REMEMBERING MADELEINE COLLINSON AND NEW QUESTION AND ANSWER TO THE TUESDAY TOUGHY!

TODAY WE REMEMBER one half of the Collinson twins who sadly passed on this day in 2014 . Madeleine Collinson was born on July 22, 1952 in Malta. She's the identical twin sister of Madeleine Collinson. The Collinson twins arrived in Britain in April, 1969. Noted British glamor photographer Harrison Marks cast the duo as saucy maids in his 8mm short "Halfway Inn." 

MARY AND MADELEINE were the Playmates of the Month in the October, 1970 issue of "Playboy;" they have the distinction of being the first pair of identical twins to pose for a nude pictorial in "Playboy." The Collinson sisters went on to act in a handful of movies together; they were especially effective and memorable as the radically contrasting siblings in the typically fine Hammer vampire horror outing "Twins of Evil" with Peter Cushing.

ABOVE THIS WEEKS CUSHING TUESDAY TOUGHY. BELOW THE QUESTION AND ANSWER TO LAST WEEKS TOUGHY . .

AS ALWAYS we make a point of, if you too would like to share your thoughts and memories of anyone who is included in a memorial post here at our website, you can join us at the FACEBOOK PETER CUSHING APPRECIATION SOCIETY UK FAN PAGE. You will be most welcome to add your message onto the thread!

REMEMBERING AND SHINING THE LIGHT ON THE MAN WHO MADE HAMMER LOOK GREAT!

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY! Next time you sit down and watch your favourite early Peter Cushing Hammer film, and marvel at the beautiful gothic atmosphere, the rich colours, the frightening shadows... that 'Hammer Look and Style', remember this man, ace cinematographer Jack Asher BSC, a true magician! He did indeed paint with light! Best known for his work with Hammer, The Curse of Frankenstein, The Brides of Dracula, Hound of the Baskervilles, Dracula / Horror of Dracula, The Mummy and The Revenge of Frankenstein. Jack was born in London, on this very day in 1916. A REAL craftsman, who applied his skills along with Terence Fisher and the Hammer team, and gave us these rare feasts which live on, OUT SHINING many films and features today! Jack left us in April 1991, aged 74. Happy Birthday Jack!

ANOTHER OF JACK ASHER'S GREATEST: THE BRIDES OF DRACULA and below, another excellent documentary from DONALD FEARNEY on the making of this Peter Cushing and Hammer film classic . .

ABOVE: NEW SERIES STARTING FOR #CHRISTOPHERLEE SATURDAYS, 

THIS SATURDAY!

 

NOT ALL THE PC VAMPIRE SUPPORT WAS NICE! CALLUM MCKELVIE LOOKS BEYOND ROLES THAT WERE VAN HELSING NICE TIMES!

WHEN ONE THINKS of Cushing and Vampires, inevitably are minds are drawn to his excellent portrayal of Van Helsing in several of Hammers Dracula films. For many fans it’s one of his best roles and (if we count the two generations as one) a part he would return to four times. However, as defining as his portrayal as Van Helsing is, it somewhat over shadows that fact that he was in roughly four other vampire films (excluding Dr Terrors House of Horrors and The House that Dripped Blood simply as he does not appear in the segments featuring bloodsuckers). 

THIS WEEK AND THE NEXT I’ll be examining these ‘Other Vampire films’, starting with his two entries into the Karstein trilogy 'The Vampire Lovers' and 'Twins of Evil'. I’ve joined these two together, not only because they book ending entries in a trilogy, but also because they both feature Cushing as a sort of Pseudo-Vampire Hunter. Both roles are worlds away from a Van Helsing stereotype and at least one is remembered amongst his finest work.

THE 'KARNSTEIN TRILIOGY'  stands as one of Hammers finest achievements simply for the fact that it marks one of the few occasions, as the studio moved into the 1970’s that one it’s attempts to try something bold and new with its formula worked. Now in terms of some of the attempts that would be made later (Kung-Fu vampires anyone?) the changes here are not that extreme and merely reflect the studios reaction to an allowance of more extreme content.

MOST OBVIOUSLY it is the films explicit portrayal of Lesbianism that gained it a certain level of attention. The film is stolen by Ingrid Pitt’s first performance for the studio and first major role in a horror movie (though she was in 1966’s Sound of Horror). Whilst not her greatest work for Hammer (that would come later in Countess Dracula) it’s a strong start and one can easily see why she became a horror icon and early scream queen.

ABOVE: PETER CUSHING and INGRID PITT together in HAMMER FILMS 'THE VAMPIRE LOVERS'. BOTH look comfortable in the roles. BOTH had also become great friends, along with Peter Cushing's wife, HELEN . . . 

PETER CUSHING'S ROLE in the film on the other hand is somewhat small, though integral and although he looks superb in his military uniform, it’s not usually counted amongst his best roles. None the less it’s an interesting take on the role of the Vampire hunter within a hammer film and the quest is made deeply personal to the General, whose niece is a victim of Carmilla. 

THUS THE GENERAL is the character who puts an end to Camilla’s bloodsucking ways and in perhaps the most famous scene in the film, decapitates her. It’s a great moment and Cushing imbues it with a sort of grim satisfaction, we may have seen the gentle side of the General to begin with but we now understand why he’s a war hero.

BELOW: JUST weeks after the tragic death of his wife, HELEN, PETER CUSHING plays a NEW HAMMER VAMPIRE FILM role. GUSTAV WEIL, the savior and helper? OR is he just as EVIL as the VAMPIRE COUNT? 

THE FINAL FILM in the Karstein series, 'Twins of Evil', sees Cushing in a role far removed from that in 'The Vampire Lovers'. Here he plays Gustav Weil, a vicious religious fanatic who prowls the local countryside in search of witches to burn. Clearly inspired by 1968’s Witchfinder General and many films that followed in its wake including 'Mark of the Devil' and 'Blood on Satan’s Claw', it’s a rare chance to see Cushing being genuinely terrifying.

EVEN IN FILMS where Cushing plays a villain, there’s usually an element of charm in his performance (his earliest portrayals of Baron Frankenstein) that have his character play out more as an anti-hero. Indeed only Hammer films, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed in 1969, shows him in a position where he plays a character so utterly ruthless as to be genuinely frightening.

OF COURSE as his two young nieces find themselves under the sway of the evil Count Karstein, like the General Weil finds himself turning to the Vampire Hunting trade. In this film’s final moments, Cushing finds himself once again decapitating a vampire and it’s equally spectacular.

PETER CUSHING'S TWO non-Dracula vampire films for Hammer stand among some of the studios most interesting work. Cushing gives great performances in both and though one is clearly superior to the other, are interesting portrayals of Vampire hunters not in the Van Helsing mode.

WRITTEN by CALLUM MCKELVIE
TECH DEVELOPMENT: JAMIE SUMERVILLE
EDITED: MARCUS BROOKS
THE VAMPIRE LOVERS TRAILER: UvaSEP  HERE!

REMINDER OF TUESDAYS TOUGHIE : ANSWER TUESDAY 6TH MARCH!

 

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

FREE COLOUR DRACULA CONTACT SHEET : CUSHING COLLECTABLE WEDNESDAY!

THIS WEEKS and our FIRST Collectable is a contact sheet of press stills from #hammerfilms Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968) The shots were taken during shooting the 'Dracula's hide out' which were shot on sets at Pinewood Studios. Featured the shots are Christopher Lee appearing in his third Dracula film for the studio. Also actress Barbara Ewing as barmaid Zena and Veronica Carlson as Maria. This scene marks the seducation and 'biting' of Ewing's Zena. The film was directed by Freddie Francis. #dracula #hammerfilms #christopherlee

WHAT ARE MOVIE CONTACT SHEETS? : Back in the ‘classic’ movie  days, still photography went hand-in-hand with film making, to the point that photo negatives were just as important as the reel of the film being produced. Publicity shots made the film and its stars eternally shine. Photographers had to show a keen flattering eye for capturing the stars of the film, as the public’s perception, and success of the film, heavily depended on them. From a sheet containing maybe eight to ten exposures, the press office would choose maybe just one or two, which would be published and exhibited. The rest of the poses and pics would never see the light of day or be unpublished. THAT is what makes contacts rare and valuable. It’s sad to say that many contact sheets were trashed after the movie released or had public run. Most of these contact sheets have survived, because someone dug it out of the trash.”

TODAY is the first of our new weekly themed day here at facebook and our PCAS website. #CUSHINGCOLLECTORSWEDNESDAY! Each each week we'll be giving away rare stills, contact sheets from the press offices of the past and other visual goodies for the digital image collectors among you to add to your collections. Not every goody will be Cushing related, some will be, as in this case something from the Hammer or Amicus films archive. But all will be certainly worth having, individually un-watermarked and even if you don't collect...these can be printed off as photographs or large posters.

SO, THIS WEEK we start with TEN colour images still as originally processed by the Hammer films Warner Brothers press office. These images taken by studio stills photographer. They have not been clean or edited. They are in their original state and are YOURS 😉 Feel free to right click, save and copy.

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