WHEN A HAMMER HORROR SCRIPT WENT AWOL AND ALMOST DIDN'T GO INTO PRODUCTION!

THERE WAS ONLY ONE completed MASTER SCRIPT in existence... and on the day it was to be in the hands of producer Anthony Nelson Keys . . it went missing! Which classic Peter Cushing Hammer film script was this and where was it RESCUED and FOUND? . . . .it wasn't The Hound of the Baskervilles! The ANSWER will be posted at our FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE where you can submit YOUR answer! Please feel free to join in with the other suggestions, being submitted by the friends and followers on our Fan Page TODAY! 

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CAN YOU NAME THIS HAMMER FILM SCRIPT AND TREATMENT?? TUESDAY TOUGHY!

HERE IS THIS WEEKS TUESDAY TOUGHY on Peter Cushing. Not an easy one, but the answer is out there in various features of this website! If yiou would like to share your answer and maybe debate it with OTHER Cushing fans, slip along to our daily updated PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. Where it will be posted shortly! HAVE FUN answer NEXT TUESDAY!

ABOVE: THE ANSWER TO LAST TUESDAY'S TOUGHY! Did you guess it??

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MOMENT OF TERROR MONDAY! CUSHING IN 'THE SKULL' CLIP

THIS WEEK'S #MOMENTSOFTERRORMONDAY! comes from Amicus films, 'THE SKULL' (1965) starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee . .and here, Peter Woodthrope, who some of you may recognise from his portrayal of Zoltan the hypnotist, Hammer films, 'The Evil of Frankenstein' also with Peter Cushing from the same year. The floating SKULL of the The Skull of the "Marquis de Sade" was a true device of terror, and a concept devised by author and screenplay writer, Robert Bloch. Bloch worked on a few Amicus films, The Skull probably being the best of the bunch.

PETER CUSHING plays the tormented Christopher MAITLAND . . .a surname that is a death sentence in an Amicus film, as script writer and producer has used the surname so many times in his films! This is great clip. I LOVE the way that Woodthrope's ,Bert Travers falls through no one, but TWO glass skylights...and if you listen carefully, it sounds as he went through another too . .. . A TRUE Moment of TERROR! BEST print on the market, would have to be the EUREKA BLU RAY. GReat visual quality and sound...and a load of extra features too PLUS It's REGION ZERO! ENJOY! - Marcus

MORE ON THE SKULL IN OUR FEATURE AND GALLERY : 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

CUSHING SCRIPT WITH ANNOTATIONS

YOU OFTEN READ and hear about Cushing's attention to detail, not only in performance, but also with his costume and schedule. It was reassuring to directors, that Cushing came prepared, knew his lines...and everyone else's too! thigh it drove some to distraction, Hammer's Antony Hinds called Cushing a, "fuss pot!' One of the director's of the BBC Sherlock Holmes series, actually had a show down with Cushing just hours away from the live broadcast, over a line of dialogue. The only recorded instance of Cushing unraveling on set.

HERE ARE FOUR PAGES from Cushing's personal script for 'Trail by Combat' (1976) which he made for Kevin Francis, Tyburn Productions. Feel free to copy the images, to see the annotations clearly because there is MUCH to see. Notes to himself and his performance, 'Don't look down, don't mumble. No toupee required when wearing the hat. Provide my own clothes for this scene. Make sure two hundred pounds for car transport, in cash!'

YOU MAY ALSO SPOT, all the contact details for John Redway his agent, the press office, and a note of where to acquire stills from the film. Many of these he would send onto PCAS pres at the time, Gladys Fletcher. These amazing annotations are proof of a man who knew his trade, very well indeed, and didn't believe in leaving these to chance

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 BOTTOM LINE: CHRISTOPHER LEE THE PROS AND CONS OF EXCEPTING A ROLE

#HAMMERFILMSSATURDAY: WHEN IT CAME to business of  excepting a role in a film, television or on stage, with over 200 film credits to his name, you would think that the late Sir Christopher Lee, was an actor with formula, maybe a complex check list of pros and cons. It appears that was not the case at all.....

 

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!

#HAMMERFILMSSATURDAY: THE VANISHING UK DRACULA TRAILER

#HAMMERFILMSATURDAY : Yesterday being #frankensteinfriday, we shared the trailer for The Revenge of Frankenstein and thinking about our previous post today, about the Hammer Queens Award for Export back in 1968, I had a quick scroll through the titles of Hammer film titles from 57 to 75, and most of the big winners in there were, the Frankenstein and Dracula series. It could be said, they were the most popular Hammer films, certainly if Peter and Christopher Lee appeared in them.

BUT THERE are other titles like One Million Years BC....which were also very popular indeed. With the exclusion of the Cushing and Lee Hammer films... what do you consider to be your personal Hammer film favorite? The Nanny? Plague of the Zombies? Nightmare? Slave Girls?? Surprise me. Send you comments, which will be posted below to our email address, petercushingpcas@gamil.com

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!

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: EVIDENCE OF A LOST PETER CUSHING FILM UNEARTHED!

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: VERY INTERESTING evidence has come to light of a film that Peter Cushing appeared in the 1940's. THE NEW SCHOOL, in pre production titles, The New Teacher, was made in the UK by the UK government's CROWN FILM UNIT and mostly shot in Yorkshire and at the Homerton Collage, Cambridge . There are several pieces evidence, that appear to indicate that this was a public information film, popular at the time, and before the advent of mass broadcasting television in the UK. For the first time, we are presenting here a cover from the shooting script, a photograph of the crew on location at Homerton Collage, along with it's Crown copyright reverse side. We are working alongside a partner interest in finding out more about this 'unknown' addition to the Cushing filmography, and will keep you up to date, with any further developments and finds. Many thanks to S. Paterson for their keen eye and assistance. - Marcus

IT MIGHT BE YOU (1946) IS ANOTHER example of a film which Peter Cushing made with the CROWN FILM UNIT (above) In it, Peter Cushing plays a doctor, in a what is basically a film about driving and road safety. His diction is very much standard BBC, clipped and perfect! ... Peter Cushing appears for the duration after 1.45 mins into the short. Look out also for actor Peter Madden who would later work with Cushing in Hammer films, 'Frankenstein Created Woman' (1967) as the Chief of Police and before that, in Amicus films, 'Dr Terrors House of Horrors' in 1965. Enjoy!

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!

CUSHING CLIP: MYSTERY ON MONSTER ISLAND

OUR NEW YOUTUBE CHANNEL is now open, and here is a recent upload and a clip that was shared on our Peter Cushing Appreciation Society Facebook Fan Page yesterday, for our #throwbackthursday post.

IT'S PETER CUSHING in the rarely seen film, Mystery on Monster Island (1980) loosely based on a Jules Verne novel and co-starring Terence Stamp....... It wasn't so  well received at the time, and certainly makes you think about who the producers were aiming this film at? For the kids, this was a miss. The special effects are quite dated, when you think families had been treated to the wonders of Indiana Jones and Star Wars sequels around this time. As you can see from the screen cap below, we are back in the land of At The Earth's Core-men-in-suits-monsters, and the whole film seems likely inspired by the Kevin Conner/John Dark monster-fantasy productions that began with THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT (1975) and ended with WARLORDS OF ATLANTIS (1978). BUT we do have Cushing, it's brief, but as usual even this late in his career...classy and he LOOK good too, take a look at  his script below, and again we see his knowledgeable hand in the choices of costume and  his props.

MYSTERY ON MONSTER ISLAND CAST:
Ian Sera (Jeff Morgan), Terence Stamp (Taskinar/Skinner), Peter Cushing (William T. Kolderup), David Hatton (Thomas Artelect), Gasphar Ipua (Carefinatu), Blanca Estrada (Dominique Blanchard), Ana Obregon (Meg), Frank Brana (Birling), Paul Naschy (Flynt), Gerard Tichy (Captain Turkott)
Directed by Juan Piquer Simon.

MONSTERMONDAY THE SKULL AND FREDDIE FRANCIS SCRIPT

This weeks #MONSTERMONDAY features not so much a body or person, but a head! The SKULL, of the Marquis de Sade to be exact! Amicus films, THE SKULL produced in 1965 starred another teaming of Peter with Christopher Lee, who were supported by the superb casting of Patrick Wymark, Nigel Green, Patrick Magee and Jill Bennett. In recent times, the cranked up suspense and lush photography has enjoyed a remastering on blu ray, unfortunately the 'clean-up' of the print reveals not only the finer framed details, but also the 'strings' that suspend the floating skull of the title! Having said that, the Skull's suspense and menace, still delivers unnerving chills some 50 years on...and makes it more than worthy of being our nominated Monster this Monday.... The Skull.thumbs UP or DOWN?

Peter Cushing and Jill Bennett in Le Crane Malefique - The skull from Amicus films directed by Freddie Francis. This FRENCH lobby card carries the proof of a replacement paper sticker, that has been placed over the original title in French. The heirs of Donatien Alphonse François de Sade pressed charges to prevent any use of his name on the advertising material. The changes on posters and lobby-cards were made at the very last minute by gluing a paper sticker with the new title "Le Crâne Maléfique" (meaning "The Evil Skull") on top of the former, "Les forfaits du Marquis de Sade" (meaning "the Infamies of Marquis de Sade"). Only on that condition the film could finally be released in the French territory.

For many years, the director of Amicus films, THE SKULL starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, insisted that the impressive 'dream sequence' that takes place in the film with Peter Cushing, was entirely improvised on the day of shooting, on the studio floor. Here we present , from our collection, two pages from director's Freddie Francis personal script of The Skull. Page 21 describes 'Scene 12A Int Library Night' and gives detail of a MONTAGE SEQUENCE 'almost Dreamlike'... to the right of the page, in Francis own handwriting is an annotation note which says, 'OLD FASHION DREAM TRICK', which throws some doubt on Francis story. Throughout interviews in later times, Francis expressed his irritation with producer Milton Subotsky, and his habit of presenting Francis with incomplete scripts. This FINAL DRAFT shows clearly that a dream sequence was indeed included in the final vision of the script and that before shooting commence, Francis had also identified the style and technique that would be needed.

The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society is based in the UK but truly is an international group of fans, friends and admirers of the work of actor Peter Cushing. Established in 1956, PCAS is celebrating its 60 year this year. From its humble beginings as a newsletter and journal managed by Ms Gladys Fletcher until 1979, when it became a journal and audio tape service. The development of the audio tape show, was a forerunner of the todays PODCASTS, which was recorded in the style of a radio show, including interviews, competitions, sketches and features. The PCAS Sound Mag, later branched out into a spin off club and it's own following called The Black Box Club. Now both PCAS and the BLACKBOXCLUB enjoy a very popular presence on the internet and across many media platforms and social network sites. The PETER CUSHING APPRECIATION SOCIETY FACEBOOK FAN PAGE  AND our WEBSITE are UPDATED SEVERAL TIMES DAILY.

MAYHEM FESTIVAL BRINGS UNFILMED DRACULA SCRIPT TO LIFE : THE UNQUENCHABLE THIRST OF DRACULA

Mayhem Film Festival are to present a live stage reading of an unfilmed Hammer script as part of their 11th edition this October. The Unquenchable Thirst of Dracula was written by legendary Hammer writer/producer Anthony Hinds in the late 1960s but never adapted for the screen.

Actor and film historian, Jonathan Rigby, author of the indispensable guide to British horror English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015 and Christopher Lee: The Authorised Screen History, will act as the narrator and be accompanied by a group of actors to bring to life this never-seen-before Hammer Dracula story, in a unique immersive ‘screenless cinema’ experience. Lying firmly in the tradition of the classic Hammer Dracula films, The Unquenchable Thirst of Dracula, sees Count Dracula escape to India where his evil influence is just as insidious and powerful.

Anthony Hinds who wrote the script was the son of Hammer Films co-founder, Will Hammer, and was famous for his work on The Curse of the Werewolf (1961), The Phantom of the Opera (1962) and The Evil of Frankenstein (1964). The script would have been written for Christopher Lee at the time.

We at PCAS are wondering if this could be the script for Hammer films unproduced India themed outing for the Count, entitled Kali Devil Bride of Dracula?? With a suggested cast, loking at the poster of both Lee and Peter Cushing. See pre production development artwork for proposed above and below.... 

“This is a completely unique event for Mayhem, explains festival Co-Director Chris Cooke, and a great pleasure to work with horror expert and film historian Jonathan Rigby. He’s also a talented actor and will be perfect as our narrator, taking a live audience by the hand and leading them into Gothic darkness. Hammer Films have never felt more important to the history of British cinema, so this is a great opportunity for an audience to imagine a piece of classic cinema that sees Count Dracula resurrected before their eyes.”

The one-of-a-kind event is made possible thanks to Hammer Films, CATH (Cinema and Television Research Centre) and the De Montfort University. Mayhem Film Festival takes place on 15-18 October at Broadway, Nottingham with the support of the BFI Film Festival Fund, awarding funds from The National Lottery.

Early Bird passes are available at discounted price of £55. For more information and to book your passes please visit: http://www.broadway.org.uk/mayhem 

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