RALPH BATES REMEMBERED : BORN TODAY 1940

 

REMEMBERING: Born today in 1940, RALPH BATES. Sadly, no longer with us. A talented actor and a truly gentle and kind man.

RALPH BATES WAS THE GREAT, GREAT nephew of the renowned French scientist Louis Pasteur developed into a strangely handsome dark haired, pale complexioned English actor. Ralph Bates was born in 1940 in Bristol, England and attended the University of Dublin and studied at the Yale Drama School. His dramatic talents first came to audiences attention playing the evil Emperor Caligula in the well received BBC TV series The Caesars (1968). However, the Hammer studios resurrection of the horror genre was then in full stride, and Bates was soon engulfed in the swirling cloak of Hammer's success as he appeared in several horror films in quick succession.

ABOVE: A few fated coincidences here with these two chaps that appeared in 'The Caesars' tv series . . .Ralph Bates and Freddie Jones

FIRSTLY IN A SUPPORT ROLE as demonic Lord Courtley in Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), followed as the lead character Baron Frankenstein in The Horror of Frankenstein (1970), then as Giles Barton in the sexy Lust for a Vampire (1971) and as the well meaning Dr. Jekyll in an unusual spin on the Robert Louis Stevenson story in Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971) and 'Fear in the Night' with Peter Cushing in 1972. Bates brought a new zest to Hammer and with his stylish dialogue delivery and film acting methods, he quickly won himself quite a few fans in both critics and regular film goers!

UNFORTUNATELY, by the early 1970s there had been a downturn in Hammer studios fortunes, and Bates then found himself turning to more traditional character work in other production houses and he appeared in several films before snaring other superb villainous role as George Warleggan in the 18th century period piece Poldark (1975).

ABOVE: RALPH BATES and JUDY GEESON : HAMMER FILMS 

 FEAR IN THE NIGHT (1972)

AFTER POLDARK, Bates himself kept busy in TV shows and television film roles which did not really do justice to his remarkable talents. In the late 1980s his health rapidly deteriorated, and he sadly passed away from cancer aged only 51 on 27th March 1991.

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  

CHRISTOPHER LEE SATURDAY: REMEMBERING JIMMY SANGSTER BY CALLUM MCKELVIE

Today we remember Jimmy Sangster who would have been eighty-nine today. The welsh born screenwriter contributed his first script for the company as early as 1956, when for £200 he delivered X The Unknown. Sangster went on to become one of the key figures in Hammers crew, scripting both the ground-breaking adaptations The Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula. It’s well known that Cushing was not particularly fond of Sangster’s dialogue, yet he’s always been a screen-writer who I personally admire greatly.

It’s often been stated how clever these two adaptations are, Sangster’s interpreting of the Baron into a more debonair villainous figure and how he cleverly keeps the nuts and bolts of Stokers novel, but manages to keep it all in Transylvania, prime examples of this. More than this however, Sangster re-interpreted the Gothic with an added energy and pace, including a slew of action sequences that have gone on to be remembered as some of the greatest in the history of horror cinema. 

Even Sangster’s non-Hammer contributions to the horror genre are impressive, demonstrating immense talent. His late 1950’s films, The Trollenberg Terror, Blood of the Vampire and Jack the Ripper all have an edge of nastiness to them that made his work for Hammer so appealing. The final one in particular, whilst falling somewhat into obscurity is remembered for an incredibly gruesome ending. 

In 1972 Sangster also contributed one of the more popular Kolchak: The Night Stalker episodes ‘Horror in the Heights’, an incredibly dark and moving tale concerning an ancient Hindu spirit hunting down the elderly residents of a Jewish neighborhood.

This all pales in comparison to what I consider both his and Cushing’s greatest work, 1958’s The Revenge of Frankenstein. As far as sequels go Sangster avoids a rehash of the first film, taking both the character of the Baron and the story in new and exciting directions. From the Barons brain transplants resulting in the reversion of man into animalistic cannibalistic creatures, to the Baron himself no longer being the pupil but now the teacher.

Judy Geeson, Director Jimmy Sangster and Peter Cushing taking a rest
 and a cuppa during the shooting of Hammer Films 'Fear In The Night' (1972)

Jimmy Sangster with Ralph Bates

As its Christopher Lee Saturday it seems appropriate to discuss one of his and Lee's most popular contridutions Dracula Prince Of Darkness. Lee often commented that the dialogue within this sequel was so awful that he chose not to speak any of it at all. Again, having not read or being aware of the orignal dialogue what remains is delightfully entertaining and the plotting itself is once again remarkably clever.

Sangster expertly picks up the most obvious elements from Stokers novel that missed out on the first time, Thorley Walters Ludwig springs to mind, of course being an interpretation of the Renfield character along with Jonathan Harker's night in Dracula's castle forming the basis for the first act. 

He also makes some particularly braves choices, keeping Dracula off of the screen for the first forty or so minutes of the film and instead slowly building to his resurrection.

Instead if simply giving us a Val Helsing clone, Sangster creates an entirely new character in the form of Father Sandor, who would prove so that Dez Skinn would give him his own comic series in the pages of Hammer Halls of Horror.

Like Revenge before it Prince Of Darkness shows Sangster's writing can make the first sequel one of the most interesting entries in the series.    

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  . 

GETTHECUSHIONSUNDAY! PETER CUSHING AS MERRYWEATHER IN THE HELLFIRE CLUB

#GETTHECUSHIONSUNDAY! Today we feature a clip from a largely forgotten film The Hellfire Club (1961) Starring Keith Michell, Adrienne Corri and Peter Cushing based on the infamous 'Gentlemen's' society of the 18th century. It's often wrongly sighted as a Hammer Films production probably because the film was co-written by Jimmy Sangster and features Peter Cushing and other Hammer regulars Francis Matthews & Miles Malleson in small roles.

Directed by Robert S. Baker and Monty Berman who co-directed several films with scripts by Jimmy Sangster such as the horror/crime film Jack The Ripper (1959) and the historical drama film The Siege of Sidney Street (1960). A fun film while not entirely successful, it's a good swashbuckling adventure film. Is the film at hit or miss for you? 

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  

UNIVERSAL FILMS ANNOUNCE EIGHT FILM BLU RAY BOX SET

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAINMENT have announced  the release of their EIGHT HAMMER FILMS BLU RAY BOX SET for SEPTEMBER 13th 2016. The prints in this box set were what made Universal's THE FRANCHISE COLLECTION 'THE HAMMER HORROR SERIES' DVD BOX SET in 2005 the front runner for a long time in the US. Many UK Hammer fans bought the DVD set as an import and upgraded to a dual or non region DVD player in order to get these titles in their collection!

THE ARRIVAL OF THIS BOX SET now getting the BLU RAY treatment is good for US Hammer fans who over the past four years missed out on the release of many of these titles when they were released on BLU RAY in Europe. One hopes that ALL the titles in this set are going to be UPGRADED PRINTS, which brings us to one film in particular in the collection. At the time of the original release of this collection on DVD, 'The Brides of Dracula' print was by far the best print of the lot. THAT particular print we understand was was lost in a fire at SONY back in 2011, sadly affecting all subsequent releases of the film after that time. We have seen several BLU RAY releases though out Europe of this classic Cushing Hammer title on BLU RAY, but not one, was a mark up on the 2005 DVD release. So, maybe the benchmark of quality of all the other titles in this box set will be, as we have seen over the past five years in Europe, and sadly that will mean a below par print of 'BRIDES' too. I guess time will tell . . . 

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DONALD FEARNEY'S 'THE LEGEND OF HAMMER VAMPIRES' DVD DOCUMENTARY

The Legend of Hammer Vampires is a documentary created by Donald Fearney, the man behind the Hammer at Bray and Cine Lumiere events. Over the years Donald has managed to invite most of surviving members of the Hammer family to his intimate events. That he managed to do so without having his own website or even email address is an indication that nothing beats pure passion when it comes to organising events. Over the years, fans visiting his events have become accustomed to the idea that they may need to send letters to Don in order to purchase tickets or that in order to determine availability, you may even need to give him a long distance phone call. As a result, he has managed to be personally identified with these events and has established himself as one of Hammer fandom most recognisable personalities.

It's hardly surprisng  that Donald's first foray into Hammer documentaries often comes across as a veritable Who's Who of Hammer personalities and offers a good overview of the regular celebrity visitors that once frequented his events. In actual fact some of the interviews were shot during those occasions.

Contributors include John Forbes-Robertson, Edward De Souza, Jimmy Sangster, Carol Marsh, Janina Faye, Yvonne Monlaur, David Prowse, Christopher Matthews, Tudor Gates, Caroline Munro, John Cater. Additional older audio clips can also be heard with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing; Andrew Keir also makes a visual appearance from an historical archived clip.

Though the majority of the documentary is indeed very much interview focused, we also get to see lots of rare behind-the-scenes footage and pictures and clips from the various films. One of the most original aspects of this documentary are the introductory scenes, starring none other than Donald himself together with John Cater (Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter) as grave robbers on the run from a copper. After finding Dracula's ashes, all is revealed as a studio set with John Forbes-Robertson (The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires) stepping out of the shadows to introduce the subject matter of this documentary

Extras on this DVD include an audio interview with John Gilling, an interview with Tudor Gates and an overview over some set designs.

Legend of Hammer Vampires [ 2008 ] UK

Directed by: Don Fearney. Language: English

Runtime: 96 min.
Aspect ratio: 4:3 (Full Screen Standard)

You can order your copy by emailing: pevans113@btinternet.com and then  making your purchase through paypal.

Price: UK and EUROPE: £10.00 inc postage and package

USA: $23.00 including post and package

FEAR OLD SCHOOL: 'FEAR IN THE NIGHT' WITH FULL REVIEW AND PCASUK GALLEY

In the 1960s, screenwriter Jimmy Sangster made a jump from Gothic horror to the realm of sting-in-the-tail suspense.  It was a move the writer craved, as the Gothic was never a milieu that much appealed to him.  He drew inspiration, instead, from the classic French thriller Les Diaboliques (1955), directed by Henri Georges Clouzot.  Clouzot’s reputation rivaled that of Alfred Hitchcock in his native France , though his name never became quite as prominent on an international level.

Hitchcock had reportedly attempted to buy the rights to the novel upon which the film was based himself, and when Clouzot beat him to the punch, he persuaded the authors, Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac, to write him a fresh piece of material; he would use this material as the backbone for his masterpiece Vertigo (1958).  Les Diaboliques may not seem as fresh and vital today, but this is easily explained by the fact that it was ripped off many times – and nobody drew more inspiration from it than Sangster himself.

Indeed, while many critics would label the thrillers Sangster wrote for Hammer as “mini Hitchcocks,” the screenwriter was always quick to point out that they were truly “mini Clouzots.”  The series got off to a winning start with Taste of Fear (1960), which was directed by the gifted Seth Holt.  The film adopts the Diaboliques formula: an innocent woman is driven to the brink of madness by callous conspirators.

Taste of Fear proved successful with critics and audiences alike, and Sangster would follow up with Paranoiac (1962), Nightmare and Maniac (both 1963), Hysteria (1964), and Crescendo (1969).  The Nanny (1965) and the Richard Matheson-penned Die Die My Darling! (1964) are also often lumped into this series, but the former isn’t really much of a twist-laden shocker, while the latter was done without Sangster’s involvement.

One script that Sangster wrote during this time frame was titled The Claw, and it dealt with a woman being terrorized by a man with a prosthetic arm.  For whatever reason, it never saw the light of day in the 60s, though it would later be dusted off in 1972, when it would emerge as Fear in the Night.

The story is a simple one: psychologically fragile Peggy (Judy Geeson) goes to live with her husband Robert (Ralph Bates) at the boys boarding school where he as just been hired to teach.  While there, she begins seeing and hearing many strange things.  Could the one-armed, reclusive school master, Michael (Peter Cushing), be responsible?

As a thriller, Fear in the Night is pretty much lacking in thrills.  And as a suspense film, it’s also very much lacking in suspense.  The issue is in the casting, though not in the acting.  Everybody is cast much too much to type, thus making it easy to figure out who is trying to get one over on whom.  If Geeson and Joan Collins (cast, something unbelievably, as Cushing’s wife) had swapped roles, for example, the twists and turns of the scenario would have been a little less glaringly obvious.  As it stands, though, Geeson is very much in victim mode throughout, while Collins is her usual bitchy self.  Cushing’s role is very much of the red herring variety, and while it worked well enough with Christopher Lee in Taste of Fear, there’s never very much doubt that the character of Michael is pretty much harmless.  That’s not to say that the actors do a poor job – it’s not exactly a tour de force for anybody involved, of course, but the four principal players (especially Geeson) are in good form.

Much of the blame can be leveled at Sangster, who in addition to writing (with some polish by Michael Dyson), also made another crack at directing with this picture.  The film followed on the heels of Lust for a Vampire and The Horror of Frankenstein (both 1970), neither of which had gone over very well.  To his credit, Sangster displays  a little more flair behind the camera this time around – there are a few nicely staged sequences, and a memorable credits sequence with the camera prowling about the deserted school grounds before settling on the unexpected intrusion of a pair of feet dangling from the air, indicating that something has gone awry.  Indeed, there is enough here to make one wonder if maybe he didn’t have a much better film in him down the road.  As it stands, however, this would mark Sangster’s last outing as a director; he would spend the remainder of his career as a “jobbing” writer and a mercifully pragmatic interview subject.

Fear in the Night failed to ignite much interest, and it would later be released to VHS under the title Dynasty of Fear in an obvious bid to capitalize on Collins’ renewed popularity as Queen Bitch on the popular American soap opera, Dynasty.  It would mark the end of Hammer’s run of psychological thrillers, with the company limping through the next few years attempting to trade on their most popular franchises of yore, principally Dracula and Frankenstein

Written by Troy Howarth
Images and design: Marcus Brooks