DOUBLE BILL OF PETER CUSHING : SHERLOCK AND A WEREWOLF!

 ALL UPLOADS AND CLIPS AT OUR

YOUTUBE CHANNEL ARE NON MONETIZED. 

ANOTHER NEW DOUBLE BILL at our PCAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL TWO rare Peter Cushing films, that have never had a digital release. One marks Cushing's last performance as Sherlock Holmes and the other, interestingly is a story that originally started life as the original idea, that went on to become #HAMMERFILMS bench-mark in Gothic werewolf horror, 'The Curse of the werewolf, directed by Terence Fisher and starring Oliver Reed!

ALTHOUGH HE NEVER GETS THE CREDIT, back in the 1970's, producer Kevin Francis did a very brave thing indeed, with his company, 'Tyburn films'. Just as the film industry in the UK, was in it's last gasps, Francis nailed his colours and formed a production company, that not only gave us three very good Peter Cushing releases...but also a format for making feature films in the UK, that was new, cost effective and quite radical. Sadly, even with the best plan in the world, nothing could stop the rot, that turned off the oxygen, to what was once one of the country's greatest assets and exports. That was then, now...put your feet up and enjoy Francis's vision of a great Peter Cushing movie... he went on to become a very close friend to Cushing, but was also very much a HUGE FAN of his work.

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THE FACE IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR!

#GETTHECUSHIONITSCUSHING: Ralph Jason (Richard Greene) realises who the 'man' on the bike REALLY is! This GIF is from the 'Wish You Were Here' segment of Amicus 's Tales From The Crypt (1972). It's is a variation on W. W. Jacobs' famed old chestnut short story, "The Monkey's Paw."

TRIVIA: Peter Cushing was originally offered the part played by Richard Greene but wanted to play Grimsdyke instead!

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JOAN COLLINS DISCOVERS SANTA HAS ARRIVED !

#GETTHECUSHIONITSCUSHING: This week's classic clip is from 'And All Through the House' segment from Amicus's Tales From The Crypt (1972)

After Joanne Clayton (Joan Collins) kills her husband (Martin Boddey) on Christmas Eve, she prepares to hide his body but hears a radio announcement stating that a homicidal maniac (Oliver MacGreevy) is on the loose. She sees the killer (who is dressed in a Santa Claus costume) outside her house but cannot call the police without exposing her own crimes.

A WONDERFULLY SUSPENSEFUL story with Joan Collins really going all out with her performance and stylishly directed by Freddie Francis. The story was remade in 1989 as an episode of the TV series Tales From The Crypt (1988-96) directed by Robert Zemeckis.

How do you think the two versions compare?

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#GETTHECUSHIONITSCUSHING : FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE

#GETTHECUSHIONITSCUSHING: The final moments of the Amicus film 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE perhaps represent the neatest of endings of any Amicus film. Nothing works better than a series of scenes involving a character that we just can't wait to get his or her 'just deserts'.  The climax of the last scene, does just that, and even leads us into a just as neat wrap to the end of the film, 'Drop in anytime, I am always open . . .' An invitation to come again. Sadly, as an idea of a sequel or television series, that invitation was never followed up. The wind had finally gone out of the sails of the UK film industry, and finding finance for any project, was getting tough, even though 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' was one of Amicus films top money earners. We've sang the praises of  it's tight stories, not fat on the bone of this one, the performances, the whole package. With the exception of Amicus films first portmanteau film, DR TERRORS HOUSE OF HORRORS, and 'TORTURE GARDEN' 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' is one of the series, that didn't take it's title or source material from the comic books that inspired Amicus films, ' TALES FROM THE CRYPT AND VAULT OF HORROR.

WITH EACH STORY in 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' we see the bad guys come unstuck. The liars, the cheats, the unsavory. A sticky end brought about the kindly old man in the that shop!

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NEW LANDMARK FOR PCAS: 26,000 LIKES!

AMAZING! Our Peter Cushing Appreciation Society Facebook Fan Page hit 26,000 LIKES yesterday! That's a LOT of people and a LOT of Peter Cushing fans! It's great that in our 60th year Peter Cushing's is still as popular as ever! Many thanks to everyone who supports the page and this website . . .  only through you are we able to keep the memory of Peter Cushing, his work and life a live!

Here is the post that was posted up on our facebook page yesterday!

 

A MILLION THANK YOUS!!!! Well this was a pretty amazing thing to wake up to this morning!! Our total of followers / likes for this page is an amazing 26,000.. actually it has now exceeded that total.. between seeing the figure and making this banner, it has tripped into almost 26,200, which is quite something!

I SAY THIS EVERYTIME, we reach another landmark total, but it's very true. I think Mr C, would have been very pleased indeed. Your continuing support and interest for this page, is very much appreciated. Making the posts and the work that goes into that, is always a real pleasure, and I get a big kick when reading your comments and interactions on the threads. It seems this Halloween, Peter Cushing is everywhere! Websites, blogs, newspapers, on tv... the interest in Peter has certainly increased in the last six months, and that is a wonderful thing to see.

IN OUR SIXTH YEAR that interest is bigger than ever., and it's in some part part, because of YOU. Your sharing our posts, makes the BIG difference, it brings people here, which prompts more interest, which makes the totals rise, that puts Peter Cushing, where he belongs, right out there. Let's all work to keep him there. It's all about keeping the memory of Peter Cushing alive and relevant. Here's to the next 1,000, and the remainder of our anniversary year..

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THE VAN HELSING MYSTERIES : THE TV SHOW THAT NEVER WAS!

IT'S ALMOST GONE VIRAL! It's a REAL treat! The television series, that never was. And that's a REAL shame. Edited for fun by Ed Glaser, this short trailer tribute, has gone almost viral! What a great tv series this would have made. All it needs is the familiar voice over and graphic that says, 'A Quinn Martin Production'! Great job, Ed. Thank you.

HOW THIS CAME ABOUT, Glaser says this: 'My wife and I have been watching Hammer horror movies all month. We got to “Dracula A.D. 1972,” the first of their two “Dracula in modern day” films, and both of us realized that despite all the groovy youth generation stuff, the film was _all about_ Peter Cushing, in his immaculate wardrobe, solving the mystery of Dracula’s resurrection. Eventually he teams up with a police inspector and both my wife and I thought “this is practically a pilot for a ’70s occult cop show! It’s ‘The Van Helsing Mysteries!'” And the incredible ’70s soundtrack just reinforces it.

The sequel, “The Satanic Rites of Dracula,” follows the same characters, which gave it even more of a TV series feel. So, just to amuse my wife, I cut a silly fake intro to “The Van Helsing Mysteries” using footage and music from “1972.” All it needed was the NBC Mystery Movie font (Folio Bold Extended) in “awful ’70s yellow” and voila! Honestly I never expected more than a few people would find it amusing. Incidentally, somewhere among the Facebook comments was a compliment from the director of Kolchak: The Night Stalker. I about had a heart attack.

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#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: THE QUEEN, THE BARON AND THE COUNT HAMMER FILMS STYLE

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY : PETER CUSHING, Christopher Lee, Veronica Carlson and Barbara Ewing: May 29th 1968, Hammer was awarded the Queen's Award to Industry in recognition of their contribution to the British economy. Hammer had indeed proved themselves to be the most successful British film company ever. Their reported export earnings were in excess of £2.7 million 1968, so Hammer received the Queen's Award to Industry - the first time the award had gone to a film production company, and yet just a decade later, they were struggling to get a single film into production.''

 

 

 

 

 

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SUNDAY'S FOR SOMETHING NEW! #GETTHECUSHIONITSCUSHING!

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#GIMMETHEGIFWEDNESDAY: DE SADE, WANDERING HANDS AND ALTER EGOS

#GIMMETHEGIFWEDNESDAY: Here's are this week's selection of requested GIFS, sent in by you the followers and friends of the PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

THERE IS ALWAYS a good reaction to any posts we make that centre around the theme of Peter Cushing's 1965 Amicus film, THE SKULL. A tight and suspenseful drama, that poses a different kind of threat, namely the 200 year old skull of the Marquis de Sade, a French aristocrat, philosopher and writer of explicit sexual works, who was born in Paris in 1740! But, for Amicus films purposes, the naughty works and business is left for another day!   Again, producer Milton Subotsky came up with another excellent cast with which to furnish his latest horror on a budget flick. Lead Peter Cushing is supported not only by Christopher Lee, but also Patrick Wymark, Nigel Green, Michael Gough, Patrick Magee, Peter Woodthorpe and Jill Bennett. Actors who had been tried out by Amicus in previous outings, and had passed mustard in some Hammer films too. The film uses quick, basic and workable effects, via some strings, wires and some clever editing. Director Freddie Francis using his 'through-the eye sockets pov for the first time here.  A good example is the shot in the GIF above. Peter Cushing would have to be a tad-dab-hand with a dagger, to hit that eye socket the first, second ..even maybe fourth take, if he was lucky. However, placing the hand on the dagger handle, the blade in the eye socket, then pulling the dagger OUT, and cranking the motion BACKWARDS in post, would get you a hit every time! And, just like the movie itself, a HIT . . no matter how many times I have watched it! KEY MOMENTS: Cushing possessed by The Skull tries to commit murder. The nightmare abduction of Cushing and his on-the-edge-of-your-seat trial!

REQUESTED BY A. RANDELL

 

 

'AND NOW, THE SCREAMING STARTS' was Amicus films one and only step into the territory usually inhabited by Hammer films. Spooky castles, creepy graveyards, frilly cuffs and cloaks. Gothic ghost stories, was maybe something they tried, as a scene in a short story in their familiar portmanteau films, but as a full length movie, 'AND NOW, THE SCREAMING STARTS (1973)' was the only full length feature, and the result was patchy. Shot under the production title of 'Fengriffen', the name of the novel by David Case, Roger Marshall wrote a screenplay that at times manages to be, predictable, yet confusing and contrived. However, the cast are entertaining as, Cushing, Ian Ogilvy, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee and Stephanie Beacham all go through the 'ghost story-by numbers' for what feels like forever. 'And Now . . ' also marks the debut of Peter Cushing's  wavey full head wig! In interviews Cushing compared his 'full mopped' appearance to that of actress Helen Hayes!. However, research has shown, it was Cushing himself who requested the wig and would go on to wear it in Hammer films, 'Frankenstein And The Monster from Hell' and as Count Gerard De Merret in LA GRANDE BRETECHE, an episode of Anglia Television's popular series 'Orson Welles Great Mysteries' in 1973. Fans hated the mop then, as they do now!

Probably the best scene in 'And Now . . . ' can be seen here, in our requested GIF. Desecrated tombs, smashed skeletal remains, a raving madman and face off with an axe, all played out in a lashing storm in a family cemetery, makes for high drama, as Cushing's Dr Pope tries to reason with a not too happy Ian Ogilvy. It's certainly worth a watch, for Cushing's Dr Pope. Although he doesn't get a whole lot to do, the film noticeably lifts, when he arrives and gives the story a high five...and no, I am not referring to the wandering severed hand, that pops up and clumps around either. Yes, the Amicus's clock-work, five fingered fiend makes an other appearance! Having already built up a following after it's debut in ''DR TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS' IN 1965, it turns up in Amicus future features  'SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN' and 'ASYLUM'

GIF REQUESTED BY K.BARNES

 

#GIMMETHEGIFWEDENESDAY: It's interesting that of all the requests we've received for GIFS since last week, and have shared over the last seven days on the PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE  , just under half were from the films that Peter Cushing made for Amicus films. Evidence that maybe Subotsky's and Rosenberg's efforts are getting their fair share of the recognition and a slice of the appreciation pie at last? However, no matter how that tide may turn, like Hammer films, Amicus also had their fair share of misfires. 'I.MONSTER' is not a failure by any standards. The short fall that can be seen and felt in the film, is the product of 'management mangling'. It's a film that frustratingly sits, through no fault of it's director and cast, somewhere between classic and clunky. Destructive meddling and tampering on a fools errand, with the laughable idea, of what was considered by it's producer, to be a cheap way of making a film, in 3D, caused much damage. The film that was ultimately released contained several scenes and shots that were filmed to accommodate that notion. Tracking camera shots from behind plants, obstructing test-tubes and pillars, to say nothing of 'objects being thrust' at the camera, that makes I, MONSTER at times, a very odd watch.

Stylish direction from a very young Stephen Weeks holds the story firmly together, and it's a version that many of the Jekyll and Hyde purists, seems to like*. Performances from Cushing and Lee are very good indeed. Lee owns his Mr Blake. Again, Cushing doesn't have a lot to do in the way of anything dynamic, but it's not that kind of role or film. And though the ending maybe quick, it's a good one, even though time constraints may have been the reason behind the obvious doubling of Lee's stand in, Eddie Powell, getting more than his fair share of the accidental close ups. The supporting cast does well, even with the weird appearance, of Radio DJ Mike Raven strolling through a late 1800's drawing room in full Victorian get-up! All play well and, look great.... the film indeed, DOES have a wonderful air and look of authenticity. Pinewood studio's still standing streets sets, from their mega budget musical 'OLIVER', do much to make the film look far more expensive than it really is. Sets were never Amicus's 'thing'. Many of their films were hurriedly shot at Shepperton and Pinewood, on the sets left behind from other productions, just DAYS before they would be struck or demolished.  For me personally, the problem is the score. A dreary string sawing quartet, pinches out the thinnest of tinny, depressing and mawkish sounds. When taking my annual viewing of this film, I SKIP the opening title roll, or I'd be 'hanging' from the rafters, by the last credit!

GIF REQUESTED BY PAULINE TANKERTON

* Producer Milton Subotsky, decided to rename the lead characters of this Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson  classic, Dr Marlowe and Mr Blake. It has been claimed that he changed the names on learning that Hammer films were  shooting their own variation on the theme, with Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde . When I interviewed Milton Subotsky for the camera in 1982, and asked him to explain his choice of changing names. Milton confidently told me, 'I thought it would be a fun thing to do!..I wanted to add, 'Like making a film in 3D???' but opted to keep my trap, shut tight!

 

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