OVER AT the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE PETER CUSHING Hammer Amicus fan #TARACHANDLER has sent us this great post 🙂
Quite an interesting selection for the Christmas Fright and Spooky Festival
season??? What would yours look like??? Remember you can always send us
messages of your choices, thoughts and viewing experiences, which we
will SHARE on the MAIN NEWS THREAD.. so others can see and join in
...anytime 😉🙂 - Marcus
TARA'S POST: "The
holiday season is upon us - here is my list of must watch DVD’s for
this festive period - this evening I watched my favourite; Countess #Dracula, with my favourite actress #ingridpitt
- there are some amazing Cushing features, specifically Frankenstein
Created Woman (in The Best of Hammer Collection box set) - some Amicus
Productions in there too (Dr Terror’s...). What’s on your festive list!?
I may add a few more to mine! " 🦇🧛♂️
PETER CUSHING truly did love Whitstable, for sure 😃 Be it Summer or Winter . . or even #ChristmasDay for a quick dip (??) it IS somewhere quite special 😉
REQUESTED: MARK HAMILL MEETS Peter Cushing with Davie Prowse on the set at Elstree studios!
PETER CUSHING was certainly a man of hobbies. MANY hobbies. Collections,
books, stamps, coins, figures, soldiers, trains, cigarette cards,
models .. and toys! After Peter's passing, it took two major auctions
and several smaller charity sales, to clear a vast collection of
passions. Toys were something he had a great love for and the older and
simpler it was, the more he liked it 😀 Eighty years after it was purchased and given to him . . he still owned his first and most favourite toy... Piglet!
This weeks quote is taken from Peter Cushing: Past Forgetting' Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1988.
YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD OF or know Wanda for a whole lot of reasons... the
ace 1960's Brit TV series 'UFO', Peter Cushing's 'love it hate it' Tigon
horror film about a killer moth 'The Blood Beast Terror', the fact she
played a role in a terrific Hammer horror film, mumbling under a paper
mache mask for a fair while . . or the fact that she is THE Mum to a
quite internationally famous actor...? Personally I LIKE 'The Blood
Beast Terror', I like UFO and I love Ventham too 😊 Join in if YOU too want to wish the super Wanda Ventham, A Happy Birthday too, TODAY at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE!!
JUST A FEW DAYS AGO, I was put on the spot! A message come though on the FACEBOOK PCASUK Fan Page, with a question, that really got me thinking. 'We are planning a FILM NIGHT at the Whitstable Castle, we would like to dedicate the film we are screening, to Peter Cushing, and are foxed as to which Cushing Hammer film we should screen. Any ideas? I don't know about you, but on the rare occasion I have a spare evening to sit and enjoy one of Peter Cushing's many titles, I usually end up cruising the spines of all 80 odd dvd's and blu rays, then studying the covers, a little dusting and rearranging, before I know, three hours or more has passed, with distractions and procrastination, resulting in not a one disc sliding into the player! I really am the last person to ask, but I did manage after at least an hour or chewing on it, one title. However, knowing often my suggestion may not fit their plans or thinking, I instead suggested the making of a token PCASUK banner very qucikly and throwing the question out to the entire following of the PCASUK FAN PAGE. The many, many, come back suggestions and results were very interesting indeed. If YOU want to add your suggestion to the list in the comments thread, PLEASE do! Here is a link to THAT post, join it with a click HERE! ANY news on the planned evening, I will share as NEWS here at the website, FACEBOOK and other PCASUK social platforms. Stay TUNED 😉
ON SEEING these rare and unpublished photographs for the first time, it
isn't obvious who the man in the pics actually could be. A neat and trim
moustache, the absence of a hair piece and several pounds of body
weight along with clothing that wasn't the usual attire familiar to the
thousands of cinema goers, who had watched him on the big screen and tv
over the past three decades. 1971 was a year that changed Peter
Cushing's life forever. The loss of his wife, Helen in February
after many years of fighting her illness, set Cushing on a path of
work, that would have psychically and emotionally exhausted many others.
THE GRIEF AND LOSS effected everything in Cushing's life, except as he saw,
his one distraction away from the loneliness and pain. Work. These
unpublished stills were taken in December 1971, as part of a Radio Times
magazine feature, promoting a BBC radio programme Peter had recorded
earlier on July 27th -29th July 1971 at his home in Whitstable. The
programme 'Nature Spectacular' focused on the wildlife and birds of
which Peter was very familiar and loved around his beach front home. I
am sure you have seen the many watercolour's and sketches that Peter
produced over the years, here on PCASUK. He was a lover of nature. The
photo session produced quite a few unique captures of Peter, that we
will be sharing over the next three weeks. . .
THIS LOOK INTO Peter's home study, gives us a peep into the things that
surrounded his day, the photo portrate of his late wife, the paperwork,
the delicate bird figures he made and his desk, which I am very proud to
be sat at, while writing this. Just a few weeks before these
photographs were taken, Cushing had began his journey, in 'keeping busy'
in March until April, he returned in his first film just weeks after
Helen passed, Hammer films 'Twins of Evil', September he filmed his
award winning performance as Arthur Grimsdyke in Amicus films, 'Tales
from the Crypt' at Shepperton studios, work on Hammer's Dracula AD 1972'
as Van Helsing with Christopher Lee as the Count, kept him busy from
September 27th until November 5th along with several radio appearances
from September 30th until early November. He brought the year to an end,
with shooting Hammer films, 'Fear In The Night' with Ralph Bates and
Judy Geeson' .... hence the little moustache, of his character
headmaster, Michael Carmichael. Cushing was allergic to spirit gum that
would hold on a false tash, so he grew his facial hair when roles
required it! A busy time, indeed.
THE 1972 AMICUS FILM, 'Asylum' which is featured in our Second Sight Films / PCAS competition this week, was a film that contains quite a sad and poignant role for Peter Cushing, both his character and Cushing in his own life, were dealing with the grief of losing a loved one. After the release of Asylum in the UK, the connection of the role and Cushing own loss, prompted quite a few interviews and features in magazines and newspapers. A few weeks ago, we posted the quite well known photo of Peter sitting at a dresser in his home in Whitstable, with framed photographs of Helen at his side. On posting this pic, I received quite a few messages from many of you out there who were very moved to see Peter looking so remorseful. So, I looked into our files and to find this 'other' photograph from this photo session and post the two here today 😀 The loss of Helen was something from which Peter Cushing never truly recovered, but being the gentleman and brave soul he was, he always managed to push on, to another day ... I hope you like the insert photo - Marcus 😉
ABOVE: YOU CAN bag your chance to win a copy of the LIMITED EDITION BLU RAY SECOND SIGHT FILMS release of 'ASYLUM' in our PCASUK COMPETITION right now at our FACEBOOK PCAS FAN PAGE! The competition is open until SATURDAY 29th of June 2019, so there's still time to take the opportunity now!
TODAY IS A VERY SPECIAL DAY... Peter Wilton Cushing was born today, May
26th 1913.... Please join us in celebrating, leaving your comments and
sharing our posts, to mark this very special day and help us to . . .
keep the memory alive!
ABOVE: OUR Peter Cushing Birthday Celebration Competition, will be shared here and at the Facebook PCASUK Fan Page TODAY!
HERE AT THE WEBSITE and over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE we will be sharing some pretty special posts today,
a BRAND NEW TEN minute clip of the last time Peter Cushing and and
Christopher Lee met 1994, which I think you will love, and a competition
to win five pairs of Hammer and Amicus films documentary dvd's... it's
going to be a busy day, with more than our ONE standard daily post here at the website . . . all will continue into tomorrow and then into the
shared birthday's of Christopher Lee and Vincent Price too . . so, let's
begin, HAPPY BIRTHDAY PETER CUSHING!
BY THE WAY, TODAY is INTERNATIONAL DRACULA DAY! Missing Christopher Lee's BIRTHDAY tomorrow, by HOURS! I wonder, what he would have thought of THAT? 😉😃
HOT OFF THE PRESS and still dripping! Tis this week's TUESDAY TOUGHY!
Tying in quite nicely with our Warner Brothers release of The Satanic
Rites of Dracula remastered blu ray, along with Dracula AD 1972 AND our
splendid COMPETITION to bag copies of the releases and several other
BITINGLY good prizes! We'll have the answer for this on FRIDAY. MEAN WHILE, please feel free to jump over to the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE and enter YOUR ANSWER on the thread. GO ON, have a go!
#TOOCOOLTuesday!
NOT THE HOUSE that JACK built, but GEORGE. George Cushing that is,
Peter Cushing's father. George was a quantity surveyor for Purley
District Council, who bought the land this house sits on, and also
designed and planned the building of it! The Cushing family moved in
1926, and Peter born in 1913, his brother David three years older, lived
there for many years.The house has now been lovingly renovated, spruced
up, to enhance it's Edwardian style by the charming
Camlett family, who certainly appreciate the Cushing connection of the
house! Only this July a BLUE PLAQUE was placed on the house, to
celebrate its connection, to Peter Cushing.
ABOVE: HOW THE HOUSE LOOKED, JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, BEFORE THE CAMLETT FAMILY, WONDERFUL RESTORATION!
PETER ALONG with his father GEORGE at the home in St James Road, on the announcement of Peter'S engagement to Helen, who would soon be his wife!
THE LONDON BLUE PLAQUE SCHEME prides
itself on celebrating extraordinary people at the places where they
lived and worked.This beautiful house on St James Road, Purley is the
second Cushing home to be awarded a Blue Plaque. The first was erected
at the home of Peter and his wife, Helen Cushing in Whitstable, Kent.
COMING SOON : WIN BLU RAY COPIES SIGNED FRAMED CHRISTOPHER LEE
AS PROMISED, at our FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE here is a nice little video clip, shot yesterday of
CUSHING'S VIEW in Whitstable Kent, of the REPLACED brass dedication
plaque on the Peter and Helen Cushing bench, and sneak peep of the view 🙂 Many thanks again to PCASUK Follower, Spencer Aldren for this exclusive clip today!
ABOVE IS A FEATURE we posted back in 2016, of your trips to #WHITSTABLE and your fun following the #CUSHINGTRAIL! Just CLICK HERE!
#CHRISTOPHERLEE SATURDAY! BY THE BEGINNING of 1969, Peter Cushing no longer owned a London home, when he he was working and filming at a studio close to London, Pinewood, Shepperton or Elstree, but far from the home where he and his wife, Helen lived in Whitstable in Kent, he would stay at Brown's Hotel in Mayfair, in the city centre. . . 'My favourite hotel in London!' . .and this accommodation would be included in his fee for appearing in the film. For the contract of the Amicus film, I MONSTER, he did not want to be away from Helen in the evenings so he travelled on the 'milk-train' from Whitstable at 6am and returned back to his home at 10pm at night. It was a busy time . . .
I MONSTER, was based on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, was filmed from October 10th 1970, directed by 22 year old director Stephen Weeks. Christopher Lee starred in the dual role. But Amicus films angle on the story, was quite different for those that had been released in the past. Some believe producer Milton Subotsky, was ducking copyright restrictions, as MGM owned the rights to the title of the the story . . and so, the lead characters names, Jekyll and Hyde. And so, in I Monster, the good doctor and his alter ego, Mr Hyde carried different names, Doctor Marlowe and Mr Blake. Others believe, Subotsky had heard that his competition Hammer films, were in the process of shooting their own production of the tale. Though I guessing if this was true, he had no idea of the secret spin that it's director Roy Ward Baker and the producers, also had in the wings, to give their release a new and refreshing angle and adapted title! Although Subotsky changed the names of the doctor and his frightening flip identity, most of Stevenson's other characters remained the same, as in the novel. Back in 1983, when PCASUK carried out a video interview with Milton at his home, he was asked why he changed the main characters names, his answer was, 'I thought it would be fun to try!'
SUBOTSKY ALSO WAS DETERMINED to make in film in 3D. Again, when he became an honorary member of PCASUK in 1983, and gave us access and several interviews, the subject matter of how he always wanted to make a 3D film, often came up. He thought a 3D version of Alice in Wonderland in a feature film would make an amazing release... and a feature about the London, Lord Mayor Show, would also be ideal! Sadly, he never got the chance, nor did we or he ever bring up the subject matter of the failed and impossible attempt to shot 'I Monster' in 3D too! Subotsky, before he entered the world of making successful fantasy movies, spent time producing a series of shorts, based on the 'School Boy Scientist' market. Subotsky LOVED science and had been aware a simple and cost effective way of a shooting film in 3D since he too, was a school boy. The process required constant lateral movement within the frame, making conventional film shooting methods and rules of thumb impossible.
AFTER A WHILE, the process was abandoned by director Stephen Weeks, and the fact that many of the sets had been built, the opposite way to what was needed, to achieve the pans and movements in the correct directions, made movement and continuity impossible or jarring too. The finished release still contains several interminable tracking shots clumsily cut together with static close ups. Despite the technical problems, Christopher Lee gives an excellent central performance.
CUSHING LOVED THE PERIOD FURNISHINGS, and wore some of his own Edwardian styled clothes for the film, which were specially tailored for him by theatrical costumiers Montague Burton's- and as a result seems completely at home in this era. His is even able to reprise the 'eye up to the magnifying glass trick as he compares the identical signatures of Marlowe and Blake.
DESPITE WHAT SOME SEE as tedious pacing, and the occasional wandering camera the film does have several startling scenes and quite unique turns from both Lee and Cushing. A nightmare sequence features a distorted, faceless Doctor Marlowe; there is a spectacular chase through the massive turbines of an Edwardian water works! Also the monstrously ugly Blake's pathetic encounter with a small child in a park. Make up artist, Harry Frampton creates an amazingly Blake / Hyde whose appearance with every arrival becomes more frightening and a true monster, in every way!
CATCH UP with our I MONSTER RARE IMAGE GALLERY PART ONE : HERE!
IS I MONSTER ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE CUSHING FILMS OR MAYBE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IT? COME SHARE YOUR OPINION AND THOUGHTS ON ONE THE LESSER TALKED ABOUT AMICUS FILMS AT THE FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! COME AND JOIN A FOLLOWING OF OVER 33 THOUSAND FANS OF THE PAGE! JUST CLICK : HERE!!
