional poster for HOUSE OF THE GORGON designed by artist Graham Humphrey

AT FIRST, when it appeared, I thought it was just a highly supportive comment, from a Cushing / Hammer film fan, who  was probably on a high, having just seen the film. BUT, no THE GORGON is Josh's favourite Cushing Hammer film. So much so, he has just made his OWN Gorgon movie, as a tribute to the film, that was made back in 1964. Josh has made some impressive tribute films to various Hammer and fantasy genre movies over the years. My favourite being DRACULA AD 2105. A superb full length feature, which also contains many tributes and key scenes, to the whole Hammer film Dracula series. You can catch our feature and review on the film HERE! 

THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON SYNOPSIS:

Filmed in the vein of the classic Hammer and Universal films of yesteryear: The year is 1896, and the lovely Isobel Banning travels with her mother, Anna, to the village of Carlstadt to marry her university sweetheart, Dr. Julian Pritchard. Along their journey they meet the mysterious Father Llewellyn, the local priest, who refuses to explain why the villagers appear to be in a state of mortal fear… as if the town is hiding a terrible secret. Frightened and confused, Isobel and Anna readily accept an invitation from Dr. Pritchard to stay with him and his aunt, the Baroness Bartov, in their large chateau overlooking the town… unaware of the ancient horror that lies within.

HAVING SEEN THE CROWD-FUNDING trailer for 'HOUSE OF THE GORGON' and the prospect of it's jaw dropping cast, who have joined together to support Joshua and his film, makes the release of this film all the more VERY special. The cast includes, Veronica Carlson (Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, Dracula Has Risen From The Grave, The Ghoul) Caroline Munro (At The Earth's Core, Dracula AD 1972) and Christopher Neame (Dracula AD 1972) and Martine Beswick (Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde). I am sure it is going be just as impressive, as Josh's other films, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Alpha Omega Man, Theseus and the Minotaur and many others. Scheduled for a 2019 release, I can't wait!

OUR FEATURE on the dancer and actress who played THE GORGON in the 1964 film: JUST click HERE!

TOYS ARE NOT CHILDS PLAY : PC ON THE BUTTON IN 1956 : TV MIRROR NOT KIDS STUFF!

PETER CUSHING  collected toy soldiers from childhood, by the 1950's he had a quite an extensive collection. It was Cushing who introduced actor Alan Ladd to the hobby of collecting soldiers while they were both filming THE BLACK KNIGHT, and just about every co-star over the years, who was invited to the Cushing Home for for dinner was always given an impromptu introduction and visit to 'The Troops'. It has to be said that Peter Cushing's thoughts about his past times and hobbies were somewhat revolutionary for the time, when collecting miniatures and building to scale models of theaters were not that common, and a written feature at the time, also adds some strong indications and evidence to Peter's almost Peter Pan - like personality. The piece was called, 'TOYS? They're not Child's Play!'- Says Peter Cushing!' which he wrote for the TV Miror's 'On My Soap Box' column . Cushing changed the column's title to ' On My Hobby Horse'..... 

HOBBIES? OH YOU SIGH, 'Peter Cushing is going to tell us about his toy soldiers again! Just kid's stuff! It's nothing to do with a bold Soap-box subject, surely?" Now I have a theory about hobbies and and toys, and Iam quite prepared for you to scoff at me. The theory is quite simple. It is that toys are given to children when they are too young to apprecaite them and because most men ' put away childish things' as they reach adulthood, they miss a great deal of happiness at a time in their lives when, because of greater maturity , they are actually in amuch better position to enjoy their toys and hobbies.

THE TRAGEDY IS THAT for too many men are hobby-less  . ..  Without escapism which comes only from dabbling with adult toys, their minds are prey to all the frusttration and fears of the working day. From my hobby-horse, I do not say that men would be better if they kept to their toys in theri adult years, but certainly they could be happier. . .  So many, it seems to me, lose happiness as they grow up. Their entire absorption in their careers and adult responsibilities bring lines of worry and premature old age. It is not silly or childish to have an interest in hobbies . . . some men develop a passionate interest in costly 35mm cameras and in veteran cars, but what are these things except toys of a rather larger and dearer sort? I am not particularly mechanically -minded, so although I do have a certain interest in mechanical models, i get much great contentment from miniture figures and costumes. I love collecting old manuscripts and books on period costume too, but of course, that's a branch of art, and not a subject for any hobby-horse.

H.G. WELLS wrote a most interesting book entitled, LITTLE WARS, which was a serious satire designed to make real war impossible. There is a British Model Soldier Society, including youngsters of nine up to colonels of ninety, and who manoeuvre the soldiers according to the rules which H.G outlined in his book, rules which have changed little since the days of Napoleon. Played according to these rules, the wars of these tin soldiers become  a vast game of chess. When I come home at night and find the news or the newspaper headlines more than usually anxious and alarming, I sometimes get out my soldiers and start solving international problems on my lounge carpet. Fearful problems which  . ..  cause international strife at UNO, are settled in a quiet half-hour with my private armies of military men, who are as clever, bold, strategic and vicious as I can make them, although they are only two and half inches high. One day, I may be tempted to send to Whitehall, to Washington and the Kremlin, so statesmen can find the key . . .

BUT NO. I have no wish to challenge anyone's opinion. I have my own inner contentment with this world-in-miniature. And you could too. It's not a thing to shout or campaign about, but to discover privately, and to enjoy in one's own heart . . . .

OUR WEEKLY 'MOMENTS OF TERROR' theme day tales a rest for a while next week. Monday's for seven weeks will see a new feature, The Making of Legend Of The Werewolf, takes a look at one of Cushing's and Tyburn films most interesting films together. Intyerviews, on set pics and much more... STARTS next Monday 11th June 2018! Please join us!

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 reach all lovers of Peter Cushing's work AND Help Keep The Memory Alive!     

COMPETITION! WIN HAMMER VOLUME ONE BLU RAY BOX SET FROM INDICATOR!

MERRY CHRISTMAS! As promised here is the FIRST of our FESTIVE CUSHING FEARSOME COMPETITIONS! Please read ALL the details on the competition banner here. Any answers posted on the thread below, will be deleted and void, sorry. This PCAS COMPETITION is OPEN TO EVERYONE TO ENTER! MANY many thanks to everyone at INDICATOR DISTRIBUTION for the generous and exclusive sponsor of our Christmas PCAS Competitions this year. TAKE TIME to read ALL the details. GOOD LUCK and thank you to taking part. You can also easily purchase this fabulous REMASTERED blu ray box set by following this link HERE! and placing your order. It's a LIMITED RELEASE!

The SPECS for the title contents and the superb extras are below. This is a REGION FREE release, so will play on all blu rays.

MANIAC (Michael Carreras, 1963)

THE GORGON (Terence Fisher, 1964)

THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB (Michael Carreras, 1964)

FANATIC (Silvio Narizzano, 1965)

FOUR CLASSICS from Hammer, each presented on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Whether it's a madman brandishing a welding torch, a mythical monster whose looks can kill, an ancient royal with diabolical powers, or a mad woman wielding a pair of scissors, this set has something to unease everybody. Containing a wealth of new and exclusive extra features – including title-specific documentaries, cast and crew interviews, expert appreciations, introductions and more – this stunning Blu-ray-only Limited Edition box set is published in a horribly limited, numbered edition of 6,000 units.

INDICATOR LIMITED BLU-RAY EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES:
• HD restorations of all four films
• Original Mono audio
• New title-specific documentaries exploring aspects of each film: 

White-Hot Terror: Inside ‘Maniac’ / Heart of Stone: Inside ‘The Gorgon’ / Blood and Bandages: Inside ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ / House of Horror: Inside ‘Fanatic’
 
• Hammer’s Women: Nadia Gray (2017): horror film expert Lindsay Anne Hallam looks at the fascinating life and work of the Romanian stage and screen actor
 
• Focus Puller Trevor Wrenn and Clapper Loader Ray Andrew on ‘Maniac’ (2017): original crew members share their memories of working on the film
 
• The Gorgon audio commentary with Daughters of Darkness’ Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger (2017)
 
• The Gorgon introduction by actor and filmmaker Matthew Holness (2017)
• Hammer’s Women: Barbara Shelley (2017): academic and author Patricia MacCormack examines the life and career of ‘the first leading lady of British horror’
 
• 'The Gorgon' Comic-Strip Adaptation: Goodall, Goring & Coyas’ 1977 comic strip, originally published in House of Hammer magazine
 
• Hammer’s Women: Jeanne Roland (2017): Diabolique magazine’s editor-in-chief Kat Ellinger offers an appreciation of the Burmese-born actor’s short career
 
• Interview with Michael McStay (2017): the British film and TV actor looks back at his time working for Hammer
 
• The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb Super 8 Version: original cut-down home cinema presentation
 
• Hammer’s Women: Tallulah Bankhead (2017): Kat Ellinger explores the life and work of the inimitable star of stage and screen
 
• David Huckvale on Wilfred Josephs (2017): an appreciation of the composer’s work by the author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
 
• Fanatical Detail (2017): continuity supervisor Renée Glynne and second assistant director Stuart Black recall the making of Fanatic
 
• Matthew Lombardo on Tallulah Bankhead and ‘Fanatic’ (2017): the acclaimed playwright discusses his play Looped and his fascination with Tallulah Bankhead
 
• Die! Die! My Darling!: alternative presentation of Fanatic with the US title sequence
 
• Original trailers
 
• Extensive image galleries with promotional and on-set photography, original lobby cards and poster art
 
• Four box set exclusive booklets with new essays by Kim Newman, Marcus Hearn, Kat Ellinger and Jo Botting, archival interviews, contemporary reviews, and full film credits
 
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
 
• World premiere Blu-rays of Maniac and Fanatic
 
• UK premieres on Blu-ray of The Gorgon and The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb
• Limited edition box set of 6,000 copies
BBFC cert: 15
REGION FREE

INDICATOR HAMMER VOLUME ONE: FEAR WARNING BLU RAY BOX SET: NOW AVAILABLE TO ORDER HERE!     

JOIN US FOR OUR NEXT CUSHING CHRISTMAS 2017 COMPETITION HERE ON NEW YEARS EVE!

 

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