TWINS OF EVIL ACTRESS MADELEINE COLLINSON DIES 1952 - 2014

I am very sad to hear that actress Madeleine Collinson, passed away last night. Many of you will know Madeleine and her twins sister, Mary from the Peter Cushing Hammer film, 'Twins of Evil' in 1971.

Madeleine Collinson was born on July 22, 1952 in Malta. She's the identical twin sister of Madeleine Collinson. The Collinson twins arrived in Britain in April, 1969. Noted British glamor photographer Harrison Marks cast the duo as saucy maids in his 8mm short "Halfway Inn." Mary and Madeleine were the Playmates of the Month in the October, 1970 issue of "Playboy;" they have the distinction of being the first pair of identical twins to pose for a nude pictorial in "Playboy." The Collinson sisters went on to act in a handful of movies together; they were especially effective and memorable as the  radically contrasting siblings in the typically fine Hammer vampire horror outing "Twins of Evil". with Peter Cushing.

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STAR WARS DON HENDSERSON : REMEMBERS PETER CUSHING

DON HENDERSON Remembers:

"At Peter Cushing's 80th Birthday Party, I remember turning to my wife, actress Shirley Stelfox, and saying, " He will go forever, won't he!?" and then, at once, with great sadness, I realised the impossibility of what i had just said, and that - Peter could not have many years left on this earth. But, he was so lively, so full of life - so enjoying his party, and the friendship of all his close mates around him, that he did seem to be an old 'Peter Pan' figure, who could never die.

Peter always had that quality, plus the REAL nature of a truly old fashioned Gentleman. I never, ever, heard anyone say one bad word about him, and that I don't think I can say that about any other actor I know of. And I never heard Peter say one bad word about anyone else.

He had a very jokey sense of humour, full of fun and laughs - which would have suited him exceptionally well in playing comedy roles, as opposed to the more serious roles he became serious for.

In the film, 'The Ghoul' I played the title role, Peter's son. It was during the making of this film that I realised the importance that Peter's late wife, Helen played in a totally non macabre way, in Peter's daily life. Peter was as much in love with Helen, AFTER she died as he was during her lifetime.

I think he was quite a deeply religious man, he often said during shooting...in a jolly undramatic, totally realistic way... that death had no fear for him, and that when his time came, he would embrace the moment with great joy, as it would mean he could be with Helen again.

Peter and I worked together also in the feature film, 'Star Wars'. For some reason, he was without his character's jackboots, and had to wear red carpet slippers. So, he ended up, stomping around in his full costume, but with slippers!

Peter inspired love in everyone he met. I loved him dearly. At that 80th Birthday party, I realised, that the fact that he could not possibly have many more years left, was NOT a matter for sorrow. But that, one should share his joy... because for him, he would have his wish... he would be together again, with his dear, Helen.."

#PeterCushing20yearsontoday

SHOCK WAVES: FINE DETAIL ON BLU RAY AND EXTRA FEATURES REVEALED

It's COMING... freshly transferred and fully restored in High Definition by Blue Underground from the only known surviving materials!

Beneath The Living… Beyond The Dead… From The Depths of Hell's Ocean!

In the dark days of World War II, the Nazi High Command ordered its scientists to create a top secret race of indestructible zombie storm troopers – un-living, unfeeling, unstoppable monstrosities that killed with their bare hands. They were known as The Death Corps. No member of this horrific SS unit was ever captured by the Allied Forces – and, somewhere off the coast of Florida, they have survived…

Peter Cushing (STAR WARS), Brooke Adams (INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS) and John Carradine (THE BOOGEY MAN) star in this suspenseful and genuinely creepy shocker co-written and directed by Ken Wiederhorn (RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD PART II). One of the great horror "sleepers" of the 1970s, SHOCK WAVES has been freshly transferred and fully restored in High Definition by Blue Underground from the only known surviving materials!

Look for it in stores on November 25th.

Special Features
Audio Commentary with Co-Writer/Director Ken Wiederhorn, Make-Up Designer Alan Ormsby and Filmmaker Fred Olen Ray
Nazi Zombies On A Budget – Interview with Producer/Cinematographer Reuben Trane
Notes For The Undead – Interview with Composer Richard Einhorn
Sole Survivor – Interview with Star Brooke Adams
From FLIPPER To SHOCK WAVES – Interview with Star Luke Halpin
Theatrical Trailer
TV Spot
Radio Spots
Poster & Still Gallery

'LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF' RON MOODY AND PETER CUSHING

Ron Moody Remembers Peter Cushing:
 

"Some scripts are so terribly over the top, there's a terrible temptation to send them up" I said to Peter Cushing. We were sitting in the late summer sunshine outside a very realistic French bistro on the lot of Pinewood studios, between takes on Tyburn films, 'Legend of the Werewolf'. I was playing the zooo keeper, and regarded the whole thing as a bit of a half term holiday, so i was decked out in a stove pipe bowler hat, a black embrosse wig, a ten o'clock shadow and set of buck teeth that made me look like a Neanderthal throwback! Actually, I rather thought I looked like Humphrey Boart. Anyway, if the hero could be a werewolf, why shouldn't the zoo keeper be an ape? Here, I must add, Freddie Francis, the director, thought it was a very funny idea.

Peter didn't. He surveyed me quizzically for a moment, his eyes twinkled. "If you were sending it up" he said, "We wouldn't have you on the film." And he MEANT it. For this sweet-natured, gentle man, dangerously on the verge of sainthood, there could be no mockery of his beloved craft. He played every one of his 'horror roles' with no less dedication then he had applied to his earlier classical career and the stream of powerful dramas that had established him as television's leading actor. His total belief and immersion in everything he did lifted these fantasy / horror tales from the banal to the believable, he commanded respect for the genre, lifted it up, almost single highhandedly, to the level of credibility that made everyone of them a minor classic!

Working with a great actor, something always brushes off! My zoo keeper, hair, hat, teeth and all, was never sent up! In fact, I like to think that my animal man was totally believable, completely identified within film, and had, dare I presume to say it, a touch of Cushing

CHRISTOPHER LEE REMEMBERS PETER CUSHING: 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF ACTORS DEATH

 

 

 Christopher Lee Remembers Peter Cushing

TWENTY YEARS ON TODAY: ROY HUDD REMEMBERS PETER CUSHING:

ROY HUDD REMEMBERS PETER CUSHING:

"I made my first appearance in a feature film mid September 1967. It wasn't quite 'Gone with The Wind', but a small budget horror film called 'The Blood Beast Terror'. I had a smashing little part as the mortuary attendant. I could hardly believe my luck when I looked at the script and saw i had two scenes with Peter Cushing!

I religiously leaned every word of my dialogue, backwards and sideways. Anyway, I arrived a good hour before I was called, around five am, at a tiny studio off the Goldhawk road. Eventually, I was called for make up and there, in the next chair , was the great man himself. "Good morning" he said 'I'm Peter Cushing" - as if I didn't know. "Have you seen the script for today?" he asked, Had I seen it? - Seen it?? I'd LIVED it for the past seven days. "oh yes" I stuttered. "Not very good is it?" said Peter. "Well..." I blustered. "No we can do better than that", he said. "Can we?", I said. "How can we make it funnier?" asked the great man. "Well...." I advised.. And that was the start. Together we rejigged the whole two scenes. Peter was very patient, encouraging, and VERY inventive. It was his idea to have me eating pickled onions from the jar between the legs of the cadaver!

If you have never faced a studio full of camera people, lighting guys, production staff, actors and extras then you don't know what FEAR is! I was, petrified! So anxious not to make a fool of myself. The director shouted, "Lets rehearse" but Peter said, "No, Roy's never done a film before, so I just want him to feel at home" He held up shooting for a good half hour while he showed me the set, where the lights would be, and where the camera would move, the lot!'

He did make me feel at home and that, all too short morning spent in his company has stayed with me for forty odd years. A GREAT star, taking time and trouble to make a raw beginner feel able to give his best.

Thank you Peter. You were a gentle, dear and wonderful man...

Photograph: Peter Cushing and Roy Hudd on right, on set during the making of 'The Blood Beast Terror' (1967)

MARKING THE DAY TWENTY YEARS ON AFTER HIS DEATH: REMEMBERING PETER CUSHING

Veronica Carlson Remembers Peter Cushing:

'My high regard for Peter, allows me to say how happy the days were, that I was privileged to work along-side him. I can only reiterate my deep respect for this wonderful man, who was a perfect gentleman in every sense of the word. I was doubly fortunate to be able to work with him twice - once. before Helen his beloved wife, died, and after her passing. I saw the happy Peter, and the bereft Peter - I laughed with him, and I wept for him. I remember those days with joy, - and with sadness. I regret not a moment of them. I recall them often, especially certain beautiful moments, and I smile. He gave me so much to remember and to be glad I knew him . . .'

REMEMBERING PETER CUSHING : MARKING TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF PETER CUSHING'S DEATH

Remembering the passing of a childhood hero is always a melancholy occasion. The 1990s were a wicked decade for me in this regard: 1993 saw the passing of Vincent Price, 1995 took Donald Pleasence, 1996 claimed Lucio Fulci, 1999 saw Oliver Reed succumbing to his demons.  In between Price and Pleasence, however, yet another icon was taken from us: on August 11th of that year, Peter Cushing passed away at the age of 81. And yet, for me, it marked the second time I mourned his passing.

Admittedly, what you are about to read amounts to little more than a trip down memory lane. I’m the first to admit that hearing people wax nostalgic about bygone years can be tedious, but bear with me here. In the summer of 1986, FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED (1969) aired on the WTBS network; it has since been abbreviated to TBS, but it’s the same channel. Anyway, being a horror buff from as far back as I can remember, I made a point of setting the timer to record the film while I was away doing something appropriately outdoorsy on such a sunny day. When I watched the film that evening, I was enthralled: here was a film which showed that Cushing—normally such a gentle man on screen—could play vile with the best of them. It was dark, downbeat, and nihilistic

I was still of an age where the lack of a conventional monster was a bit bothersome, but eventually it became quite apparent: the Baron himself was the monster. Anyway, the next day I was talking with a friend I had managed to “turn on” to these films—he had also recorded the film and was impressed with what he had seen. After a bit, he said something I’ll never forget: “Too bad Peter Cushing just died.”  I was gob smacked, as the Brits say. What?  Where?  When?  “The host said so during the movie.”  No, he didn’t—I saw the opening with him introducing the movie and he said no such thing. “Did you watch the part at the end when he came back on?” No.  I had not. That night, with much trepidation, I popped the tape back in the VCR (remember those?) and found the segment in question—and to my great disappointment and heartache, it was true: according to the host, Bill Tush, Peter Cushing had died earlier that summer. Somehow or other it didn’t make the papers around here—or if it did, nobody told me about it. I was crushed. It was like losing a grandfather.

Fast forward a few years. I was reading a copy of FANGORIA magazine and lo and behold, there was a reference to Peter Cushing. Apparently he hadn’t died after all. It felt surreal, but I was happy to discover that the grim news I had heard a few years earlier had been in error. I still don’t know whether Bill Tush ever corrected this error on his program. In any event, I was certainly pleased by the news but was less than thrilled to read that the reason Cushing had not made an appearance on screen for so long was because of severe health problems. The more I read about the man, the more it became apparent that he had, in effect, truly died in 1971 when his beloved wife Helen succumbed to emphysema. All he was doing was marking time until he could follow the same path. The sense of dignity and melancholy I felt while reading about the man was touching and made me admire him all the more.

Inevitably, the “real” death of Peter Cushing followed in time. It was close to suppertime when I heard my father call for me to come into the living room. “You need to see this,” he said. As I entered the living room, the classic finale of DRACULA (1958) was playing on the news. Clearly this was not good—if the news was airing this clip, it meant one of two things: either Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee had died. Inevitably, it was the former—and truth be told, the sting was far lesser than it would have been if it were the latter. Lee and Cushing were childhood heroes of mine, and they remain my favorite actors of all time, but I knew Cushing was ailing—that he had been lonely and unhappy since the death of his wife… It somehow seemed more “fitting” that he should be the one to leave us. 81 wasn’t a bad “inning,” anyway, and knowing that his suffering was finally at an end softened the blow somewhat. I am not, however, too proud to admit that I still shed some tears.

Twenty years have elapsed since that day—in a sense, it feels like it was yesterday. It’s a hoary cliché, but it’s true: Cushing may be dead, but in a sense he will never die. Like all artists, he has left behind a part of himself that continues to live on thanks to the interest and enthusiasm of fans across the globe. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t see some trace of him, whether it be in film clips, postings on line, tributes, recollections from co-stars, reviews of old films released to Blu-ray… ad nauseum. What would Cushing make of all this reverie? He’d probably be flattered—like all actors, he certainly enjoyed being lauded—but I think he would also be a bit puzzled by the enduring popularity of the films in which he appeared. He was an actor who honed his craft on stage and in “big” films and television productions, but he found his lasting cinematic immortality starring in low budget horror films. It was a legacy he had mixed feelings about. Some overly enthusiastic fans are quick to make the claim that he welcomed his typecasting and never resented it one iota; this is not entirely true.



The fact of the matter is, he deliberated long and hard over accepting this typecasting and only gave in due to the fact that the steady work would make it easier for him to pay for Helen’s extensive medical care and therapy. He sometimes tired of the sub-par material he was given to work with. He could be sharply critical of screenwriters when he felt they were not doing a good enough job. In private moments, he undoubtedly craved for more serious recognition and realized that it would never be forthcoming so long as he appeared in a steady stream of B horror movies.

Had Cushing’s health held out, he may well have enjoyed something of a renaissance along the lines of that of his good friend and frequent co-star, Christopher Lee. Sadly, it was not meant to be: years of multiple-pack-a-day smoking took their toll, and as his desire to cling to life dissipated with the passing of his wife, he gradually withered away to a mere shadow of his former self; the brain was still sharp, but the body couldn’t keep up anymore. He retired to a quiet life by the sea on Whitstable, gave interviews, charmed the local residents, and held on to the hope that, some day, he would get back in the saddle again. It didn’t come to pass, though some sporadic vocal work would occupy him from time to time. We fans inevitably are left wishing he had enjoyed that final “moment in the sun” enjoyed by Lee and his other dear friend and co-star, Vincent Price, but no matter: there’s more than enough material to sift through as it is.

Cushing was not above walking through the occasional role for a paycheck. He sometimes said yes to projects he would have been better off rejecting. Yet, he was seldom less than engaging on screen—and when he was fully committed to a project, he could give a performance of great depth and power. He remains an icon in a genre littered with icons, but he remains one of the best loved because he was so often dedicated to improving the material he was given (where the opportunity was present, of course) and for his charming, gentle, and self-effacing image off screen.

Thus, while we may feel a tinge of sadness at the thought of commemorating 20 years without Peter Cushing, take heart: he has never really left us and never will, so long as fans continue to revisit the many films in which he appeared.

Feature: Troy Howarth

Images: Marcus Brooks

Remembering Peter Cushing

A VISUAL NIGHTMARE : TROY HOWARTH TAKES IN A KEY SCENE FROM AMICUS FILMS 'THE SKULL'

One of the best sequences of THE SKULL (1965) is the extended dream sequence.  Director Freddie Francis handles the transition from reality to fantasy so skillfully that the audience is not even aware of the fact that they are watching a dream. Sooner than rely on distortion filters, a la Roger Corman, Francis lulls the viewer into a state of blissful ignorance as the protagonist, Professor Christopher Maitland (Peter Cushing), drifts into unconsciousness and undergoes a strange and terrifying nightmare.

Francis’ background as a cinematographer is very evident in the film, which is handsomely photographed by John Wilcox in the widescreen Techniscope process. Using sound effects and Elisabeth Lutyens’ score to help build the mood, Francis conveys much through camera movements and artful compositions within the frame. Much like the rest of the film, there’s relatively little dialogue—and this is why the film remains the director’s best film: it is a work of pure cinema, allowing his strengths as a visual stylist to take center stage. For fans of Cushing and Christopher Lee, THE SKULL is a genuine treat: it’s creepy, stylish and quite unlike anything else from the golden age of British horror.

Troy Howarth's 'The Haunted World of Mario Bava' Explanded and Revised: NOW Available $45.00, FULL COLOR 8 1/2 X 11 SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY SALE PRICE! $35.00!   Order Here! Look out for Troy Howarth's 'Tome of Terror' and 'So Deadly, So Perverse' coming soon...all from Midnight Marquee.

A Visual Nightmare : The Skull