It's #TOOCOOLTUESDAY and as always, here is a collection of random yet, connected items, brought to you because of their association with the ever so cool, Mr Peter Cushing...!
WE SHARED this RARE archive photograph on the PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE TODAY, and asked our friends and followers, who was it posing with 'the wigs', beard and ....missing tooth?
THE ANSWER can be revealed in the photograph above and the banner at the top of this post... they are none other than, stars of 'AT THE EARTH'S CORE' Caroline Munro and Doug McClure, wearing the wigs and beards that would be worn by the actors who would play the 'primitive cave people' in the film. Though the 'missing front tooth' of Mr McClure, is quite genuine!
TRIVIA: Peter Cushing for much of his professional life, from 1948 onwards, wore a front denture. It's mentioned in his autobiography that he lost the original tooth, playing rugby! A bit of publicity spin there, I am afraid. Cushing suffered a tooth infection, just before his shooting of Osric in Olivier's film, 'Hamlet'. In fact, loosing the tooth came in handy during the making of the BBC production of George Orwell's '1984' in 1954. Never one to miss an opportunity to use props, some business, or indeed anything that would add authenticity to his performance, Cushing REMOVED his 'one tooth plate' for the horrifying 'Room 101' scenes in the climax of the television drama. It really enhances his emaciated and broken appearance. Vanity never got in the way, of Cushing's quest in perfecting a role...and how cool, is THAT?
..AND HERE, is some MORE Caroline Munro! This time as the poor Laura Beddows in Hammer films, DRACULA AD 1972 with Christopher Lee. It doesn't end well, I am afraid....
FROM THE SAME Hammer film, Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, not for the first time, is locked in a struggle to once again destroy the Count, and in this shot..not doing too well...
When not slapping around vampire hunters, biting faire maidens, Christopher Lee was the meekest of men. And here, we see him at home in 1974 with his wife, Birgit and daughter, Christina, in the cutest of family scenes. This shot was featured in the documentary, 'In Search of Dracula' (1974) in which Lee himself goes in search of the origins of the bloody Count!
Peter Cushing once again in the role of a vampire hunter, with a twist. This, one Gustav Weil, belongs to a merry band of called the 'Brotherhood' who see it as their job to rid the town of surge of vampires and one in particular called, Count Karnstein, there's that name again, played by Damian Thomas, in his one and only role for Hammer films in 'TWINS OF EVIL'. By this time, Hammer were finding it hard to keep the ol 'vampire fire a-burning' so new and ever more inventive plots and schemes had to be invented, when Christopher Lee, dig in his heels and said a very firm, NO! What they came up with in this case, is one of the very best deviations. TWINS, beautiful one's at that, played by the quite credible Collinson sisters, Mary and Madeline. Yet again, all certainly doesn't end well in this saga either, with the final reel playing out like a Greek tragedy. With death, destruction and the offing of even poor ol Peter, it's enough to make anyone, loose their head!
HAMMER FILMS had been toying with the idea of following the Universal Frankenstein films track, as far back as 1959, when the REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN , switched themes from 'creating a woman' to unleashing a killer with a taste for human flesh, a cannibal creation, instead. It took a few years for the subject to re-emerge, as 'FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN' in 1967. The woman was the lovely, Susan Denberg, who keep the body count going while keep the dirty mac brigade happy at the same time...and still does!
AND FINALLY, a shot from a film that sadly, when released joined the party, when the music had stopped, the last of the booze had gone and everyone was collecting their platform shoes and bomber jackets from the cloakroom! Tigon films, tale of terror, sadly came on the tail end of the horror film craze in the UK, and never received the attention it so deserved! 'THE CREEPING FLESH', despite it's hacky title, is a great little film, with knock out performances from Lee and Cushing...and the BIGGEST skeleton you've ever seen..if you don't count, Victoria Beckham!
Amicus had already made 'THE SKULL' in 1965, a SKULL WITH NO BODY, floating around for revenge, now Tigon tapped into the, SKULL WITH A BODY, also lightly floating around and seeking revenge. Revenge, for quite a silly reason really, as was scriptwriters wants back in the day, if the plot had to be about revenge, it was driven sometimes by the flimsiest of reasons. And this film, falls into that ditch. BUT, it is still is head and shoulders, above most fantasy films of this time... definitely worth catching, and is WELL over due it's release on blu ray...are you listening Twilight Time???
MORE COOL STUFFS, NEXT TUESDAY....how cool is that?
Written by Marcus Brooks.
