HERE IS A RARE CUTTING, from our PCASUK scrapbooks, that I have posted before, but some time ago. Not only is it rare, but the occasion that story in the cutting is was quite an event and quite strange at the time, for quite a few people! I wonder how many of you remember it and if anyone remembers when and what the newspaper cutting is all about? Feel free to join in the discussion and debate at our right now!
PCASUK has several internet social platforms, including a FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE. It has over 33 THOUSAND likes and followers! Please come join us us and have an opportunity to discuss any of the posts you have seen here at the website!
WHAT A HORRIBLE way to go! Here is Peter Cushing breathing his last gasps, in a film I am pretty sure you all know 😉 This is a RARE photograph, I have never shared before. QUESTION: There was only ONE #vincentprice
film in which Peter also appeared, but didn't die! If you know THAT
title, you'll know which film takes the theme on SUNDAY when CALLUM
MCKELVIE joins us again, for the first in another series of great
features with RARE stills galleries! Crack my QUESTION you have the film
for Callum's first FEATURE 😉 - Marcus
THE USA TRAILER 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! You can read all about it
in a NEW feature at our PCASUK website shortly. In the meantime, enjoy
this RARE trailer and the first of TWO great rare stills galleries, with
many behind the scenes and on set photographs, never seen before. YOU
can see PART one RIGHT HERE!
ABOVE:WHEN AMICUS FILM I,MONSTER and MR BLAKE made our weekly #MONSTERMONDAY selection! Everyone without a pause, voted BLAKE a monster of some standard!
THE FILM 'I MONSTER' will be taking the platform at the PCASUK sites in several posts over the next two weeks. Be sure not to miss the I MONSTER RARE STILLS GALLERY and a new feature, with addition gallery at this website over the next few days. Gallery Part TWO will be here on MONDAY 6th 2018. Most posts that are daily posted here, are also posted and shared at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE where fans and lovers of Peter's work and life, are able to debate and comment on the content of that day's posts. PLEASE feel free to join us and over 33 Thousand other followers at the FAN PAGE. JUST CLICK HERE and CLICK LIKE there!
#THROWBACKTHURSDAY!THE BRIDE THAT GOT AWAY!Christopher Lee and Melissa Stribling at the
premier of Hammer films, 'DRACULA' / 'Horror of Dracula'... Stribling
played Mina Holmwood, who falls heart and head over heels for Lee's
blood sucking Count.... he almost gets her too!
Peter Cushing's heroic vampire slayer, Van Helsing, dramatically pulls
the rug AND castle curtains on them! Poor Lee's Dracula goes from LUST
to...DUST!
THIS SHOT and pose is probably one of the most iconic images from Hamer's
early films... it certainly is very impressive in the additional ADDED
and restored shots included in the Hammer DRACULA blu ray from
Lionsgate. Love the film, love the blu ray
IF YOU ENJOY the posts here at our website, you would LOVE maybe the opportunity to chat and comment on these posts and Peter Cushing's films at our FACEBOOK Peter Cushing Appreciation Society FAN PAGE. PLEASE CLICK HERE and then CLICK LIKE THERE! You will be most welcome!
WELL THERE COULD only be one face here today, for certain! Have a Happy Valentine, Everyone
- Peter Cushing as Arthur Grimsdyke, resurrected in Tales From The
Crypt (1972) in the VALENTINE story, Poetic Justice. Peter Cushing was
awarded The Licorne d’Or Award at the French Convention of Fantasy
Cinema, for his role of Arthur Grimsdyke . .
THE RARE COLOUR contact sheet BELOW features FOUR images that were never used in publicity for the film, and probably not published as a contact sheet before today, on the net. Even though these are posted here at as hiigh a resolution as blogger will handle, these images are still very LARGE and taken to a print shop, after a little cleaning with picasa . . . .or photoshop, if you are really particular . . they would print of as great 10 x 8 stills or even large full colour posters! Have FUN! - Marcus.
NEXT WEEKS CUSHING COLLECTORS POST: PETER CUSHING
CHRISTOPHRE LEE WRITES: "Unfortunately, I am also to be opened up--on June 7th I have open heart
surgery that day (no lilies, please) to replace a mitral valve. At
least it will prove that I do have a heart--and if anything goes wrong,
nobody will believe it. Peter [Cushing] has very kindly offered to act
as consultant; I have slight reservations on this one, having once been
the result of his genius . . . . I think this all started on HOUSE OF
THE LONG SHADOWS. What with my heart, John [Carradine]'s hands, Peter's
[unreadable] and your legs, we should be able to put together some sort
of composite immortal which would keep Landis, Cronenberg and Carpenter
in funds for many years."
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
THIS WEEKS and our FIRST Collectable is a contact sheet of press stills from #hammerfilms
Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968) The shots were taken during
shooting the 'Dracula's hide out' which were shot on sets at Pinewood
Studios. Featured the shots are Christopher
Lee appearing in his third Dracula film for the studio. Also actress
Barbara Ewing as barmaid Zena and Veronica Carlson as Maria. This scene
marks the seducation and 'biting' of Ewing's Zena. The film was
directed by Freddie Francis. #dracula #hammerfilms #christopherlee
WHAT ARE MOVIE CONTACT SHEETS? : Back in the ‘classic’ movie days, still photography went
hand-in-hand with film making, to the point that photo negatives were
just as important as the reel of the film being produced. Publicity
shots made the film and its stars eternally shine. Photographers had to
show a keen flattering eye for capturing the stars of the film, as the
public’s perception, and success of the film, heavily depended on them. From a sheet containing maybe eight to ten exposures, the press office would choose maybe just one or two, which would be published and exhibited. The rest of the poses and pics would never see the light of day or be unpublished. THAT is what makes contacts rare and valuable. It’s sad to say that many contact sheets were trashed after the movie released or had public run. Most of these contact sheets have survived, because someone dug it out of the trash.”
TODAY is the first of our new weekly themed day here at facebook and our PCAS website. #CUSHINGCOLLECTORSWEDNESDAY!
Each each week we'll be giving away rare stills, contact sheets from
the press offices of the past and other visual goodies for the digital
image collectors among you to add to your collections. Not every goody
will be Cushing related, some will be, as in this case something from
the Hammer or Amicus films archive. But all will be certainly worth
having, individually un-watermarked and even if you don't collect...these can be printed off as photographs or large posters.
SO, THIS WEEK we start with TEN colour images still as originally
processed by the Hammer films Warner Brothers press office. These images
taken by studio stills photographer. They have not been clean or
edited. They are in their original state and are YOURS 😉 Feel free to right click, save and copy.
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
FOLLOWING ON FROM last week’s piece, I’m now turning
my attention towards the second Dalek film, Daleks
Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. Released in 1967, right at the very end of ‘Dalekmania’,
Invasion Earth was not as warmly received
as its predecessor despite my thinking it the superior film. My DR WHO AND THE DALEKS REVIEW AND GALLERY HERE! However, it still has
a slew of interesting facts and tid bits concerning its production and
release...
OF COURSE ONE of the more infamous aspects of the
films production and marketing concerns the ‘Sugar Puffs’ sponsorship. On the
one hand, this was extremely beneficial, assisting in the films financing and
helping immensely with marketing. Examples of this include the Daleks featuring
in Sugar Puffs television commercials, on the front of cereal boxes and of
course a competition to win one of the Dalek props.
THE NEGATIVE SIDE concerns
the product placement that features regularly throughout the film, most notably
on the walls during the opening sequence in which the Tardis is covered in
rubble. It’s not damaging to the film in any particular way, but it is somewhat
distracting when considering the film is supposed to be set in an apocalyptic
future. I mean, did all other forms of food run out during the Dalek invasion
and everyone went Sugar Puff mad?
WHEN BUILDING DALEKS for this film it might seem
an obvious assumption that the Daleks were simply edited and re-used from the
first film. Unfortunately due to prize giveaways and tours these Daleks numbers
had been sufficiently depleted. With a number of new props built others were
taken from the Curse of the Daleks stage-play
and sufficiently remodelled.
IN TOTAL NINETEEN were used with Terry Nation
(Dalek creator) going on to own four. The rest, reputedly were left on the
Shepperton backlot to rot. Nations Daleks would spend the next few years
appearing on tours, being used for photoshoots and fairs. One of the Dalek
props would get another chance to show off its acting chops- albeit on the
small screen, appearing opposite Jon Pertwee’s third doctor in Planet of the Daleks.
THIS DALEK WAS SUITABLY ‘pimped’ out, having been repainted gold and black and appearing with
a torch instead of an eyestalk. It looks suitably impressive and despite not
getting much screen-time, steals the show. Nation's Daleks would continue to
make public appearances for the rest of the 1970’s including the stage show Doctor Who and the Daleks in Seven keys to
Doomsday.
OTHER MORE CONVENTIONAL and traditional marketing appear to have been a little less
extreme this time around. Perhaps Subotsky, reassured by the massive success of
the first film, decided to cost-cut in this area? That’s not to say there
wasn’t any however. Some fascinating behind the scenes footage remains in a television programme entitled ''A WHOLE SCENE GOING ON' (1966) which features a fascinating interview with director
Gordon Flemying, who discusses his motivations for wanting to direct BOTH Peter Cushing / Dalek feature film and how he chooses to work. Hammer stalwart Eddie Powell gets a
shout-out and features in a few clips, setting up for stunts during the final
battle sequence within the Dalek base. Cushing can also be seen walking around
set and preparing for scenes
ONE OF THE MORE INTERESTING promotional aspects
concerns the films soundtrack, which was adapted and presented by Gordon Gow
for the BBC Light programme. Aired on November 18 1966 as part of the Movietime series, I’ve been unable to
discover if any copy of this broadcast remains. There is however, the original soundtrack recordings, lovingly restored from the vaults of Pinewood Studios, and presented with 20 page booklet from Silvascreen. Some of the vibrant period scores written by Malcolm Lockyer and Bill McGuffie,
also have sections enhanced by electronic sounds created by Barry Gray, famed
for his work with Gerry Anderson.
DALEKS INVASION EARTH 2150 AD would be the final film in the series
although a third film was planned, any ideas were shelved when 2150 AD didn't hit the lucrative mark of its predecessor. However that’s not to say that that this
would be the end for the Cushing doctor. Cushing himself maintained that he had
been asked to take the role on for television
IN EARLY 2010, it was discovered that Cushing did
indeed reprise the role, although not on television or the big screen. A promotional bill announcing the commencement of recording, 'JOURNEY INTO TIME' in ISSUE FIVE had appeared in the pages of the Peter Cushing Appreciation Society Journal, way back in 1981. It took until 2011, for anyone else to realise that the bill was indeed genuine, and seriously take up the research. Cushing recorded a pilot episode in the late 1960's, with the company mentioned in bill, STANMARK and Watermill Productions. However, the pilot came to nothing and sadly, the tapes have since been lost. The recording is thought to have been a thirty minute radio pilot for a proposed
series, written by well-known Doctor Who script writer, Malcolm Hulke (creator
of the Silurian’s and Sea Devils amongst other well-known monsters). All 52 episodes were to have been produced for Australia and other overseas territories. The plot
concerned the Doctor and his companion 'Mike' journeying to the American
Revolution.
FOR TWO SCI-FI'kid's flicks', the Dalek movies have certainly left
something of an impression. As I said in my reviews they are incredibly
controversial which seems surprising due to their lighthearted nature
and just how fun they are. Love them or loathe them they
certainly have an interesting history, though I feel I may be staying
away from WHO for a while now, having already devoted four articles to
it! I hope you have enjoyed them. Peter Cushing's work is all incredibly interesting and who knows, what we will be featuring here next Sunday? I HOPE you'll come along and find out!
If you want to know more about the Dalek props then I highly recommend visiting HERE!’, a site which features a complete and in-depth breakdown of what happened to both sets of movie Daleks. ALSO these sites are recommended too! http://www.doctorwho.tv/ and HERE!
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
