REMEMBERING: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC MORECAMBE

Today marks the birthday of Eric Morecambe, one half of the most successful comedy team in the UK. Still missed, loved by all, with Eric's passing back in 1984, it left a hole not only in the entertainment world but also in people's hearts. With his partner, Ernie...they provided one of tv's longest running gags, 'Peter Cushing and his Money!'... he did eventually get it , but not until the boys, had a lot of fun with it, stretching over many years and several programmes. God bless, Eric, Happy Birthday and thanks for all those precious memories and laughs.

 

You'll find all of the Peter Cushing Morecambe and Wise clips that are available on our MORECAMBE AND WISE AND CUSHING ALBUM AT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

REMEMBERING MELISSA STRIBLING

REMEMBERING: Melissa Stribling who was born today November 7th 1927. Stribling appeared in just the one film with Peter Cushing...but boy did she pick the right one! She also got to play in one of Hammer films most iconic scenes in their 1958 'Dracula', where Christopher Lee's Count, in the dead of night, visits her home and..without a word.. seduces her. The scene is so super charged with sexual tension, it almost crackles off the screen and as a result got the scissors treatment from the censors at the time. In 2013, in Hammer's restored print the exorcised footage was replaced, giving us the full picture of what Director Terence Fisher, Stribling and Lee had originally intended and created.

I've read in several reviews of 'Dracula' both from the time of the films' release in 58 and in more recent times, that Stribling was a curious choice for the role of Mina Holmwood, that compared to the likes of Valerie Gaunt and other Hammer actresses, even though she was only in early 30's when she appeared in Dracula, many thought her slightly ordinary and plain. I totally disagree...but if that was the case, I can't help thinking that, director Fisher's choice in Stribling was intentional. That subtext in the story of Arthur Holmwood's wife being frustrated and bored, suddenly being charmed and seduced by the exotic and erotic Count, Stribling was...the perfect choice.

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ANTON DIFFRING BORN TODAY AND REMEMBERED.

REMEMBERING: ANTON DIFFRING. Born today in 1918, Anton Diffring came from a family that boasted generations of actors. Cool and noble with a German accent, he was first in line when the casting call went out for German officers with a nasty streak. He quickly slipped into the role of Baron Frankenstein for the pilot episode of Hammer films and Colombia Pictures, 'Tales of Frankenstein' in 1958 and even quicker filled the role of Dr. Georges Bonnet in Hammer's 'The Man Who Could Cheat Death' in 1959, when the studio found themselves without Peter Cushing for the role.

Diffring is probably best remembered for his roles in 'The Blue Max' in 1966, 'Where Eagles Dare' in 1968 and François Truffaut's Fahrenheit 451 (1966) He was also cast in several film alongside Peter Cushing, 'Shatter' for Hammer in 1974, 'The Beast Must Die' for Amicus also 74 and Tyburn's 'The Masks of Death' with Peter Cushing as an elderly Sherlock Holmes in 1984. Anton Diffring died in 1989 aged 70.

Full review and gallery to be found on our supplement website theblackblackboxclub.com: HERE