CHRISTOPHER LEE SATURDAY: GET YOUR TICKET FOR TOMORROWS TRAIN AND YVONNE MITCHELL REMEMBERED

#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! THIS WEEKEND much of our time is more than taken making a short journey through the film 'HORROR EXPRESS' from 1972. It was film that both Christopher Lee and Cushing enjoyed making. Even though, as you will read above, Cushing was still much effected by the terrible loss of his wife, Helen, Lee managed to have Peter focus on the production at hand. The result is a film that was appreciated back then on it's release, and even today. Recent DVD and BLU RAY releases have sold well, and gained even more appreciation. The two roles that Lee and Cushing play, come over well. A change from their usual roles of one destroying the other, here we have interesting characters who are in competition, but have to pull together to destroy someone else and all their supporters!

BELOW: THIS SUNDAY sees CALLUM MCKELVIE's weekly feature focus on, HORROR EXPRESS TOO. A personal spin on his first memory of watching the feature plus we'll be uploading the ENTIRE film from our PCAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL, with many images and supporting images through out the feature. JOIN US TOMORROW! We will also be posting the FOUR WINNERS of our CINEFICCION  MAGAZINE prizes!

BRITISH ACTRESS YVONNE MITCHELL  was first and foremost a stage actress who began her career quite early as a teen. By the time of her death, she had performed under the theatre lights for over four decades. Her output in films and TV paled in comparison, but the work she put out in those mediums were of unusually high quality with mature themes. The dark-haired actress made her film debut in a key role in The Queen of Spades (1949) and proceeded to become a moving, thoughtful, often anguished presence throughout the 1950s, winning the British Film Award for her touching, sterling performance as the biological mother of a foster child in The Divided Heart (1954). A year before that, she appeared with PETER CUSHING in the BBC production of '1984' as Julia. The broadcast gained much publicity for both her and Cushing, stirring the public in it's two live performances.

THE PUBLIC WERE so upset by Orwell's story and the BBC almost uncensored production that a debate in the government  House of Commons, after the first LIVE show and the planned second live broadcast, debated if the broadcast should go ahead at all. It did. It certainly didn't mar her career, but for Cushing it set the motion of his career forever becoming tilted towards the Horror and Fantasy genre, on both the big screen and tv. Yvonne's  slovenly, cuckolded wife in Woman in a Dressing Gown (1957) won her the Berlin International Film Festival Award. Other important films included Escapade (1955), Sapphire (1959), The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960) and Johnny Nobody (1961). On the sly, Yvonne was a novelist of both children and adult books and an award-winning playwright. She also penned an enormously successful biography entitled "Colette--A Taste for Life" based on the famed French writer. The wife of film and stage critic Derek Monsey, she wrote her biography in 1957.

YVONNE MITCHELL, changed her name legally in 1946 from Yvonne Frances Joseph to Yvonne Mitchell (Mitchell was her mother's maiden name). She also deducted a decade from her age, which is why many sources have listed 1925 as her birth year. She married author and critic Derek Monsey in 1952, the couple would later divorce, only to be reconciled. They would remarry in late 1978, just months before Monsey died of a heart attack on 13 February 1979, with Mitchell dying of cancer just over a month later.

WHO IS WHO AND WHY : CALLUM MCKELVIE ON PETER CUSHING WHO MOVIES PART TWO

LAST WEEKEND I examined in-depth the first of Peter Cushing’s two ‘Dr Who’ movies, 1965’s Dr Who and the Daleks.  I made the decision to examine links between the film and TV version in an attempt to understand the hate piled towards it, a great deal of which I feel is explicitly aimed at the first film. Indeed, a lot of people’s issues with the Who movies (continuity issues, Cushing’s performance, the child-like atmosphere) are certainly toned down in Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. For one, Terry Nation’s original television script on which this story was based, 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth', is a LOT darker than 1963’s 'The Daleks', meaning this film is a little bit more serious than its predecessor.

SET DURING A DALEK OCCUPATION there is heavy use of WW2 imagery, including camps, the black market, a Dalek commandant, Daleks giving Nazi-esque salutes and a rubble strewn blitz inspired London. Of course Subotsky has done his best to make it all ‘kiddie’ friendly but the essence of the piece remains. Perhaps responding to this, Cushing tailors his portrayal of the Doctor, becoming a firmer, stronger figure, the leader type that is visible in the television series but lacking in the first film.

ALSO GONE ARE any explicit references to the building of the Tardis and the nature of the Doctor, all that is actually stated is that his name is still ‘Dr. Who’ and not ‘The Doctor’. Of course these elements from the first film never particularly troubled myself, it was simply the nature of the adaptation. Perhaps though it’s one of the reasons that this sequel receives a slightly warmer reception than its predecessor.

ONCE AGAIN THE NATION SCRIPT receives something of an overhaul, streamlining the narrative of the six-part television serial but (like the first film) keeping the rough story structure. Notable emissions this time round include a sequence in which the Daleks attempt to fire bomb London, a journey through an Alligator infested sewer and most notably the ‘Slyther’. The Slyther appeared in episodes four and five (individually titled The End of Tomorrow and The Walking Alley) and was identified as a ‘pet’ of the Black Dalek leader and a sort of guard dog.

ONE HAS TO WONDER WHY on earth this sequence was exorcised, particularly when we have an overly long and (admittedly painful) scene in which Bernard Cribbins participates in a slap-stick comedy routine with a bunch of Robomen. However several of the changes are welcome. Whilst the TV version is designed for an entirely different medium and not to be watched in one go, it does drag. Several characters (such as Ann Davies’s ‘Jenny’) are exorcised completely and for the better, whilst other characters such as Craddock are given far more dramatic deaths.

BERNARD CRIBBINS policeman, Tom is an entirely new character and the wrap-around element of him failing to prevent a robbery and then being taken back in time by the Doctor in time is a nice opening and closing segment as well as providing an easy way in for viewers unfamiliar with the premise of the television programme. Also noticeably different is the way the Daleks are destroyed by the ‘magnetic core of the earth’ rather than being blown up. One suspects this is to account for the fact that Daleks ALL OVER the earth need to be destroyed and not just those in Bedfordshire.

VISUALLY, like its predecessor, the film is a big step-up from its smaller scale television counter-part but this time, even more so. The Robomen and the Dalek Saucer are wonderful designs, that far surpass the television versions of both which were noticeably cheap looking, even for a sixties BBC budget. Indeed, the movies redesigns even managed to find their way onto the cover of the 1977 television novelisation.

ONCE AGAIN ACTION sequences are increased and expanded, the sequence in which the truck drives through the hordes of Daleks is particularly memorable as is the wonderful final shot of the saucer getting caught by the magnetism and sucked into the ground where it crashes. The visual style of the film is also a little darker than the first, even the Daleks base is an odd faded lime colour when compared to the bright oranges and blue of the first film. 

CUSHING'S DOCTOR TOO is given a more restrained make up job, the hair slicked back instead of wild, and the moustache trimmed and refined…Which brings me of course to Cushing’s performance. I hinted in my last piece that I found his performance in this film to be superior to the one given in the first film, watching them back to back however I noticed not only that but how different the two are. He’s still a warm, grandfatherly figure but here he is slightly more resilient, far more active and seems to have adopted some of the ‘master planner’ aspects of his television counter-part. 

WHEREAS IN THE FIRST FILM Cushing appeared constantly stooped over with a voice that was slightly mumbly and strained, here he speaks in a clipped-upper class accent and walks with his back straight. Sequences such as when he expects Brockley to betray him in order to find his way into the Dalek base, give Cushing an opportunity to demonstrate this by smirking slightly at his own cleverness, before slipping his gloves on, staring at the Daleks gravely and giving Brockley one last look, before being led away.

WHEN BROCKLEY BECAME A CANDIDATE FOR OUR #MONSTERMONDAY THEMED MONDAY AT THE PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE

HOWEVER IT ALL PALES  in comparison to those final sequences within the Dalek base, from entering and going immediately to the microphone (giving the audience some hint of what he’s planning) to his final speech towards the Daleks. His confrontation with them in the final moments of the first film, where he and Susan are caught in a force field as the Daleks prepare to activate their bomb, shows him as somewhat weak- indeed that’s what the story requires, as Ian bursts in with the Thals and saves the day. Here however, it is the Doctor who is in charge and Cushing knows this, strutting determinedly around the set as he explains the Daleks fear of Magnetism. It is without doubt one of his greatest on-screen moments.

THE SUPPORTING CAST here is even better, with Bernard Cribbins giving a slightly more restrained performance than Roy Castle, but still expected to participate in a number of ludicrous slap stick moments. Roberta Tovey returns as Susan and works surprisingly well with the films best supporting actor, Andrew Keir. Keir is ridiculously entertaining as the gruff rebel Wyler and his scenes with Susan as they escape through the forest provide a few nice moments in a mostly action packed film.

 

IN AN INTERESTING side note it appears there was plans for a spin-off radio series to be produced and a pilot entitled ‘Journey into Time’ was recorded, with Cushing in the lead. However very little material remains documenting the show and the pilot itself has never been found.

ALL IN ALL: 'Invasion Earth 2150 A.D' is clearly the superior film. Now that’s not to criticise or lambast Dr. Who and the Daleks, but I feel that due to the continuity issues that are more strongly expressed in the first film, the sequel is often over-shadowed. Now honestly I enjoy both films. There the perfect example of Sunday afternoon entertainment, now issues they may have but very few films don’t. The entertainment factor for the Dalek movies is so high and they look SO good, that to miss out on them is to do yourself a huge disservice. Not only that, but Cushing’s portrayal in the first film is often so criticised that the subtle changes made by him between the two films often go unnoticed. A shame, as Cushing’s Doctor in this film rivals some of the best television incarnations.

PART ONE OF CALLUM MCKELVIE'S TWO PART FEATURE : 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 . . 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  . . 

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: IN THE STUDIO AT THE BBC WITH THE MASTERS OF MENACE!

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: A wonderful publicity photograph of both Peter Cushing and Vincent Price while recording the BBC radio serial 'ALIENS OF THE MIND' in 1977. Do you REMEMBER this radio series being broadcast? 

ABOVE some Radio Times Listings from our archive of the broadcasts

 back in 1977 . ..

ALIENS OF THE MIND was a serial in six parts with Vincent Price as Curtis Lark and Peter Cushing as John Cornelius. On the Isle of Lewigh, Lark and Cornelius are certain that the death of Dr Hugh Dexter was no accident. From his research notes, they diagnose the ' island sickness ' as the early symptoms of a strange genetic mutation undergone by many of the inhabitants, turning them into zombies blindly obeying some unknown force. The key to the mystery seems to be an apparently simple-minded 18-year-old - Flora Keiry - who saves Lark and Cornelius from being burnt to death! The series titles were, ‘ISLAND GENESIS’, ‘HURRIED EXODUS’, ‘UNEXPECTED VISITATIONS’, ‘OFFICIAL INTERCESSIONS’, ‘GENETIC REVELATIONS’ AND ‘FINAL TRIBULATIONS’. 

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!

CHANGING THE FACE OF DOCTOR WHO : THE AMAZING CONCEPTS AND ARTWORK OF COLIN BROCKHURST

CHANGING THE FACE OF DOCTOR WHO: In an alternative television universe, Colin Brockhurst's fabulous artwork and concept design makes sense..makes you think about it... the possibilities of what could have, should have, might have been... Peter Cushing as The Master in the BBC's Dr Who television series, Yutte Stensgaard as Jo Grant, the doctor's assistant...and the Target paperback of episode 'Project Zeta-Sigma' features Peter Cushing as The Master too...and there's MORE. MUCH more. And you can find it : HERE

'Changing the Face of Doctor Who is a selection of posters, merchandise, listings and ephemera that imagines different actors in the roles of the first eight Doctors, some who were merely considered, some who were approached and one who should have been. All magazine covers are 'actual size' and have been professionally printed on heavy 250gsm silk paper..... Changing the Face of Doctor Who features some fascinating ideas and artwork, as seen below, including An A3 print (29.7 x 42.0cm or 11.69 x 16.53 inches) of the cover of an imaginary November 23-29, 1963, issue of Radio Times featuring the First Doctor, GEOFFREY BAYLDON. The cover is printed so as to be 'actual size' and as utterly authentic as possible...

 

 

All the goodies below..... the whole package contains, A mockup of a novelisation of the unmade story, The Masters of Luxor, starring GEOFFREY BAYLDON. Please note that although the size and design of the book resembles one of the first run of Target novelisations, the pages within come from random paperbacks from such literary luminaries as Dan Brown and Jackie Collins. Artwork by the brilliant Steve Andrew. The cover of an imaginary November 1966 issue of the BBC's in-house magazine, Ariel, featuring the Second Doctor, BRIAN BLESSED. A3 print. A set of telesnaps from the first episode of The Destiny of Doctor Who, introducing BRIAN BLESSED as the Doctor, plus Radio Times listing. The telesnaps are actual size. A3 print.The January 1st 1970 cover of Radio Times, publicising RON MOODY's debut as the Third Doctor, in the Yeti story The Laird of McCrimmon. A3 print. A jim-dandy RON MOODY metal badge measuring 37mm, designed to resemble the 1971 Sugar Smacks badges (these). Artwork by Steve Andrew. A 4"x6" double-sided postcard of the 2-8 January 1971 Radio Times cover, featuring RON MOODY as the Third Doctor, Peter Cushing as the Master, David Langton as the Brigadier and Yutte Stensgaard as Jo Grant. A 3.5" x 5.5" (approx) RON MOODY publicity card with preprinted signature.The cover of a (non-existent) magazine promoting the debut of GRAHAM CROWDEN as the Fourth Doctor, also featuring the irreplaceable Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith. A3 print. An interview (made up, of course) from a January 1982 edition of Radio Times, with the Fifth Doctor himself, RICHARD GRIFFITHS. A3 print.he Target novelisation cover (flat) of the Fifth Doctor's introductory story, Project Zeta-Sigma, which starred RICHARD GRIFFITHS with Peter Cushing's Master. Measures 9"x7", approximately, on thick card.Doctor Who Magazine announces the new Sixth Doctor, RICHARD O'BRIEN, on the cover of its June 1984 issue. A3 print.An (actual size) DVD cover for the 1989 Seventh Doctor story Storm Over Avallion, starring KEN CAMPBELL, David Langton, Sara Griffiths (introduced in Delta and the Bannermen) and Jean Marsh. A4 print.A faux Doctor Who publicity photo of KEN CAMPBELL, with pre-printed signature. 4" x 6" on card. A 1987 BBC Press Release announcing the casting of KEN CAMPBELL. A4 print. Doctor Who returned in 1996, with an American flavour and RIK MAYALL in the title role...and one final A3 poster with a few bits and pieces that didn't make it into the set, eight title sequences and the artists' workings.

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