SURPRISES ON FIRST WATCH PLUS REMEMBERING ACTOR JOHN MILLS

RIGHT NOW, over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE, we've asked you to tell us about when, 'ON FIRST VIEW WHICH PETER CUSHING FILM REALLY SURPRISED YOU AND WHY?' and we are getting some great comments and answers. 

HERE ARE A FEW: 

D POWLEY says, 'Corruption. Both Peter Cushing and Sue Lloyd managed to convince me that they were mad in that film. It was a great shocker!' 

N. SANTIAGO says, 'Horror Express. I had no expectations for it. Turned out to be a very well made film with Mr. Cushing in fine form mixing it up with Mr. Lee and Telly Savalas. The movie itself was an entertaining mix of horror, science fiction, adventure and mystery. Really enjoyed it and of course the GREAT Peter Cushing!'. 

While V. Kirk says,' I was surprised by the nimble jump he did at the end of 'Brides of Dracula'. I remember rewinding to see if it was actually a stunt double but it wasn't.'. 

G. RENEHAN : 'The Blood Beast Terror! I saw it as a B movie in the cinema aged (too young)! It scared me to heck and back!'

S.COLMAN: 'Both TV appearances but I love his brilliantly nuanced performance in 1984 and the cold malevolence he channels in The Silent Scream.

A. GUNN : 'Top Secret. Peter caricatures himself - revealing his own sense of humour and strength of character. Taught me how to laugh at myself and consequently become a stronger person. Thanks, PC!' 

 M. LOISEL : ' Not a film, but the "Down the Avenue" skit on Morecombe & Wise. I wish he had done more light comedy or song and dance like that.' 

M DAWSON: 'In 1961 my father took me to see my first horror film or X film . In those days if you were under 16 you could only see those films with an adult and you got 2 films. The first film to be shown was Jack the Ripper 1959 then there was the interval when the ice cream lady would sell choc ices and ice creams, then the main feature was shown. It was 'The Curse of Frankenstein'. That film and that night I can remember it as if it was yesterday. I have had the film on video, DVD and now Blu-ray and watch it on the tele. I never tire of watching it. I dont think I ever saw a bad film he was in. But for me the favourite or favourites has to be his performances as the ruthless Baron Frankenstein'.

The post is still live and if you would like to comment and share your opinion, you would be most welcome! JUST CLICK HERE!

TODAY WE MARK THE BIRTH of one, Lewis Ernest Watts Mills... or as we knew and loved him... Sir John Mills. He was without doubt, one of our most popular and beloved English actors and born today February 22nd 1908. In a career that stretched over eight decades, Mills appeared in over 120 films, debuting in 1932 in 'Midshipmaid Gob' right up until 2009 in 'The Snow Prince'. Many of his roles like Pip in 'Great Expectations' in 1946, Shorty Blake 'In Which We Serve' in 42, Captain Scott in 'Scott of the Antarctic' in 48 and the alcohol troubled Captain Anson in 'Ice Cold in Alex' in 58 would make him an internationally renowned star.

MILLS APPEARED in three films with Peter Cushing, 'The End Of The Affair' the second in 1976 entitled 'Trial by Combat' aka 'A Dirty Knight's Work' as Sir Edward Gifford. It was no more than a guest appearance, slotted in when another project on Cushing's slate fell through. The third though, was a much grander enterprise with Tyburn films and marked Cushing's return to the character of Sherlock Holmes...and Mills as Watson! In 'The Masks of Death' they made such a terrific team as a much older duo, that another Cushing /Mills / Sherlock film from Tyburn was planned entitled 'The Abbot's Cry', but was scuppered owing to Cushing's fragile health.

JOHN MILLS AND CUSHING also appeared together in an episode of the TV series The Zoo Gang, 'The Counterfeit Trap' which was released last year as part of the series on remstered blu ray by Network.  
 

LIKE CUSHING, Mills was in his private life a sensitive romantic, in January 2001 at the age of 92, he and wife Mary, age 89, renewed their marriage vows at St. Mary's Church, next to their home, Hills House, in Denham, England. When they had wed 60 years earlier, he was denied a church service because he was serving in the Army during World War II. Happy Birthday, Sir John!
 

HORROR EXPRESS: DOES ARROW HIT THE TARGET WITH REMASTERED BLU RAY

'HORROR EXPRESS' is not unlike a 57 variety soup all in one tin. Explain? Many moons ago when a full time student and living in an abode that could have easily have fallen off the cinema screen during a showing of 'Withnail', the day would eventually arrive when the cupboard was bare for all us seven 'vegetarian' students, bare of all atrractive and palatable nash nosh, and every bean, pluse, rice and dried vegtable would be boiled up in the contents of what we called, 'TSOATP' or 'THE SOUP OF A THOUSAND PLOTS' . .  most of us being media students, we compared each content to that of a movie plot line. 

THE POINT IS, where as most films have one, 'EXPRESS' has not only one plot, but several. Just as the film feels like it's following one direction, it throws in, another.. and another! There are lots of great ideas in this low budget Spanish horror, and each one has made it into the plot. It's not that it damages the film, far from it, it's these winds and bends that makes it very entertaining and never dull. If you are a Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee fan, you won't be a stranger to this film, if you have never seen the movie, I ain't going to add a damaging and de-railing SPOILER, that would no doubt ruin what is going to be for you, quite a unique 84 minute Cushing / Lee experience! But if you DO want more on the film, along with a gallery and plot, HERE IS THE PCAS FEATURE WITH ALL THAT AND MORE!

 

HERE IS THE NEWS: ARROW FILMS has a pulled off a very impressive transfer of 'Horror Express' and if you are a collector who has specific tastes to 'the lightness, the darkness, the contrast' of your purchases, I'll let you chew this one over, on your own. But for me personally, the picture quality looks very good indeed and WAY surpasses any other copy of the film I own from past purchases. This release has been restored to a very clear, clean and crisp 2K version from its original 35mm camera negative, and sits comfortably in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio, plus the team at Arrow have carefully incorporated an additional 35mm interpositive element for the fifth reel, an appreciated and typical attention to detail that you would expect from Arrow!

IF YOU TOO own previous releases of 'EXPRESS' on dvd or blu ray, you'll notice, that the colours through out look natural, with no surprise out of step and colour continuity, of costumes and HAIR colours! As with many films of this era and budget, you would expect an element of grain, but this is pretty much levelled out and never looks really course, as it has on some version releases of the film. Shadows look very much like the quality of the Warner Brothers 'Dracula AD and Satanic Rites' remastered prints, it presents more refined detail than before, which is exactely what is needed for a film that gives us many scenes in the dark or shadows. Blacks are neither blotchy, have that annoying moving pixels element or are so dark you see nothing. Someone has taken great time and effort, to level out contrasts, to an even and impressive picture through out. 

HAVING WATCHED many releases of 'HORROR EXPRESS' over the years I am very very happy to tell you that, THIS remaster has nothing in the way of annoying drop outs and hisses. All of the my previous released versions, watched many times over the years, contained so many 'clicks, thuds and drops' that became almost like expected solo pieces of dialogue from unseen extra characters or old friends.... that even turned up like regular co stars in a tv soap, from one releaase to another! Thankfully, they are absent from Arrows remaster, which DOES come with optional subtitles in English SDH.  

ARROWS AUDIO is presented on an English mono LPCM track. There is one short piece of very minor distortion, see if you can spot it! This element I believe was damage caused during the dubbing of the film during production. For a mono soundtrack, from this age, the sound effects are good, dated but as good as Christopher Lee's DRACULA slamming a wooden door in the iconic 58' Hammer film.

THE SUPPLEMENTARY AND THESE DAYS EXPECTED EXTRAS for the Arrow films remaster include the compulsory audio commentary, this very enteraining and detailed yak track comes from  authors Stephen Jones and Kim Newman; there is also for those who want a little Fangoria stamp of approval in a optional 7-minute introduction to the film from Fangoria’s Chris Alexander; Ticket to Die, another 9-minute appreciation of the film by Steve Haberman; there's another chorus of approval, but with more weight from Night Train to Nowhere, which is a 15-minute appreciation of the film, but this time from producer Bernard Gordon by filmmaker Ted Newsom; Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express, a vintage 14-minute interview with director Eugenio Martin is probably the best of the bunch with BTS pics and stories of the cast and set; Notes From the Blacklist, a vintage 31-minute interview from 2005 with producer Bernard Gordon; Telly and Me, a vintage 8-minute interview with composer John Cacavas; the original theatrical trailer in HD; and a 32-page insert booklet with the essays Horror Express by Adam Scovell and Riding the Horror Express by Mike Hodges, as well as restoration. A rich bag of pickings, where Arrow has dug to find anything, that tries to make up for the problem that most releases face these days . . . little or no contribution material from Christopher Lee and nothing from Peter Cushing. I am sure any forum chats about this release will be littered with comparisons of the SEVERIN dvd and blu ray release.

IF FOR YEARS, YOU'VE BEEN stuck with a duff and sub-standard version of 'HORROR EXPRESS' buy your ticket and grab your copy now, of an exception remastering of a Cushing and Lee classic. It's all here and detail-wise, you'll be having hours of fun, visually spotting elements you could never have seen or spotted before. It really can not be  denied, this film has never looked or sounded better. Arrow has technically turned a well known and fan familiar terror train trip into what is a remastered, very SOUND and VISUALLY exciting, Monster hit Roller-Coaster ride! Well done, Arrow! 

BLU RAY NEWS! ARROW FILMS TO RELEASE REMASTERED UK AND USA HORROR EXPRESS BLU RAY!

RELEASE NEWS: Arrow Films have announced they are putting out a band new remastered blu-ray of Horror Express (1972) starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. This brings a REMASTERED blu ray to fan of the film in the UK for the first time!

RELEASE DATE: February 11th 2019 (UK) February 12th 2019 (US, CAN)

READ OUR PCAS FEATURE WITH GALLERY HERE! 

BLU RAY SPEC:

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
• Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements
• High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
• Original Uncompressed mono audio
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Brand new audio commentary with Stephen Jones and Kim Newman
• Introduction to the film by film journalist and Horror Express super-fan Chris Alexander
• Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express – an interview with director Eugenio Martin
• Notes from the Blacklist – Horror Express producer Bernard Gordon on working in Hollywood during the McCarthy Era
• Telly and Me – an interview with composer John Cacavas
• Original Theatrical Trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully-illustrated collector’s booklet with new writing by Adam Scovell

TUESDAY TOUGHY : SECOND QUESTION CLOSER TO SIGNED LEE PRIZE : COLLECTING CUSHING WITH CAMERON JONES

THE PCASUK COMPETITION: Here is Question Number TWO of five in our ' . . win a rare and smashing signed and framed photograph of Christopher as Dracula from Dracula AD 1972!' Competition 🙂 NO answers posted in the message box below please. Another three question to come, after which you can send in all FIVE of your answers to us, as your entry 😉 Good Luck! Question THREE tomorrow 🙂

ABOVE, BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, our CHRISTOPHER LEE 'FIVE QUESTIONS' AUTOGRAPH COMPETITION and the NEWS OF HAMMER FILMS 1958 DRACULA COMING TO BLU RAY, thanks to WARNER BROTHERS, kind of too over the shedule and space, yesterday! However, here we are, just for this week, moving the TUESDAY TOUGHY to TODAY, Wednesday! Kills the title theme, but there you go! So, BRRRRR!? What do you think? Very few of you, guessed the ANSWER to last weeks, CUSHING TUESDAY TOUGHY. It was a tricky one, but the photograph had been included in several features AND a competition! So, no takers. 

HOWEVER, if this weeks' has you, chewing your pencil or keeping you UP at night! No fear, the ANSWER will be here Friday. I mean. WHO IS THAT scuffy looking bird holding onto Mr C? What could be the film? In the meantime, if you would like to chat and throw your ideas, into the pot, WHY NOT pop along to the Facebook PCASUK FAN PAGE and join in the chatter OR even throw your ANSWER into the pot on the thread! 

COLLECTING CUSHING WITH CAMERON JONES: COLUMBUS , OHIO. 'I began collecting about 15 years ago I started with vintage Hammer film posters. I have been a fan of Peter’s since I was a teenager! says Cameron Jones a Peter Cushing fan and collector. Cameron's collection proves a point that, it really isn't about the size of a collection, it's really about the impressive quality of the items.  Like many of the collections I have had the pleasure of seeing, there is always a library of dvd's or blu rays. Cameron's library doesn't just have recently released titles, but also the attraction older releases appeal too. 'The first Peter Cushing film I bought on dvd was an old public domain copy of ‘Horror Express’. I recently got the new Blu-Ray releases of ‘Dracula A.D. 1972’ and ‘The Satanic Rites of Dracula’ The next film I‘ve been eyeing is ‘Island of Terror’ a great little film'

'A great little film'.... one of Cameron's favorites, 'ISLAND OF TERROR' (1966) 

'I GREW UP watching old horror movies. I remember seeing this man who was just so magnetic.. whether he was fighting monsters or creating them it didn’t matter I was always mesmerized by him. Seeing him in a movie meant ‘this was a good one’. Now as an adult my love and respect for Peter Cushing has only grown. He has such range as an actor..he was a natural.'

CLASSIC  Van Helisng with Peter Cushing and David Peel

 in 'The Brides of Dracula' ( 1960) included in Cameron's library!

 

CHRISTOPHER LEE in the Spanish  shocker, 'Horror Express' (1972)

ONE OF THE IMPRESSIVE THINGS about Cameron's collection is, I like that he is a collector, who is bringing together the things that , HE likes. Items, movies and art work that appeal to his love of Peter Cushing. Some of these items are displayed, really tastefully in a spot lit class cabinet. ' My glass display case I got it from IKEA a couple years ago! I think the item in my collection which was the hardest to get was my Titan Van Helsing figurine. It’s pretty rare and hard to find!' Some of you may remember, when Titan released the Cushing Van Helsing figure. It was a limited edition, expensive and everyone serious collector, wanted one gracing their display cabinets! 'My Van Helsing artwork was made for a Kickstarter called ‘Face Cards: Vampires’ a set of trading cards featuring famous Vampires from film and television. The Artist is Byron Winton he decided towards the end of the campaign to add a few famous vampire slayers to the card set. I told him he just HAD to include Peter Cushing’s Van Helsing...and he got put it. I was lucky enough to acquire the original artwork used to make the trading card. It’s Peter as we see him in ‘Brides of Dracula’ 

I ASKED CAMERON if among all the films and tv shows that Peter Cushing appeared in, that Cameron had seen, was there a performance he wasn't so keen on. 'I don’t believe he ever put in a bad performance. Peter brought a touch of class to every film he was in...he is in my opinion the greatest horror actor of all time.' Cameron's collection is still growing, with regular purchases of newly remastered Cushing movies, and if he adds another eye popping gem to that glass display case... he's promised to let us know! I can't wait! 😊