STRIPPING, POETRY AND POE : WITCHFINDER VINCENT PRICE ENTERTAINS!

#WATCHWITHCUSHING! FOLLOWING SOME REQUESTS I have received for suggestions of posts that you would like to see shared here.. This one is for Shelia P, Dale J, Michelle J and Matt K 😃They have requested this interview with Peter Cushing's good friend and twice screen buddy, #VincentPrice, having seen it on the PCASUK YouTube Channel 😉My pleasure. It's a fine and VERY amusing interview, where Vincent certainly entertains 😄

#WATCHWITHCUSHING! AND SO... our last clip of the day at the Facebook PCASUK Fan Page and a suggestion from Stuart H, Audrey K, Rob Sadler, Barbara C, Emma Teile, M Aldrich and Tori F . . if you are ready to sleep, what better way than a sweet lullaby from Vincent Price from the end credit sequence of the 1974 'Madhouse' starring Vincent, Peter Cushing, Robert Quarry, Adrienne Corri and Linda Hayden. Despite the gnashing of teeth it got from the critics and even some fans who today, see it as a waste of the talents of Price and Cushing,  it still stands as one of my personal favs. YOU can hear this clip at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! HERE! This one is for you too, #JimMorrow 😉 Sweet dreams, sleep tight, sleep well, stay safe 😉 - Marcus 😴😴 💤💤

RAW FOOTAGE TV INTERVIEW AND SURPRISE PARTY!

#WATCHWITHCUSHING! There are some clips of #PeterCushing, which I really enjoy and make me smile. Here are two of them. The first is a raw UK TV studio interview. Here PC is very much 'Johnny On The Spot' Charming and relaxed. Quite the gent, wit style and having fun. The second, is a clip of more raw footage, that some of you may have seen here before. It's Peter Cushing's Surprise 80th Birthday Party! Here of course he is older, but still able to have a lot of fun and is quite genuinely surprised and happy to see everyone. This always make me smile. I hope you smile and enjoy this too! Stay safe everyone and look after yourselves 😊 You'll find the clip at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE HERE!!

THE PETER CUSHING STORY: THEATRE TELEVISION AND FILM

ANOTHER ADDITION to our 'PCAS Cushing Things To Take You Away, For An Hour!'😊😀 You can watch or even maybe do the ironing, dusting or washing the dog while listening!😊 The excellent 1989 Tyburn films documentary 'One Way Ticket To Hollywood' on the life and career of Peter Cushing! It's full of gems, clips, stories, Peter's wonderful summing up of his good friend, Christopher Lee, his life with his late wife Helen and a few surprises! Hosted by Dick Vosburgh, who knows how to get the best from Peter here! 😉Enjoy! Please look after yourselves. Stay safe everyone 😊 More tomorrow! - Marcus

Copyright disclaimer: I do NOT own this video nor the image featured in the video. All rights belong to it's rightful owner/owner's. No copyright infringement intended. 

CATCH UP READ the PCASUK review of the LATEST Peter Cushing film now RELEASED on BLU RAY: INDICATOR's 'THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN' HERE! Feature includes : Photographs : Screen Captures and a FULL breakdown of extras PLUS full Audio and Visual standards of the release  

IF YOU WOULD LIKE  to be part of the team and write YOUR reviews of the latest releases, just drop us a line at our FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE HERE!

'THE MAN WHO HATED SCENES' FROM 1973

HI EVERYONE! 😃 Here and at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE I am going to be changing the style a little of our post this week. Many of you have messaged and asked if we have recordings of Peter reading or radio plays.. anything you can peacefully listen to of an evening of an hour or two, as a break. So, I've been digging to find some of the best in the way of dramas, interviews, documentaries etc, that you might find entertaining. All fun, appropriate and a little distraction from the day😉 Some you may have heard before, but hey, these are so good, they are worth a second or third dip! So here is our first today, it's from BBC radio's 'The Price of Fear' which was a creepy come mystery radio serial, that was produced by BBC during the 1970s. The host and star of the show is the wonderful Vincent Price. This episode also stars #petercushing.

ABOVE: VINCENT PRICE AND PETER CUSHING recording the radio series, 'ALIENS IN THE MIND' broadcast by the BBC back in 1977. I hope to be bringing you episodes of this over the coming few days!

THE MAN WHO MADE A MONSTER : WHO MOST HAVE MISSED!

#CHRISTOPHERLEE Saturday! Lee as Mr Blake in Amicus films, 'I Monster' . . . a Amicus Stephen Weeks film that has been sadly MISSED by most! A film you would purchase if it was remastered and on blu ray?? Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee's stuntman Eddie Powell pull off quite the fight, in the climax of the film!

 

 

PART ONE OF THIS EXTENDED AND EXCLUSIVE FEATURE AND

GALLERY can be found HERE! 

 

THERE IS A WHOLE TWO PART feature and PCAS gallery of RARE images from AMICUS FILMS 'I MONSTER' elsewhere on thius website. MANY of the photographs have never been seen before and along with the on set snaps, it gives a interesting peek on the making of the film and Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee working together...and enjoying it too! It is a great pity that director Stephen Weeks did not get the opportunity to work with them again together. THOUGH it wasn't for the lack of trying! Read about Stephen in our interview and GALLERY right HERE!

 

 

ABOVE? JUST CLICK HERE! 

 

PART TWO is a gallery of ON SET and BEHIND THE SCENES look during the making of Christopher Lee's and Peter Cushing's 'I MONSTER' HERE!

 

 

 

 

 

IS 'I MONSTER' ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE CUSHING FILMS OR MAYBE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IT? COME SHARE YOUR OPINION AND THOUGHTS ON ONE THE LESSER TALKED ABOUT AMICUS FILMS AT THE FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! COME AND JOIN A FOLLOWING OF OVER 33 THOUSAND FANS OF THE PAGE! JUST CLICK : HERE!!

 

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY! TARKIN TIME!

OPINIONS ON THE CGI TARKIN that appeared in the 2016 film 'ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY' will probably be forever divided. Some say, it ALMOST works. Others, that it's just not LIFE LIKE, let alone CUSHING as TARKIN. While some like myself believe, it DOES . ..  98% of the time. I have always seen each STAR WARS movie, as a separate movie...despite the continuity thread of the stories. 



EACH FILM IS NEW. Each film has it's own time to entertain and work. Despite whatever the prequel or any other releases signal or flag up, the job is to work. Many audiences today, judge the success and entertainment value, on what has happened before. If it is a remake, a sequel of prequel, it takes that test. It applies for completely NEW films too, with NO association to a series or similar theme.


WE SUSPECTED here at PCAS, like many others, that the CGI was coming. Just for a short time, CUSHING was BUZZING! When the release of the film arrived, newspapers, tv news, magazines and the net, carried opinions and images. For five months, CGI brought Peter Cushing BACK to world. I think ROGUE ONE is an amazing film and the appearance of a CGI Peter Cushing as Tarkin, is magic. For me, it always will be . . 

LITTLE DID PETER CUSHING  know back in 1976, when he was shooting STAR WARS, that one little decision he made, after feeling the PINCH of his leather TARKIN boots, talk about his performance would not only be about how he played such a tyrant . .  but the word SLIPPERS, would also be forever associated too.   

NEXT WEEK: CHRISTOPHER LEE'S TIME WITH STAR WARS AND DOOKU!

CHRISTOPHER LEE SATURDAY! : THE LAST MEETING : THE COMPLETE SERIES : MORE TO COME :

#CHRISTOPHERLEE SATURDAY! This week we are loading up our entire PCAS PLAYLIST from our YOUTUBE CHANNEL of one of our most popular series at the site. Our clips of Peter Cushing as TARKIN from #STARWARS and #ROGUEONE are popular, the #AMICUSFILMS documentaries are too. #MARKLHAMILL talking about meeting with Cushing while making Star Wars, Hamill STILL is a BIG #HAMMERFILMS fan, always gets views as does Cushing's Masks of Death Sherlock movie and what was one of least popular films when it was released, The Ghoul. . . .

BUT ONE SERIES of clips that always gets viewings and has been a hit since they were first posted a few years ago is ONE LAST TIME. Both Cushing and Christopher Lee were quite private individuals, private in their friendship too. Finding candid photographs of them on set at one time, was quite rare, and there was thought to be nothing in the way of any footage of them chatting together, until 1994.

THE JOB OF THEM providing the narration for the documentary, 'Flesh And Blood: The Hammer Heritage Of Horror', took place in a small studio in Canterbury. Neither Cushing or Lee had met together for a year or two, although they had kept up their communication over the phone. Lee knew his friend was seriously ill and was very keen to take the opportunity to spend some time together. His reaction to not knowing how ill Cushing was, has been well documented, so we won't dwell on that here. Neither will we disclose again, how this footage was captured and how we obtained a copy of it, but today we have taken the opportunity, for those who maybe haven't viewed the clips, to sample a few from our PCAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL playlist!

MANY WHO HAVE WATCHED this collection of clips have mentioned how surprised they were, at seeing both Lee and Cushing so relaxed, how entertaining and sometimes quite emotional it is to see, just how close both Cushing and Lee were. You get to the opportunity to see, a side to both gentlemen you didn't know existed. HAVE FUN watching these clips. IF you have any comments or suggestions about this or any posts at the blog, just use the COMMENT BUTTON at the bottom of this post, and if you wish we can also add your comment to the feature!

THIS MONDAY'S MOMENT OF TERROR! RIGHT HERE!

 

CRACKING THE TOP FIVE NON HORROR MOVIES OF PETER CUSHING FOR OUR BEST OF LIST!

THESE DAYS IT CAN quite often appear to ‘Joe Public’ that the name Peter Cushing is tied to three things; Star Wars, some quirky Doctor Who off shoots and a number of Gothic Horror pictures from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Of course as fans we know this not to be true, though even then it appears that most of the aficionados of his work tend to admire his horror performances most. That’s unsurprising and personally I’m as guilty of this as anybody else, particularly as I am a horror fan first and foremost. That said, I thought I’d break away from the spooky and the space age this week and instead compile a handy list of the ‘best of the rest’ as it were. Some of the performances listed here are some of the finest throughout Cushing’s entire career and I’ve compiled this as a hand starting point for anyone thinking to check out his work, away from crypts and castles. As with my other lists this is unashamedly personal and is in no order. BY THE WAY, some of the films I have chosen for my list, can also be watched in their ENTIRETY on the PLAY LISTS at our  Peter Cushing Appreciation Society YOU TUBE Channel!

Cash on Demand (1961)

A tense two-hander between Cushing and another Hammer regular, Andre Morell, the film is a clever re-working of the Scrooge story within a ‘thriller’ context. Set in a bank, Cushing plays the tough and austere Manager who undergoes rigorous psychological torment by Morell’s Colonel Gore-Hepburn. 

HEPBURN ARRIVES AT THE BANK and announces to Cushing that he intends to rob him and has his wife and child hostage. Should he not comply, Hepburn will be forced to send the signal that will lead to their termination. Cushing’s portrayal of a man undergoing unbelievable stress and torment manages to be one of the most horrifying things the actor has ever produced. 

CONTRASTING THIS is Morell’s performance as the sadistic but undeniably charming Hepburn who manages to remain calm, whilst breaking PC down piece by piece. Set mostly within the one room the film can be incredibly uncomfortable at times, with Morell’s calmness bouncing well off of Cushing’s hysteria.

1984 (1954)

Ok so an obvious one and one that some may consider science-fiction, though I would wholeheartedly disagree. Similar to the above, this performance showcases the softer side of Cushing and again features Morell as his tormenter, giving the two an odd similarity. 

HOWEVER WHEREAS Cash on Demand still has elements of a moral superiority in its message, inherent in any Scrooge adaptation, the message of Orwell’s novel is far darker and depressing. Again Cushing astounds as a man put through unspeakable psychological tortures but this time the result proves far more terrifying than before. Lacking a proper DVD release, it’s a real shame that such a classic of British TV has yet to be given even this simple treatment. 

Sherlock Holmes and the Masks of Death (1984)

Ok, ok this is certainly an odd one I would never deny that. Cushing’s role as ‘the great detective’ is one that spans a number of portrayals but most notably Hammer’s Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) and the BBC series in 1968. 



UNFORTUNATELY THIS MEANS that Masks of Death is more often than not, overlooked. Admittedly it suffers from a somewhat plodding script and perhaps fails to get any attention at all, due to its unavailability on DVD or Blu-Ray. What really makes this odd little TV-movie however, is Cushing’s portrayal of a much older Holmes builds on his earlier performances but manages to provide something…softer, gentler. John Mills plays his Watson this time and the two work wonders together, making one wish for a mini-series or something of the sort. The plot attempts to root itself firmly in history, though the details are a little shaky…to say the least but it’s an interesting little film and a fun example of Cushing’s Holmes work.

The Violent Playground (1958)
Another somewhat bleak film, Peter Cushing provides a memorable turn as a Priest attempting to heal the social ill’s surrounding a Liverpool street gang led by David McCallum. 

THE HIGHLIGHTS are doubtless the sequences in which Cushing attempts to reason with McCallum who appears to have some sort of a bond with the Priest. This builds to a superb climax in which McCallum takes a number of school children hostage with a machine gun and Cushing attempts to talk him down. Brutal, gritty and uncomfortable the least said about this one before watching the better.

Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) 
Considering that (bar the one entry) this list has so far been made up mostly of quite depressing drama fare, it seemed right to end it on a good old fashioned swashbuckler. In Sword of Sherwood Forest, Cushing takes on the role of the Sherriff of Nottingham and clearly has a whale of a time. 

WHILST I WOULD HATE to describe any of Cushing’s performances as ‘Pantomime’ that’s the word that comes to mind here, but not through insult, through the sheer amount of fun he is clearly having. The biggest disappointment is admittedly Cushing’s death scene, which whilst firmly cementing his as the secondary villain is particularly lacklustre and seems an unfair dispatch for the character. Sharing the screen with such celebrated actors as Richard Greene, Oliver Reed, Nigel Green and Niall MacGinnis the film may not be wholly successful but is the perfect Saturday afternoon entertainment.  

 

WELL I HOPE you enjoyed my list.Of course the great shame with much of PC's early non-horror work is that a great deal of it was for the BBC, who either wren't in the habit of recording or later decided it would be fun to burn the few recordings they had. Although pieces like this won't make the list for obvious reasons, I sure would have loved to have seen his Pride and Prejudice. It may be an odd choice from these lost days but I'd give my left arm to see the 1953 adaptation of Number Three. As for my list here, I am sure there are a couple you may disagree with! Over at the facebook fan page, many are sharing THEIR TOP FIVES. It's lively! Maybe you'd like to join the thread? That's it for this week, more next week, I hope you join me!  Callum McKelvie

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 

NEW INTERVIEW: CHRISTOPHER LEE TALKS CUSHING, JAMES BOND, DRACULA AND TLOTR

#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! A NEW NBC interview that has found it's way out of the vaults! Some new stories here, shared by Christopher Lee who is relaxed and in chatty mood... well worth a watch!

Christopher Lee and Ian McKellen in 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' (2001)

Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) meeting his end in the James Bond film 'The Man with the Golden Gun' (1974) with Roger Moore

#Christopher Lee as Count Dracula in his first appearance in the role for Hammer films in the 1958,  'The Horror of Dracula' / 'Dracula' . . .with Carol Marsh as Lucy Holmwood . . .

With good friend and sparring partner in a many a Hammer Horror film, Peter Cushing at a press launch for Dracula AD 1972.

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  . .