NEWS: ISLAND OF TERROR BLU RAY COMES TO USA

BREAKING NEWS: One Peter Cushing most loved cultist films, ISLAND OF TERROR (1966) is at last getting a Blu-ray in early Summer this year, from #SCREAMFACTORY! Island of Terror also stars Edward Judd ...and the lovely, Silicates. It's directed by one of Hammer films finest, directed by Terence Fisher. We will have to wait and see if the  'Cushing Chop' has been included in this release....

 

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WATCH THE LEGEND OF HAMMER VAMPIRES AND REVIEW

CAST YOUR MIND BACK to late last year, and one of our most popular #PETERCUSHING competitions. It was the chance to win several sets of, TWO of Donald Fearney's documentaries on dvd, the classic LEGEND OF HAMMER VAMPIRES and his latest release, 'THE AMICUS VAULT OF HORRORS'.  NICK COLBOURNE was one of our lucky friends who bagged the double doc prize and he has just this week sent us a quick review of his thoughts on the Hammer Vamps documentary. . . . First up, apologies for taking so long to review the first of two DVDs I was lucky to win in your competition last year.
 

THE LEGEND OF HAMMER VAMPIRES: 'I was very fortunate to be a winner in one of your competitions last year. I am savoring the watching of the documentaries, and having watched 'The Legend of Hammer Vampires' thought I just had to share with you, how much i enjoyed it!  and It's a lovely watch, not just filled with wonderful memories, the velvet voice of Edward De Souza narrating and interviews with the likes of Jimmy Sangster, Tudor Gates, Dave Prowse, the eternally gorgeous Caroline Munro, Peter and others, but it has two extremely important attributes that make it essential viewing. Firstly it is refreshingly honest, it says what we we all know, that some of the movies were bad, they flopped and despite having a cast filled with our favourites, they still made a poor final product. Of course those movies still played their part in the Hammer story and they all still have a place in our collections....'

'SECONDLY, it's a treat to see such extensive mention of everyone who contributed, most notably Michael Ripper, treasured by any lover of Hammer, the DVD remembers him fondly. There's two brief extras, a further interview with Tudor Gates and a poor audio quality, but still fascinating one with John Gilling, which despite the quality, I'd rather have than not have! It's a lovely DVD, as I have said and one that belongs rightfully in anyone's Hammer collection. Thank you.'  Nick Colbourne 

THE LEGEND of Hammer Vampire is now off the sales listings, but you can watch the whole documentary here in three parts, with Donald's blessing! It's always appreciated to get any feedback on the posts here and at our facebook site, and a thank you for a prize. It rarely happens. So many thanks to Nick for this valuable feedback! Nick is also bracing himself for a screening of the other half of his prize, Donald Fearney's 'Amicus : The Vault of Horrors' documentary soon and will be sending us his thoughts thoughts on that one too!

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DOUBLE BILL OF PETER CUSHING : SHERLOCK AND A WEREWOLF!

 ALL UPLOADS AND CLIPS AT OUR

YOUTUBE CHANNEL ARE NON MONETIZED. 

ANOTHER NEW DOUBLE BILL at our PCAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL TWO rare Peter Cushing films, that have never had a digital release. One marks Cushing's last performance as Sherlock Holmes and the other, interestingly is a story that originally started life as the original idea, that went on to become #HAMMERFILMS bench-mark in Gothic werewolf horror, 'The Curse of the werewolf, directed by Terence Fisher and starring Oliver Reed!

ALTHOUGH HE NEVER GETS THE CREDIT, back in the 1970's, producer Kevin Francis did a very brave thing indeed, with his company, 'Tyburn films'. Just as the film industry in the UK, was in it's last gasps, Francis nailed his colours and formed a production company, that not only gave us three very good Peter Cushing releases...but also a format for making feature films in the UK, that was new, cost effective and quite radical. Sadly, even with the best plan in the world, nothing could stop the rot, that turned off the oxygen, to what was once one of the country's greatest assets and exports. That was then, now...put your feet up and enjoy Francis's vision of a great Peter Cushing movie... he went on to become a very close friend to Cushing, but was also very much a HUGE FAN of his work.

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UNIVERSAL BLU RAY BOX SET IS A MONSTER SUCESS!

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY : This weeks first Thursday nostalgia post is not Peter Cushing themed..but boy how I wish it was! Birthdays are wonderful things, well wishes and gifts are wonderful too... and even though my Birthday is a few weeks away yet, my sister treated me to an 'advance' on a gift 🙂 🙂 The Universal Classic Monsters: The Essential Collection [Blu-ray] box set, is a VERY fine thing indeed.

IN MY TEENS I watched and read everything I could on these classic films, and watching them again is a thrill! I also love 3D films, and snap up anything I can find.. the Creature from the Black Lagoon 3D disc in this box set is worth the price alone! It's ALL here Karloff Frankenstein, Chaney Wolfman, Rains Phantom...and ALL remastered and looking and sounding superb on blu rays. Which leads me to ask..why couldn't the BEST of Hammer films be presented in this way?

THE EXTRAS, the booklet, even the lovely packaging is excellent. Is it because Lionsgate and co are cheap??? Hammer licensing distributors don't have the budget? They won't sell enough to make their money back on making a quality release...remastering is expensive??? Well, maybe it's all of those things. But over the years, we have had many re-releases of Cushing's Hammer films, and only WARNERS Horror Classics, Volume One has met anywhere near this Universal release, it's an outstanding presentation. I was very pleased that the remasters were well over what I expected, and they didn't cheap out on packaging either. So, both Universal and Warner, certainly show us how it could and should be done. So, let's stop with the cheapo releases, fans will always buy what's done well 🙂 Do you have this Universal box set? What do you think? How about the Warner Hammer set too?

THIS I ALSO RECOMMEND if you are a fan of the show. I know, Peter Cushing did himself enjoy the humor of Charles Addams... not sure if he saw the shows, but he did have a few of the Addams illustrations, in his scrapbooks! This box set kept me laughing all last weekend. Recommended.

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A TRIPLE BILL OF 60'S CUSHING 'DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA'

THREE SIXTIES CUSHING GOODIES . . . ready to watch. Right Now at our YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE. . .OR BELOW

THE NAKED EDGE is a 1961 thriller film starring Gary Cooper, Deborah Kerr with a co starring role by Peter Cushing. The movie was a British-American co-production distributed by United Artists, directed by Michael Anderson and produced by George Glass and Walter Seltzer, with Marlon Brando Sr. as executive producer. The screenplay was by Joseph Stefano and Max Ehrlich, the music score by William Alwyn and the cinematography by Erwin Hillier and Tony White. The production design was by Carmen Dillon. The film was shot in London and at Elstree Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, and was Gary Cooper's last film.

CASH ON DEMAND is a firm favorite  with Cushing fans 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 phrase . . . 'A rogue IS'NT just for Christmas!'

'IF A BRITISH FILM opens with a horse-drawn hearse in a Bavarian town and features a few of corpse exhumations, then you won’t be surprised to see Peter Cushing and a couple of Night of the Demon (1957) veterans in the cast list. In fact, you’d be forgiven for assuming The Man Who Finally Died is a hoary old Brit-horror. But actually, it isn’t. Then again, maybe it is; there’s more horror here than our imagination can easily conjure!' : 'The Man Who Finally Died' Starburst Magazine

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HELEN CUSHING REMEMBERED TODAY

TODAY MARKS what would have been a very significant birthday in the life of Peter Cushing...the birthdate of his wife, Helen. Peter never forgot to mark anniversaries or special days with Helen, often making her beautiful greetings cards, notes and..of course the silk scarves. He never forgot her birthday, and neither shall we... so, in remembrance, Happy Birthday Helen.

A RARE pic..... The CUSHING'S at Home! Helen Cushing REMEMBERED TODAY!

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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PATRICK MACNEE REMEMBERED

THIS WEEK AT our facebook fan page, we rememberd the wonderful actor Patrick Macnee who was born on this day in 1922. He was best known for his role as the secret agent John Steed in the British television series The Avengers and The New Avengers.

PATRICK MACNEE and Peter Cushing had the opportunity to work together several times. In 1968 Patrick was very much established in a superb tv programme made in the UK called The Avengers...Peter worked with both Patrick and Diana Rigg on this programme. Later in 1970, they worked together again, Macnee and Cushing both 'landed' in a film called 'Incense For The Damned' aka 'Bloodsuckers' It received a limited release at the time, but seems to have found something of a 'cult-status' in the land of '100 Horror Poor and Weird Films' dvd compilations!! In 1978, the Avengers tv series was rebooted and relaunched and it's first episode, not only brought us Macnee and Cushing ....but also two new side -kicks for Macnee...Gareth Hunt as 'Tough man' Gambit and Joanna Lumley as Purdey.....who not only supplied buckets of sex appeal to the tea time Sunday evening program, but high kicks and a hair style that anyone who considered themselves a bit of a catch, were proudly modeling within days of the first program being broadcast! Lumley had played Cushing grand-daughter Jessica Van Helsing in Hammer films 'The Satanic Rites of Dracula' (1973)

MACNEE also shared a close friendship with Christopher Lee, since the pair attended school together (at Summerfields Preparatory School in Oxford) and also performed together several times, including playing Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in two TV movies in the early 1990s, Incident at Victoria Falls and Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady. Patrick Macnee died peacefully at his home, in Rancho Mirage, California on 25th June 2015. He was 93.

CLEGG HERO OR MONSTER : MONSTERMONDAY

#MONSTERMONDAY: Peter Cushing's Captain Clegg aka Rev. Dr. Blyss comes from the much loved Dr Syn pirate adventure books written by Russell Thorndyke.... Much has been shared here about the alternative titles used during the release of this Hammer film, 'Night Creatures (US) Captain Clegg (US) and the copyright problems with the name of Syn and the bad timing of being produced the SAME TIME as Disney's Dr Syn The Scarecrow feature film! ...Want to know more about that... you'll find extensively illustrated features starting  HERE at this website!

WAS BLYSS a good man, robbing from the Tax Collectors and Exercise Menand giving to the poor of his parish..OR was his treatment of Milton Reid's character... cutting out his tongue and banishing him to an island, a bit on the rough side of justice??? He WAS a pirate. He did fight and kill....the stories of his fights were legendary in the books.. he was a man to be feared! This still stands as one of the Cushing films that is least seen by most people here. If you haven't caught this one, now is the time... in the tradition of Robin Hood and Errol Flynn Peter LOVED playing this role and even spent time writing a sequel to this Hammer classic! So, Clegg...Villain, Monster and a Slayer on the High Seas....or a Hero? YOU decide!

TRIVIA: Above is the face well known of a quite well known British character actor who appeared in Captain Clegg / Night Creatures and at least TWO films with Peter Cushing... but can you name him and the title of the ONE television show he also appeared in with Cushing? ANSWER later....

CUSHING TARKIN EPISODE IV MONTAGE

GETTHECUSHIONITSCUSHING: Maybe one of Peter Cushing's most terrifying roles...what do you think? All in one montage, ALL of his scenes from Star Wars IV A New Hope!

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