THE PETER CUSHING HAND PAINTED SILK SCARF . .designed by Peter for the
movie premier of Olivier's Hamlet in 1948. As we all know, Peter
impressively played Osric in the film, but showed an extra talent, as a
designer and artist! So impressive was the scarf design, that BLOND Bros
of London, renowned makers of ladies and gentlemen's scarves, placed
orders and sold it in twelve different colours! Even the Queen had her
own, Peter Cushing designed scarf!
#CUSHINGFEMMEFATALES FRIDAY! Here is
PETER CUSHING on THIS IS YOUR LIFE from 1990. And VERY happy and humble he LOOKS too! It's interesting how many women there are and the women, connected to Cushing who actually
appear on the show. Even though some of Cushing's closest actress
friends were then living away from the UK, where the show was recorded,
they are absent from the recording . . Long time friend and college
INGRID PITT is missing and siting drinking coffee, just outside London! A show like this, that ploughs into the public
and private life of the subject on display, can be a sensitive and quite
political exercise. Although, Cushing reacts as though it's all a BIG
surprise, he did know the show was happening. He wasn't over the moon
about appearing, so the handling of guests, was the responsibility of a
trusted and close 'associate'. We can presume, those choices were behind
the participating guests...and why Christopher Lee is NOT in the
studio.
THIS CUSHING FEMME FATALE FEATURE is PART ONE of a TWO PART feature, a little peep at the actresses he also knew Peter in their private lives too! MORE to come in Part TWO next FRIDAY! ENJOY!!
THIS upload has been added to the NEW PCAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL library and taken from the old PCAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL, where it was shared five years ago . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e96Mf...
#PETERCUSHING#COLLECTORS
Wednesday! OK This week I am sharing a rare black and white CONTACT
SHEET from Hammer films 1973, The Satanic Rites of Dracula. As usual, this is our FREE weekly full hi res upload, as seen on our our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE available for you today, for you to download. These NINETEEN exposures from the Hammer films
on set stills cameraman, feature shots taken during the shooting of two
scenes from the film, the Vampire's in the Cellar scene, with Joanna
Lumley and Valerie Van Ost and Van Helsing visiting Professor Julian Keeley played by Peter Cushing and Freddie Jones.
HI RES CONTACT SHEET ABOVE: RIGHT CLICK AND COPY!
WHAT IS A CONTACT SHEET? A contact sheet is a positive print of all the negative images from one film, made by a contact printing process so that all the images are the same size as the negative. A contact sheet is a useful way of seeing which are the best images on a film so you can decide which ones to make enlargements from. During the production the unit photographer was responsible for capturing
thousands of still shots while the movie cameras were running. Some of the
photos would offer a different angle to the motion picture camera. In other
cases, the photographer would stand next to a movie camera operator. And some
of the shots would be behind the scenes with actors and directors. After the final production still shots were taken each day, the roles
of film negatives were placed on contact sheets (created by laying the negatives
on a piece of printing paper and exposing them to light to create a set of
mini prints the same as the film frames) (IMAGE) The contact sheets were then
forwarded to the publicity department. The Publicity Department could then
view the full roll of 36 images at one time with a “ring” or magnifying
glass. Publicity Department –The Publicity
Department was, among other things, responsible for generating early publicity
about a film, including providing information to magazines and publications.
In addition, they were responsible for providing the Advertising Department
with information necessary to create the film’s promotional materials.
The publicity department would review the contact sheets and select images
for specific purposes, such as creating a key set, keeping track and providing
exclusive images to magazines and publications, and sending the advertising
department information necessary to begin preparation of promotional materials.
Key Set Creation - After a review
by the publicity department, the better images were picked to become part
of a key set. The selected images are numbered by placing an assigned number
by the studio for that particular film, called the production number, and
then a dash and the assigned individual still number. THIS is called the
Production Code number.
ABOVE: Our Collectors Wednesday post from TWO weeks ago, posted here and at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.. It was a pretty cool concept, but was ultimately ruined by Facebbok quashing the post...thanks facebook!
The selected stills were then printed and placed into the key set
binder. The rejects are skipped over and left unnumbered. The negatives
and contact sheets were then filed. These may be pulled at a later date
when someone wants something different. By the end of the shooting, this 'key set' would normally be hundreds
of the better still shots to be used in a variety of ways by the publicity
department. The stills used in this 'key set' would have numbers put on
the still to help the publicity department identify and keep up with the
different stills. They were kept in large bound books that could be used
at any time for reference.
Exclusive Use –
Major magazines and publications would quite often want exclusive photos
to do an article on the upcoming film. This was a tremendous way for the
film to get FREE publicity. To accommodate them, the publicity department
would put a hold on numerous stills and send over a group for the editor
to choose from. Once the exclusives were picked, the tags would be removed
from those images not selected so they could be used for other purposes
I BELIEVE, Tom Edwards was the stills photographer on Satanic
Rites. He had a very good eye for a great shot, and worked on other
Cushing Hammer films like, 'Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell'. As
I have mentioned before, each cell, photograph here would make a great
pic for your collection, printed off would look great in a frame, the
high res would also make a great poster too. The majority of the shots
on this contact sheet, have rarely been officially published, as often
just one or two from this studio contact sheet would have been chosen
for press packs and promotion. I hope you like what I have shared so
far? Have fun 🙂 Marcus
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
#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: ABOVE IS THE LEGAL contract between Peter Cushing and Hammer film Productions, for Cushing's LAST FRANKENSTEIN film for the studio, 'Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell' (1973) Along with details regarding Cushing's daily rate of £250.00 ( that by todays rate, allowing for inflation is around £3,000 pounds sterling) there is also an allowance for Peter Cushing's accommodation at Browns Hotel in London and a supplement payment of £25 per week towards the cost of Cushing's driver!
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 . . .
#MONSTERMONDAY!
Asylum as most of you will know is a British Horror film, made in 1972,
starring among many others, Peter Cushing, and Barry Morse. It is a
horror anthology film, one of several produced by Amicus during the
1960's and 1970's.
Here Cushing and Morse star in a story entitled, 'THE WEIRD TAILOR' Here it
is for your enjoyment! TRAVIA: Cushing Morse and their wives, Helen
and Sydney were once traveling across London together in a double decker
bus during the end of WW2...and were almost killed by a flying bomb....!
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
At least in my experience, 1980’s A Tale of Two Cities, often
seems to receive decidedly little discussion by Cushing fans. Perhaps
due to it not receiving an official UK DVD release, being a TV movie and
not part of an established
fan-base (such as many of his Horror films, Star Wars and the Dr Who
movies) it has slipped into obscurity. This is a shame because (along with 1984’s
The Masks of Death)it’s not only one of his last great roles but one of his very best performances.
The two cities of the title are of course London and Paris, with the
film taking place in the run-up to the French Revolution and the Reign
of Terror. It tells the story of Dr. Manette (Cushing), a man wrongly
imprisoned in the Bastille
for eighteen years. He has never met his daughter Lucy, who now remains
in England. The film follows events concerning them and Lucie’s lover,
Charles Damay who has an uncanny double in Sydney Carton who (you
guessed it) also loves her. I’ll keep the plot
explanation brief for those who have yet to see today’s upload!
The adaptation was the tenth film/television version of Charles Dickens
novel, and was produced by Hallmark Hall of Fame who assigned Jim
Goddard to direct. By this point, Goddard was well known as the director
of the original
The Black Stuff the play that went on to launch the Boys from the Black Stuff
series and had made a name for himself as a successful TV Movie
director. Hallmark appear to have splashed out as the film is lavishly
produced, with impressive sets and large crowd scenes. Oddly enough the
production was criticised for showing: ‘Little
sense of the mob, or of an overall social sweep’[1],
though I found this to be one of its strengths! Scenes showing the
general poverty (such as one where a crowd sups wine from the floor) are
amongst the adaptions most powerful. Whatever was felt to be its
misgivings, it was nominated for both an Emmy and the
Golden Globes in 1981, though it won neither.
Cushing himself is on top form and I in particular count it among his
best performances. One particular scene in which Cushing meeting his
Daughter for the first time, is arguably his most moving portrayal of a
character. Having been a
prisoner for so many years, he has become frail and senile, almost at
breaking point from the years of imprisonment. It really does stand
amongst his best work and considering that this happens within the first
ten minutes, you really have to prepare yourself for what is a
pretty emotional ride! The really genius of Cushing’s performance
however is how he shows his character of Manette slowly regaining a lot
of his self-esteem and confidence, culminating in
a rousing sequence where he urges the crowd to free an innocent man and
take him instead. Unsurprisingly, Cushing steals the show!
The supporting cast is full of recognisable faces. Chris Sarandon, perhaps most well known as Jerry Dandrige in
Fright Night (1985) and the voice of Jack Skellington in The Nightmare before Christmas
(1993), plays the dual roles of Lawyer Sydney Carton and Charles
Dannay, providing a few recognisable differences for the audience
between the two.
Alice Krige,
who would later become primarily known as the Borg Queen plays Manettes
Daughter Lucie. Kenneth More puts in a memorable performance as Dr
Jarvis Lorry, all the more astounding considering he was suffering from
Parkinson’s disease. However, Billie Whitelaw…nearly
very nearly manages to steal the show from Cushing with her
malicious Madame Defarge. Whitelaw, channelling a completely different
type of viciousness to that that gave her such power as Mrs Baylock in
the Omen, being utterly repulsive yet utterly watchable.
There are a few notable Cushing connections in some of the supporting
cast and bit-players. Robert Urquhart, who appeared alongside Peter
Cushing in
The Curse of Frankenstein as Paul Krempe, has a very small role as the Chief Adjudicator whilst Kevin Stoney (from
The Blood Beast Terror) appears as the Chief Lord Justice. Also look out for a very young and pre- Poirot David Suchet In his
first on-screen role.
One another odd note, very possibly it was scheduling conflicts with this film that stopped Cushing appearing in Lucio Fulci’s
The Black Cat (1981)[2].
Though the actual reasons are unknown, it is perhaps something of a
blessing.
It’s hard to believe Cushing would have been comfortable with
Fulci’s penchant for extreme gore and we would have missed out on a role
that is both a joy to watch and one that was
clearly very close to his heart.
As previously stated the film has no official UK DVD or
Blu-Ray release, but Shout! Factory did put out a very good Blu-Ray that is
currently still available in the US.
WATCH THE FILM WHOLE ABOVE!
Screen Caps and Gifs: Jamie Somerville Feature: :Callum McKelvie. Callum McKelvie, is the new head features writer at the Peter Cushing Appreciation Society. You can read more of his reviews and features here at the PCAS website, and shortly at the relaunchedTHEBLACKBOXCLUB.COM website and Black Box Club Facebook Fan Page.
[1]
Miller, David: Peter Cushing: A Life in
Film p161
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
