#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: INCENSE CLIPS A GOLDEN BIRTHDAY AND HENRY ON CUSHING INTERVIEW

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY : FROM THE 92 feature films that Peter Cushing appeared in during his long career in television, theatre and cinema, there only about five titles, whatever your person taste, that could be deemed as 'almost unwatchable'. Sometimes it's because of bad production values, (Hitler's Son) technical ineptness (The Devils Men) of the director and his team (Tender Dracula) Sometimes the fault lies with botched scripting or editing (Touch of the Sun) where the film was fiddled with so badly, what remains of the story is a mess...and here we place Incense For The Damned 1970. 

I THINK I CAN CONFIDENTLY  say, there aren't any films, that I know of, that suffer because of Peter Cushing's contribution, it's often stated that many productions were saved, through Cushing's performance! 'Incense for the Damned' has been distributed under three titles over the years, Bloodsuckers, Incense for the Damned and Doctors Wear Scarlet, the title of the novel by author Simon Raven, that this film is 'loosely' based on.

THANKFULLY, CUSHING has but a guest appearance. His shooting was extended after the wrap, to try and bring a satisfying ending to the story...you'll notice his hairpiece has vanished in the addition footage in the films closing moments, presumably it had been sent back to the hire company. Director Robert Hartford-Davis, disowned the film, and had his name taken off the credits.The film was credited to Michael Burrowes... another name use by Davis. As for plot, it is very hard to keep track, and some long additional scenes of 'orgies' are played by a completely different group of actors that were added to a 'continental' version of the film.Although completed in 1969, Bloodsuckers did not get a general cinema release until 1971. Filming took place April-May 1969. Shooting took place in part in Greece and Cyprus.

SO, TO SAVE YOU THE TROUBLE of trawling through the 90 minutes of dross, are all of Peter Cushing's scenes from the film....don't worry that because the scenes are presented in isolation here, they will make little sense.... even when presented in the feature, they contribute little to the chaos . . . . 

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: David Chiang Da-wei was born on the 29th June 1947 in Shanghai, (Republic of China) Chiang is a very famous actor and director, producer in Hong Kong. Chiang was very much a martial arts superstar in the 1970s, working under the Shaw Brothers Studio. He has appeared in over 130 films and over 30 television series.

DAVID CHIANG IN ACTION IN

LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES

IN 1974, Chiang starred along side Peter Cushing in Hammer films first of two co-partner feature films with Hong Kong based studio, Shaw Brothers. 'The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires' Peter for the last time resurrected his character of Van Helsing, and together with Chiang, Julie Ege and Robin Stewart, took on an oriental Dracula played by actor John Forbes Robertson and a hoard of Kung Fu zombie vampires! Join us today in wishing DAVID CHIANG a VERY Happy Birthday!

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: NOT THAT LONG AGO in on a planet, not that far away, actor GUY HENRY took on a role that many would have thought impossible, the playing of Peter Cushing's GRAND MOFF TARKIN from Star Wars in 'Rogue One'... but what does Henry think of Cushing, and how did he prepare... here Henry tells all!

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. 

LATE GEOFFREY BAYLDON INTERVIEW STARTS VINTAGE SERIES!

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: THOSE OF YOU WHO are old enough to remember the BLACK BOX CLUB AUDIO MAGAZINES of the 1980's, will no doubt also remember the great line up of interviews on audio tape and video that made up the series. Many of the guests were actors, directors, make up artists and producers who had worked with Peter Cushing, who were still working, sharp as a tack, and had great stories and anecdotes to share.

Some FORTY interviews were recorded for The Black Box Show over the ten years it was operational. Now all of the interviews, the raw tape, outtakes, jingles, sketches and are in the process of being remixed and digitized. We are shaking off the dust and cobwebs, and re-releasing the shows for a new audience, as well as those who were with us, the first time round!  The FIRST program will include an interview we recorded with the late Geoffrey Bayldon, recorded at his home, way back in 1988. Our second program will feature a UNRELEASED interview with Peter Cushing from 1980. You can also look forward to interviews with, actors Jeremy Brett, Edward Hardwicke, Michael Ripper, Vincent Price, Michael Gough, Ralph Bates, Judy Geeson, John Carradine, David Rintoul, actor-writer Terry Jones, Ingrid Pitt, director Terry Gilliam, Colin Baker, Tom Baker, Sophie Aldred, make up artist Roy Ashton, writers Brian Hayles and Gary Hopkins plus many, many others. The uploading of our first program as a POD CAST and YOUTUBE upload is scheduled for just a few weeks time. So, check out our PCAS sites for news and details!

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. 

#SILENTBUTDEADLY: MORE REQUESTED SILENT GIFS: WITH TALK OF FRIED EGGS STAKES AND STOLEN CASH!

#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY! FOR ANYONE READING this from the UK, why does this #GIF remind me of so many Dad's lighting fireworks on 'BONFIRE NIGHT'?! Peter Cushing here as Dr Brian Stanley, in that great little classic 'ISLAND OF TERROR' (1966). I think there are two things, apart from the terrific casting, that make this film, a cut above the other mini budget sci fi films that the UK turned out in the 60's. ONE, Terence Fisher's tight direction with Thelma Connell's editing..she did some excellent work with films like, A Dandy in Aspic in 1968, The Virgin Soldiers in 69 and Only Two Can Play with Peter Sellers in 1962. She also edited Peter's 'Dr Terror's House of Horrors' in 1965!....and TWO the deadly tentacled Silicates! 'Night of the Big Heat' the other sci fi film made after 'Island' with Fisher directing, also starred Peter Cushing, once again trapped on an island, but the cause of the disruption and the deadly heat, was a bit of a let down. When revealed, the creature resembled a fried egg, with a light  bulb inside!

I HAVE A HUNCH that Bill Robert's company, SHAWCRAFT who made many props and models for the film and movie industry, may have been behind the actual building and creation of the Silicates for 'Island of Terror'. SHAWCRAFT also made the Daleks that were featured in both of Cushing 'Doctor Who and the Dalek' films and a similar 'bog-type-monster' that was briefly seen in the Film 'Dr Who and the Daleks'. If anyone knows for sure, please let me know, it's one of those annoying bits of trivia that keeps me awake a night! This #GIF was requested by Brad Haynes UK, who says, 'I wish there had been a sequel to 'Island of Terror'. For me, as a kid, the Silicates were really frightening, I think they should have brought them back to fight another day. Maybe even turn up in a BBC Dr Who episode?' WHAT DO YOU THINK?

#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY! AN INTERESTING CROSS-OVER here in this #GIF requested by Tilly The Cat Lover of Texas! It's not just vampires that get staked in Hammer films, and if Peter Cushing is in the scene, one would expect, he would be doing the staking! It's Peter Woodthorpe as the evil hypnotist, Zolton, who get the pointy end of this interesting plot device in Hammer films, 'The Evil of Frankenstein' (1964).

PETER WOODTHORPE'S slimy and grimy double dealing, crook angers Kiwi Kingston's brutish 'monster' one time too many, and his hypo-control of Frankenstein's creation, for once fails him, with horrible results. Peter Cushing almost looks annoyed that he missed out on the deed! 'The Evil of Frankenstein' turned many of the 'Hammer-Frankenstein' conventions on their heads, making a less predictable story, that borrowed much from the earlier, Universal Frankenstein films. Cushing's Baron, just for once, seems sad and almost defeated, giving his performance a lovely melancholy air, the sets and laboratory look very impressive, but time and corporate meddling resulted in a sometimes less than convincing monster make up . . . 

#SILENTBUTDEADLY: WHOEVER AT HAMMER FILMS thought of casting Peter Cushing and Andre Morell together as Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, should have been given a pay raise, because the results on screen were magic. But what resulted in them appearing again in a little dramatic, low budget thriller two years later, they should have been awarded a medal! 'Cash On Demand' produced in 1961 for the princely sum of just £37,000 (2009 estimate) has surely brought a handsome return on that investment. For many years, it turned up as a staple of Sunday afternoon tv matinees in the UK and since the arrival of home cinema and the web, it has probably shaken off it's once proud Hammer fan claim of, 'Hammer films little known masterpiece!'. 'Cash On Demand' is in some ways,  a reworking of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol", and casts Peter Cushing as a cold, austere bank manager, a nagging petty tyrant to his staff, and Andre Morell as a cunning thief who one day turns up at the bank, and sends the prim Cushing into a tail-spin. The plot twists and turns, as Morell piles on the pressure.

MORE ON CASH ON DEMAND IN OUR FEATURE : HERE!

'CASH ON DEMAND' started life as a television play in the THEATRE 70 series, when it was titled, 'The Gold Inside'. Both actors Andre Morell and Richard Vernon reprised their roles for the big screen, director Quentin Lawrence followed too. And the casting? One would like to think that the bods at Hammer were considering the best of players for their drama, but I would think it was probably more down to chance and economics. Had Cushing and Morell's agents asked for a few quid more in their negotiations, we would have been robbed of two fine performances and a very entertaining film.

#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY' YOU WOULD think after all the story dissecting, plot analyzing and discussion that yesterday's posting of Vincent Price's Dr Browning as our #MONSTERMONDAY post prompted, I would be closer to understanding exactly what the story of 'SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN'  (1970) was all about?? Sadly no. However, what I do understand and appreciate of the film is, it certainly provides us with some top notch fight sequences, bizarre visuals ...and the slowest car chase in cinematic history! Ah well, you can't have it all. This #GIF requested by Lita Doohlan is a cracker though! Marshall Jone's Konratz gets to grips with Price's Dr Browning in the operating theatre...and even though having just the ONE HAND... don't ask.. with his super strength depleted, he still puts up an encouraging fight! 

 

IT'S ALSO WORTH REMEMBERING HERE,  it's thanks to producer Milton Subotsky's 'accounting skills, that Scream and Scream Again' does give us the opportunity to see the names of Lee, Cushing AND Price in the rolling credits, even if all three didn't get the chance to appear together on screen. One theory that Peter Cushing was cast late in the day, could well be the reason. Had the fact that Cushing was planned to join the cast, I am sure script writer Christopher Wicking would have made the most of the opportunity and wrote them in together maybe?  As it is, here is Marshall and Price wrestling for ever locked in a #GIF cycle. Nice blood drip that....!

If you LIKE what you find posted here . . Please visit us at our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE and help 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 and posts are made from both countries and
cross several time zones. 

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: A NEW TARKIN BUST TO SET THE STANDARD?

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: BACK A YEAR OR TWO, it seemed we were seeing a new Peter Cushing bust every few weeks! Then along came Jordu Schell's Tarkin bust, and that certainly set the standard, and a time for pause... This weekend I came across the excellent work of Phillip Thomas Johnson. He has a Tarkin/Cushing bust work in progress right now, that i thought you'd like to see, because it looks . . .  outstanding and may have set a new standard.

I WOULD GO AS FAR to say, this is the best Cushing bust, I have seen yet. Granted, it's not complete yet, and I figure that the blue photograph included here, where his bust has hair, maybe a hair applied by photoshop, to give some idea what the finished bust would look like with a full barnet! 

THE SCHEL bust  has realistic skin tones, not a marble or stone effect, the eyes too are glass, and that is the one problem I have always had with this bust. It's a problem that even the most skilled artist, with mountains of cash behind them, have experienced...you'll remember the 'slightly off eyes' of the CGI Tarkin in Rogue One? This, for me, has always been present in the Schel bust too. Maybe there is something about the 'stone' gaze of a statue, with no colour, that makes the eye line more forgiving? I am not an expert, but that's how it looks to me. I can't wait for Robinson's finished results. What do you think? How do you think it compares to other Tarkin busts and figures?

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS of the Phillip Thomas Robinson Tarkin Bust are the property of the owner. You can find out more about Phillip's work: HERE!

ABOVE: THE CGI TARKIN FROM 'ROGUE ONE' (2016)

If you LIKE what you find posted here . . Please visit us at our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE and help 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 and posts are made from both countries and
cross several time zones. 

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY PT ONE: WISHFUL 3D HAMMER DRACULA AND ANOTHER FACEBOOK MILESTONE

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: YOU HAVE DONE IT AGAIN... no sooner have we hit the 30K target of Followers and Likes at our Pedter Cushing Appreciation Society Facebook Fan Page you go and add another 1K to that total in a VERY short space of time indeed! You really are the best. Thank you to all of you, who show up every day, comment, share posts and share your friendship. Not only are we the oldest Peter Cushing Fan Club, we are by a long chalk the luckiest to have you all on board! 

MANY MANY, thanks to Nick Digillio and his team at WGN for their continued interest and support, Andrea Corbetta and his team at The Professor comic, you guys do a sterling job! To the sponsors of our competitions, Warner Brothers, Twilight Time, Final Cut and Hammer films. AND You, who make it ALL possible. You keep the memory of Peter Cushing alive and relevant, his life and career continues to attract interest and comment every day. I am sure, he would have been very humbled. STEP OUT and Thank you! - Marcus Brooks

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY!: AND NOW, as they say, for something completely different! This is a REPOST requested by MAXY COOPER, who wrote to tell me that, she had heard about 'this, 3D View-Master with 3D pictures from Dracula AD 1972, which is my all time favorite Hammer film. Where can I purchase? I hope they aren't THAT expensive! Thanks' I am not too sure how to break this to you, Maxy. Back two years ago, I was sent this add for the special edition '3D DRACULA AD 1972 VIEW_FINDER', and at first glance, I was taken in. On further inspection, I could see this was a very clever and imaginative hoax! Sorry, Maxy. But, what a GREAT IDEA! As small compensation, here is the illustration I posted a while back. And, to any entrepreneur, with a bag of money, who has an imagination and happens to be a Cushing / Lee / Hammer Fan . .  you could be onto something here..!

WE ARE POSTING A TWO PART #TOOCOOLTUESDAY TODAY . . . . If you want to find out MORE about that STUNNING Cushing Bust above, we'll be posting Part Two and more photographs here, later today!

If you LIKE what you find posted here . . Please visit us at our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE and help 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.

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: REMEMBERING ACTOR PATRICK MACNEE : TODAY

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY!: The late Patrick Macnee on how he almost lost the role of John Steed in the iconic UK television series, 'The Avengers'.  

PATRICK MACNEE, Peter Cushing and Joanna Lumley in The New Avengers episode, 'The Eagles Nest' in 1976

REMEMBERING PATRICK MACNEE who passed today in 2015. Was there ever a cooler chap? Peter Cushing worked with Macnee in Return of the Cybernauts episode of The Avengers in 1967, in 'The New Avengers' episode, 'The Eagles Nest' in 76. Peter and Macnee also appeared in 'Incense for the Damned' in 1970. School fiend of Christopher Lee and all round gentleman! Patrick Macnee 1922- 2015. A favorite with you?

Patrick Macnee and Roger Moore during the making of 'A View To A Kill' (1985)

Macnee and Christopher Lee made a fine Holmes and Watson!

Old school friends, Chrsitopher Lee and Patrick Macnee, study a school photograph during the making of  'Never Never Say Die' episode of The Avengers in 1967.

If you LIKE what you find posted here . . Please visit us at our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE and help 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.