#TOOCOOLTUESDAY
How cool is this? Here's a photograph that was passed onto me over
Christmas. As you know, Peter Cushing's walks through his home town were
often opportunities for visiting fans to bump into Peter and have a
chat, but also Peter had many friends in the town, he would meet on the street or beach, during his daily jaunt. One of these were the
Hewlett family. Many UK followers here will I am sure recognise Donald
from the extremely popular 1970's BBC tv comedy series, 'It Ain't Half
Hot, Mum', in which he played Colonel Charles Reynolds 🙂 Peter was very good friends with the family. This photograph was taken on the beach just outside Peter's own front door 🙂 Did any of you ever 'bump' into Peter on the beach at WHITSTABLE? Do tell . . .
#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! OVER THE YEARS I have seen lots of strange and wonderful illustrations on VHS and DVD covers, that grace the covers of Cushing films. But this one would be sure to make any Hammer fan, raise their eyebrows! Both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee star in the film, contained in the box . . . but Lee certainly doesn't appear as Dracula, neither does Cushing play Baron Frankenstein. The image of Dracula has been lifted from the 'Satanic Rites of Dracula' (1973) press kit. Cushing's up to his elbows in Kensington Gore pic, comes from Hammer films, 1969 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed' . . along with Simon Ward who plays, the Baron's assistant Karl. . . and no, Ward doesn't make an appearance in 'Cuerpos Vivientes' either! It's certainly not the worst of bungled Cushing film covers and there are more to come . . .
#WHOISTHAT?MICHAEL ANDREWS popped onto the PCASUK FACEBOOK FAN PAGE today, and set you all this puzzler. Andrew asks: 'Does anybody recognise the gentlemen below? He has a certain Cushing
look about him. He does actually have a connection with Hammer films!' If you can put a name to that face, we'd be pleased if you too can pop over to the PCAS Facebook Page and provide the answer!
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
THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED OVER THE NEXT NINE DAYS! COME BACK FOR UPDATES AND PROGRESS!
THE CONVERSATION? IT WENT LIKE THIS. 'To pull something like that off, you'd have to have lots of added value' 'How do mean?' 'Well, working in that genre the audience expects to see names.' 'Names?' 'Yes, that's why something like this would never happen!. You have to have a cast that features prominent names that are associated with THE studio.' 'Oh, I see. Well, he's got them!' There was a three second pause. One 'What?' One for 'Did you just say just say, what I think you said?' and the last for, 'You DID!''And the concept?' "Yes?' 'Well, that's going to be amazing. What an amazing opportunity!'
THIS CONVERSATION happened over the phone, as I write, was four days ago. I am talking to a close friend. Someone who I have known since we were teens. I went on to work in television and lecturing, he became an award winning script-writer, working in an international multi award winning show, with a cast made up of directors and actors with very respected names, the majority some of the most experienced and trusted actors in the business. He's a little jaded now. There isn't much that makes his eyes sparkle, make him sit up and listen. This conversation went on for another hour. I was enjoying hearing him get just as excited as I am about this . . . .
'LET ME WRITE THIS DOWN.And, this is the guy we spoke about previously. 'The Dracula AD 2015?' guy?" 'Yeah!' ''Remind me. His name?' 'Joshua Kennedy' 'And, the title?' 'House of The Gorgon!'. I could hear his smile down the phone. 'Of course. It had to be! Ha'
SO WE HAVE FOLLOWED JOSH KENNEDY'S journey over the past few weeks, as he launched his INDIEGO CAMPAIGN PAGE the updates on THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON YOUTUBE CHANNEL and the HOUSE OF THE GORGON FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. It's a gamble. It seems there have been a few HAMMER film projects launched over the past few years. One in particular asked for a sizeable budget, for a concept that was nothing new, but seemed to get fans of the Hammer flicks excited. Sadly, fingers got burned. ...Cue 'I told you so'.... If it looks too good to be true, based on past experiences of some the people who were involved with that project, then you can bet it certainly is!
THE RISKS
'We are all professionals. Aside from the decades of experience our
actors have in show business, writer-director Joshua Kennedy has
written, produced, and directed fourteen feature films entirely on his
own... in less than seven years... with little to no budget for any of
them! The possibilities to make movie magic with this cast are endless
with your help.' The HOUSE OF THE GORGON Indiegogo Campaign Site
OTHER WAYS TO HELP! Times
are hard, it's that time of year, and if you are not able to contribute
to this project... no problem!You CAN help by sharing this campaign
with your family, friends,
neighbors, pets, Hammer fans, Classic Universal fans, vampires living in
your basement....The more we can spread the word, the better. How many chances will we ever have to see these FOUR TITANS TOGETHER in a Gothic Horror film? Let's make this happen! THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON Indiegogo Campaign Site
AS JOSH SAYS in his promo trailer, 'This might be the last opportunity to see FOUR Hammer film actors appear together in a film!'. That fact alone, has to be worth some serious consideration, of an Hammer film fan? I remember my youngest daughter asking me one time, many moons ago, 'Dad. how do you eat an elephant?' To which I replied, 'I have no idea, Lucy' 'ONE MOUTHFUL AT A TIME! She screamed laughing! She has a point. It's a sizeable budget, but even a dollar, ten dollars, twenty five dollars, as a contribution, all goes ion the pot. And eventually, he would get that budget. Problem is of course is, TIME. As I wrote there are just NINE DAYS until the closing of the INDIEGO CAMPAIGN PAGE. So, if you feel THIS IS something you would like to get behind, NOW is the time to send that lolly! No matter how small, it ALL adds to the total. THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON has a FLEXIBLE GOAL on Indigo. Basically, that means, the campaign will receive ALL the money it has raised even of it doesn't reach it's goal! So, you are backing a production, where the contributions really do count! I would LOVE to see this happen. Wouldn't you?
The year is 1896 and the lovely Isobel Banning travels with
her mother Anna to the village of Carlstadt to marry her university
sweetheart Dr. Julian Pritchard.
Along their journey they meet the mysterious Father Llewellyn, the
local priest, who refuses to explain why the villagers appear to be in a
state of mortal fear... as if the town is hiding a terrible secret.
Frightened and confused, Isobel and Anna readily accept an invitation
from Dr. Pritchard to stay with him and his aunt, the Baroness
Bartov, in their large chateau overlooking the town... unaware of the
ancient horror that lies within.
THE CAST
CAROLINE MUNRO AS BARONESS BARTOV Embedded in the minds of fans worldwide for her work in AT THE
EARTH’S CORE and THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD, Caroline Munro's stunning
looks also made her an easy victim for Christopher Lee's Dracula in
DRACULA AD 1972, and a vicious thwart to Roger Moore's James Bond in THE
SPY WHO LOVED ME. Her numerous fans throughout the globe have
unanimously dubbed her "The First Lady of Fantasy."
MARTINE BESWICKE AS EURYALE Martine currently holds the rare distinction of being one of the few
"Bond Women" to participate in two James Bond films: FROM RUSSIA WITH
LOVE and THUNDERBALL; both opposite Sean Connery. She is also famous for
her work in Hammer films fighting Raquel Welch in ONE MILLION YEARS
B.C., lording over a kingdom of cavewomen in PREHISTORIC WOMEN and, of
course, as the vicious villainess in DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE.
VERONICA CARLSON AS ANNA BANNING Veronica is probably best known throughout the world for her
career-defining performances in two of the greatest Gothic Hammer Films
of all time acting opposite Christopher Lee's Dracula in DRACULA HAS
RISEN FROM THE GRAVE and Peter Cushing's Baron Frankenstein
in FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED. Her other film roles include THE
HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE GHOUL.
CHRISTOPHER NEAME AS FATHER LLEWELLYN Known primarily for his role as Johnny Alucard in Hammer's DRACULA AD
1972, Christopher Neame has had an incredibly lengthy film and stage
career, including the titular role in Shakespeare's ROMEO AND
JULIET, guest roles on DOCTOR WHO, STAR TREK, THE A-TEAM, and Timothy
Dalton's James Bond film LICENSE TO KILL. Christopher also played Chuck
Norris’ antagonist, the Devil himself, in the film HELLBOUND.
GEORGINA DUGDALE AS ISOBEL BANNING Having completed her Bachelors in “Costume for Performance” at the
London College of Fashion, Georgina has also chosen to pursue acting
through her membership in the National Youth theatre, the RADA Youth
Group, and the Tricycle Youth Theatre. In addition, Georgina has also
performed in a number of films including BECOMING, FOX TRAP, DRESS
REHEARSAL, directed by Sam and George Clemens, and THE MILKY WAY, winner
of “The Best No-Budget Feature” at the London Independent Film
Festival.
JOSHUA KENNEDY AS DR. PRITCHARD Joshua Kennedy is the 23 year-old writer, producer, and director of
fourteen feature films. A graduate of Pace University in New York City,
he has been nominated for four Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards for,
among other things, his tributes to Gothic horror: DRACULA A.D. 2015 and
THE NIGHT OF MEDUSA. His latest film, THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR,
premiered at the Monster Bash Convention this past summer and is now
available on DVD from oldies.com.
PAST JOSHUA KENNEDY AND GOOEY FILM PRODUCTIONS:
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
#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! WHEN ACTOR MELVYN HAYES met Christopher Lee many years after he played a
young Baron Frankenstein to Peter Cushing adult Baron in Hammer films
first Frankenstein film, 'The Curse of Frankenstein' (1957) Christopher
Lee was a virtual unknown actor at the time he appeared in the film as
the 'creation' / 'monster' . .. which both Hayes and Peter 'MADE' in
the movie. . . . .cringe....
THE VERY FIRST TIME I ever saw MELVYN HAYES, was on the big screen in a SATURDAY MORNING FILM CLUB for children when I was about nine years old. He played a character called ALBERT, that I loved very much, in a weekly film serial that was screened as part of the morning's entertainment called, Here Comes The Double Deckers!'. It was produced by the UK Children Film Foundation, which I believe provide funded by RANK CINEMAS, who provided all the films we watched. Maybe some of you from the UK may remember this?
IN THE COURSE of my duties managing PCASUK in the 80's I finally got to meet Melvyn. He was extremely friendly, loved to talk and share stories. Melvyn also appeared in other films that starred Peter Cushing, 'VIOLENT PLAYGROUND' (1958) which as he said, is a REAL time piece and as Daft Jamie in 'FLESH AND THE FIENDS' (1960) and finally in, 'A TOUCH OF SUN' (1980) which was one of the lost film features in our 'LESSER SEEN PETER CUSHING FILMS' season. It can be seen at our PCAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL
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
BATTLEFLAG AKA THE STANDARD (1977) was the first of four Peter
Cushing films that were produced after "Star Wars", that sadly sank
without a trace at that time, of their release. Unlike "Son of Hitler,"
"Touch of the Sun," and "Black Jack," this co-production between West
Germany, Austria, and Spain never found a distributor outside Europe, so
never received a theatrical release in the UK or the US. My thanks to
Jean Layette, who sourced this film for us to share at our PCAS YOUTUBE
Channel and facebook fan page.
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
#THROWBACKTHURSDAY!!PRESENTING PART ONE of a TWO PART PCAS SPECIAL GALLERY featuring many rare photographs from behind the scenes and ON-SET during the making of the two DALEK / DOCTOR WHO MOVIES starring Peter Cushing, Jennie Linden, Bernard Cribbins, Roy Castle, Jill Curzon and little Roberta Tovey. . . .and of course THE DALEKS. Here is an opportunity to view for many, will familiar scenes for different angles, in stills taken by BERT CANN (DIE2150AD) and TED REED (DWATD) the unsung and uncredited stills camera men who captured many of the images you see below, and in PART TWO of the PETER CUSHING DOCTOR WHO MOVIES GALLERY Part Two, VERY SOON! ENJOY!
CLICK FOR PART TWO OF THIS PCAS FEATURE AND GALLERY HERE!
#THROWBACKTHURSDAY! WE CLOSE GALLERY ONE win a very special
photograph. A reunion of the cast of Cushing's 'DR WHO AND THE DALEKS'
film from back in 1965. This photograph was snapped at BBC television Centre during the making of the '30 Years In The Tardis' documentary in
1993. The late Roy Castle didn't actually take part in the documentary, as he was working on his BBC show 'RECORD BREAKERS'.
LOOK OUT FOR PART TWO SOON! HERE AT THE PCASUK WEBSITE!
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 . .
