THIS WEEKS' #MONSTERMONDAY features COUNT KARNSTEIN here at the website AND at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE . KARNSTEIN excellently played by Damien Thomas, in his one and only Hammer appearance, is a character from the long family line that features in LUST FOR A VAMPIRE (1971)THE VAMPIRE LOVERS (1970) and TWINS OF EVIL (1971). Damien really pulled out the stops to give Hammer another 'vampire Count' to add to their catalogue. And the producers, Harry Fine and Michael Style cast Peter Cushing as a worthy vampire hunter, to balance the mix.
HEADS UP...and rolling! Tonight on The Horror Channel Peter Cushing as Baron Frankenstein in Hammer films, Frankenstein Created Woman (1967 Terence Fisher) Yep, even though I have the VHS, the DVD the Blu Ray.. I'll tune in, just for the fun of thinking other fans are watching too! -Marcus
I am very excited to let you see an EXCLUSIVE 'first peep' short promo
on all our PCAS internet platforms today, for Donald Fearney's next documentary. A documentary that, both Fearney and editor Jim Groom are working on and is in
production right now! If you have had the opportunity to see Donald's
Amicus : Vault of Horror Definitive history documentary dvd, you'll know
that this Cushing / Hammer / Frankenstein documentary has the potential to be
something very special indeed!
We can't wait for the complete documentary to be released. Donald has promised us updates and scoops on the progress of the production, and no doubt we will be launching a promotion competition too, when the time comes. Meanwhile, sit back and watch the trailer that John Hough, director of Twins of Evil recently watched and said, 'Tremendous! I want to see the whole thing now!!' ...And so do we John, sooo do we!
Candid Cushing: PARK LIFE: I think if you were taking a leisurely walk
in your local park, and you happened to see this figure strolling along,
even from a distance...you could see this no ordinary gentleman. Hat at
a cheeky angle, umbrella swinging in time with his gait, there is no
one else this COULD be. Peter Cushing takes a stroll in the park, circa
1986.
A colour shot, taken the same day, minus the hat! These photographs were part of a photo-session for the Mail on Sunday newspaper. The shot above, I believe was also used for one of the many reprints of Peter's autobiography in paper back in the USA.
The
Peter Cushing Appreciation Society UK, was founded back in 1956, and is
the original Fan Club. It's now on the net at it's own facebook fan
page, has tumblr, twitter, instagram accounts and it's home website the petercushingappreciationsociety.com,
now with over 21,000 followers world wide. Now you can access vintage
hi res publicity photographs, promotional material, features, interviews
both in text and on video with the actors, directors and friends who
knew the man, the artist and friend, Peter Cushing.
It's a great way keep up to date with on the news of remastered blu rays, dvds and streaming of films from Cushing's extensive career on both the big screen, tv and radio. Hear and see vintage Cushing interviews from our extensive library, many being seen and heard for the first time. Access our huge library of reviews and rare galleries of stills, lobby cards, many collectors items available as transparencies and contact sheets from Cushing's Hammer Horrors, his famous portrayals of Baron Frankenstein, The Vampire Hunter : Van Helsing, Christopher Lee's Count Dracula nemesis , the famous Baker Street detective, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Who on the big screen...and lets not forget forget his 22 films with the Prince of Terror, Christopher Lee. They both had a talent to terrify, and left audiences screaming for more over three decades.
There's
also our BIG competitions and BIG prizes, blu ray box sets and prizes
that money can't buy from the Peter Cushing Appreciation Society
Memorabilia Collection. Autographed rare stills and one off original
Cushing movie props. It's all here, it's all accessible and free at the
click of your mouse, the world of Peter Cushing and ONLY at the Peter
Cushing Appreciation Society UK. We are now available world wide and to
everyone, anywhere, old fans and new...updated daily, EVERY day. So,
come celebrate the life and career of Peter Cushing OBE...join us,
keeping the memory alive....
Over at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE it's #whoisthat?wednesday / whereisthat?wednesday and we're having some fun with this mystery pic. Feel free to come on over if you know the answer...and if you don't I'll be posting the identity of the lady on the right and where her and Vincent Price are located in a few hours. The answer will be added to this post shortly after the reveal on the facebook book fan page.
From the PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE:
#whoisthat?wednesday #whereisthat?wednesday
Here's Vincent Price, being charming with a flower...! What a cad! The
question is, who is that with him? AND are they standing at a Garden
Centre?? This is a fun photograph, when we reveal the location...you'll
never believe it! Answer in a few hours,unless, you crack it before!
THE ANSWER!
EARLIER today we asked you who is that girl posing with VINCENT PRICE
and WHERE are they??? Most of you identified the girl as actress UTA
LEVKA, she played the nurse in Amicus films, Scream and Scream Again
(1970) She also turned up in some pics we shared with you two weeks ago,
of Vincent and Christopher Lee at Madame Tussauds in London, doing some
Halloween publicity for the same film!
The location, believe
it or not, was the headquarters of Amicus films at Shepperton studios.
Amicus never actually owned a studio, they just rented out studio space,
when they were in production with a new film. So, everything..meetings,
writing, plotting..happened at Shepperton, but in the sheds!!
Weird
when you look at the offices of Hammer films, at HAMMER HOUSE in the
heart of the industry on Wardour Street, London. Hammer did eventually
move out . but Milton remained in his shed-offices from the beginning of
the inception of Amicus in the early 60's until it all wrapped in the
late 70's. To be fair, Milton did work a lot from his office at home,
and we were lucky enough to interview him there, but when Milton said,
he could cut costs, and put the money on the screen... we now know how
he did that!! wink emoticon Well done all who got this one correct
Once in a while a book or documentary arrives that sets a new bench mark. This can easily be said about Donald Fearney's latest release, AMICUS : THE VAULT OF HORROR dvd. In recent years, we have seen two Amicus documentaries, both fell at the post, either through pretty poor production values or more than a little sparse in their materials. With a duration of 146 minutes, Fearney uses every minute of this time, to tell the full story of the only real competition to the prolific Hammer films, during their reign of terror, from the early 1960's until the late 70's. It would have been all too easy to have covered the main stream and more popular titles, the portmanteau films, the two Dr Who films and even the buzzingly awful 'The Deadly Bees' from 1966 or the cash strapped, 'The Terrornauts' (1967). But, Fearney really set himself a task in covering EVERY film. From 'The Birthday Party' until the parting if the ways with 'At The Earth's Core' in 1976.
Celebrating the legendary partnership of Milton Subotsky and Max J. Rosenberg and their production company, #amicusproductions, who along with #Hammerfilms dominated the horror film genre between the 1960's and 1970's.
#amicus
like #hammerfilms were appealing to top actors, writers, producers and
directors who gave the films a seal of quality. The films also featured
actors like #petercushing#christopherlee#davidwarner#vincentprice and many other established names and faces from the world of film and television. Narrated by #royhudd and featuring new interviews, rare footage and packed with rare production stills and publicity materials, this is a #horrorfilm enthusiast dream ticket! So, sit down, turn down the lights and prepare to witness, Amicus : Vault of Horrors.
FGS Productions presents AMICUS VAULT OF HORRORS Narrated by Roy Hudd :
Milton Subostky : David Warner Linda Hayden : Edward de Suza : John
Carson : Paul Stockwell : Simon Greetham : Simon Flynn John Hamilton :
Amy Hamilton : Music Scott Benzie : Cameraman David Read : Editor Jim
Groom Narration Script John Hamilton : Produced and Directed by Donald
Fearney.
We are just getting some very sad news, that has been announced in
official obituary notice, that director Jim Clark died on February 25th.
His obituary has been released today.
Jim Clark worked with Peter and
Vincent Price on Amicus films, Madhouse in 1974. A film loved by many,
but gets the rough end from critics who say, it could have been so much
more...! Me? I'll take it as it is. It's a fun film, clever and enjoys
leading it's audience up a very winding path of red herrings, and pays off with a fabulous black comedy twist, with Peter...or is that Vincent??
Clark had some interesting credentials, as a film editor he started
working in 1956, right through to 2008. He won a Oscar for Best film
editing for The Killing Fields (1984) and was nominated again in 1986
for 'The Mission' starring Robert De Nero, was editor on the 1999 Bond film, The World Is Not Enough' and more recently was
nominated for a BAFTA for Vera Drake (2004)
Clark’s memoir “Dream Repairman: Adventures in Film Editing” was published in 2011.
MONDAY here at PCAS means one thing... #monstermonday,
our weekly spot where we celebrate the scary, sinister and down right
terrifying Monsters and all things that creep, that have been featured
in Peter Cushing's film and tv work.. TODAY here on the website and at our facebook page, we take a close look...not
TOO close, at those fanged kung fu frighteners from Peter Cushing's 'The
Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires'.
One of the great things about Cushing's 'THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES' is the 'double-monster' value. Not only do you get the Seven
Deadly Kung Fu Vampires but also, The Zombies!
At first sight, the
hoping bobbing skipping undead seem a very strange sight.. it's only
after you see them on mass, doing their odd bob...like all things
asian-horror, it starts to look more than a little slightly warped and
psycho-twisted. A great idea, an interesting angle on Vampires, Dracula
AND Kung Fu...and Peter Cushing as the all fighting, fearless, Van Helsing vampire hunter!
Here Hammer's Kung Fu Undead echo another famous 'zombie scene' from ten
years before in 'THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES'. Again, the dead are awake and
walking...this time in China and Van Helsing and Dracula are along for
the ride too!
TWO new banners to help mark our 60th Anniversary at our OFFICIAL PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. We have some little pockets of
joy, planned for later this year. Meanwhile, here is Peter Cushing in a
very popular photograph used in the Telegraph newspaper to accompany an interview about Helen. And a rare colour transparency, of Peter Cushing's Baron Frankenstein, showing off his latest creation in the shape
of WOMAN... the fabulously sensitive actor Susan Denberg, in
Frankenstein Created Woman (Hammer films 1967)
