#TOOCOOLTUESDAY : TIMING, TARKIN, CARRIE FISHER AND A COOL BUST!

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY Peter Cushing on VAN HELSING, vampire hunter . . . who he played FIVE times on the big screen from 1958 until 1974.

 

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: Jordu Schell's bust of #PETERCUSHING up close and personal! It's a #TOOCOOL  likeness to Peter in the role of #GRANDMOFFTARKIN from #STARWARS. Schell uses uses latex for most of the monster masks and busts he makes. This bust is made of silicone, as many of his hyper-real figures are. Silicone being more translucent than latex, adds to the sense of realism. Additionally, the eyes in this piece ARE glass eyes (custom created by David Hoehn), something which Jordu typically doesn't use in his monster masks either. Each hair was individually punched by hand, and the clothing was custom made. #TOOCOOLTUESDAY 

#TOOCOOTUESDAY It's such a pity that Peter only had a few opportunities to play .... comic roles and black comedy... though he did often try to inject a little humor into his roles and work..

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: Both Alec Guiness and Peter Cushing admitted to understanding little of the script and the language of film, #STARWARS while working on it. Peter often joked that he had no idea too, what a 'Moff Tarkin' could be. However, he knew a great role when he saw one, no matter what the character maybe called. Peter admitted he took the role of Grand Moff Tarkin in #STARWARS for pretty much the same reason, why he chose any role, 'I thought my audience would like to see me in that role!' ...we certainly did!

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: Carrie Fisher said little on record about her time working with Peter Cushing, but what she did she...was interesting. Veronica Carlson had the same problem back in 1969, in 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed'

 

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#MONSTERMONDAY: HERE'S JOHNNY! HIPPY OR HORRIBLE MONSTER?

#MONSTERMONDAY : LOVE or HATE him, and many actually feel both! Johnny Alucard from Hammer films 'DRACULA AD 1972. Is he a MONSTER? Or is Dracula's fault he is a baddy?? Either way, Actor Christopher Neame played him with ALL the stops,pulled RIGHT OUT! Your task is, to see past all that and brand him.... MONSTER or NOT?

BTW: Take a good close look at this colour slide / transparency of Christopher Neame and Caroline Munro from Dracula AD 1972... and see the scratches, dust and debris on the surface. This is a typical example of the condition of some of the photographs and slides I purchase and rescue from libraries and collectors. Part of the job of PCAS is to restore and clean the images, for future generations of Peter Cushing admirers to enjoy ;) All images I post, are cleaned and repaired. - Marcus

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RATE THE CLIP: #GETTHECUSHIONITSCUSHING : NIGHTMARE IN THE WAX WORKS

#GRABTHECUSHIONITSCUSHING... OK here is the first of our SUNDAY posts under our new theme looking at some of the most frightening and effect Peter Cushing Fright Scenes.... This week it's a clip Don't forget to click HD) from that iconic NIGHTMARE scene from Amicus's The House That Dripped Blood (1971)...we'll be taking a closer look at the scene and direction in our next post coming up...DOES THIS scene rate in your FAV CUSHING terror scenes??? #grabthecushingitscushing

THE 1971 AMICUS FILM, 'THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD' came at a difficult time for Peter Cushing... it couldn't have came at a worse time! The production started shooting from June 29th at a studio knew very well, Shepperton. At this time, Cushing's wife Helen was experiencing a deterioration in her health, because of this Cushing had tried to get the suits at Amicus, to release him from the contract and schedule from 'House'. While Hammer films had been sympathetic, and released him from his contract and appearance in their latest installment  of their Karnstein trilogy , 'Lust For A Vampire' . Cushing Had appeared in the  first part, 'THE VAMPIRE LOVERS'  and the last, 'TWINS OF EVIL' But, sadly Amicus dig in their heels, with Cushing having no choice but to for-fill his contractual obligations. 'House' followed, what was the resurrection of of a format that had severed Amicus very well in their 1965 film, 'Dr Terrors House of Horrors'. What took them so long to revist the portmanteau set up, with only ONE multiple story film after 'Dr Terrors' - Torture Garden (1967), with almost everything in that gap of eight years being a box office dud, one can only guess.

CUSHING SEGMENT IN 'HOUSE', centered around a WAX WORKS, in a story with the same name. Cushing played a retired stockbrooker named Phillip Grayson who along with Neville Rogers, played Joss Ackland.. becomes obsessed with the wax figure of biblical nightmare, SALOME! Yes, she who demanded the head of one, John The Baptist, on a plate . . . so you can see where this is going!

THE ACTUAL NIGHTMARE sequence in Cushing's tale, for me the the high point of the film. If you forgive the corny mishmash of music accompanying the scene, full of clanging death bells and Swanee whistles, and some quite tatty wax figures... it is really quiet effective. I know the museum is supposed to look like it had hit on hard times, but the last time I saw figures as bad as that, was as a child, in the wax museum at Weston-Super-Mare! The scene builds up the tension and in real time,  from Cushing's exit OUT of the front door, of his newly acquired property, the titular, House That Dripped Blood, and into the interior of the waxworks he has recently visited. The camera, sets about through a series of dutch tilts, slow motion and back tracking, purposely in front of Cushing, to take in all his looks of bewilderment and horror.....
 

AND WE KNOW FOLLOW CUSHING, past the figures, and to an curtained exhibit at the rear of the wax works. What makes this scene so chilling is Cushing's character's longing to reach the point of attraction...and its that fact that provides the 'grab the cushion moment'! We REALLY don't want him to get there, and reveal what is BEHIND those curtains. It's a NIGHTMARE, and is the stuff of OUR nightmares too, all accuratarely replicated in a scene that gets the the pay off it style. Yes, it's pretty tame by today's standards, but I can remember hiding behind that cushion, and being truly spooked. Spooked enough to not go into a wax works, until well into my adult years!

THERE IS ANOTHER REASON WHY this clip has earned this title of 'A NIGHTMARE IN THE WORKS'  . . .  as I have shared, even before Cushing commenced work on this film, the signs were not good, and the clouds of sadness not only loomed in Cushing's life away from the spotlight, but it also hung heavy over the story he was appearing in. As David Miller recalls in his book, 'A LIFE IN FILM: Peter Cushing', 'The most affecting part of The House That Dripped Blood' are the shots of Cushing, standing on a riverbank, lost in the grief for his lost love. It is difficult not to think that he was in some way anticipating the unendurable - Helen's death.'

For Peter Cushing, it would be a true and lasting nightmare . . . 



OUR FULL FEATURE AND GALLERY ON 'The House That Dripped Blood' in PART THREE of our AMICUS SERIES can be found at our website : RIGHT HERE
 

 

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EXCLUSIVE TO PCASUK : THE PROFESSOR COMPETITION: CUSHING VAN HELSING HOLMES IN ONE!

WITH MANY THANKS  to Andrea Corbetta, we EXCLUSIVELY present our THE PROFESSOR COMPETITION! Here is your chance to win a copy of this beautifully illustrated Hammeresque-Peter Cushing-styled-Nightmare!! It's Van Helsing cross-over with Sherlock Holmes Mash up! Answer the question correctly, and you could be one of our THREE lucky winners, who bag themselves their very own copy! 

We will be posting details of where you can purchase copies soon. Look out for UPDATES at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE and here! 

We featured an extensive piece on THE PROFESSOR earlier this year, you can read an ITALIAN REVIEW ON THE PROFESSOR #0 HERE .  Now THE PROFESSOR is about to be launched at THE TURIN HORROR FESTIVAL, on Wednesday, 12 October 19:30 hours, THE PROFESSOR #0! MORE details about the LAUNCH BELOW. Check out the superb TRAILER and some TELEVISION INTERVIEWS with the ANDREA CORBETTA below! ENJOY the competition, and get your entries in NOW!  Good Luck! - Marcus.

 

 

 

 

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#ONSETSATURDAY : RARE CREATURE AND ARM CHAIR CAT BEHIND THE SCENES

#ONSETSATURDAY: A RARE on set shot during the making of  The Curse Of Frankenstein, at Hammer films Bray studios. Christopher Lee as The Monster here, a role that came just before his career took off into the roles that would make him a house hold name. While Valerie Gaunt would appear in Hammer's #DRACULA and literally one or two theatre production in the UK, before quitting. I guess, unlike what the song says, An actors life, was NOT for her!

#ONSETSATURDAY It's a film always gets a mixed reaction here. Whatever you think of the film, I MONSTER certainly has a collection beautiful and interesting on set and behind the scenes photographs. Here is Peter Cushing posing on set for a promo shot. This particular shot is one of a series of shots of Peter with and without a cat. This is the same cat who appears in a scene with Christopher Lee in the movie..and comes to particularly nasty end. Oh btw... no animals were hurt or mistreated during the film of... etc etc..

 

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#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: ANOLIS FRANKENSTEIN HOLLENMONSTER BLU RAY REVIEWED

Released by: Anolis Entertainment
Released on: September 9th, 2016.
Director: Terence Fisher
Cast: Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, Madeline Smith, David Prowse, Bernard Lee
Year: 1974

Video: Having owned FATMFH on both VHS and DVD, I was very satisfied of the increase in detail and resolution of the blu-ray. Fine details like in the (rather cheap) monster suit are even more pronounced, for better or for worse. Many of the close-ups, like on Shane Briant, for instance, allow us to see the skin pores and sweat on the actor. Some other details like the dummy of Prof. Durendel during the brain transplant sequence are even more noticeable with the improved resolution, although the brain transplant itself, as well as all other gore, are very well done. There are some softer shots which are inherent to the film, such as Peter Cushing's entrance - always a bit soft on other releases.

I didn't notice any edge enhancement or DNR. I also didn't notice any blemishes or marks on the print, but I also don't recall there being any from prior transfers. I did notice a few examples of shimmer or artifacts on some surfaces but they were fleeting and didn't distract me too much. While other recent Hammer releases have been rushed and done on the cheap, FATMFH seems to have been much better treated.

 

 

I always found the older releases to be somewhat dark and hard to see, hiding some of the details. Many of the shadows and blacks were quite crushed, for example. It almost seems like someone turned on a light in the movie for this release. Nothing is too bright (it IS an asylum after all), but I have a feeling this is just how Terence Fisher wanted it to be seen. It should be noted that this DOES include the famous artery clamping scene where Cushing holds an artery with his teeth. This was cut for most of the other releases and I was happy to finally get a chance to see it.

Audio: If there has to be a downside to the release, it has to be the audio. While dialogue is generally good and audible, I found the music to be a tad muffled and restrained, although this might have something to do with the technical limitations of how it was recorded or the time period. I thought the music, dialogue, and sound effects were somewhat constricted in the space and would've liked a bit more clarity. Still, it was adequate for the movie.

Extras: 

Extras start off with an audio commentary with Dr. Rolf Giesen and Uwe Sommerlad that is in German only without any subtitle. However, the menu does give you the option to choose ‘English’ and when you do that, rather than a traditional commentary you get a thirty-nine minute featurettes with Gisen and Sommerlad speaking in English about the history of the film. They cover the details of the set, the involvement of various players including the film’s producers, the state of Hammer in the early seventies, how they’d been grooming Briant in hopes of making more Frankenstein pictures with him and of course, Peter Cushing (describing him as Edwardian rather than Victorian) and the actor’s very specific ideals and old fashioned beliefs.

Carried over from the Australian and UK discs, however, is and English language commentary with Madeline Smith and Shane Briant moderated by Hammer historian Marcus Hearn. This is quite a good track, with Smith and Briant participants in good spirits and seemingly quite keen on talking up their work on the picture. They both look back on Cushing quite fondly but also talk about their experiences working under Fisher, some of their thoughts on the picture and more. When they aren’t talking, Hearn does a fine job of offering the listener his expertise in terms of who did what, the locations and sets, the costumes, the music, the film’s censorship issues and loads more. This is a pretty interesting track, one definitely worth taking the time to listen to.
 
I enjoyed seeing the surviving cast members talk about the film and, of course, about Cushing. I had assumed the monster's suit was more of a foam rubber material but Shane Briant commented on how plastic it felt. Interesting. The documentary on Terence Fisher was a bit brief but I appreciate that they included it at all.

*** out of **** stars. A solid Hammer release.

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