ACTRESS VALERIE VAN OST DIES AGED 75

IT HAS JUST BEEN ANNOUNCED that, sadly actress, Valerie Van Ost, has died at the age of 75. Van Ost appeared in Corruption, Incense for the Damned and The Satanic rites of Dracula with Peter Cushing. Valerie was also very popular in the Carry On series of film in the 1960's, in “Carry On Cabby,” “Carry On Don’t Lose Your Head,” “Carry On Doctor” and “Carry On Again Doctor,”. Van Ost’s sad passing was announced by agent Barry Langford who said in a tweet, “A sad goodbye to beautiful Valerie Van Ost, who passed away this week. Valerie gave up her successful acting career to become a respected casting director and was beloved in both professions. She will be much missed

VALERIE VAN OST, a native of Herkamsted, Hertfordshire, turned to acting after she had been a dancer in her teenager at London’s famed Palladium theatre. It's believed that at one time she was once considered to be a possible replacement for Diana Rigg as Emma Peel in “The Avengers,” having once appeared in an episode of the show. In 1973, Van Ost took on her other most famous role, in the Hammer horror movie, “The Satanic Rites of Dracula'.” Van Ost played the role of a Secret Service secretary who is kidnapped by a satanic cult. Van Ost was married to movie producer Greg Smith. Smith had been the producer of Britain’s other great bawdy comedy series, the “Confessions” series of movies in the 1970s.

VAN OST RECENTELY POSTED a photograph of her and BARRY LANGFORD on her twitter account . .

LATER IN 1985, Van Ost married Andrew Millington, with whom she set up a casting agency. This coincided with Van Ost’s retirement from acting. The pair cast five movies and a television series during the 1980s. Two of those films, “The Boys in Blue” and “Funny Money” were produced by her first husband. I am sure many of you would like to share your memories of your favourite role too.. please feel free to post your comments on the thread below. Valerie Van Ost, 25 July 1944 - 14 September 2019

CALLUM MCKELVIE SUNDAY DOUBLE BILL : ITS A MESS! VAMPIRE GIRLS VAMPIRE GUYS AND PC TOO

OH DEAR. When I embarked upon this two-part examination of Peter Cushing’s four vampire films that didn’t feature him playing a variation of his Van Helsing character, I had no idea what I was in for. Now my first part concerned what are, essentially, two solid later day Hammers that stand up to this day. One, The Vampire Lovers, isn’t the best showcase for Peters talents, but it’s a pretty great film overall and a successful attempt by Hammer to eroticise their Vampire formula further than before. Twins of Evil, on the other hand features one of Cushing’s very best roles, as the vicious Gustav Weil. 

ABOVE: LAST WEEK'S FIRST FEATURE ON the theme of Cushing in VAMPIRE FILMS not playing one of his most popular anti-vamp roles, VAN HELSING: HERE! 

HOWEVER, WITH THOSE TWO out of the way, it was up to me to then tackle both Incense for the Damned (1970) and Tendre Dracula (1974), two films I had not seen. Now writing this piece…I wish I hadn’t.

WE'LL START WITH ABOVE,  Incense for the Damned, a 1970 British production starring Cushing as Dr Walter Goodrich. Goodirch is something of a high-up in British society, whose son has gone missing in Greece, having fallen under the influence of a mysterious girl. A group of the young man’s friends and a private detective embark on a journey to find him. On the You-Tube description for the posting of this film, my colleague Marcus opens by stating; ‘From the 92 feature films that Peter Cushing appeared in during his long career in television, theatre and cinema, there only about five titles, whatever your person taste, that could be deemed as 'almost unwatchable', 

A SENTIMENT I am afraid I must agree with. The film is truly terrible, with a sluggish and plodding narrative that makes tremendously little sense. The majority of the characters come across as childish and unlikeable, bickering constantly.  

PATRICK MACNEE, always a welcome sight, has a role and the film is elevated somewhat whenever he is on screen. Unfortunately, and this is not something I thought I’d say, the opposite must be said for Cushing. For once in his career he seems utterly bored and…well…is clearly going through the motions with very little vitality an energy resulting in a lacklustre performance. I don’t want to be too harsh, his role is very small and so its possible there’s just nothing for him to work with, for whatever reason the results are the same.

MOVING ON TO Tendre Dracula, I was mortified that Marcus had also included it in his list of the ‘five-unwatchable Cushing films’, stated in the video description mentioned above. None the less I soldiered on, sat down to watch it…and was not rewarded. A bizarre French comedy centering on an aging horror star, MacGregor, who has decided he only wants to play romantic roles. 

CUSHING THIS TIME, is the only good thing, probably enjoying playing a variation of himself but alas even he cannot save what is one of the most god awful train wrecks of a film I have ever seen. Crude, poorly acted, poorly shot and well just cringe worthy, Tendre Dracula may have Cushing giving it his all…but here it’s simply not enough. 

THERE'S A FEW INTERESTING snippets, a nice touch which clearly are supposed to reflect an actual horror star reflecting on his career through the guise of a fictional character but this is hardly a new idea. Of course the best example of this is Peter Bogdonavich’s Targets (1968), starring Boris Karloff and but if you want to see Cushing do this in a far better film I suggest Madhouse (1974). 

HERE HE PLAYS A WRITER, not an actor (that role goes to Vincent Price) but some of the sentiments shared between the two are clearly meant to be based in reality. In Tendre Dracula these moments come across as shallow and ineffective…what’s more it feels like instead of having a bit of fun but ultimately respecting Cushing, that the Director is actively taking the piss.

THE INFAMOUS and much maligned ‘spanking’ scene seems horrifically out of place and Cushing himself hardly seems pleased. I’m not really sure what I expected when I put this on, usually being a fan of the weird and oft maligned but what I got wasn’t even vaguely entertaining. Tendre Dracula deserves its reputation as a childish exercise in farce.

WELL AFTER THOSE TWO, I feel I need a stiff drink. But I leave you with a solemn warning. Whilst that old feeling that Cushing can save truly awful films is often correct, it’s not always. When he even he can’t, then you must wonder just how awful the resultant product can be. If you ever get tempted to sample these… delights, then I warn you dear reader, STAY AWAY. Down that road only madness lies. Until next time! 

HERE IS A FOOTNOTE to this review feature on TENDRE DRACULA. LATE last year, I received this email. I THINK I managed to provide a good answer, for their TV show. What do YOU think the answer would be?  

Hello Marcus Brooks
My name is Jose Puig, and I work as journalist for a cultural quiz show on the Spanish TV called ‘BOOM’. I’m writing you because we are working on a question about the Peter Cushing and I have thought that you maybe could help me confirming the information that we mention in it in order to be as precise as possible and make sure we don’t spread wrong information to our contestants and our audience. With your permission, I attach you the information we want to confirm:It would be really helpful if you could confirm us that Peter Cushing has never performed a vampire character in cinema in order to give this option as a false one for a question we are working for.

I hope you don’t mind helping us with our doubts.
Thanks in advance for your help and your time.
Best wishes,
JOSE PUIG

ICONIC, BOWLERD AND REMEMBERED : PATRICK MACNEE BORN TODAY

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! I would guess maybe 98% of you here would be able to name the face under that all the make up, sitting in the make up chair. For those who can't there is one big give away, for all of us who have been been part of a running joke here for months...can you spot it??

TODAY WE REMEMBER the wonderful actor Patrick Macnee who was born on this day in 1922. He was best known for his role as the secret agent John Steed in the British television series The Avengers and The New Avengers.

PATRICK MACNEE and Peter Cushing had the opportunity to work together several times. In 1968 Patrick was very much established in a superb tv programme made in the UK called The Avengers...Peter worked with both Patrick and Diana Rigg on this programme. Later in 1970, they worked together again, Macnee and Cushing both 'landed' in a film called 'Incense For The Damned' aka 'Bloodsuckers'.

IT RECEIVED a limited release at the time, but seems to have found something of a 'cult-status' in the land of '100 Horror Poor and Weird Films' dvd compilations!! In 1978, the Avengers tv series was rebooted and relaunched and it's first episode, not only brought us Macnee and Cushing ....but also two new side -kicks for Macnee...Gareth Hunt as 'Tough man' Gambit and Joanna Lumley as Purdey.....who not only supplied buckets of sex appeal to the tea time Sunday evening program, but high kicks and a hair style that anyone who considered themselves a bit of a catch, were proudly modeling within days of the first program being broadcast! Lumley had played Cushing grand-daughter Jessica Van Helsing in Hammer films 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula' (1973)

Our THROWBACK THURSDAY FEATURE HERE! 

MACNEE also shared a close friendship with Christopher Lee, since the pair attended school together (at Summerfields Preparatory School in Oxford) and also performed together several times, including playing Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in two TV movies in the early 1990s, Incident at Victoria Falls and Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady. Patrick Macnee died peacefully at his home, in Rancho Mirage, California on 25th June 2015. He was 93.

The NAME of the COMPANY. WHY was he asked to make it?  It was a MODEL of WHAT? ANSWER THURSDAY!

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

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: INCENSE CLIPS A GOLDEN BIRTHDAY AND HENRY ON CUSHING INTERVIEW

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY : FROM THE 92 feature films that Peter Cushing appeared in during his long career in television, theatre and cinema, there only about five titles, whatever your person taste, that could be deemed as 'almost unwatchable'. Sometimes it's because of bad production values, (Hitler's Son) technical ineptness (The Devils Men) of the director and his team (Tender Dracula) Sometimes the fault lies with botched scripting or editing (Touch of the Sun) where the film was fiddled with so badly, what remains of the story is a mess...and here we place Incense For The Damned 1970. 

I THINK I CAN CONFIDENTLY  say, there aren't any films, that I know of, that suffer because of Peter Cushing's contribution, it's often stated that many productions were saved, through Cushing's performance! 'Incense for the Damned' has been distributed under three titles over the years, Bloodsuckers, Incense for the Damned and Doctors Wear Scarlet, the title of the novel by author Simon Raven, that this film is 'loosely' based on.

THANKFULLY, CUSHING has but a guest appearance. His shooting was extended after the wrap, to try and bring a satisfying ending to the story...you'll notice his hairpiece has vanished in the addition footage in the films closing moments, presumably it had been sent back to the hire company. Director Robert Hartford-Davis, disowned the film, and had his name taken off the credits.The film was credited to Michael Burrowes... another name use by Davis. As for plot, it is very hard to keep track, and some long additional scenes of 'orgies' are played by a completely different group of actors that were added to a 'continental' version of the film.Although completed in 1969, Bloodsuckers did not get a general cinema release until 1971. Filming took place April-May 1969. Shooting took place in part in Greece and Cyprus.

SO, TO SAVE YOU THE TROUBLE of trawling through the 90 minutes of dross, are all of Peter Cushing's scenes from the film....don't worry that because the scenes are presented in isolation here, they will make little sense.... even when presented in the feature, they contribute little to the chaos . . . . 

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: David Chiang Da-wei was born on the 29th June 1947 in Shanghai, (Republic of China) Chiang is a very famous actor and director, producer in Hong Kong. Chiang was very much a martial arts superstar in the 1970s, working under the Shaw Brothers Studio. He has appeared in over 130 films and over 30 television series.

DAVID CHIANG IN ACTION IN

LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES

IN 1974, Chiang starred along side Peter Cushing in Hammer films first of two co-partner feature films with Hong Kong based studio, Shaw Brothers. 'The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires' Peter for the last time resurrected his character of Van Helsing, and together with Chiang, Julie Ege and Robin Stewart, took on an oriental Dracula played by actor John Forbes Robertson and a hoard of Kung Fu zombie vampires! Join us today in wishing DAVID CHIANG a VERY Happy Birthday!

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: NOT THAT LONG AGO in on a planet, not that far away, actor GUY HENRY took on a role that many would have thought impossible, the playing of Peter Cushing's GRAND MOFF TARKIN from Star Wars in 'Rogue One'... but what does Henry think of Cushing, and how did he prepare... here Henry tells all!

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. 

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: INCENSE FOR THE DAMNED HIGHLIGHTS

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: And so we come to pretty much the LAST in our series of 'Films That Cushing Probably Wished He Hadn't...' This one doesn't quite make the top of the pile, above Tendre Dracula and The Devil's Men...but it comes VERY close. If you think 'Bloodsuckers' aka aka 'Incense For The Damned' aka 'Doctors Wear Scarlet' aka 'The Pleasure Seekers'... has the look of TWO different films glued together at around half way through...you'd be right. It IS!

DIRECTOR ROBERT HARTFORD-DAVIS, disowned the film, and had his name taken off the credits. It is a mess. The film was credited to Michael Burrowes... another name use by Davis. As for plot, it is very hard to keep track, and some long additional scenes of 'orgies' are played by a completely different group of actors that were added to a 'continental' version of the film.

Although completed in 1969, Bloodsuckers did not get a general cinema release until 1971. Filming took place April-May 1969. Shooting took place in part in Greece and Cyprus. Here we present a short compilation of Peter Cushing scenes from the film... make of it what you will!

IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS that the last scene of the film, was shot later, when the production regrouped to wrap up what they could...but it's hard to think that when the money / budget ran out, with scenes still to film, that the money that was left, didn't run to hiring Peter's hair piece... but it's quite possible...

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