PLAQUE RETURNS TO THE WHITSTABLE CUSHING'S VIEW BENCH!

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!

FAREWELL FENELLA AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FUN!

SAD NEWS TODAY, that an actress who actually never worked with Peter Cushing has left us. Ninety years seems to prompt usually lots of 'well, she had a long life . .' and sentiments of she lived well..' But, I have to be honest, whatever time Fenella was going to leave, for me, was always going to be . . . too soon. Fenella Fielding, was unique, always entertaining, eccentric and surprising. It seems we were the only people who were aware of her age, because she most certainly wasn't. 

FENELLA was fortunate to have landed a film role back in 1966, when the Cushing Frankenstein films, were at their height and gave a line, that would follow her, for the rest of her days... 'Do you mind, if I smoke?' as Valeria Watt in 'Carry On Screaming' was gold. As was she. Three years previous to this role, she appeared in a film joint venture with both Hammer films and William Castle in THE OLD DARK HOUSE. Which kind of started a path, in which she played attractive but spooky strange femme's! No matter the role, Fenella made it her own, in the way only she could do. That voice. At 90, she was still working and will be working her magic on us all for a long long time to come. Bless you, Fenella!

THERE IS A FULL THE OLD DARK HOUSE REVIEW complete with some rare stills GALLERY from at our supplement website, THE BLACK BOX CLUB. RIGHT HERE!

DOOMWATCH INSEMINOID FEAR IN THE NIGHT AND DIAGNOSIS MURDER! A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JUDY GEESON!

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to actress JUDY GEESON today! We interviewed JUDY GEESON back in the early 1980's, in her dressing room, at a London theatre, where she was appearing in a play at the time. She was sharp, bright as a button, and chomped her way through a pawn salad, as she regaled us with stories for our Marantz audio recorder and microphone!

JUDY GEESON had only worked with Peter once in FEAR IN THE NIGHT (1972), and Christopher Lee in 1975 in a film called, DIAGNOSIS MURDER. Thankfully, she had much to share on both. She also commented on his Cushing's laugh...and his pleasure on finding out that Judy kept a parakeet, and had a pet dog. She even brought the bird to the set of Fear In The Night, so Peter could sketch and paint it! It's interesting that most reports and reviews of Cushing's films that you read about, from this period of time, are usual tinged sadness, and concerned with Peter Cushing's grief and loss, of his wife, Helen. It's good to know, he did have sunny days, some light and shade.

JUDY GEESON was born in Arundel, Sussex, in 1948, Her father moved the family to London when she was 10 years old and enrolled her and sister Sally Geeson into the Corona Academy, Chiswick. Judy initially wanted to be a ballet dancer, but had to change course when she suffered from terrible headaches as a result of some of the moves. Acting had always been a great interest, however, and she chose to pursue this, making her first TV appearance in Dixon of Dock Green (1955) aged 12. 

HER FIRST MAJOR FILM ROLE was as wayward teenager Pamela Dare opposite Sidney Poitier in To Sir, with Love (1967) at the age of 18. I am sure you can all name your personal favourite Judy film... I will vote for Fear in the Night and To Sire with Love... but there are many others, 10 Rillington Place, Doomwatch, Brannigian with John Wayne and a HEAP of tv dramas too! Please join us wishing Judy the BEST of birthday's today!

A VICTORY FOR ANY ACTOR : CHRISTOPHER LEE SATURDAY!

HERE IS A TWO PART POST that was shared on the FACEBOOK  PCASUK FAN PAGE today. There were some very interesting comments and opinions, which you can contribute to and read by just CLICKING HERE!

#CHRISTOPHERLEE SATURDAY! . . . PART ONE: Here's an interesting quote from the late Christopher Lee, taken from an interview with the Daily Telegraph in 2015. It's the first time I can recall, reading a quote from Lee where he compares his performance as DRACULA to other actors who played the role. This was also at a time when the mention of the 'D' word, was taboo in interviews, certainly interviews with the press. Lee ends this interview with the request, ' “Please don’t describe me in your article as a ‘horror legend’. I moved on from that.” . . .Was Lee's performance as the Count, just too good, he made a role from which he could not escape.. and that is why he became typecast? Or was it really about the attraction of the films were then pushing boundaries, in colour, blood, lust and horror, and that was the real attraction? What do you think?

#CHRISTOPHERLEE SATURDAY! PART TWO : As we have read in the previous post today and along with your very interest comments and opinions.. the role of Dracula was indeed one of Christopher Lee's finest. He often said, that he made too many, should have quit playing the Count earlier. Budgets and payments that should have been higher, better scripts . . he also mentioned these factors too. Personally, I never tired of watching any film that had Lee as Dracula and whatever he feelings were later about the role, he could not dismiss the fact, it was always good, Very good. For any actor, after a career as long as his indeed his was, in a business so fickle and unpredictable ...that has to be, for this actor... a sure victory?

FEMME FATALE FRIDAY! ANOTHER MUCH LOVED BRITISH ACTRESS LEAVES US . .

A VERY MUCH LOVED actress has left us today, Liz Fraser... many will know her from the early British Carry On films, working with Peter Sellers in Two Way Stretch in 1960, 'The Pure Hell of St Trinian's' with Terry-Thomas,Thorley Walters and George Cole and so may of the classic priceless Brit Comedy films. Like other actresses during the 1960's she also appeared in several of the great Brit tv shows like The Avengers, Randell and Hopkirk, Dad's Army, The Benny Hill Show..the list is impressive and endless. She appeared in the 1961 Peter Cushing film, 'Fury At Smuggler's Bay' as Betty with Bernard Lee (Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell) William Franklyn (The Satanic Rites of Dracula).

TWO GIFS of LIZ FRASER in THE AVENGER tv series episode,  THE GIRL FROM AUNTY with Bernard Cribbins, Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee in 1961

LIZ WILL BE MISSED by so many fans, because she was able to steer a career, that give her opportunities to work with outstanding actors and actresses of the time, in film and tv shows, that are still very popular today and have stood test of time. Funny, beautiful and even though often playing the 'dizzy blonde' was herself, intelligent and very very smart 🙂 Liz was 88 and died yesterday at London's Brompton hospital . . missing you already, Liz!  

MANY ARE LEAVING their tributes and memories about LIZ FRASER at the FACEBOOK PETER CUSHING APPRECIATION SOCIETY FAN PAGE . PLEASE feel free to come and join us !

IT'S NO JOKE! HELEN CUSHING AND THE SPOOKY ARM APPEARANCE PLUS DAVID PEEL AND LAST WEEKS TOUGHY ANSWER!

THIS WEEK'S TUESDAY TOUGHY! It sounds like a joke OR maybe there is a catch? Not so. Without giving too much away, all I can say is, this NOT about Cushing deciding he one day wanted a tattoo! I'll be giving you the answer NEXT TUESDAY. In the meantime, good luck!

THE ANSWER to last weeks TUESDAY TOUGHY is TOD SLAUGHTER, is the name of the  ominous face on the left. As JIM SHORTER commented on the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE Tod had quite the reputation as an English actor, who was best known for playing over-the-top maniacs in macabre film adaptations of Victorian melodramas. Slaughter made the films, for the most part, exactly as he liked, with all the larger than life, melodramatic acting of a bygone age, just as he did in the stage adaptions, in which he also starred. Born in March 1885 as Norman Carter Slaughter, during in his early stage career, hit gold and blood, when he appeared in SWEENEY TODD : The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in 1936. He had started to pave the way to his thrills and spills reputation when he appeared in his first film, as a villain the previous year, in 'Maria Marten or Murder in the Red Barn'. He followed these with further OTT adventures in films like, 'The Crimes of Stephen Hawke' in also in 1936, 'It's Never To Late To Mend', 'The Ticket Of Leave Man' in 1937, 'The Face At The Window' and 'Crimes At The Dark House' in 39 and 1940. These quota-quickies, quickly made Slaughter into a British horror star, almost in some ways, as a precursor to the career of Peter Cushing's . .

ABOVE: PETER CUSHING PERSONAL THE GAY INVALID THEATRE PROGRAMME AND SIGNED NOTE-LET INCLUDING ALL CAST MEMBERS SIGNATURES!

THE PLAY in which both Slaughter and Cushing appeared in together was THE GAY INVALID by Sir Barry Jackson in 1951. Slaughter played Professor Purge and Cushing as a young soldier named Valentine. Opening for two months at the Garrick Theatre, London in September of 51, and called, 'Moliere without tears!', it ran until March 24th 1951.

 

THE FILM that in which Tod Slaughter starred , that was later adapted and starred Peter Cushing was called, 'The Greed Of William Hart and was released in 1948 and was based on the gory history of  body snatchers, Burke and Hare. Director and screen-writer John Gilling adapted the story and  Cushing went on to star as Dr Knox, in the remake and retitled, 'The Flesh And The Fiends'  in 1959. Congrats to ALEX WILSON who was the only one to nail all three questions, at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE . A thumbs up to Phillip Jones, who did name Mr Slaughter though . . .!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS WITH GALLERY HERE!

TODAY we remember actor DAVID PEEL who was born today 19th June 1920. There are few who have made such an impact as Peel. He only appeared in ONE film for Hammer films and I believe only appeared in one film with Peter Cushing.

ONLY ONE ROLE, one film and yet, enter VAMPIRE HAMMER into google images, and he will appear in most of the pages. Despite the success long after The Brides of Dracula was made...audiences felt a little cheated that it was a DRACULA film, without Dracula!....I suspect that Peel wasn't impressed with either the film or the subject matter either! You probably know, he left the industry early on and went into antiques and real estate, but life for Peel was certainly difficult. We remember him today though, for that one Hammer film and the impressive performance as Baron Meinster, the boy vampire who certainly pushed the boundaries of vampire film!

ACTRESS JACQUELINE PEARCE DIES AGED 77

Extremely sad to hear of the passing of Jacqueline Pearce tonight . . Pearce always held a certain authority and glamour to any of the roles that she played in the fantasy genre. After her training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, alongside Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt, she appeared in episodes of tv's Danger Man and The Avengers, as well as children’s dramas 'Moondial and Dark Season', written by Russell T Davies.

Alongside her role in Blake’s 7, which was expanded from a single episode to a regular role over four series due to her popularity, Pearce was also known for her guest role as Chessene in The Two Doctors episodes of Doctor Who in 1985, opposite Colin Baker’s version of the Time Lord. 

After relocating to South Africa for several years, initially to care for orphaned monkeys, Pearce returned to the UK in 2015. Her autobiography, From Byfleet to the Bush, was published in 2012. Pearce also worked with Peter Cushing in an episode of ITC's THE ZOO GANG, as Brigitte Gautier in The Counterfeit Trap in 1974.

Her work in tv was certainly prolific. She will also be remembered for her roles with Hammer films in 'The Reptile' and 'Plague of the Zombies' both in 1966.

COMMENTS and tributes are being shared and posted by friends and followers at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE NOW . .