'CREATED WOMEN' BLU RAY GETS OCTOBER 12TH RELEASE

NEWS: Hammer Films 'Frankenstein Created Woman' Australia blu ray release October 11th 2013. Here is the cover...but it may not be the final design. Extras: Featurette “Hammer Glamour”, Commentary Track, Animated Picture Gallery.

LOOKS FAMILIAR: BURGESS MEREDITH AND PETER CUSHING WITH DENNIS NORDEN

Peter Cushing as a guest on the UK Thames television programme 'Looks Familiar', broadcast 25th January 1979. Pictured here with presenter Dennis Norden are journalist, film and tv critic Dilys Powell and actor Burgess Meredith, who starred alongside Cushing in Amicus Films 'Torture Garden' in 1967. This was Peter Cushing's second appearance on the series, he first was with guests, Ernie Wise and Evelyn Laye broadcast on 23rd October 1975.

CINEFANTASTIQUE AND WORLD OF HORROR: AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS

The cover from the Cinefantastique Amicus Special issue and feature from 'World of Horror' magazine. 'And Now The Screaming Starts' starring Peter Cushing, Stephanie Beacham, Ian Ogilvy, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee and Geoffrey Whitehead. Directed by Roy Ward Baker.

TARDIS DR WHO PETER CUSHING BANNER

In acknowledgment of Peter Cushing's performance as Dr Who in TWO Dr who and the Dalek movies, 'Dr Who and the daleks' (1965) and 'Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 AD' (1966) and both directed by Gordon Flemyng.

AND THEN HE CREATED WOMAN: SOUL SEARCHING AND DECAPTATIONS IN FRANKENSTEIN CREATED WOMAN

Baron Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) discovers a technique of isolating the soul, thus preserving life indefinitely; he chooses a disfigured village girl (Susan Denberg) to experiment with, perfecting her body via surgery and then transferring the soul of her recently-executed lover (Robert Morris) to occupy her body….

Hammer and Universal’s collaboration The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) proved successful at the box office, but it still took a little while for the writers at Hammer to concoct a new Frankenstein adventure.  By the time Anthony Hinds delivered the next installment, he had decided to harken back to a warmed over idea first mooted in the late 50s, which had been designed to cash in on the success of Roger Vadim’s scandalous and successful And God Created Woman.  The reference may have been a little out of date by the time Hinds found a way of making the idea work, but it still had obviously exploitable elements.  In 1966, when the film went before Arthur Grant’s camera, Hammer had split with Universal and they were in the midst of a money-saving production arrangement with Associated British in the UK and Twentieth Century Fox in the U.S.  It was producer Anthony Nelson Keys who concocted the idea of making two films back to back, each utilizing essentially the same sets and much of the same crew.  The first films to employ this tactic were Dracula Prince of Darkness and Rasputin the Mad Monk, produced and released in the UK in 1965 (US release: 1966), and these were followed by the “Cornish duo” of Plague of the Zombies and The Reptile, released in 1966.  Frankenstein Created Woman and The Mummy’s Shroud, both produced and released in the UK in 1966 (US release to follow in 1967), would bring this short-lived tradition to a close.  The advantages of the technique clearly were outweighed by the deficits in the long run, and in terms of what was showing on screen, these last two suffered from production values which appeared positively anemic compared to the lush and beautiful Hammer gothics of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

The story is at once intellectually ambitious and thematically troubling.  The concept of Frankenstein using science to “capture” the soul is a heady one – and it is this which has endeared the film to Hammer buff/Oscar winning filmmaker Martin Scorsese – but it is inconsistent with the character’s belief system – or lack thereof.  There’s something inherently troubling about the notion of Frankenstein even accepting the notion of the soul, let alone addressing this “life essence” in such terms.  The screenplay makes no effort to explain how he even came to light upon such an experiment.  The concept of the character is also closer to Hinds’ swashbuckling, light hearted version of the character from Evil – and the presence of the character’s burned hands (which render him incapable of delicate surgery, thus necessitating his use of the drunken village doctor played by Thorley Walters to serve as his hands) definitely ties the film into that previous adventure.  Thus, the fans who insist upon attributing the character’s growth and nuances to director Terence Fisher fail to acknowledge some practical realities.  While Jimmy Sangster had conceived the character as an amoral dandy who ends up literally becoming his own creation, Hinds’ reboot changed him to an altogether more positive force for change and innovation.  After this, in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, the character would change back to the more ruthless nature of the earlier Sangster versions, this time with Bert Batt handling screenwriting duties, while Hinds’ final visitation of the character in Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1972) finds him wedged somewhat between the good natured rogue of his earlier screenplay and the deranged genius of Sangster and Batt.  In any event, the Baron present in Frankenstein Created Woman is virtually reduced to supporting player status – thus making this the closest Hammer ever came to sidelining Peter Cushing in his most iconic genre role, just as they had done with Christopher Lee in the Dracula franchise.  That’s not to say that Cushing isn’t given ample screen time – he certainly is – but the dramatic arc of the story is more concerned with the other characters in the long run.

The “monster” this time is played by Susan Denberg, a former Playboy centerfold who caught the eye of Hammer’s managing director, Sir James Carreras.  Carreras knew an exploitable asset when he saw it, and he wasted no time arranging for the stills photographer to shoot a variety of pictures of Denberg (kitted out in a sort of bikini made of bandages) being “birthed” by Cushing.  These images captured the imagination of fans, and a rumor persists in some circles that they are the only surviving evidence of a “creation scene” which was never filmed in the first place.  Denberg had very little actual acting experience at the time of filming, but under the tutelage of Terence Fisher, she delivers a rather touching and effective performance.  She’s dubbed by another performer, but the dubbing is of good quality, and her physical movements and reactions show that she had genuine talent beyond her obvious good looks.

Cushing, of course, performs beautifully.  It would have been easy for him to walk through this part by this stage in the game, but he was much too professional to adopt such a mentality.  He plays the role with warmth and sly humor, making this an altogether more “lovable” Baron Frankenstein than the character we first got to know in The Curse of Frankenstein (1957).

The other standout performance is by Hammer/Fisher favorite Thorley Walters, who plays the drunken and disgraced Dr. Hertz.  Walters always bore a slight resemblance to Nigel Bruce, the English actor known for playing a bumbling version of Dr. Watson against Basil Rathbone’s most canonical Sherlock Holmes, and indeed he was even cast in the role in Fisher’s disastrous experiment in German filmmaking, Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962), which cast Christopher Lee as the great detective.  This film, however, presents Walters at his most “Bruce-as-Watson.”  The character is a self described “broken down, drunken old muddlehead,” and he effectively stands in for the audience in his relationship with the brilliant Baron.  It’s Walters’ function to ask an increasingly exasperated Cushing to explain what he’s doing, and it’s a tribute to Walter’s natural likability as an actor that this never comes off as strained or contrived.  Walters would go on to play one more role for Fisher (as the short tempered but even more idiotic police inspector in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed) and then one last role for Hammer (as the burgomaster in Vampire Circus, 1971), but Dr. Hertz arguably remains his most beloved characterization.

Director Fisher handles the action with grace and economy.  His excellent use of framing and editing is evident throughout.  The various “revenge” scenes, wherein the “possessed” Christina, driven by the vengeful spirit of her lover, visits retribution on the men who used to torment her, are beautifully executed, even verging on the surreal at times.  Indeed, the basic concept of the “monster” taking revenge on three pampered, well-to-do louts would be brushed off and used to even greater effect by Hinds for Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969).  On the downside, despite Fisher’s best efforts, the film simply looks cheap – even tacky at times.  Arthur Grant was always a cinematographer for whom speed and economy meant more than experimentation – his lighting was always perfectly solid and professional, but it never sought to emulate the poetry of Jack Asher or even Michael Reed.  His work here is similarly professional but uninspired, and this, coupled with some unusually cramped looking sets, helps to make this film look the cheapest of all the Hammer Frankenstein films – that is, unless we count Jimmy Sangster’s Horror of Frankenstein (1970), an ill-conceived attempt to rejuvenate the franchise at the box office by casting youthful Ralph Bates in the lead role.

Despite its shortcomings, however, Frankenstein Created Woman remains an engaging film.  Fisher’s flair for handling drama and characterization gives the film genuine “soul,” and the performances help to compensate, as well.  The impact is aided by a wonderful, melancholy soundtrack by James Bernard.  It may not emerge as top tier Fisher, but it is still a well done and enjoyable addition to the franchise.

Images: Marcus Brooks

HAMMER FILMS 'THE MUMMY' PREMIERE AT BRITISH MUSEUM SCREENS CUSHING AND LEE CLASSIC

Screening as we post! This is the first opportunity to see the new cleaned up print of Hammer Films 'THE MUMMY' happening now at the British Museum's Monster Weekend, part of the BFI 'Gothic' season. THE MUMMY stars Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Yvonne Furneax. Directed by Terence Fisher.

More pics to come...

A MISLAID HAT AND CHRISTMAS GOOSE: PETER CUSHING IN 'THE BLUE CARBUNCLE' REVIEWED WITH GALLERY

A seemingly minor issue involving a mislaid hat and Christmas goose turns fascinating for master detective Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) when a priceless gem is found in the bird's gullet...

The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle made its debut in January of 1892.  The story offered a tremendous showcase for showing off Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famed sleuth's ability to make precise deductions from the most mundane of materials.  It also shows off the character's rigidly applied personal code, in that he rejects a pushy dowageress' offer of a substantial sum to retrieve her stolen gem because the case (and the client) strikes him as petty at best, while he subsequently throws himself into the mystery for his own personal amusement because it's a riddle which captures his imagination.  In many respects, it's one of the most satisfying and intriguingly plotted of the Holmes stories - and yet, it remains a seldom dramatized tale so far as film and television are concerned.

The first - and as of this writing, last - version for cinemas emerged in 1923.  It was part of the long running Ellie Norwood series of Holmes films - and like the majority of the films in that franchise, it is believed to be lost today.  It would take until 1968 for the next version to emerge, this one as part of the BBC produced Sherlock Holmes series starring Peter Cushing.  It would take over a decade for the story to be filmed again, this time as a TV film produced in the then-Soviet Union. Granada added the story to their stable of Holmes adaptations starring Jeremy Brett in 1984, while an animated version was done for the program Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century (1999).

The BBC version presents a generally faithful adaptation, courtesy of screenwriter Stanley Miller.  Though suffering from some of the same cramped production values that dogged some of the other entries, this is, on the whole, a very satisfying and briskly paced entry in the series.  Cushing gets one of his best showcases as Holmes in this episode - he perfectly captures the character's arrogance and unerring sense of logic, and he also has a marvelous moment of realization wherein the long-suffering Dr. Watson is able to gloat over one of his deductions being inaccurate.

Nigel Stock, for his part, again proves to be a most satisfactory Watson - he has moments of befuddlement worthy of Nigel Bruce in the Basil Rathbone series, but on the whole he is allowed to play the role as Doyle intended, as a sturdy and reliable medical man.  The supporting cast performs quite ably, as well, including Frank Milddlemass in the role of Peterson.  Middlemass was a busy character actor who would go on to play one of the stuffed shirt lodgers that Cushing verbally lacerates in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969).  Intriguingly, he would also go on to play the meatier role of Harold Baker - the gentleman whose loss of his hat and prized Christmas goose sets the mystery in motion - in the 1984 version with Jeremy Brett as Holmes.It has to be said that, overall, the Brett version is the stronger of the two versions - it offers up healthier production values and much more stylish direction (Bill Bain's work in that capacity in the Cushing version is very much of the "efficient" school), but it also tinkers with the finale somewhat, making it less true to the original story than the Cushing version.  Purists may therefore prefer this earlier version - and those who prefer Cushing's more controlled take on the character versus Brett's ultra-neurotic characterization are also bound to find this a much more tolerable viewing experience

Ultimately, it is to be regretted that the majority of the Cushing episodes have been lost to the mists of time.  While the majority of the earlier episodesstarring Douglas Wilmer have survived, many of the Cushing episodes were not so fortunate and fell victim to the BBC's practice of "wiping" old shows to make room for new ones.  Of those believed to be lost, one that seems of particular interest is The Naval Treaty, which featured such outstanding character actors as Dennis Price and Peter Bowles.

Price and Cushing would later go on to appear in Hammer's Twins of Evil (1971), by which point former matinee idol Price was reduced to appearing in small roles in low budget horror films just to keep the tax man away from the door.  Another lost episode, The Greek Interpreter, actually costarred Edward Hardwicke, the son of the distinguished thespian Sir Cedric Hardwicke, who would later go on to play Watson opposite Jeremy Brett's Holmes.  The loss of these episodes is indeed unfortunate, but in the "small miracles" category, at least Cushing's fanbase is not completely deprived of seeing their favorite actor playing Holmes on this series.

Indeed, The Blue Carbuncle would mark his final portrayal of the character for many years - until he was enlisted to play an aged, but still sharp, version of the detective for the Tyburn TV production Masks of Death (1984), costarring John Mills as Watson.  Cushing would later be offered a chance to play a choice supporting role in the Jeremy Brett vehicle The Last Vampyre (1994), but ill health made his participation impossible - and the role would be played instead by Maurice Denham.  Cushing's association with the role nevertheless remains quite strong for many, and he is frequently cited alongside Rathbone and Brett as being the definitive interpreter of the role on screen.

REVIEW: TROY HOWARTH
IMAGES AND FORMAT: MARCUS BROOKS

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AND A GREAT NIGHT WAS HAD BY ALL! 'DRACULA' BFI SCREENING AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON

Some snaps from tonight's terrific outdoor screening of Hammer Films uncut 'DRACULA' Starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Melissa Stribling, Michael Gough and Valerie Gaunt. All part of the BFI 'Gothic season and their 'Monster Weekend'. Tomorrow night The Mummy at The British Museum! Last few tickets here – Get them before they go. http://bit.ly/16yohTV @BFI

'THE BRIDES OF DRACULA' BLU RAY COMPETITION

In our second competition today, we have a PAIR of 'The Brides Of Dracula' (1960) Blu Ray / DVD's up for grabs, courtesy of Final Cut Entertainment. To be in with a chance of winning your very own copy, all you have to do is correctly answer the question below and send your answer to theblackboxclub@gmail.com

QUESTION:
The Brides of Dracula Starred Peter Cushing and Yvonne Monlaur. On the final day of shooting Peter Cushing presented Monlaur with a gift. What did he give her?

Choose ONE of the following:
a) A Pair Earrings
b) A Water Colour Painting
c) A Scarf
d) A Necklace

The competition closes SUNDAY 1st SEPTEMBER, 2013 at 12 MID DAY GMT. Winners names will be drawn and announced here two hours later at 2PM GMT.

FIRST TIME ON BLU RAY: HAMMER FILMS 'THE BRIDES OF DRACULA' BLU RAYS COMPETITION

Win yourself a copy of Final Cut Entertainments' The Brides of Dracula'. Competition coming up next her and our UK Peter Cushing Facebook Fan Page