FROM WEREWOLVES AND GIBLETS TO SOFT TOY AND PIGLET!

PETER CUSHING takes a break on set from playing Dr Christopher Lungren in Amicus films 'The Beast Must Die' (1974) An alternate version of the film was released under the 'interesting' title of, 'Black Werewolf'. For some weird reason this cut, edits and omits the wonderful "werewolf break" near the climax! now where is the fun in that????

HERE IS THE PCAS feature and gallery on Peter Cushing and Amicus films, 'THE BEAST MUST DIE' LOTS of interesting and rare pics! Have fun! 

FROM WEREWOLVES, TO PIGS! . On the LEFT is a soft toy and comfort to Peter Cushing from a very early age. He loved it all his life and throughout his entire life, it was always near his bed. On the RIGHT, Peter Cushing on the beach, in his woolen swim suit aged seven. He loved swimming all his life...and as an adult, would take daily early morning dips in the sea, which was virtually outside his front door at Seasalter, Whitstable.

AT THE FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE, many have asked WHERE IS PIGLET NOW? When Peter died, all of his personal things, his vast collections of books, model theatre's, war game figures, stamps, postcards...so many things, became part of the estate that became the property of Joyce and Bernard Broughton... the people who looked after Peter in the last ten years of his life...and the people who gave permission for the CGI Rogue One Tarkin, to become a reality. Joyce had been Peter's personal secretary, assistant and friend, since 1957. Most of Peter's belongings and collections were auctioned, not only for fans to own a special piece of something, but also to meet the demand of a huge 'death tax' demand. However, somethings Joyce kept or passed onto the display at the Whitstable Museum... and that is where 'Piglet' now lives! In a glass case, along with other personal Cushing items

WHEN CUSHING STOOD IN THE SHADOW OF NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL

WATCHING AND LISTENING to the news tonight, I am so sad and shocked by the horrific fire, that is destroying and consuming the beautiful and historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. It's a place I have visited many times since I was a teenager. No time in Paris can be spent, without seeing 'The Cathedral'. With it's an amazing architecture, inside and out, the paintings, the sculpture... the history, you could sense so strongly when you walked inside. Peter Cushing visited it quite a few times too and loved it, very much. He sat and painted in water colours the spire, the arches and roof. It's truly, truly sad to see the iconic spire and parts of the first tower, now vanishing in the flames. To all our followers and friends in Paris and France... our hearts go out to you...

BACK IN THE EARLY 80'S, it wasn't unusual to sometimes meet up with some of the 500+ people back then, who were international subscribers to the PCAS Newsletters and Journals. PCAS was then a team of three people. We treated managing the society as a hobby! Often we would spend a weekend in London, Sheffield or Bristol, meeting many of those members who loved Peter Cushing, Hammer films and anything connected! We would always take gifts of some stills or a press book, for anyone we were meeting! One trip, I remember well, was a three day trip to Paris. It was a hoot! We arranged to meet outside Notre Dame Cathedral. Peter Cushing always had, and still does have, a very healthy crowd of 'fans' in France! I only knew one of the people we were meeting in that crowd, one Jacqueline Carron! We had spoken on the phone and written a few times. this was PRE internet, remember! My French was a joke, but her English, perfect! The group we were meeting all knew each other, so we were the visitors. They were the kindest, most polite people, generous with time, they didn't want us to leave! Some brought their partners and Mum's along too! We walked, talked and eventually, all as planned spent the evening at Jacqueline's home, watching anything and everything, we had managed to record or copy of Peter Cushing on video!  Jacqueline lived a short distance from the Cathedral, and the towers could be seen from her living room. The following morning, we met again for a coffee and took pics of our new 'Cushing friends' under the shadow of the Cathedral towers....it was a special time...

WHAT A LOT OF MOGGIES! SEVERIN FILMS REGION FREE PC BLU RAY SETS THE STANDARD!

WITH THE EXCELLENT news of Severin Films region FREE, cleaned up blu ray release of #PeterCushing's 1977 'THE UNCANNY' in May, it's interesting to see just how many versions of the film, have been released over the years! Super 8mm, VHS, DVD all of various grades of quality, but very popular! There are MORE! Here are ten of the releases, over at the FACEBOOK PCAS FAN PAGE we are asking . .do YOU own any of the above releases???

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PLACE YOUR ORDER NOW, JUST CLICK HERE for YOUR copy with the SLIP COVER (Limited to ONLY 1,500 COPIES) 

IN 1977, legendary Amicus co-founder Milton Subotsky (ASYLUM, AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS) teamed with Canadian producer Claude Héroux (SCANNERS, VIDEODROME) for the anthology shocker CelluloidDiaries calls “highly entertaining…the best killer cat movie there is!” Peter Cushing, Ray Milland, Donald Pleasence, Samantha Eggar (THE BROOD), Susan Penhaligon (PATRICK), John Vernon (POINT BLANK) and Alexandra Stewart (GOODBYE EMMANUELLE) star in this grisly portmanteau about a paranoid writer (Cushing) who must convince his publisher (Milland) that all cats are unholy fiends based on three tales of kitty carnage. Directed by Denis Héroux (NAKED MASSACRE) from a screenplay by Michel Parry (XTRO) with cinematography by Harry Waxman (THE WICKER MAN), THE UNCANNY is now scanned from an inter-negative recently discovered in a London vault.

Special Features:
The Cat’s Victim – Interview with actress Susan Penhaligon
Trailer
Exclusive Slipcover (Available on Severin Website)
REGION FREE
RELASE DATE: May 28th 2019

DO YOU STILL HAVE THIS KENNER FIGURE?

THE KENNER Peter Cushing TARKIN figure. Most of you collectors will know the story of this Kenner series figure 🙂 But over at the facebook pcasuk fan page we are asking, just how many of you actually STILL have it? And there are a LOT of answers and comments!

NEWS: TWO AMICUS HORRORS COME TO BLU RAY IN UK

NEWS: More good news Amicus's THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD and ASYLUM both starring #PeterCushing and a whole HOST of British Horror amicus stars are AT LAST coming to blu-ray in the UK from Second Sight Films. MORE NEWS when we get it! At the moment, no NEWS on EXTRAS or a RELEASE DATE. STAY TUNE!

OUR PCAS FEATURES AND GALLERY ON THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD HERE!

OUR PCAS GALLERY AND FEATURE ON AMICUS FILMS ASYLUM  along with Cushing's performance and working with old friend actor BARRY MORSE and others CAN BE RIGHT HERE!

#thehousethatdrippedblood #amicusfilms #petercushing #bluray #news #christopherlee #asylum

DISCOVERED IN LONDON VAULT : SHOCKER HORROR FILM COMES TO BLU RAY FOR FIRST TIME!

NEWS : SEVERIN FILMS TO RELEASE 'THE UNCANNY' on Blu Ray

 for the FIRST TIME!

IN 1977, legendary Amicus co-founder Milton Subotsky (ASYLUM, AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS) teamed with Canadian producer Claude Héroux (SCANNERS, VIDEODROME) for the anthology shocker Celluloid Diaries calls “highly entertaining…the best killer cat movie there is!” Peter Cushing, Ray Milland, Donald Pleasence, Samantha Eggar (THE BROOD), Susan Penhaligon (PATRICK), John Vernon (POINT BLANK) and Alexandra Stewart (GOODBYE EMMANUELLE) star in this grisly portmanteau about a paranoid writer (Cushing) who must convince his publisher (Milland) that all cats are unholy fiends based on three tales of kitty carnage. Directed by Denis Héroux (NAKED MASSACRE) from a screenplay by Michel Parry (XTRO) with cinematography by Harry Waxman (THE WICKER MAN), THE UNCANNY is now scanned from an inter-negative recently discovered in a London vault.

Special Features:
The Cat’s Victim – Interview with actress Susan Penhaligon
Trailer
Exclusive Slipcover (Available on Severin Website)
REGION FREE
RELASE DATE: May 28th 2019

OUR PCAS FEATURE AND GALLERY ABOVE RIGHT HERE! 

#petercushing #theuncanny #cats #severinfilms #bluray #creepy

54 YEARS AGO THIS MONTH : THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD!

54 YEARS AGO, this month Hammer films, 'SHE' starring #PeterCushing, Ursula Andress, Christopher Lee and Bernard Cribbins opened in the UK on April 18th 1965! At the time of the opening Andress was billed as the most 'Beautiful Woman In the World'...maybe. Our PCAS album today, features Ursula in the role Ayesha, 'She Who Must Be Obeyed!' in the movie. These three posed 'on set' shots were taken by the studio photographer and quickly sent to the press publicity office... though few made it into the newspapers and magazines, which is a shame considering how amazing she looks. Blessed with a beauty that the camera loved, it was Hammer make up artist, Roy Ashton's job, to devise a whole series of make up's that turned Ursula into a woman of several hundred years old...and dust! How do you rate Andress with the many other attractive actresses who starred in Hammer / Cushing films?

#petercushing #bondgirl #pinup #hammerfilms #obey! #hellodarling!"

HERE IS A PCAS feature and a pretty comprehensive guide to the various SHE cinema adaptions over the years  and a GALLERY including #PeterCushing's role of Holly in Hammer films 1965 production! JUST CLICK HERE! 

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.
 

LONG LOST 70'S HORROR FILM FOUND AND DUE FOR RELEASE THIS SUMMER!

BREAKING NEWS........ Amazing NEWS! The long thought LOST 1970's film 'The Naked Eye' starring both #PeterCushing and #VincentPrice, is due for release this summer. The Naked Eye, which was found last year, in the private collection of film producer the late, Linton Buttzoctsky, was never released owing to various production problems while shooting the film. One particular set of problems, almost brought the film to a stand still, when on location filming a banquet and dance sequence. Items of props and costumes connected to both Cushing and Price roles were lost. During a banquet scene, where Price's role of master chef Egbert Nosh, revealed his main dish, with a large roasted chicken, the unveiled cooked bird on the plateau was obviously an ostrich! It was later revealed, the actual featured chicken dish, had been mistakenly eaten by an extra. While filming a grand dance sequence, Cushing's dance shoes could not be found or even a pair that actually fitted him. As a compromise, his dance routine with actress, #IngridPitt was almost all shot in close up. Despite this, Cushing could be seen to be waltzing in wellington boots in some long shots of the ballroom. The news of the release is expected to prompt much interest among fans and film critics alike. We'll keep you posted 😉 -Marcus Brooks

#lostfilmfound #petercushing #vincentprice #aprilfool #horrorfilm #lostandfound

The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society Fan Page CLICK HERE!

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WHEN SIRE OF ACTING DYNASTY APPEARED WITH FANTASY ICON REMEMBERED

MICHAEL REDGRAVE was of the generation of English actors that gave the world the legendary John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, #Britain three fabled "Theatrical Knights" back in the days when a knighthood for thespian was far more rare than it is today. . . Sir Michael Redgrave. A superb actor, Redgrave himself was a charter member of the post-Great War English acting pantheon and was the sire of an acting dynasty. According to his daughter, Vanessa, and son Corin, Sir Michael's favourite film roles were in The Browning Version (1951), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) The Dam Busters (1955) The Lady Vanishes (1938) #1984 (1956) Dead of Night (1945) and The Magic Box (1951) and many more gems . .

PETER CUSHING  appeared in a 1955 stage production of The Browning Version as Andrew Crocker-Harris in London, recorded and transmitted by BBC TV. He co started with #PeterCushing in Time Without Pity, Cushing's role as barrister, Jeremy Clayton is neat role. Cushing plays it with an impatient sharpness , that makes you feel all the more sorry for Redgrave's 'David Graham'. Just a support role, but in that added to Cushing's already sizeable characters he had played in theatre, radio and massiviely on television. Redgrave's opinion about working in film, when he had made such a career of the theatre, was pretty much like Peter Cushing also felt . .'I didn't think I'd be any good in films... I couldn't imagine myself on the screen. Besides, there were such exciting things to do in the theatre, so much to learn!'. Michael Redgrave passed away on this day in 1985 only one day after his 77th birthday.

If you are not familiar with Time Without Pity, a little later we have posted and shared a clip over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE, which features a scene with both Redgrave and Peter from the film. IF you have seen the film, love to know, what do you think of it?

RARELY SEEN SHERLOCK HOLMES PHOTOGRAPHS : PC SIGNED STILL COMMANDS GOOD PRICES

HERE ARE THREE rarely seen publicity photographs taken during the making of the BBC television series 'Sherlock Holmes' with #PeterCushing in 1968 during the making of 'A Study In Scarlet'. As you will probably know, most of the episodes were destroyed by the BBC during the great BBC Spring Clean, where hundreds of hours of material were wiped and tapes reused or skipped off to the skip! All that remains of Cushing's episodes, were compiled onto first a VHS then a DVD collection, and are now available to give us a taster of what was a very popular television series, no largely lost . .

SIGNED PETER CUSHING black and white photograph! Caught this on the net yesterday. It's great to see that Peter's autographed pics, can still command a good price and still have value. £365.00 is the asking price for this one Are you the proud owner of a signed Peter Cushing photograph, personalized or just signed?