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  

THE PROFESSOR ISSUE FOUR : SIRENA : PRAISE FOR ISSUE FOUR!

ANYONE WHO IS a regular here at the PCAS website will know we are following a very interesting comic series published in Italy by Erredi Graphic Editor, “The Professor”. It tells the adventures of a Professor of literature and philosophy at the University College London, Mr Benjamin Love. He has been educated by Rabbi Moshe from Bevis Marks Synagogue to the mysteries of qabbaláh, alchemy and esoterism. The setting of this short series is horror Gothic and develops in the Late Victorian Age. The character of the Professor takes inspiration from Hammer’s films and he looks like the British actor Peter Cushing.

IN THIS FOURTH ISSUE, “Sirena”, Benjamin is invited by the Count Raimondo Del Balzo, descendant of the Prince Raimondo Di Sangro, to the fascinating city of Naples. The invitation which might be a simple rest occasion, soon turns to be a sort of incubus. Furio, the faithful mastiff dog who is the Professor’s life companion, has started to behave strangely recently. The stay at the Count’s mansion is not the best one: at night recurrent nightmares alarm Benjamin… This story is produced by the creative team led by Andrea Corbetta: drawings by the young artist Germano Giorgiani, script by Carlo A. Martigli, Giulia Carla De Carlo and Roberto Leoni who is also the new editor of the series.

THE PROFESSOR ISSUE FOUR!
The Professor 4: Sirena, testi di Carlo Martigli, Giulia Carla De Carlo, Roberto Leoni, disegni di Germano Giorgiani

S. Riccò: Hi, thank you for the latest addition. Tonight, I can finally enjoy myself with the  mermaid! 

G. Giorgiani‎: A picture is obligatory with the professor!! Every two months in kiosk!! Thank you!

D. NIGRO : 'Well, after a thorough and finally lucid second reading, I can finally say my peace on this "mermaid". Let's start with the positive aspects: the drawings in some ways are authentic little masterpieces, see the appearance of mounted policeman outside the palace of sangro, or the image of melusine the last dream of Benjamin, or fingers at horns of count into Orbits the skull of the church of the souls of purgatory and so many others, all very inspiring and memorable...'

P. Domenico
THE SEA, THE MERMAID AND THE PROFESSOR!

E. MANGRONI: 'The fourth issue was a great, and is currently my favorite, mostly for the theme... It fascinates me anything that hangs around undead, though maybe I wish some more detail on bokor Haitian... but I digress here 😉). The story reminds me of the style of some of the legends of American comics and made the story very fast and pleasant to read (to understand what I mean go read hush of Jim Lee and Loeb Joeph saga or the dark knight of Frank Miller). Also the new press has greatly improved the quality of the graphics and the paper gives you a pleasant sensation under my fingertips'.

T. T. V. Ongaro‎

'I must confess....  for me, this fourth number is the best out! Amazing! The other issues have been great too. Nothing to remove, do not change! This series of "the professor" is also a major in the field of Italian comics 😉 Congratulations to the authors!! '

Spaccio Fumetti:
'I realized, is it just me or have you guys noticed too that the professor,improves number after number? Going beyond the technical side, "Mermaid" presented a story that make s the most of the 'games of lights and shadows of the setting' (Naples) and drops into the story four mysteries, seemingly unrelated, that take our breath till last pages! Pages where everything is elegant! Beyond these aspects, Professor Love in "Mermaid" carries an aura maliciousness, it pervades his every action, enough to give us the most creepy issue of The Professor published so far!

The LIMITED EDITION COLLECTABLE MODEL KIT FIGURE of the Peter Cushing influenced character that appears in the excellent #THEPROFESSOR comic..is now ALMOST READY for it's release and Andrea Corbetta, the sculptor Roberto De Meo and the guy who had the idea, Davide Decina . . have us on stand by, ready for the completion date!.... We'll be keeping you posted with updates and any news, as we get it from the Professor team.

YOU CAN FIND MORE NEWS ABOUT THE FORTHCOMING ISSUES OF 'THE PROFESSOR', MEET AND CHAT WITH OTHERS WHO APPRECIATE THE PROFESSOR AT THEIR FACEBOOK 'THE PROFESSOR CLUB' ... REQUEST TO JOIN HERE

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 reach our 30K following total for Peter Cushing BIRTHDAY on MAY 26th 2017 AND Help Keep The Memory Alive!

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: VINCENT PRICE PETER CUSHING : THE MAN WHO HATED SCENES

#MONSTERMONDAY: 'The Price of Fear' was a horror come mystery radio serial, that was produced by BBC Radio during the 1970s. The host and star of the show was Vincent Price. This episode, The Man Who Hated Scenes, stars Vincent Price and Peter Cushing who relate a chilling tale of a meek millionaire taking subtle revenge on his cheating wife. The script was dramatized  by William Ingram, produced by John Diaz (based on the story by Robert Arthur) a Dianna Olson, and Steve Preston also starred.

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 reach our 30K following total for Peter Cushing BIRTHDAY on MAY 26th 2017 AND Help Keep The Memory Alive! 

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: WHO IS THIS BOY?

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: Here's an interesting publicity photograph, from a Cushing film, that you really don't see very much in the way of new unseen material. But, this is a great little pic! So. Any idea? This pic has just been loaded and shared onto the #FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY thread at at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE . Why not jump on the page, it is open to everyone, not just members, and see what everyone else thinks about this young lad!?

#TBT SEVEN MYSTERY CUSHING ACTRESSES AND AN ACTOR IN GOGGLES?

#TBT There are SEVERAL young actresses in these two rare photographs, and all but one of them have appeared in films starring Peter Cushing, can you name these actresses? ALSO who is that actor, in the wet suit and googles??? ANSWERS later....

ALSO MAYBE YOU MISSED the announcement of WEDNESDAY'S now being a REQUEST-A-GIF DAY at our FACEBOOK FAN PAGE ACCOUNT  and here at the website. Well here is the first of our #GIMMETHEGIF requests, this one for our friend Catherine Anne…..'Dracula / Horror Of Dracula' (1958) Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) leaps and runs down the table, to pull down the curtains and expose the sunlight of DEATH! EXCELLENT choice, Catherine!

RELEASE THE HOUNDS! THROWBACKTHURSDAY RARE CHRIS LEE ON SET PIC

#throwbackthursday : IT'S 53 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH  that Hammer films 'Hound of the Baskervilles' was released in the USA. 'Hound' was Hammer films only dip into the Sherlock Holmes stories, though both Cushing and Lee went on to play the detective for several film companies over the years. Here is a rarely seen on set photograph of both Christopher Lee (Sir Henry Baskerville) and Marla Landi (Cecile) during a location shoot for the film on Chobham Common, Surrey, England. Although one of the most popular Sherlock stories, Holmes features much less on the page....and so in the film too, Dr Watson (Andre Morell) gets more screen-time than Cushing's Holmes!

The UK Press AD that appeared just two months before the release of Hammer films 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' in May 1959.

Now with almost 25 thousand freinds and followers world wide, the Peter Cushing Appreciation Society Facebook Fan Page welcomes you to join!

 Just CLICK the link : HERE 

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: ROY ASHTON RARE SIGNED PIC, FRIENDS SOLVE A CUSHING PUZZLE AND SPENDING TIME WITH PC IN WHITSTABLE

#‎TOOCOOLTUESDAY‬: PHOTOGRAPHS OF PETER CUSHING in his award winning role of Arthur Grimsdyke from the Amicus films, 'Tales From The Crypt' are quite desirable. I got this one signed in 1980, during the filming of our PCAS interview with the great Roy Ashton who was responsible for this 'ground breaking;... for the time... make up, . . Roy still found the fact the gauze material in PC's eye-sockets, was a swatch of nylon hacked out of a pair of sockings!!

#‎TOOCOOLTUESDAY‬: DURING THE LAST FEW YEARS of his life, living in sleepy Whitstable, Peter Cushing befriended a young couple called Judith and Nic Gadd. They wrote a book and published it through Peter Cushing's own small publishing company entitled, 'Spending Time With Frankenstein' and it's certainly worth looking up...though it is a toughie to find.. Here is Judith with PC taking a walk through town . . . I LIKE that hat!

#TOOCOOTUESDAY : HERE'S A COOL LITTLE PIC, in the file with no credits. In THIS WEEK'S #TOOCOOLTUESDAY, we asked if any of you out there might have an idea as where this pic was taken. I was guessing it could be a Spanish television programe..and then we got some very cool feedback on the thread where this  was posted on ourPeter Cushing Appreciation Society Facebook Fan Page  

Rafael Martinez wrote to tell us, 'The program was in the spanish television, when Peter was in Spain filming "Horror Express". The program was named "Opened Studio" (Estudio Abierto) and hosted by José María Iñigo (on the left)It was at the time of "Horror Express", not "Monster Island" for sure. The TV program ended about 1975. "Monster Island" was filmed in 1981. I knew Peter briefly on original locations in Northern Spain, when he was filming "Monster Island" with Terence Stamp. Peter was a dear man. He often smoked on location, with a white glove to avoid nicotine stains.

'Peter was here only a few days, for a brief sequence in a beach (Terence Stamp was a few days filming too). The film had a very low budget. The rest of his brief participation was filmed in a studio in Madrid (The beach was Otur, Asturias, Spain)' 

 

ALSO EMPTY HEAD wrote to us with further info on the programme and a Christopher Lee connection, 'Incidentally, the late Sir Christopher Lee was also a guest on the programme "Estudio Abierto", though I don't know whether it was this particular episode or not. (see ABOVE) Those of us here who know our Spanish TV shows will probably be aware of José María Íñigo as a regular participant on "Que Tiempo Tan Feliz" (hosted by the legendary María Teresa Campos). I believe he also does the commentary for the Spanish transmission of The Eurovision Song Contest.

 

SO ALL IN A PRETTY PRODUCTIVE and cooL Tuesday! MORE NEXT WEEK HERE and at our FACEBOOK PAGE . CLICK HERE AND JOIN US NOW!

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: UNBOXING HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES BLU RAY FROM TWILIGHT AND COMPETITON

UNBOXING: It's a handsome package! We have EIGHT copies of the TWILIGHT TIME LIMITED EDITION of Hammer films 'The Hound Of The Baskervilles' to give away as PRIZES in our SECOND #SherlockSunday Competition!

THE COMPETITION was launched on SUNDAY 10th of JULY and will remain OPEN until JULY 17th MID DAY GMT! So, still plenty of time to get your entry in! Take a look at the panel below, and then send us YOUR ANSWER to our EMAIL quoted on the Competition Banner! GOOD LUCK!

TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF in our short UNBOXING CLIP, but HERE ARE A RUN DOWN OF THE EXTRAS:

CONTENTS AND TECH SPEC:
Blu Ray Video: 1080p High Definition / 1.66:1 / Color. Subtitles: English SDH. Runtime: 86 Minutes. It's good news for everyone because this release is REGION FREE! And here are those GREAT EXTRAS: Special Features: Isolated Music & Effects Track / Audio Commentary with Film Historians David Del Valle and Steven Peros / Audio Commentary with Film Historians Paul Scrabo, Lee Pfeiffer, and Hank Reineke / Actor's Notebook: Christopher Lee / Hound Mask Creator Margaret Robinson on The Hound of the Baskervilles / Christopher Lee Reads Excerpts from The Hound of the Baskervilles / Original Theatrical Trailer. Limited Edition of just 3,000 Units.

MANY THANKS to TWILIGHT TIME for supplying our prizes and for sponsoring ANOTHER of our competitions: You can PURCHASE YOUR copy of the TWILIGHT TIME LIMITED EDITION BLU RAY : HERE 

THIS YEAR, 2016 marks the 60th anniversary of PCAS, help us celebrate Peter Cushing life and career, by sharing our post on any of our sites.

Facebook Fan Page:HERE  Youtube: HERE  Tumblr:HERE  Website:HERE 

WHO IS THAT AND WHERE ARE THEY?

Over at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE it's #whoisthat?wednesday / whereisthat?wednesday and we're having some fun with this mystery pic. Feel free to come on over if you know the answer...and if you don't I'll be posting the identity of the lady on the right and where her and Vincent Price are located in a few hours. The answer will be added to this post shortly after the reveal on the facebook book fan page.

From the PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE:

‪#‎whoisthat‬?wednesday ‪#‎whereisthat‬?wednesday Here's Vincent Price, being charming with a flower...! What a cad! The question is, who is that with him? AND are they standing at a Garden Centre?? This is a fun photograph, when we reveal the location...you'll never believe it! Answer in a few hours,unless, you crack it before!

THE ANSWER!

EARLIER today we asked you who is that girl posing with VINCENT PRICE and WHERE are they??? Most of you identified the girl as actress UTA LEVKA, she played the nurse in Amicus films, Scream and Scream Again (1970) She also turned up in some pics we shared with you two weeks ago, of Vincent and Christopher Lee at Madame Tussauds in London, doing some Halloween publicity for the same film!

The location, believe it or not, was the headquarters of Amicus films at Shepperton studios. Amicus never actually owned a studio, they just rented out studio space, when they were in production with a new film. So, everything..meetings, writing, plotting..happened at Shepperton, but in the sheds!! 

Weird when you look at the offices of Hammer films, at HAMMER HOUSE in the heart of the industry on Wardour Street, London. Hammer did eventually move out . but Milton remained in his shed-offices from the beginning of the inception of Amicus in the early 60's until it all wrapped in the late 70's. To be fair, Milton did work a lot from his office at home, and we were lucky enough to interview him there, but when Milton said, he could cut costs, and put the money on the screen... we now know how he did that!! wink emoticon Well done all who got this one correct