NEWS: No fixed details yet, but #INDICATOR are currently working on what will be the very first release of Amicus films, 'I MONSTER' (1971) starring #ChristopherLee, #PeterCushing and Mike Raven. This is one that has been a very long time coming and most welcome.
PART ONE of the behind the scenes PCASUK RARE STILLS Gallery, is RIGHT HERE!
ABOVE: The USA cinema trailer for Amicus films, 'I, MONSTER' starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. A film with a production story, that sometimes is even more dramatic than the film!
THERE ARE NO details on extras, region or stats, but I LOVE that case and poster image design 😊😉
The appeal of Hammer horror
extended across the globe, earning Lee and Cushing fans in all walks of
life. One such fan was Sammy Davis, Jr., who pulled his weight on the
set of One More Time (1970) by compelling director Jerry Lewis to bring
the two actors in for a cameo appearance.
The loosely plotted and non-too-amusing sequel to Salt and Pepper (1968) focused on the continued adventures of
nightclub owners Charles Salt (Davis, Jr.) and Christopher Pepper (Peter
Lawford). The addition of a sight gag
involving the sudden – and poorly covered – appearance of Count Dracula (Lee)
and Baron Frankenstein (Cushing) in a rather impoverished-looking “mad lab” set
no doubt baffled the film’s target audience.
In any event, Lee and Cushing appear to have had fun filming their cameo
and working with the gifted Davis, Jr. Next up, Lee and Cushing returned to Amicus for another
anthology. Lee had originally been
slated to appear opposite Cushing in the “Man Who Collected Poe” segment of Torture Garden (1967), but Columbia
wanted an American star – so Jack Palance got the gig instead.
Cinerama, the distributors of The House That Dripped Blood, were only
too happy to have the reigning British kings of horror on board. The screenplay was penned by Robert Bloch and
dealt with a house with an unfortunate past, which is at the center of an
investigation into the disappearance of ham horror star Paul Henderson (a
terrific Jon Pertwee, playing a role originally ear-marked for Vincent
Price).
Lee and Cushing would not share
any screen time, as they occupied separate segments, but both actors were at
the top of their game here. Lee is by
turns imposing, frightening, despicable and moving as the ice-cold father of an
angelic little girl (Chloe Franks, who very nearly steals the show) who is not
everything she appears to be.
Cushing
brings an air of melancholy to his role as a retired stock broker who falls
under the spell of a statue of Salome.
The sadness radiating from Cushing could be attributed to his ongoing
panic over the deteriorating health of his beloved Helen. The actor was reluctant to face facts, but she
was not to be by his side for much longer.
The film was another hit for Amicus, thanks in large part to an
admittedly tacky title which would prove to be the bane of director Peter
Duffell’s existence; it wasn’t subtle (even if the film itself was – you’ll
note, there isn’t a drop of blood in the film itself) but it helped to put
people in the seats.
Lee and Cushing would round out 1970 by reteaming for another
Amicus production. On the face of it, I, Monster was more typical of Hammer
than Amicus: it was period-set and would tell only one story. The adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s
venerable “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” would remain true to
the source material – and to Subotsky’s overall credo with regards to
downplaying graphic shock effects.
Sadly, the film would be overrun with bad luck. Peter Duffell elected to pass on the picture,
fearing becoming typecast as a genre director, and Lee would recommend the
young (21 at the time of filming) filmmaker Stephen Weeks on the strength of
his short film 1917 (1970), which had
impressed the actor. Weeks would prove
ill-equipped to cope with Subotsky’s dialogue-heavy script or the additional
baggage of a half-baked 3D process with which the producer decided to burden
the production. Thoughts of 3D
exhibition dried up part of the way into filming, but the damage was already
done – the material would prove awkward and difficult to cut together, and the
film would pretty much just lie there… bereft of life, despite some interesting
art direction and a brilliant central performance from Lee.
As Lee has often said, it makes very little
sense that Subotsky saw fit to write the most faithful adaptation of
Stevenson’s novella, only to change the names of the central character(s) while
leaving all the other names intact.
Whatever the thinking was, the moniker I, Monster would prove to be off-putting for many viewers and the
film would slide into relative obscurity.
This is to be regretted because, at the very least, the film is worth
seeing for Lee’s performance. He is
tremendously effective as the repressed Dr. Marlowe, who transforms into the
free-spirited and vicious Mr. Blake. Lee
seizes every opportunity available to him, making this one of his most
memorable characterizations.
Cushing,
sadly, is squandered in a dull supporting role.
His performance as the stuffy lawyer Utterson is professional, but the
role gives him no opportunity for shading or nuance. Worse still, he is forced to share several
scenes with the amateurish Mike Raven, a disc jockey turned actor who was
making an open bid for horror stardom at that time. The film would prove to be a relatively minor
footnote in the Amicus canon, but a life-changing event was in the works for
Cushing – and from that point on, life, as he knew it, would hold precious
little meaning.
Next Time: FOSSILS, FINGERS AND THE COUNT IS BACK!
'A Talent To Terrify : The Twenty Two Films Of Peter Cushing And Christopher Lee' is written by Troy Howarth with Artwork and Images by Marcus Brooks.
