THE FINAL QUESTION IN THE 'FIVE QUESTIONS PCASUK COMPETITION!

QUESTION FIVE: HOW MANY FEATURE FILMS DID PETER CUSHING AND CHRISTOPHER LEE APPEAR IN TOGETHER... 'THEY SHARED SCENES ON THE SCREEN TOGETHER'... FOR HAMMER FILMS AND AMICUS FILMS AND WHAT WERE THEIR TITLES??

AND SO, here we are! Question FIVE, the final question in our 'FIVE QUESTIONS' PCASUK COMPETITION. I hope you have read the last four questions, posted every day, over the past four days? Now READ CAREFULLY .... What you do next? We now need you to send YOUR answer to THIS question today AND the last FOUR QUESTIONS, to us here at our EMAIL: petercushingpcasgmail.com OR you can send them and enter at our FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE !  

ANY ANSWERS posted in the message box below or on any of the other posts, will be deleted and counted as void. Once you have sent us your FIVE answers, sit back...and wait for the draw of us pulling out the ONE lucky winner's name, who wins the prize of a our SIGNED, full colour, framed photograph of Christopher Lee as Dracula in Dracula AD 1972! ALL ANSWERS MUST BE IN BY FRIDAY 30th NOVEMBER 2018. The winners name will be posted and shared here the following day on Saturday 1st December 2018! So you have quite a few days to study the questions and send in your FIVE ANSWERS entry 😊 It's been a great competition to be part of, I wish you the VERY best of luck 😀You can NOW send us all FIVE of your answers 😀😃 Marcus 

ABOVE: THE PRIZE AND THE START OF PROMOTION FOR THE 'FIVE QUESTIONS COMPETITION' FROM TUESDAY 20TH OF NOVEMBER 2018'

CALLUM MCKELVIE: PART ONE OF DOUBLE FEATURE ON SCI FI AND HORROR : ISLANDS OF TERROR AND HEAT!

WHEN ONE THINKS OF PETER CUSHING'S  Science Fiction output, what usually springs to mind? Star Wars and the two Dr Who movies are the most obvious candidates. Aside from that the choices are somewhat limited. Horror Express (1973) and Biggles (1986) contain ostensibly science fiction elements (the monster being an alien in Express and the time travel plot in Biggles) but their feet are firmly rooted in other genres. Scream and Scream Again (1969) is another obvious candidate but sadly it has to be the film in which Cushing is the MOST wasted, barely appearing at all. 

THAT LEAVE JUST The Abominable Snowman (1957) and the films involved in this two-part feature; Island of Terror and Night of the Big Heat. This last pair are not only a sample of Cushing’s relatively small science-fiction output, their also two of famed Hammer Director, Terrence Fisher's four contributions to the genre (along with Four Sided Triangle (1953) and The Earth Dies Screaming (1964).

BOTH FILMS WERE MADE by the short-lived ‘Planet Films’ and share many of the same cast and crew. Both also belong to that curious, somewhat forgotten form of British sci-fi, pioneered by the likes of John Wyndham and Nigel Kneale. Namely, they feature small isolated intrinsically ‘British’ communities menaced by mysterious creatures. Night in particular sees much of its action take place in the local pub, a well-worn trend in British Science-Fiction films. However they’ll be more on that film next week, this time I’m tackling it’s predecessor- Island of Terror.

THE PLOT INVOLVES a cancer research establishment off the coast of Ireland where the locals are turning up dead. With the local Doctor having very little idea as to what is causing the mysterious deaths, enter Dr Brian Stanley (Peter Cushing), Dr David West (Edward Judd) and the wealthy jet-setter Toni Maerill (Carole Gray). The Scientists soon discover that creatures they dub ‘Silicates’ are loose on the island, created accidentally by the experiments. Bone sucking creatures, they multiply at an alarming rate and soon endanger the entirety of the Islands population…

OF COURSE THERE IS ONE MAJOR difference between the two films. Namely Cushing’s role. In Island of Terror, he’s an integral part of the film and one of the three main characters. Not only that but his character is given some genuinely interesting moments, for example a hero loosing his hand (or receiving any other sort of lasting damage) isn’t something we really see in a Cushing film. However, it defiantly works here and manages to ramp the tension up significantly, after all if one of our three leads can have his hand chopped off, why can’t one (or all of them) die? It’s an interesting tactic and Fisher doesn’t shy away from showing the whole thing. The effect might be a little cheesy, but the intent is there and it still works as a shocking moment. 

IN HEAT, CUSHING is given a substantially smaller role and essentially plays a victim- an interesting position to see him in at this point in his career. His character is friendly and affable, but that’s all. Cushing lays on the charm HARD and it certainly works when he reaches his demise, a scene which is easily the highlight of the film and one that is thick with tension throughout. However it’s clear which role is superior and it’s a shame the Planet Films team didn’t consider a direct follow up, re-using the character of Dr Stanley.

 

THE SILICATES THEMSELVES ARE . . . oddly effective. For the first portion of the film Fisher decides, wisely, to keep them off the screen. This builds the feeling of a menace that can be anywhere and strike at any time. Wonderfully, this isn’t just atmosphere for atmosphere’s sake and is actually used to provide genuine shocks (for example the aforementioned sequence involving Cushing's hand) when one appears out of nowhere. 

WHEN THEY ARE EVENTUALLY REVEALED When they are eventually revealed, the design is one that despite it’s cheapness, works wonderfully to compliment the films visual style and has a unique charm about it. One has to give the team credit as well for avoiding the tired cliché of a man in a suit and attempting something that’s a little more unusual, resulting in a striking (if admittedly not always convincing) design. 

THE CREATURE'S SLOWNESS doesn’t make them any less threatening and indeed helps in the slow menace that makes the film so effective. One rather spectacular sequence with the creatures features one on a glass skylight, as it smashes through and drops onto a hapless victim below.
 

ONE TRULY WONDERFUL SEQUENCE, occurs in the films climax (spoilers ahead be warned) in which, trapped with the creatures advancing, Edward Judd prepares to shoot Toni in order to save her from death by silicate. It’s a surprisingly dark moment for a film of this nature, all the more so given the nature of her character and how she came to be on the island. For a character that’s so innocent and outgoing, this fate seems incredibly troubling.

TO SHOOT TERI OR NOT???

INDEED ONE OF the enduring appeals of Island of Terror, is that what starts as an enjoyable 60’s sci-fi adventure- becomes progressively darker. The opening sequences in which we meet our characters, then see them journey to the island are far lighter in the tone, than the latter half of the film. Fisher allows his audience to let their guard down and then strikes when their at their most vulnerable.

ISLAND OF TERROR, really is something of a gem in Cushing’s output and for my money stands as his best Sci-Fi feature alongside The Abominable Snowman. This film may not have the intelligence of that earlier classic, but it has genuinely shocking moments and an atmosphere that oozes dread and menace. The question is, does Night of the Big Heat match it’s predecessor?

 

I’ll be finding out next week, so PLEASE JOIN US!
If you have any comments, suggestions or feedback about this or ANY of my features here at PCAS you can contact me HERE at spookycallum58@gmail.com

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

#MOMENTSOFTERROR MONDAYS! CAROL MARSH AS LUCY HOLMWOOD CAPTURED BY CUSHING'S POWERFUL PROF VAN HELSING!

TODAY'S #MOMENTOFTERROR clip, LINKS with a film and actress that is the title and person who is the subject matter of our #FEMMEFATALEFRIDAY! The ACTRESS CAROL MARSH and the film, Hammer film's 'DRACULA' from 1958.

IT'S A SCENE that most fans of the film appreciate, not only because of Cushing's VAN HELSING fighting off the evil of LUCY HOLMWOOD's vampire but also actresses Carol Marsh and a very young Janina Faye, presenting such horrible pathos and trauma  . . . a niece who truly wants to help and love her, DEAD AUNT!

CAROL MARSH, would have found this role another of many, that asked  for a certain ability. Ability that many had no idea about, what it meant to her as an actress or where the  ability came from . . . what that means, will be revealed in OUR PCAS #FEMMEFATAL FEATURE on CAROL MARSH . .

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