HENRY OSCAR REMEMBERED : BRIDES AND SHERLOCK

HERE IS AN ACTOR with a name, that probably most of us would have forgotten, but certainly we know his face 😉 Today marks the birthday of HENRY OSCAR or Henry Wale as some would have known him, back in the day. Oscar changed his name and began acting in 1911, having studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Drama.

ON FILM OSCAR played professional characters, dentist for Hitchcock, school teachers, doctors, bank mangers, all usually stiff, authoritative and at times pompous, this was probably why Terence Fisher cast him as Herr Lang, head of the charming 'School for Young Ladies' in Hammer films 'The Brides of Dracula' in 1960. Again, pompous, his ego is deflated when Peter Cushing flashes his 'Dr Van Helsing' 'calling card'! It's a lovely scene. Oscar was to work with Cushing again on November 4th 1968, in episode 9 'Thor Bridge' of Cushing's BBC 'Sherlock Holmes' television series, as Bates. Sadly this episode was wiped in the great BBC 'spring clean', so we have no idea or images just how that looked. But my guess is, just like in 'Brides' both Cushing and Oscar, would have squeezed and presented quite a show!

OSCAR ALSO APPEARED in a wide range of films, Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The Four Feathers (1939), Hatter's Castle (1942), Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948), Beau Brummell (1954), The Little Hut (1957), Oscar Wilde (1960), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Long Ships (1963) and Murder Ahoy! (1964). Today, he isn't forgotten 😊Please join us in remembering and celebrating a Very Happy Birthday to Henry Oscar today! 😉

FOUR PRIZES! THE ENTRIES ARE IN AND THE WINNERS WILL ANNOUNCED TODAY!

OUR FINAL and very popular #SecondSightFilms / PCASUK Competition closed last night at midnight GMT. All entries are now in and the FOUR LUCKY WINNERS names will be announced HERE and at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE TODAY! We'll be publishing a full review of both Second Sight Amicus Films Limited Edition Blu Ray releases this THURSDAY at the website, a long with screen captures and GIFS. The response to both these competitions has been extremely positive. You can pre-order both 'The House That Dripped Blood' and 'Asylum' from #SecondSightFilms now, while stocks last HERE!. This is a limited edition release and the addition extras on 'House' make these two Cushing and Lee #Amicusfilms, a very worthy addition to any collection. You'll be pleased to hear the quality of both films make these particular releases, the new benchmark if you are wanting to purchase these TWO titles 😀 Meanwhile, sit tight . . . YOU could be a #WINNER 😛 - Marcus

ABOVE: MEANWHILE, you might wanna be around on Friday, for this weeks PCASUK #FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY!

REVIEWED! SCREAM FACTORY LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES BLU RAY RELEASED TODAY!

LIKE MANY HAMMER FILM and Peter Cushing fans, for the last few years, I've both a mental and physical 'wish list' of movies, |I have hoped would some day, get the remastering blu ray treatment. I am very happy to now look at my shelves and see most of those titles have not only received a re-release and remaster, but also 98% of them have been blessed with a remastering, quite beyond my expectation! It's wonderful to see many Cushing features, that for years looked destined to never be seen again, the way I had once watched them in the cinema. It took quite a while, with the arrival of DVD's to weed out the duds, and not fall foul of a 'bootlegged home made burned copy of a years old TV recorded copy of a VHS recording' to a legit marketed commercial DVD copy to arrive. For quite sometime, we were very happy with DVD quality, and then the sometimes sparkling definition of a BLU RAY! Could it ever get any better. we asked? 'Oh, Yes . . .', said the distributors, 'Take a look a this!' The REMASTERED 1080p high definition Blu Ray.... can be at times, quite thing of beauty. Sometimes if the copy house gets it wrong though, it can also become a never ending chorus of lethal barbs, personal opinions and wrath, at forums and internet groups. 



THANKFULLY, that has not happened too often with Cushing films. There will always be the wish and bucket list, of people who have high expectations and yet low funds and shallow pockets. The remastering process is an expensive business and in the current lolly-no-lolly climate, things tough. Though there will always be, the customer who also expects, a perk! Some of the better remasterings, have arrived without any extras. No new documentaries, no galleries of images and rare stills.. but the quality of what it offers on the label, is very, very high. The FILM is a knockout! And with that, I am happy to share that, SCREAM FACTORY has delivered a VERY nice release, that meets the standard we have come to expect and a much needed and very entertaining package of extras too, for a film that has been on THAT 'Wish List', for quite sometime . . .    

I AM NOT GOING TO BORE YOU with the story, plot details and 'CHOP' of Hammer films and Shaw Brothers, THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES. If you are a Cushing, Hammer or Horror film fan, you WILL know the plot like the contents of Famous Monsters Of Filmland, Issue ONE or page six of Alan Franks excellent, 1976 edition of The Movie Treasury of 'Monsters and Vampires!' If seeing Cushing play Van Helsing in a more traditional sense, rather than in 70's swinging London, as in the outstanding remasters from Warner Brothers of both 'Dracula AD 1972' and 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula' However, if you NEED the plot, you may find a PCAS feature, with that and a whole skip full of stills, RIGHT HERE and HERE!.

THE TEC SPEC! 
AND SO TO THE LINE, that is the divider or decider in such releases as this. A title now arrives on blu ray, that most parties or individuals will probably already own and may have in several formats, purchased and added to those creeking shelves, over the years. The question: Is THIS release an improvement and worth parting with your hard earned lolly? The ANSWER is certainly! I have found over the years, it is the past reputations of such companies as Shout / Scream Factory, that will define if fans are going to cry, 'Once Bitten, Twice Shy' having been stung with past purchases, where the excitement and anticipation of a blu ray release worth having, following lots of promotion and word of mouth, sinks faster, after the opening credits than a trout with belly full lead! Scream Factory has an excellent record and this release again puts the seal of approval on they give what they promise. This release is 2.35:1 anamorphic and SCREAM FACTORY'S transfer presents visually a real bonus, to anyone who has seen the film before, and experienced not too sharp an image, to put it bluntly! The 50GB disc is an AVC encoded 1080p high definition transfer. Having said that, some would consider the transfer to not quite be of reference quality. AT LAST we can now see, what is happening CLEARLY, CRISPLY! Nothing that I could see in my TWO viewings of this release, dropped from an excellent clarity, a viewing of this film, I had never seen before. Blurring, sudden softness of what two seconds ago was a sharp image, with solid contrast of a shot, filmed in shadow, can be a real distraction, if seen too often while enjoying your recent purchase. 

WATCHING THIS RELEASE was full of visual surprises. Details in costumes, actors expressions and of course, the fight scenes, was a real treat! The transfer brings out so much detail compared to previous releases. The audio is DTS-HD MA Mono. The levels are clear and for some might hint at being TOO clear! All dialogue in Seven Golden Vampires, was created during ADR. It was very common practice in the industry in Hong Kong at this time, that little if anything that was recorded during production was used in the final theatrical release, everything was dubbed in post. So it's very fair to say, the levels are well balanced is free of any obvious or noticeable hiss problems or distortion. James Bernard's excellent score has never sounded better! Optional subtitles are provided in English only.



THE EXTRAS:
REGULARS TO HERE AT THE PCAS website and the PCASUK FACEBOOK FAN PAGE will not be strangers to the work of BRUCE G HALLENBECK. As well, as writing and publishing several very good books on Hammer and Amicus films, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and many many others, Bruce has also contributed several exclusive features and series about Cushing, Hammer / Amicus and many of Cushing's supporting casts and characters for this website. You find links to many on the right column of this site! Bruce contributes and narrates a very entertaining feature on this SCREAM FACTORY release. Lots of new factoids and details about Hammer films, the history of why Hammer made a 'Vampire / Kung Fu' features at a time when Hammer had long left his Dracula role and how it almost didn't get made, as Warner Bros threatened to pull their money, unless Dracula was included in the film. Well done, Bruce! 

A FEATURE WITH AUTHOR RICK BAKER, is also here if you have an interest in Kung Fu Cinema. 'KUNG FEAR' does a nice job of sharing the background of Hammer's partners in making 'Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires' The Shaw Brothers. Baker who is author of several books on Hong Kong cinema shares his knowledge while 'Golden Vampires' co star David Chiang gives a neat little interview, with memories on working on the film and Peter Cushing! Also included is the 75 min 'alternative' edit of the film, re-titled 'The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula'. It's minus much of Cushing's Van Helsing footage and anything that didn't have the minimum at least five chops or three foot sockings! Interesting!

OVERALL
Scream Factory's REMASTERED Blu Ray release of Hammer Films 'The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires' is a very nice and long awaited addition to my little collection. It's fabulous to watch Cushing in his last outing as Van Helsing, Julie Ege, Chiang and Robin Stewart are a great support also. John Forbes- Robertson is very entertaining to watch in a 'Hong Kong' swing of Dracula. Complete with THEIR nod to his make up and style, it answers the question of, what would a Dracula not played by Christopher Lee, in a Hammer film, look like! THIS release gets a BIG thumbs up and thank you from us all at PCAS!. .

SCREAM FACTORY REMASTER of LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES BLU RAY was REALASED TODAY APRIL 9th 2019 and is REGION A.
 

SCREAM FACTORY'S 2K REMASTERED GOLDEN VAMPIRES EXTRAS DETAILS ON DEBUT RELEASE!

NEWS: SCREAM FACTORY has just announced the additional details about their upcoming blu-ray of Hammer's 1974 'The Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires'. This BLU RAY is a locked Region A release. And has a street date planned for April 9th 2019.

THE FINAL LIST list of extras for their upcoming release of the the entertaining kung-fu/horror hybrid from Hammer Films is as follows:

• NEW 2K scan of the original film elements

• NEW Audio Commentary with author/film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck

• NEW When Hammer Met Shaw – an interview with actor David Chiang

• NEW Kung Fear – an interview with Hong Kong Film Expert Rick Baker

• Alternate U.S. Theatrical version – The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula (in HD with some standard definition inserts)

• Theatrical Trailers

• TV Spot

• Stills Gallery

UPON POSTING THESE DETAILS over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE we soon received lots of comments and messages of excitement about the release from people who have long wanted a super clean blu ray version of this Peter Cushing last appearance as Van Helsing . . . but it seems whenever this film is mentioned, like DRACULA himself, there arrives a resurrection of negative comments and critiques of actor, John Forbes-Robertson's performance and appearance as Count Dracula. Where do you stand on this? Please feel free to join in on the comments and give us your thoughts too 😉

 

CUSHING COLLECTORS WEDNESDAY! CINEFICCION NINE : SHERLOCK AND THE SHERLOCK FIFTY PENCE COIN!

MAGAZINE COLLECTORS: A HEADS UP that ISSUE NINE of CINEFICCION is OUT at the END OF JANUARY. It carries a neat feature on the late VALERIE GAUNT and a feature we ran back two years ago about Peter and INGRID PITT! Lost to get your teeth into with this issue, plus we hope to have GREAT news on something VERY special from CINEFICCION coming VERY SOON! If that aint enough for you, there is ALSO the ICONOS DEL HORROR: SHERLOCK themed magazine to add to you collection! Orders and details ALL  RIGHT HERE!

HERE IS SOMETHING that I am sure many #SHERLOCK fans will nip up in no time! INTERESTED? Well, 2019 commemorates the 160th Anniversary of the Birth of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the Royal Mint has released a special Limited Issue Brilliant Uncirculated Sherlock Holmes 50p Fifty Pence Coin. The reverse is designed by Stephen Raw and features a cameo of Sherlock Holmes and title of some of his books while the obverse features the Fifth Portrait of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by Jody Clark. The SPEC goes like this: Metal: Cupro-Nickel Weight: 8.00 Grams Diameter: 27.30mm. The MINT items can be ordered from The LONDON COIN COMPANY at around £22 plus delivery cost! 

MORE CUSHING GOODIES NEXT WEDNESDAY!

REVIEW: DRACULA IS ALIVE RESSURECTED AND NEVER LOOKED BETTER ON WARNER BROTHERS REMASTERED BLU RAY!

PETER CUSHING AND CHRISTOPHER LEE FANS, PCAS followers and all in the US Hammer film fans, have waited a LONG time for the PRINCE of DARKNESS and his number one enemy, to finally cross the Atlantic and set foot, on their home cinema screens! On the 18th of December 2018, Hammer films numero uno Dracula classic, will finally hit the streets . . just like when the vampire king landed on the shores of Whitby, England back in the late 19th century, and frightened EVERYONE to death!

THERE IS EVERY POSSIBILITY, with Warner Brother's REMASTERED BLU RAY release of the BFI restored print, that with Christopher Lee amazing performance and stunning quality of this print, he WILL do it, yet again, for there is  MUCH to be quite shocked and surprised by in this fabulous Warner Brothers Archive release. In the past, just like the Stoker novel of 1897, there have been several nightmares and tense moments concerning the release of the film on blu ray. In 2012, the first blu ray release of the film in the UK, devided fans and techie types, with a print that was remastered, but for some looked like it had been shot with director Terence Fisher holding a BLUE GEL lighting filter in front of expert camera operator's Jack Asher's lens! For a studio that celebrated the rich and throbbing reds and colours of it's gothic sets, furnishings, fangs and well, blood lusting the chilly blue tone resulted in a very cool reception on its release.

IT CAN'T BE DENIED that Warner Brothers Archive releases, have hit many major BULLS EYE not just in the last two months, where they have utterly spoiled us with the fantastic remasters of two later Hammer Cushing and Lee films on blu ray,  DRACULA AD 1972 and THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULAbut also their HAMMER HORROR CLASSICS VOLUME ONE, presented us with new remastered versions of 'Dracula Has Risen From The Grave', 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed'  AND 'Taste The Blood Of Dracula'! No other version of previous releases of these titles can compete with the visual and sound quality of the Warners blu ray releases!

AS TIME DREW CLOSER, after the announcement from Warner of the planned 1958 DRACULA release, just like the tension of the final ten minutes of the film, we ALL waited to find out if THIS release was going to be yet another Warner triumph with gold stars, or if it was going to shock for ALL the wrong reasons, with the horrible news that the blue tint, had risen yet again and returned to haunt the passionate lovers of this film. It was great relief, on pressing the play button on my blu ray player, that I saw an old friend, but looking MORE than healthy! For those of us, who have watched and wore out our VHS and DVD recordings of the film over the years, we KNOW and are very familiar with its tone, contrast, rich, rich colours and that powerful score and accompanying owl screeching and vampire hisses. Here at last, all those things are back, but now cystral clear, remastered and never looked better.

TERENCE FISHER'S 1958 Dracula / Horror of Dracula US Blu-ray arrival on the red carpet is a stunning  “brand-new presentation, sourced from the British Film Institute/Hammer Film restoration master”. Dracula's  'Blur Period' is over.  Through out,  images are strong with good detail and defined and correct  colouring. Everthing, as you would expect looks balanced and bold when they should do! Like many of you, this film is like an old friend to me. I know it well and what I was seeing and hearing was quite an experince. Familiar, but now better and a HUGE departure from previous releases. THIS is how it was meant to be! Because of the clarity, the depth of the sets like Dracula's first arrival on meeting Harker and the fisty-cuff with Lee and Valerie Gaunt, you get the shadows and creepy light and SIZE of Dracula's den. At last, Bernard Robinson's dedicated set design can be seen in all it's beauty. Flagstone floors, drapes, banners, curtains and even the subtle gold detail on the floor space area, when the Count meets his end, is luscious, clear and quite regal. 

IT IS ONE OF THE MANY things you notice from the first scene where Harker stands outside Castle Dracula and certainly when he steps inside, there are SO MANY colours and some are, for me, seen for the first time! I am please to say, that it also sounds as good as it looks. Dialogue isn't lost in what is sometimes a quite dramatic score, every word can be heard and is crisp. Sound effects to seem to have a new life. The horses during the chase, have a lovely thundering base, Cushing's feet on the wooden and hollow tablle top... and hey, those curtains, come down with quite a crash and Dracula's body THUDS when he hits the floor. You'll be please to hear, that for once... The Count's footsteps are wonderfully absent! As, they should be!   

THERE IS MUCH to be VERY happy about concerning this NEW remastering. I think for once too, fans and admirers of this much loved Cushing and Lee classic Hammer film, will appreciate that the task of remastering has been carried out properly, with an eye for detail with a quality that respects the standards, skills, dedication and artistry, of a cinematic production crew and studio, once long gone, but now . . celebrated and still with us! Consider that past ressurections of the DRACULA are now staked, dead and dust. THIS Dracula, has RISEN and has never looked better. He TRULY IS a terrifying lover who DIED and and yet LIVES!

ON TUESDAY WE POSTED what is our LAST competition for this year, has at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE AND what a PRIZE there is to WIN! 😲 With many thanks to our sponsors at Warner Brothers..we have a PAIR of their latest Peter Cushing Hammer film release... their REMASTERED blu ray of the restored BFI print of Hammer films 1958 DRACULA! All you have to do is guess the answer to our VISUAL competition.
 

AS USUAL I have to ask that you DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWER ON THE PAGE... send it to us using the SEND MESSAGE button UNDER THE COMPETITION BANNER 😉 Any answers or entries posted on the COMMENTS thread will be deleted and not counted as an entry. The competition CLOSES on Wednesday 19th December 2018. So get your ENTRY in now...and maybe you would like to give us a LIKE too? I'd be most grateful 😉Have fun and GOOD LUCK! - Marcu

JUST CLICK ON THIS LINK to the WARNER BROTHERS SHOP site, where you can also purchase your copy of this release!  

THE WEEKLY CUSHING TUESDAY TOUGHY PLUS COMPETITION STILL OPEN!

#CUSHINGTUESDAYTOUGHY! WHO is this with Christopher Lee and WHICH Hammer Dracula film, was this image used to promote?? We'll have the ANSWER here on Friday 🙂 Feel free to post your answer and join in the fun over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE have fun 😉 MEANWHILE below is LAST WEEK'S TOUGHY answer! - Marcus

ABOVE: DON'T FORGET to enter our DRACULA AD 1972 Warner Brothers REMASTERED BLU RAY competition! It's LIVE and OPEN until NOVEMBER 14th 2018!

AND BELOW . . . 

HALLOWEEN COMPETITION NUMBER ONE NOW CLOSED: WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED ON SATURDAY 17TH NOVEMBER 2018

BOO! HERE IT IS! 🙂 The FIRST of our THREE PCAS Halloween Competitions 2018 🙂 PLEASE ONLY send your answers using the MESSAGE / CONTACT BUTTON at the top of this page, as usual. Sadly, any entries posted in the thread below, will be deleted and not counted as entries. If you can't wait to win, to own your own copy of this outstanding remaster of a great Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee Hammer DRACULA film... the blu ray is OUT NOW! 

YOU can ORDER and PURCHASE your copy of the Warner Brothers Archive Collection REMASTEREd Blu Ray HERE!

THE GIFS IN THIS FEATURE WERE NOT MADE

 USING THE REMASTERED BLU RAY

WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER Warner Brothers Competiton TOMORROW, where you can bag yourself copies of the remastered blu ray of the Dracula AD 1972 SEQUEL, 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula'! All correct answers will be as always, dropped into a pot and FIVE lucky winners will be announced HERE on Thursday November 15th! As ever, this competition is OPEN to everyone, no matter where you are! So GOOD LUCK! Have fun and get your entry in NOW 😉