HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRAM STOKER : BORN TODAY NOVEMBER 8TH 1847

BORN TODAY November 8th 1847 in Clontarf, Dublin, Republic of Ireland… BRAM STOKER, creator of Dracula and a hundred thousand nightmares! Happy Birthday, Mr Stoker!!!

HAPPY THANKS GIVING AND BORIS HAS A BIRTHDAY!

TO ALL OUR FRIENDS, FOLLOWERS AND SUPPORTERS HAVE A GREAT THANKSGIVING TODAY!

#HAPPYBIRTHDAY #BORISKARLOFF . .TODAY marks the 130th anniversary of Boris Karloff. Born William Henry Pratt, in 36 Forest Hill Road, Camberwell, London, England . . Karloff is for some the Crown King of Fantasy films, his portrayal of Frankenstein's Monster, Imhotep in The Mummy, Fu Manchu..and MANY other classic horror creations. Like Peter Cushing, Boris the actor and family man couldn't have been further from the nasties he played on the big and small screen. Karloff set the benchmark for many others to follow, including other Universal films actors Chaney, Glen Strange, Lee and Co... Happy Birthday Boris, your legacy is as influential as ever!

TOD MORTEN has written in to ask, 'Did Peter Cushing ever work with Boris Karloff?' Hello Todd and Welcome... no, it's a great shame that Peter never got the opportunity to work with Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, yes...Peter sadly no. Here is a photograph of Lee and Karloff on set during the making of The Curse of the Crimson Altar', one of two films that Lee made with Karloff, the other being Corridors of Blood in 1958. Interestingly, Curse of the Crimson Altar was directed by Vernon Sewell who in the same year, 1968, also directed Peter Cushing in the 'Blood Beast Terror'.

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  . .

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: THE ACID BATH AND THE HEAD

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: #GIF  Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart) looks on as Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) drops the crow pecked disguarded head from the body he is resurrecting into the vat of acid. In the thread below, I have posted a rare colour photograph, taken by John Jay the films still photographer, for publicity.

It's not known IF director Terence Fisher actually shot the footage that we see represented in the photograph, ...additional footage where the camera sees the face of the head AND the acid melting the head in the acid bath...... It's too easy to say, 'Nah, never happened!'. But the #incredible footage recently added to #HAMMERFILMS classic 1958 #HORROROFDRACULA started as a rumor too...AND a colour photograph ...! 😉 What do you think?

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY! The skillful performance of #ChristopherLee as Frankenstein 'Monster -Creation' hasn't weakened over the years. It must have been a pretty daunting idea to try and follow in the footsteps of all the other amazing actors who had played the 'monster' at #Universal, #Karloff, #Chaney, #Lugosi, Strange . . . the make up may have not looked as impressive, but any short fall was well and truly made up with a performance that nailed a new thinking about the Baron's 'monster' . . .Lee would do the same again in less than a year, with his portrayal of Dracula. 

The Curse of Frankenstein was a tremendous financial success and reportedly grossed more than 70 times its production cost during its original theatrical run. Cushing was already a household name in the UK, but his intelligent and driven Baron, would make him an international film star.

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    

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: THE MAN WHO WOULD BE FRANKENSTEIN

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: NEXT WEEK, a NEW feature! If you love Cushing's Hammer film Frankenstein series.. you will love this 🙂 After SIX adventures from Cushing's Baron...and a open end to the last film, Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell... how do you think Cushing's Baron would have ended his days???? I'd like your opinion for the feature next week? 😉 BTW...we are hitting the weekend, and it's the return of the PCAS COMPETITIONS. Just wait and see what I have for YOU 😉 Have fun today! - Marcus-pcas

 

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

#MONSTERMONDAY: WHEN CUSHING TOOK ON THE HAMMER PRESS OFFICE

#MONSTERMONDAY: 'Oh that's not on...' says Cushing. Here's how Peter Cushing got Hammer to change the script on #THEMUMMY in an ever so clever way, when the press office got a little carried away! Was Cushing right to do this, do you think???

Please visit us at our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE and help 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.  

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN PRESS BOOK

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: IT WAS THE FIRST, and some say the best. Peter Cushing first Frankenstein for Hammer films in 1957. Here is the cover of the press-book, for that miles stone film... note that the 'creature is a non-descript figure in the bottom left, Hammer would say, we didn't want to give away the appearance of OUR creation. But we know, that the make and facial appearance (make up job) of Christopher Lee's 'monster' was still being finalized just days away from him stepping before the camera.....

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: TODAY WE WISH a happy birthday to the lovely Eunice Gayson. Best known for playing Sylvia Trench, James Bond's girlfriend in the first two Bond films (Dr. No 1963 and From Russia with Love 1963). Originally, Gayson was to be cast as Miss Moneypenny, but that part went to Lois Maxwell instead.

  

DOUBLE BILL OF CUSHING : RIGHT HERE!

A GREAT DOUBLE BILL OF GREAT PETER CUSHING DRAMAS has just been uploaded on to our PCAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL. The 1961 ' CASH ON DEMAND and 'THE MAN WHO FINALLY DIED' (1963). As mention on our posts at our FACEBOOK FAN PAGE during the weekend, look out for a whole series of very interesting uploads at the channel, featuring some of Peter Cushing's non-fantasy work, over the coming weeks. 'CASH' and 'MWFD' were made at a time when Cushing was trying to break, what he saw as, the threat of type-casting.

After an amazing run of work at the BBC through-out the 1950's, which continued up until the mid 1960's, the majority of Cushing's film opportunities after the broadcast of the BBC play '1984' and his first toe dip into Horror films with Hammer films, THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, were all with one foot, in the grave, so to speak. Horror or Fantasy themed. From 1960 until 64, Cushing was a little more selective in the the titles he chose..sadly, those titles didn't always lead to sound scripts and interesting characters. But, there are gems to be found and the two films presented here, give us a glimpse at the range Cushing was indeed capable of, when away from the dark shadows of the horror genre, that would soon consume his career.

 
 
A firm favorite, Cash On Demand and another from the selection of dramas that Peter Cushing made during the early 60's. It's a great watch, with a fine two-hander performance from Cushing and Morell. Yes, it does have a Christmas angle, but this one can be watched any time of the year. To hi-jack a certain pharse . . . 'A rogue IS'NT just for Christmas'- Marcus

MORE TO COME....!

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GIMMETHEGIF: FACTOID FINGERS AND WHO TURNED ON THE LIGHTS!

 

#GIMMETHEGIFWEDNESDAY: SOME GREAT GIFS have been requested, by you, over the last few days, from some of the best moments taken from Peter Cushing's films. #DRACULAAD1972  #DRTERRORSHOUSEOFHORRORS, two key moments that everyone remembers! Also yesterday, we kicked off a new DAILY FEATURE that will be appearing at our FACEBOOK FAN PAGE and here at the website, The Cushing Geeks of the Day Factoid! It's a bit of fun. We'll be presenting a daily post of what could be facts or fabrications, on the life and career of Peter Cushing. Remember the focus is on FUN. We'll be asking you to comment and post, join in on debating if what we are stating is FACT or FICTION. From the individuals commenting, we'll be selecting one of the correct answer to make #CUSHINGGEEKOFTHEDAY...!! It's tongue in cheek and a wink at our fun preoccupation with all things connected with Cushing. It's why we are here!

#GIMMEGIFWEDNESDAY: FOR KIRSI AAVIKKO, UK this chiller moment for Christopher Lee's art critic, Franklyn Marsh from 'DR TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS. This story was maybe the beginning of Amicus films, LOVE of disembodied hands!

#GIMMETHEGIFWEDNESDAY: As popular as ever and proving the point we made last Sunday in our #GETTHECUSHIONITSCUSHING on DRACULA AD 1972, maybe the most POPULAR, UNPOPULAR Dracula film of the Hammer Cushing Lee series? Here for ROMA FARRADAY, UK is Christopher Neame's Johnny Alucard, 'Blinded by the light!'. Proving there is more than one way, to dazzle a vampire with a light . . and it doesn't have to be the sun!

 

#GIMMETHEGIFWEDNESDAY: FOR PERRY VESTLI, USA : ANOTHER one from the #DRACULA AD 1972 pile! That moment of, 'Well what's going on here then?' from Dracula, who thinks he has blown Van Helsing's plans to destroy him . . but, things changed very quickly in the next few seconds! All part of the great few great scenes with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee together, in the roles that helped to make them so popular! 

TOMORROW THURSDAY IS #THROWBACKTHURSDAY : JOIN US! 

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#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: BAG YOURSELF A HAMMER FRANKENSTEIN BLU RAY

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY! OUR SECOND COMPETITION THIS WEEK! We have FOUR COPIES of #THEEVILOFFRANKENSTEIN on bluray to giveaway! To be in with a chance of winning, watch the very short video clip and send your answers by email to petercushingappreciationsociety@gmail.com. GOOD LUCK!

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TROY HOWARTH REVIEWS : PETER CUSHING AND CHRISTOPHER LEE : HAMMER FILMS 'THE MUMMY' AND THOSE UNRAVELED AFTER....

It’s a piece of Hollywood folklore that would appear to have been in place much longer, but – apart from a few gag-oriented shorts made during the silent era – the mummy wasn’t part of the horror pantheon until Karl Freund unleashed The Mummy in 1932.  Legend has it that, cinematographer-turned-director Freund made the film in response to Tod Browning’s Dracula, which he had photographed in 1931.  Freund, a major figure in the days of German expressionist cinema, was said to have been dissatisfied with the staid approach Browning took to the material, and so he approached The Mummy as a sort of thinly veiled remake designed to “school” the other director on how it should have been done.  Whether this is really true is a matter of speculation, but there’s no denying a certain structural similarity between the two films, as an undead being works his magic on a damsel in distress, while an elder savant figure looks to destroy the creature before he accomplishes his goal.

Many viewers have complained that the film is slow and lacking in incident, and on the face of it this is true enough – it is really more of a tone poem, and whether one appreciates it depends on whether they respond to the film’s peculiar atmosphere.  Even so, the opening of the picture, with Boris Karloff’s titular character stirring to life and shambling off into the night, leaving young archaeologist Bramwell Fletcher in a state of abject hysteria, is justly celebrated – it also happens to be the only sequence in the film where Karloff is presented in the iconic makeup of a full blown reanimated mummy.  For the rest of the film, he adopts the guise of wizened Egyptian scholar Ardath Bey, complete with fez and parchment-like skin.

When Universal decided to revisit the property in 1940, with The Mummy’s Hand, they introduced the character of Kharis, the mummy, an unstoppable force who would come back for a series of progressively weaker sequels.  The character – slightly rechristened as Klaris – would return to face his mightiest foes in the inevitable Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955).

When the time came for Hammer Films to make their version of The Mummy, they were only able to do so by virtue of a new production deal with Universal-International Pictures.  The company sensibly decided to reunite much of the same team which had been responsible for The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and Dracula (1958), including director Terence Fisher, cinematographer Jack Asher, screen writer Jimmy Sangster, and stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.  By this stage in the game, the crew had become very familiar with each other and their working methods, and The Mummy finds them honing their craft to an even greater degree.

Sangster always maintained that he never saw any of the Universal horror films, and while he may have been truthful in this, he did have access to the scripts of the old mummy series when he was preparing this screenplay.  This is borne out by the repetition of various character names and incidents that had been peppered throughout the franchise, and it has the unwitting effect of making The Mummy into something of a “greatest hits” package of mummy films of the past.  Truth be told, if the film has a major deficit, it is in the screenplay. Sangster is not able to bring anything resembling the fresh perspective that had made his Frankenstein and Dracula screenplays so successful, and it has been accurately noted by some critics that it relies, instead, on a series of murder scenes which make it into something of a precursor to the stalk and slash films of the 1970s onwards.  Sangster also displays a certain laziness, in using the name of an Egyptian city ( Karnak ) as the name of the God to whom Kharis is a high priest.

On the upside, the film is beautifully realized by Terence Fisher.  By this time, he had developed a real flair for the Gothic, and working in harmony with cinematographer Asher, he creates some of the most memorable images in his entire filmography.  The film has been criticized for its patently phony exterior sets, but in fact most of these sets suit the dreamlike, unrealistic atmosphere on display.  Only a clumsy Egyptian flashback scene feels like a misstep, and the remainder of the film is smooth in its execution.  The scenes of Kharis in the swamp don’t approach any kind of realism, but they clearly don’t aspire to, either.  Asher utilizes lighting which makes his approach on the initial Frankenstein Dracula pictures look positively staid – vivid highlights of red, green and blue spotlighting help to emphasize the theatrical nature of the proceedings, and the end result was praised by none other than star Christopher Lee (in an interview included on the CD release of Franz Weizenstein’s score for the film) as “the best looking film Hammer ever made.”

The cast performs beautifully.  Lee gives one of his most affecting performances as the mummy.  A lesser actor would have simply soldiered through the makeup and made no real attempt at building character, but Lee does not resort to such tactics.  His gift for mime comes through frequently, and he makes the character come to life with genuine pathos instead of coming off as a mere killing machine.  Peter Cushing is saddled with a less fully realized character than usual, but he manages to convey a certain sadness and melancholy of his own.  The scene in which he goes out of his way to antagonize the sinister Mehemet Bey (an equally splendid George Pastell) includes some choice dialogue, which the actor clearly relishes.  Interestingly, whereas Kharis had been depicted as having paralysis on the left side of his body in the Universal film, thus requiring Tom Tyler (in The Mummy’s Hand) and Lon Chaney, Jr (in the subsequent straight horror outings) to drag a leg and keep an arm motionless, here Kharis is presented as limber and fast moving, while Cushing is saddled with a lame leg.  This has the effect of making Cushing’s hero figure somewhat ineffectual against Kharis, thus upping the suspense angle considerably during their confrontation scenes.

Beautiful Yvonne Furneaux (later to work with such major filmmakers as Federico Fellini and Roman Polanski) may not have taken the project very seriously (she reportedly loved Cushing but had no appreciation of Fisher’s talents) but she still gives a strong performance in an admittedly one dimensional role, as Cushing’s doting wife – who also happens to be the reincarnation of Kharis’ beloved Princess Ananka (this reincarnation business was a trope in the mummy series, and would later spill into various Dracula adaptations, ranging from the Dan Curtis telefilm of 1973 to the recent Dario Argento version of 2012).  Felix Aylmer (Cushing’s costar in Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet), Raymond Huntley (once famous for playing Dracula on stage), Michael Ripper (making one of his first Hammer Gothic appearances, and soon to become a staple) and the aforementioned Pastell also shine in their supporting roles

With its lush cinematography, gorgeous score and fine acting, The Mummy found favor at the box office – thus setting off an inevitable chain of follow ups (not really sequels) of its own.  Michael Carreras graduated from producing the first film to producing, writing and directing the first follow up, The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964).  Granted, Carreras had a tough act to follow – but the end result is one of Hammer’s least successful Gothic horrors, and arguably the worst horror effort of their golden period.

The story deals with an American showman (Fred Clark) who finances an expedition to discover the mummy of Ra-Anted; when the mummy is uncovered, the showman takes it on the road for the benefit of curious yokels.  Things get messy when the creature comes to life and goes on a rampage.Carreras clearly took his inspiration from King Kong (1933), with Clark subbing for Robert Armstrong’s Carl Denham.  Alas, despite impressive production values and beautiful widescreen cinematography courtesy of the great Otto Heller (Peeping Tom), the film lumbers as slowly as its bandaged protagonist.  Clark is a hoot as the prototypical “Ugly American,” and he manages to work in a bit of humanity to the role where he is able.  Terence Howard is also effective as the suave nobleman with a mysterious secret, while George Pastell reprises his role as the mummy’s “guardian,” albeit in a more sympathetic vein this time.  Michael Ripper is squandered in a blink and you’ll miss it appearance, however, and Ronald Howard (TV’s Sherlock Holmes) and Jeanne Roland make for a dull romantic couple.  The mummy is played under wraps by Dickie Owen, but he is given scant opportunity to function as anything more than a brute.The film performed reasonably well when released as part of double bill with Terence Fisher’s vastly superior The Gorgon, and Hammer revisited the material yet again with The Mummy’s Shroud (1966).

Here, another crass businessman (John Phillips) bankrolls an expedition, this time headed by distinguished archaeologist Sir Basil Walden (Andre Morell). The tomb of Kah-to-bey is unearthed, thus unleashing the fury of guardian mummy Prem; gradually the members of the expedition fall victim to the curse of the mummy’s tomb.The film was written and directed by the talented John Gilling, who had just completed two very fine Cornwall-set Gothics for the studio: The Plague of the Zombies and The Reptile.  Inspiration was running dry by the time this one rolled along, and Gilling would later dismiss it as a bit of hackwork for a paycheck.  Truth be told, he handles the material with considerable flair.

The issue, however, is that the film suffers from the same slightly flea-bitten look which was beginning to affect Hammer’s product around this time.  Producer Anthony Nelson Keys had hit upon the idea of filming two films back to back on the same sets, with the same personnel, but while this idea was cost effective, it started to take a toll on the quality of Hammer’s product.  Thus, The Mummy’s Shroud shared much of the same cramped sets that were utilized by Frankenstein Created Woman, and both films have a rather flat, ugly look to them, especially when compared to the product Hammer had been releasing before. As with the films that preceded it, The Mummy’s Shroud is essentially structured as a series of elaborate revenge-murder scenes.  Gilling tackles these setpiece with tremendous verve, however, resulting in a few nicely timed shocks.  The scene of a character having his head crushed like a ripe melon by the mummy is suggested rather than shown, but the choice camera angles and sound effects give it an appropriately icky quality.  Alas, the film is again burderned with another awful Egyptian flashback scene – this one actually commences the action, and it could be that the film’s lousy reputation is due to this; by starting the film off on such a bad note, it may have lost some of its audience before it had much of a chance to win them over.

It would take Hammer several years to revisit the mummy subgenre, and when they did, it would prove to be one of their most bedeviled projects.  Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971), adapted by screenwriter Christopher Wicking from Bram Stoker’s novel The Jewel of Seven Stars, is one of the most willfully unusual titles in the history of Hammer horror.  Wicking’s fragmented approach to storytelling was popular for a time during the late 60s and early 70s, and he would write some of the more inventive and unusual horror films of the period for Hammer (Demons of the Mind) and AIP (Scream and Scream Again).  Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb sees him working from the Val Lewton approach to horror, with ample suggestion and nothing in the way of a bandaged, shambling monster.  In its place, we have statuesque Valerie Leon as the demonic Queen Tera, who is reincarnated into the form of naïve Margaret Fuchs.  She is the daughter of obsessed archeaologist Professor Julian Fuchs (Andrew Keir), whose research into Tera has put them both in considerable danger.

Stoker’s story would later be adapted as an episode of Tales of Mystery and Imagination, with Isobel Black in the central role, and it would again be adapted for the big budget but rather dreary Charlton Heston vehicle, The Awakening (1980).  Blood, for all its faults, remains the best version of the story.  It was directed by the brilliant Seth Holt, who had previously directed two of Hammer’s finest films: Taste of Fear (1960) and The Nanny (1965).  Holt had established himself as a major talent as a film editor, and he would find himself at the helm of a series of beautifully accomplished films – however, he was also an alcoholic, and his problems with this disease prevented him from directing more than a handful of pictures, as well as some episodes of episodic television.  Blood would become his final film – and one he didn’t even have the advantage of completing.  Several weeks into production, Holt died.  He was only 47 years old.  Executive producer Michael Carreras was put in the difficult position of trying to salvage the film.  He toyed with the idea of scrapping the material and starting afresh, and he approached Hammer stalwart Don Sharp with this idea.  Sharp balked, however, and Carreras realized that it would be more cost-efficient to soldier on and complete the picture himself.  He was reportedly horrified by what Holt shot, however, as it was done in a very strange, elliptical manner.

He would later say that he figured Holt had a plan in mind, but he had not shared this plan with anybody else; it therefore fell to him to make some sense of the material.  He fired Holt’s favored editor, and resumed production with himself installed as the new director.  Final credit would go to Holt alone, however, though there’s little question that the end result bears only scant resemblance to what he would have assembled, had he been able to complete it.  Carreras deserves credit for making something workable out of the material, but it has to be said that his talent as a director was considerably less than Holt’s.  Thus, for every moody, beautifully realized sequence, there’s another far clunkier and less elegant scene to slog through.  The end result is uneven, with at least one sequence (the death of a major character in a car crash) coming off as utterly laughable because of how poorly it is staged (this sequence, incidentally, was not shot by Holt).

Leon dominates the film.  Though dubbed by another actress, she brings a truly ethereal presence to her role.  Her transition from normal young woman to wanton and vile monster is successfully managed – and sexist as it may sound, she certainly does fill out his various eye catching outfits (skin watchers need to bear in mind, however, that she refused to do nudity – so that’s a body double when she gets out of bed in the nude).  Andrew Keir (Quatermass and the Pit), a powerful and compelling actor, is cast in an unusually weak and powerless role – reminding one of how Andre Morell fared in The Mummy’s Shroud.  Fuchs is sidelined with a stroke early on and spends much of the action staring wildly from his bed.  It is well known by now that Peter Cushing had been cast in this role, and stills exist showing him acting with Leon for one day.  Sadly, his beloved wife Helen became desperately ill, and Cushing bailed to be with her – she would die soon after.  For once, this was a mummy film that truly did appear to be cursed.  Whether Cushing would have fared any better in the role is open to speculation, but one cannot complain about Keir’s performance – it’s just not that dynamic of a part to begin with.  James Villiers (The Nanny) is superbly sinister as Corbeck, a member of Fuchs’ team who has gone off the deep end of the occult.  Villiers plays the role with a touch of camp villainy, but he definitely makes a tremendous impression and steals many of his scenes.  Aubrey Morris (A Clockwork Orange) also adds to the camp factor with his bizarre but memorable portrayal of a family GP with a penchant for wearing dark glasses.

Though understandably uneven, Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb remains one of the company’s most successfully offbeat offerings of the period.  In lieu of buxom vampires and heaping helpings of nudity, it offers up a moody and elliptical approach to a familiar type of subject matter.  It would become the final mummy adventure for the company, and all things considered, it made for a good stopping point.

The mummy would inevitably rise again under the auspices of other production companies – the blood and guts fueled 80s would see Dawn of the Mummy, for example, while the current propensity for overdone CGI and mindless thrills would be reflected in Stephen Sommers’ mummy films for Universal – but Hammer’s contributions remain noteworthy, with their 1959 original comparing well to the 1932 classic that started it all.