#CALLUMMCKELVIE SUNDAY! THERES NO DRACULA BUT BRIDES STILL HAS A LOT OF BITE!

COUNTINUING MY TRIPS down memory lane, I’m going back a little earlier than my l piece as week on HORROR EXPRESS (1973). As I said previously.  When I came across Horror Express, I was already well acquainted with the work of Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and the gothic horror movement of the late 50’s- 1970’s. The subject of today’s piece, The Brides of Dracula, was one of the first films I encountered on my journey into this world and the first that really made me take notice of Cushing as an actor. 

MY INTEREST IN THE GENRE went something like this; finding Quatermass and the Pit (1967) through references in Dr Who magazines and then researching its background. From there I saw Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964), chosen due to my interest in Egyptology (and the fact that it was the easiest Hammer-Mummy film to get on region 2 at the time) and the other Quatermass films. Then, I started to dip my toes into Hammers other franchises, Amicus films and the work of contemporaries like Roger Corman. I would do this by heading along to the UK HMV store and picking a random title or two, fortunately for me Halloween usually involved a sale on the horror section and two for £10. 
 

I BELIEVE IT WAS HALLOWEEN 2008 when, in the very early days of my hammer collecting, I grabbed both The Devil Rides Out (1968) and Brides of Dracula. I’d been after Devil for some time, but Brides I knew very little about and indeed only chose it to see an example of Hammer’s Dracula series. Rushing home with my two purchases, I had a habit at this age of turning any film I really wanted to see into something of an ‘event’, buying snacks and leaving it until late evening. The film I gave that honour too was The Devil Rides Out, but deciding I wanted to watch something however, I popped the disc of Brides into the player.

I THINK, IN MANY WAYS Brides of Dracula, is the perfect film in which to fall in love with both Hammer and Cushing. Whilst the script, can at times be a little messy, it is the atmosphere and performances that set this film apart. Visually the film is somewhat different to 1958’s Dracula, the slightly rougher aspects of that film are completely gone, primarily anything shot on location.

IN DRACULA , this was beneficial atmospherically as for the most part that film functions as a thriller in the guise of a horror movie. Think about it, a man hunts down an evil villain and dies in the process, a relative and the man’s accomplice in his mysterious work then embark on a cat and mouse chase with the villain. Of course I am being a little ignorant in this description of the gothic atmosphere and various staking’s etc., etc.

HOWEVER PURELY in terms of its various script beats, Dracula follows a classical thriller mould. Brides on the other hand is a fairy-tale, a dark fable of a girl who enters a strange country and rescues a prince (well Baron) only for him to turn out to be cursed. It is up to a brave hero (Van Helsing) to save the day. Perhaps reacting to this, Terrance Fisher opts to shoot Brides as mostly stage bound with very little obvious location footage. The set design is far more extravagant and what results is an utterly beautiful self-contained gothic world. The blacks and browns used in a lot of the sets in Dracula, are replaced with vibrant purples and reds. As a young horror fan, I fell in love with this gothic fairy-tale landscape.

A HUGE COMPONENT of this is David Peels performance as Baron Meintser, a character who somewhat divides the fans. Honestly, whilst I adore Christopher Lee as Dracula, I think it’s very unfair to compare that performance to this one. What is being exercised in the two movies are two very different portrayals of the ‘Dracula’ type character. 

WHILST CHRISTOPHER LEE gets his brief ‘refined gentleman’ moment in the opening scene of the earlier film, his Dracula is an animalistic, vicious character. The sexuality comes from that, with Lee's Dracula presented as a highly sexualised creature, not in a romantic way but a lustful and primal one. Peel on the other hand, feels as if the Hammer team were going for an entirely different approach, presenting him as a suave and debonair figure. For the most part he spends his time talking and being legitimately charming, as opposed to Lees snarling and hissing. This works within the films ‘fairy-tale mould’, after all the wonderful opening sequence in which the character of Marianne ‘frees’ him, wouldn’t work as well unless the character was a romantic one.

IN MANY WAYS, Peel's performance pre-empts the take that Frank Langella would have on the character many years later. And then of course there’s Cushing himself, giving what is perhaps his best performance as Van Helsing. I remember being utterly captivated by the determination in his performance, most notably the celebrated scene where he is forced to use a branding Iron on his neck to save himself from the curse of Vampirism.

THE SHEER FEAR mixed with determination presented here gives Van Helsing a warmer presence than he had in the earlier film (Teddy-bear coat scenes aside) and his bond with Marianne does hint at a romance between the two. It’s the performance that made me fall in love with the man and I quickly hunted down several of the Frankenstein entries to see more.

RETURNING TO MY little story of how I discovered Brides, whilst I did enjoy The Devil Rides Out, the film that really stole my heart that Halloween was Brides of Dracula. For me, it’s the only film to watch that time of year and I’m always ready to immerse myself in its rich gothic atmosphere again and again. Whilst I of course adore Dracula, in many ways Brides is a superior film and for me is Fishers masterpiece. If you ever want to indoctrinate anyone in the ways of Hammer, this is the one to go for- after all it worked for me!

AND WHAT ABOUT YOURSELVES dear readers? What were the films that really made you fall in love with Cushing? If you have any comments, suggestions or feedback about this or ANY of my features here at PCAS you can contact me HERE at spookycallum58@gmail.com

PART ONE OF OUR Femme Fatale Feature on YVONNE MONLAUR 

star of BRIDES OF DRACULA can be found HERE!

 

GIFS WEDNESDAY: WITH HAMMER FILMS DRACULA TAROT, MUMMY'S AND A SECRET FALSE TOOTH

CUSHING GIFS WEDNESDAY! ONE OF THE BEST pay off shots ever in a Peter Cushing Amicus movie! This one is from DR TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965) The characters played by actors  Roy Castle, Christopher Lee, Alan Freeman, Donald Sutherland  and Neil McCallum, won't be travel on ANY train again, in the future for sure . . .

ABOVE: A RARE still of behind the scenes on the set at Shepperton studios, shooting THIS scene! EVEN DEATH gets a place in the group gathering!

OUR FIRST FULL FEATURE on the AMICUS FILMS of Peter Cushing Part One, which includes rare stills and gallery on DR TERRORS HOUSE OF HORRORS .. RIGHT HERE! TAKE A LOOK around GOOGLE and you will find links to all SIX PARTS of this feature series. ALL of Cushing Amicus films are covered, with as usual galleries of RARE images. Press, publicity and behind the scenes stills too!

A SHORT KIND OF CUT AWAY scene in HAMMER FILMS DRACULA / HORROR OF DRACULA 1958. THIS particular scene has caused quite a bit of unrest and divided opinions over the years between fans of the film. Film director, Terence Fisher always believed, in giving the audience, emotional space when watching one of his fantasy films. If they had just been frightened or caused great stress by a scene, he liked to let them recover, breathe a little! This slightly comic breather, involving the repeated breaking of the boarder control barrier, was included during the roaring race with Dracula, to do just that, BEFORE the hugely dramatic and frightening destruction of the Count. Some think it was a mistake, that sitting in the middle of the climatic closing of the film, does little more that upset the story and destroy the rhythm. It WAS Fisher's intention to disrupt the drama, to cut away to something else, and he succeeds. For some, a little too much.   I would LOVE to know what your opinion is! IF you don't know this scene, or haven't seen the movie, NOW is our opportunity! You are missing probably one of Hammer films finest! WRITE to petercushingpcas@gmail.com

THE ROLE OF the Boarder Official was played by GEORGE BENSON, nowhere near the age of his character. BUT he would be joining Cushing again on screen, when he WAS that age, playing his lab assistant Waterlow, in Tigon films wonderful feature frightener, THE CREEPING FLESH in 1973.

A MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM FOLLOWERS MARCIA LOISEL THE FOLLOWING DAY THURSDAY 29th MARCH
First, I knew that George Benson was in both Dracula and Creeping Flesh, but never once did I think that those characters were the same person! Learn something new every day! :) The comic bit doesn't really bother me. It was established earlier that he was a comic character so his second scene was in character. Of course, "Dracula" is one of my most favorite movies ever, so I love every minute of it and can't imagine it any different.

Happy Birthday to Jack Asher! He really did help to establish Hammer's 'look'. The still of Van Helsing on the stairs of Dracula's castle, before he goes into the library for the final scene is stunning. The light streaming in through the colored panes of the windows is just beautiful. "The Mummy" is also a favorite, everything about it is gorgeous.

Looking forward to Callum Mckelvie's "Brides of Dracula" article!

Kind regards.
Marcia Loisel

ABOVE: ONE OF OUR many features and galleries on HAMMER FILMS DRACULA / HORROR OF DRACULA (1958) HERE we share a WHOLE set of 1958 Front Of House CINEMA  USA LOBBY cards, from when the film was released in 1958.

CHRISTOPHER LEE'S pretty amazing portrayal of KHARIS in Hammer films THE MUMMY (1959)! Along with Cushing John Banning and a terrific cast, personally it's one of my most favourite Peter Cushing films, and it's in the top four best of Hammer's! BELOW here is an upload from our Peter Cushing Appreciation Society YOUTUBE CHANNEL of DONALD FEARNEY's excellent documentary on ALL MUMMY films, including UNIVERSAL films. Just CLICK on the BLUE LINK! 

WATCH DONALD FEARNEY'S LEGEND OF HAMMER MUMMIES! Just about EVERY Mummy film is covered. There's quite a number of interviews and some great rare supporting images too! JUST click HERE!

AND ABOVE HERE IS ANOTHER clip from Hammer films, THE MUMMY from our Peter Cushing Appreciation Society YOUTUBE CHANNEL

THE BBC PRODUCTION OF George Orwell's 1984, was not only a landmark for drama productions for the government broadcasting company, but also for PETER CUSHING himself. His performance influenced Hammer films, to cast Cushing in their FIRST Frankenstein, and his career was never the same again.  HERE we have Cushing's WINSTON SMITH, during the closing moments, where Cushing forever dedicated to doing his best to make his contribution, makes a gesture, that probably few with his romantic reputation at the time, would have entertained doing. 

YOU'LL NOTICE, Winston by this time, following months of torture and beatings, has lost a front tooth. THAT is not make up or a trick of the light. Cushing lost a front tooth during the late 1940's. In all publicity the loss of the tooth was blamed on a boot to his face, playing his favorite sports game, rugby. 

THIS WASN'T ACTUALLY the case, but for publicity, sounded more pleasant and heroic than the unpleasant dealings of smelly breath, pus filed wounds and cavities! While living in Somerset, UK with his wife, Helen Cushing fell victim to a horrible chest infection and an abscess to his FRONT tooth. Despite medication and nursing it, it was extracted. This caused much stress and insecurities for quite sometime. Just a few weeks after the removal, Cushing was cast in Olivier's film production of HAMLET.  During the shooting of a scene with Olivier, Cushung apologized to him if he accidentally dribbled or spat in to his face! Such were the problems of his still trying speak, with a tooth on a plate. After this time, it's noted that Cushing dictation became sharper than ever, and always during an interview or standard speaking role,  his speech was as sharp as a knife!



AND FINALLY FOR TODAY, a great shirt video interview extract of PETER CUSHING discussing playing HORROR FILM roles .... THIS clip is another posted here from our Peter Cushing Appreciation Society YOUTUBE CHANNEL It's easy to subscribe to, you'll never miss a NEW upload. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE and support us in keeping the memory of Peter Cushing his career and live ALIVE!

REMEMBERING ONE OF HAMMER FILMS NICEST MEN : TUESDAY TOUGHIE : WINNERS OF CINEFICCION!

REMEMBERING: A wonderful actor and special guy, RALPH BATES. Sadly, no longer with us, and died today in 1991. A talented actor and a truly gentle and kind man.

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.

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).

AFTER POLDARK, Bates himself kept busy in a few forgettable UK made 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. 

BELOW OUR ANSWER to LAST WEEKS TUESDAY TOUGHIE!

ANSWER: THE ACTORS who Peter Cushing worked with BETWEEN 1956 and 1959 who became KNIGHTED were MICHAEL REDGRAVE in TIME WITHOUT PITY (1957) , CHRISTOPHER LEE in a whole range of feature films, STANLEY BAKER in VIOLENT PLAYGROUND (1958) and JOHN MILLS in END OF THE AFFAIR (released 1956)

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! HERE ARE OUR LUCKY FOUR winners to the competition we held LAST WEEK! YOUR magazine will be with you shortly. IF ytou did not supply a postal address where you would like your prizes mailed to, PLEASE contact me at the PCAS email. AGAIN thank you everyone who took part and entered AND many thanks to DARIO at CINEFICCION for those prize copies! HERE is where you can ORDER YOUR copy too!  ANOTHER COMPETITION LATER THIS WEEK! KEEP LOOKING IN!