AN EVENING WITH RAY BROOKS : AS IF BY MAGIC - THE GENIUS OF MR BENN

NEWS: AN EVENING WITH RAY BROOKS : AS IF BY MAGIC – The Genius of Mr Benn!

Anyone in the UK over the age of 25 would get a flash of nostalgia when they hear Ray Brooks speak. Brooks has rarely been out of work since starting his acting career in 1959. The broadcast of the bleak and hard hitting Ken Loach Wednesday Night Play 'Cathy Come Home' in 1966, showcased Brooks as an actor of substance in the role of Reg Ward in the bleak tale of young girl, Cathy who loses her home, husband and eventually her child through the inflexibility of the British welfare system. Those of us who watched it, would find it hard to forget! Just months before families had been enjoying his appearance with Peter Cushing as David in 'Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 ad' at the local flicks!

But, it’s for voicing a short series of 13 animated shows for children that he holds a special place in the hearts and minds of most – and the inhabitant of 52 Festive Road is the focus of his new one-man show. A creation of illustrator David McKee, Mr Benn was about an ordinary man in a suit and bowler hat who embarked on extraordinary adventures every time he visited a fancy dress shop. His adventure always ended when, as if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared to bring him back to reality.

The full impact of Mr Benn – and idea for the one-man show – really hit Brooks two years ago when he was at an event marking the 100th anniversary of PETER CUSHING'S BIRTH. “We did the Dr Who film Daleks – Invasion Earth 2150 AD together,” says Brooks. “I was on stage talking about the film and Peter, and the interviewer brought up Mr Benn. When I said the phrase: ‘As if by magic, the shopkeeper appeared’ the audience leapt to their feet. I thought it was quite extraordinary."

Video Clip: Peter Cushing would have been 100 on 26 May 2013. To celebrate this, Ray Brooks slices a special cake on behalf of Cushing at the Dr Who @ the Movies event at Riverside Studios. 

Ray's show An Evening With Ray Brooks: As If By Magic – The Genius of Mr Benn opened last night as a one off at The Brighton Little Theatre, Clarence Gardens, Brighton. We'll keep you posted of any further dates. Below here's a link to Ray's blog. Message him, he's a lovely chap and would be glad to hear from you.

 http://www.raybrooksbooks.com/about-ray/

PHOTOPLAY 1971 FILM ANNUAL PRICE CUSHING LEE THREE FACES OF FEAR FEATURE

How Photoplay Film Annual reported on the success and popularity of  the THREE FACES OF FEAR at the cinema in 1971 : Peter Cushing, Vincent Price and Christopher Lee.

 

BIGGLES : CUSHING'S LAST THEATRICAL FEATURE GETS BLU RAY RELEASE DATE

BIGGLES: Adventures In Time,  Peter Cushing's last theatrical released film from 1986 at last comes to blu ray with a brand new & restored HD master and available in its original screen ratio of 1.85:1 for the first time! Directed by John (Twins of Evil) Hough and also starring Neil Dickson, Alex Hyde-White, Fiona Hutchison, and Marcus Gilbert... This REGION B/2 blu ray release from Odeon Entertainment is available right now to pre order with a release date of MONDAY JUNE 15th 2015. Can't wait!

NEW HD MASTER RELEASE FOR HOUSE OF LONG SHADOWS BLU RAY THIS YEAR

NEWS: COMING SOON! Kino Lorber releasing HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS (1983) on BLU RAY from NEW HD MASTER.

Directed by Pete Walker 'House of the Long Shadows' marks the FIRST TIME Peter Cushing, Vincent Price and Christopher Lee all shared scenes and screen time together! Along with veteran John Carradine and Shelia Keith, Richard Todd and Desi Arnaz....it's all good dark fun!

Tentative Release Date: September 2015
Extras: TBA

DORIAN GRAY AND COUNT DRACULA : THE FINAL SCENE

Director, screenwriter and film critic, Jean-Luc Godard once said: “It’s not where you take things from - it’s where you take them to."... Whether Terence Fisher ever saw the closing moments of the 1945 Albert Lewin directed, The picture of Dorian Gray, we will never know...Even though we have flipped the screen shot from Dracula, the cinematic framing similarities in the death throws of both Fisher's Dracula in 1958 and Lewin's Dorian Gray are, you have to admit interesting.

Just like Hammer films 1958 Dracula, this 1945 MGM production of the Oscar Wilde story, also presented the audience with some although basic, first time out special effects. Although shot primarily in black-and-white, the film features four inserts in 3-strip Technicolor of Dorian'sit as a special effect (the first two of his portrait's original state, and the second two after a major period portrait of degeneration)

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN LIFE: SIR CHRISTOPHER LEE

 

At 92 years young....we give you, Sir Christopher Lee!  A true legend!

RADIO DUSSELDORF 1953 : CUSHING BROADCASTS PORTRAIT OF PEKO

1953... and Peter Cushing is at a radio station in Dusseldorf taking part in a broadcast of the P.N. Walker- Taylor play, 'Portrait by Peko' transmitted on August 31st. The play had been broadcast live by the BBC on the 23rd and 27th August.

ARROW REVEALS ARTWORK AND EXTRAS FOR HAMMER BASKERVILLE BLU RELEASE

NEWS: Hammer films The Hound Of The Baskervilles starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Andre Morell arrives on Blu-ray from Arrow Film and Video. UK release available JUNE 1st 2015

Region: B
Format: Blu-ray
Starring: Peter Cushing, André Morell, Christopher Lee
Directed by: Terence Fisher
 

SPECIAL
EDITION CONTENTS:
- High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) feature presentation
- Original Mono audio (uncompressed PCM on the Blu-ray)
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- New audio Commentary with Hammer experts Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby
 

- Brand new interview with hound mask creator Margaret Robinson
- Brand new interview with assistant director Hugh Harlow
- Andre Morell: Best of British – A featurette looking at the late great actor Andre Morell and his work with Hammer films
 

- The Many Faces of Sherlock Holmes – a 1986 documentary looking at the many incarnations of Conan Doyle’s celebrated character, narrated and presented by Christopher Lee
- Actor’s Notebook: Christopher Lee – an archive interview in the which the actor recalls his experiences of making The Hound of the Baskervilles
 

- The Hounds of the Baskervilles – Excerpts read by Christopher Lee
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper
 

-Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Hammer archivist Robert J.E. Simpson, illustrated with original archive stills and posters

PRE ORDER: http://bit.ly/1NqdgXw

NEWS: THE LARGEST SHERLOCK HOLMES EXHIBITION IN THE UK EVER!

NEWS: If you are a Sherlock fan in the UK, here's can exhibition you can not afford to miss!

The exhibition opens at a time when It is this endurance that is an underlying theme of the exhibition, and is explicit in the title, “The Man Who Never Lived and Will Never Die”, based on a similar observation made by Orson Welles in 1938. Thus there is a strong filmic element in the exhibition, featuring different actors who have assumed the role over the years – from Peter Cushing and Jeremy Brett to Robert Downey Jr and Benedict Cumberbatch, as well as a soundscape of radio plays, including the voice of William Gillette, and an assortment of original film posters from across the globe.

Sherlock Holmes: The Man Who Never Lived and Will Never Die which opened at the Museum of London on Friday 17 October 2014 can be visited until Sunday 12 April 2015. The exhibition is sponsored by Shepherd and Wedderburn and the technology partner is NEC. More information can be found at www.museumoflondon.org.uk/sherlock.

Adult tickets are £12 (£10.90 without donation), concession tickets (ages 12-15, students, over 60, unwaged and registered disabled) £10 (£9 without donation) and flexible family tickets for 3-6 people (must include at least one child and one adult) are £9.50 per person (£8.50 per person without donation). It is FREE, fast-track entry for Friends of the museum and FREE for children under 12.

For MORE info click this link: HERE 

MADONNA DRACULA: THE ART OF WEARING A CLOAK

The Art of Wearing A Cloak...
*Mind you, Christopher Lee's Dracula did fall in ALL seven of his Dracula films for Hammer.