RELEASE NEWS:
Arrow Films have announced they are putting out a band new remastered
blu-ray of Horror Express (1972) starring Peter Cushing and Christopher
Lee. This brings a REMASTERED blu ray to fan of the film in the UK for the first time!
RELEASE DATE: February 11th 2019 (UK) February 12th 2019 (US, CAN)
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS • Brand new 2K restoration from original film elements • High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation • Original Uncompressed mono audio • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • Brand new audio commentary with Stephen Jones and Kim Newman • Introduction to the film by film journalist and Horror Express super-fan Chris Alexander • Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express – an interview with director Eugenio Martin • Notes from the Blacklist – Horror Express producer Bernard Gordon on working in Hollywood during the McCarthy Era • Telly and Me – an interview with composer John Cacavas • Original Theatrical Trailer • Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Fully-illustrated collector’s booklet with new writing by Adam Scovell
QUESTION
FIVE:HOW MANY FEATURE FILMS DID PETER CUSHING AND CHRISTOPHER LEE
APPEAR IN TOGETHER... 'THEY SHARED SCENES ON THE SCREEN TOGETHER'... FOR
HAMMER FILMS AND AMICUS FILMS AND WHAT WERE THEIR TITLES??
AND
SO,here we are! Question FIVE, the final question in our 'FIVE
QUESTIONS' PCASUK COMPETITION. I hope you have read the last four
questions, posted every day, over the past four days? NowREAD CAREFULLY .... What you do next? We now need you to send YOUR
answer to THIS question today AND the last FOUR QUESTIONS, to us here at our EMAIL: petercushingpcasgmail.com OR you can send them and enter at our FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE !
ANY ANSWERS posted in the message box below
or on any of the other posts, will be deleted and counted as
void. Once you have sent us your FIVE answers, sit back...and wait for
the draw of us pulling out the ONE lucky winner's name, who wins the
prize of a our SIGNED, full colour, framed photograph of Christopher Lee
as Dracula in Dracula AD 1972! ALL ANSWERS MUST BE IN BY FRIDAY 30th
NOVEMBER 2018. The winners name will be posted and shared here the
following day on Saturday 1st December 2018! So you have quite a few
days to study the questions and send in your FIVE ANSWERS entry 😊 It's been a great competition to be part of, I wish you the VERY best of luck 😀You can NOW send us all FIVE of your answers 😀😃 Marcus
ABOVE: THE PRIZE AND THE START OF PROMOTION FOR THE 'FIVE QUESTIONS COMPETITION' FROM TUESDAY 20TH OF NOVEMBER 2018'
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'Spretty 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!
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!
WE START A NEW SERIES this week and it’s time for me
to get all nostalgic- at least personally so. Each week I try and do something
different with my little post for PCAS, not actually an easy thing when writing
weekly about the films of one actor! Of course I’m not suggesting that Peter Cushing’s
life and rich filmography doesn’t provide ample room for creativity within my
column, but more along the lines of how I structure my post it can be difficult
to come up with some new and exciting.
ALWAYS HOWEVER I TRY to make it as personal as possible. I’m following in the
footsteps of many a great contributor to the site and lest I repeat what
someone else has already said (and probably in words far grander than I could
ever conjure) I like to let my personal opinion come through as much as
possible. Usually then, I tend to follow a review or a ‘list’ format, be that a
simple discussion of a film or ‘my top ten…etc. etc.’, but for the next new
weeks I’ll be trying something completely different. Beginning with this
discussion on Horror Express I’m
going to randomly select films from Cushing’s filmography that I have something
of a personal history with and, if you’ll allow me dear readers, tell you about
it.
ABOVE: YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO WATCH THE WHOLE FILM!
JUST PRESS PLAY!
BY THE TIME I came into contact with Horror Express, I would have been around
age thirteen or fourteen. I’d already encountered a healthy number of Hammer
and Amicus pictures by this point along with the odd Cushing feature made by
neither studio. I can’t remember how I first became aware of the title (most
likely by browsing Amazon or a HMV store) but I do remember when my attention
was attracted enough for me to scour You-Tube for clips. You see, the scene
with the guard when the creature attacks him, turning his eyes white and
causing him to bleed from them, was the first scene in a Cushing picture that
actively scared me.
IT'S AN ODD THING
fear and truth be told the attraction when watching Horror from this period for
me was never the possibility of being scared, but mostly the rich gothic
atmosphere which these films were soaked in. Of course there was the odd title
that really did get to me, the sequence in House
of Wax where Price’s wax face is smashed away springs to mind along with
more obvious ones such as The Innocents (1960).
Cushing films though? Not really.
THAT WAS UNTIL HORROR EXPRESSof course. When I finally watched it I found that indeed the effect
still lingered. The opening sequence with Lee in the cave, the mystery at the
station, the creature breaking loose. The opening fifty minutes or so of the
film were soaked in an atmosphere so palpable, with the creature shot so
wonderfully in almost total darkness, as to genuinely have a frightening edge
to them. Then it got WEIRD. To my 13 or 14 year-old self the final half of Horror Express, whilst certainly entertaining,
was a total let down. The body swapping alien plot seemed like an entirely
different film and any genuine menace was sorely lacking. I put the DVD on my
shelf, watched it occasionally and thought nothing more on the matter.
CUT TO SEVERAL YEARS LATER. Me and some friends are
having a get together…with some refreshments of course and I’m asked to pick a
film that will entertain us. Browsing my collection I go through the usual
suspects before landing upon...Horror
Express. For a short while my finger hovered over the plastic case, half remembering
a few genuinely shocking moments, some genuinely funny moments (intentionally
and not), some awful model work and a bizarre alien plot. Realising that there
was enough there for even the tamest of drinking games I grabbed it.
AS WE WATCHED I was surprised by how much the film was enjoyed by the gathering and
not just in a ‘laugh-at-it-cos-it’s-bad’ way. There were genuine gasps of
shock, a lot of laughs at the dodgy train shots, continuous whistling of the
theme and a cheer as the creature is destroyed.
THUS TO ME, Horror
Express will forever be Cushing’s perfect midnight movie. Camp, over the
top, ridiculous, violent (compared to many of Cushing’s films) but incredibly
and undeniably fun. If you’re not a
fan of this one, perhaps put off by the mix of ridiculous scenes and genuinely chilling
ones, grab yourself some mates, beers and experience it how I did. It may not
change your opinion but it does mean you’ll be in a room full of people
screaming ‘Monster, we’re British you know!’ and that’s no bad thing.
HELLO ALL! A little bit of a departure this week. Instead of my usual ramblings on a particular film or films, in my last three defending what I think can often be considered lesser Cushing entries, here I’m going to get a little personal! For roughly a month now Marcus has very kindly let be contribute a weekly post and given me pretty much free reign to write on whatever aspect of Cushing based fandom I wish. However I realise I’ve done this with very little introduction to myself, my name being slapped on post after post but with no one having any real idea of who I am. . . .!
SO, I’m Callum McKelvie, a recent Masters graduate having studied history. I got into classic sci-fi around age six, and moving into horror at about 13 or 14 when I saw Quatermass and the Pit and it blew my mind. At university I wrote extensively on genre cinema as a historical source, examining the Quatermass trilogy in my undergraduate dissertation and the Occult boom of the 1970’s for my Masters diss.
SO, THIS WEEK I thought I’d make it a little personal by naming a number of my favourite Cushing performances and why. Not the top five by any means, but five which bring me special pleasure. This is in no particular order and it’s not the best film but the performances that bring me the most joy, concentrating purely on Peter and his interactions with the other cast members. You won’t find Hammer films 1958 'Dracula' or 'Horror of Dracula', 'Hound of the Baskervilles' or 'The Skull' here simply because we all know how amazing he is in those films. The purpose of this list is to highlight a couple of performances that, whilst generally viewed as good, are special to me (The Skull fits that bill too but it’s been written on so much I thought I’d give it a rest). I might mention a portrayal of the same character twice, but from different films. That’s because I’ve always admired Peter’s ability to change his characterisation ever so slightly, to fit the tone of the script. So, without further Aude…
'FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL' (1974)
SO YES, I KNOW there were several more Cushing/Hammer films after this, but for me this is their swansong. Designed as a throwback to the earlier Hammer Frankenstein’s, the feeling of the end of an era permeates the entire film. Cushing’s Victor Frankenstein is the closest to his portrayal from the first two, out of all the sequels. Once again he finds a middle ground between the viciousness of Frankenstein Must be Destroyed and the charm of 'The Evil of Frankenstein' and 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed'. However here he adds something else, exploiting lines of dialogue such as ‘You’ll learn…I had to’ and the brilliant ‘If I’ve succeeded this time…then every sacrifice will have been worthwhile’. Cushing brings an immense melancholy to Baron Frankenstein, showing us a man who is determined as always but is now desperate to succeed. The final shot of him sweeping up the glass, chattering happily about how to start again- finally having snapped, has something immensely fatalistic about it.
READ THE ABOVE FEATURE WITH FULL COLOUR GALLERY AT OUR WEBSITE : HERE!
ON SET BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTO FEATURE ON 'HORROR EXPRESS' AT OUR WEBSITE: HERE!
'HORROR EXPRESS'(1972)
FROM ONE OF Cushing’s more tragic portrayals to one of his most fun and lighthearted.
Horror Express is in my eyes THE Cushing and Lee vehicle, giving
them a wealth of screen time together, as friends for once and not as
enemies. The result is easily one of the most fun and funny Cushing
portrayals, from the memorable ‘MONSTER? We’re
British you know!’ to his smirk as he attempts to bribe his way onto
the train.
Cushing and Christopher Lee on set with Director, Eugenio MartÃn during the shooting of 'Horror Express' . . .
Not only that but in Dr Wells he manages to mix humour with
his usual sternness when preforming the autopsy on the body of the
baggage guard. However the highlights are his interactions
with Christopher Lee, indeed when Lee passed away a few years ago this
was the film I chose to watch. Seeing the two old friends bounce off
each other and have genuine fun is always a joy.
'SHE' (1965)
ANOTHER MORE kindly portrayal here and another example of how Cushing can
masterfully mix a multitude of different aspects of a character. From
the more
humorous (including a rare opportunity to see Cushing dance), to the
melancholic (‘All my life I’ve wanted to find a city like this…now I
wish only to see it destroyed) to the furious as he rages at Ayesha
during her attempt to kill Ustane, single-handedly
out-acting every other cast member.
IT'S A SHAME Cushing never got to
reprise this role….although considering the state of the sequel perhaps
not. But a much older Holly, lamenting the loss of his friend would
probably have been up there with the emotional
power of Grimsdyke in 'Tales from the Crypt'. Honestly though,
it’s the little details that stand out for me and the sincerity with
which Cushing answers the question, ‘Have you ever been in love?’
responding ‘oh many a time…and truly once’, always brings
a smile to my face.
THE HISTORY OF SHE IN THE CINEMA AND BEHIND THE SCENES ON THE HAMMER PRODUCTION: COLOUR TRANSPARENCIES IN OUR FEATURE: HERE!
'THE SILENT SCREAM' (1980)
NOT ONE THAT IS LIKELY to show up on a lot of lists, this was shown as part
of the Cushing retrospective put on by the Abertoir horror festival in
2013.
Grabbing some of my friends afterwards I was delighted to discover how
many found this genuinely terrifying. It’s a pity Cushing never appeared
in
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense but his one off performance stands as one of the highlights of the entire,
Hammer House of Horror series.
THE KINDLINESS that Cushing
bestows into Blueck and the slow reveal of what a monster he really is
provides the meat and bones of the story. Brian Cox acts off him
brilliantly and the final moments when Cushing falls into
a trap of his own making provides a chilling finale.
OUR 'REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN' FEATURE WITH VINTAGE STILLS COLLECTION RIGHT HERE!
'THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN' (1958)
THIS IT FOR ME. The gold standard of Cushing films. My favourite Hammer
films, my favourite Cushing film and one of my favourite films in
general. Say
what you want about Sangster’s writing (and many people do) but I find
the script here to be one of the most clever and thematically deep of
all the Hammers. Sangster reverses the Paul/Victor and Teacher/Student
relationship in
The Curse of Frankenstein, here making Frankenstein the teacher.
CUSHING RESPONDS to this admirably and considering
Revenge was made only the year after Curse, manages to
convince the audience that several years have passed for the Baron. His
near-death experience has changed him, losing the spoilt brat streak of
the first film and giving a more wizened, if
even more dangerous determination. His monologue concerning his
‘revenge’ is exceptionally powerful and the drive that Cushing manages
to instil in the Baron is genuinely terrifying, far more so than any of
the Monsters within the various instalments.
CALLUM MCKELVIE'S REVIEW OF ''A TALE OF TWO CITIES' 1980 featuring Peter Cushing Chris SarandonAlice Krige, Kenneth Moore . . .
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