Monday 19 March 2018

MOMENT OF TERROR MONDAY: COMPETITON BIRTHDAYS AND MORE!


YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE this magazine. We have covered various pieces on it over the last few months and thought it was about time, we honored it with a PCAS COMPETITION too! We done competitions with Warner Brothers, Hammer films too, Lionsgate, various actors and directors too.  Even full scale legitimate publishers. So it is a real treat to find an affordable magazine, edited and written by someone, who loves what he does. MUCH of this chap you can find on this site elsewhere! DARIO LAVIA editor of CINEFICCION has donated FOUR issues of the LATEST edition of the magazine. PACKED as usual, full of great stuff. THIS issue features MUCH about the history of WEREWOLVES and WOLFMEN on the big screen ...and elsewhere! There is a fabulous colour feature too. If you liked the AUTOBIOGRAPHY editions he did on Cushing, Lee, Price, Karloff and others, you will LOVE the concept behind the regular editions. 


CINEFICCION is written in SPANISH. And for all Spanish speaking fans of the Horror and Fantasy genre, THAT is a WONDERFUL asset! IF only the UK had a magazine THIS professional produced! PCAS since the beginning, has always been an INTERNATIONAL society. There are many many followers of this website and our other social internet sites from all over the world. Before we closed our PCAS Facebook Fan Page, it was always a thrill to meet Cushing Fans from just about everywhere! We STILL DO have a Russian PCAS website!

THAT IS WHY it's always a honor to be friends and fellow fans of Peter's work and help OTHER too!

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN WIN A COPY! BELOW are FOUR different GIFS from films that featured a WEREWOLF or WOLFMAN. NAME THE FILM and give us the actor who PLAYED them in our GIF! HERE THEY ARE . . . 


NUMBER ONE


NUMBER TWO


NUMBER THREE 


NUMBER FOUR


SEND YOUR ANSWERS to our EMAIL ADDRESS: petercushingpcas@gmail.com THIS OPPORTUNITY TO WIN is only open until FRIDAY 23th of MARCH 2018. COMPETITION CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT GMT that evening. WINNERS will be announced the following day here, during #CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!

YOU CAN ORDER YOUR COPIES OF CINEFICCION HERE!


THERE ARE TWO HAMMER FILM STARS who worked with PETER CUSHING and who are sharing a birthday TODAY!  John Van Eyssen who sadly passed BUT still very much with us is SHE herself...URSULA ANDRESS. 'SHE' (1965) was the first film from Hammer to be built around a female star. Tall and statuesque, Ursula Andress was a perfect choice to play Ayesha, though in retrospect she claims to have disliked the role. 



ANDRESS HAS BEEN criticized by reviewers for her icy demeanor and aloof detachment, but these characteristics proved beneficial for playing the steely-eyed Ayesha. Costumed in a selection of warm-colored, Grecian-styled gowns and gold jewelry, she glows onscreen, partly due to the flattering, high-key lighting of cinematographer Harry Waxman.


BORN IN SWITZERLAND to German parents, the exotic-looking beauty spoke with an accent, which Hammer's producers found too distracting. Andress's entire role was then re-voiced and dubbed over by an actress named Monica Van Der Syl, who mimicked a slight Swiss accent so audiences did not suspect the truth. John Richardson's lines were also dubbed in post-production by the actor himself, perhaps to give his line readings an added emphasis, since he tended to be overshadowed by Cushing and Lee. Lee and Cushing appeared to enjoy working with Andress, and appearing in the film. Lee died with a nice touch and Cushing got to DANCE!




TODAY WE REMEMBER Hammer's first vampire hunter John Van Eyssen.Best known for starring in Hammer's DRACULA /Horror Of Dracula as Jonathan Harker. Eyssen also starred in Hammer's QUATERMASS 2 and a early Terrence Fisher Hammer film called The Four Sided Triangle in 1953. Van Eyssen did a great job of playing Harker, and went on to appear in only nine other feature films, then leave his acting career in 1961 and become the head of the Grade Organisation literary agency.  He then left the business in 65 to take up a position in the UK division of Columbia Pictures, eventually becoming Managing Director in July 1969. Finally in 1970, he was promoted to Worldwide Head of Production (ex-USA) and moved to New York.






#MOMENTOFTERRORMONDAY! IS ALWAYS a pleasure to post! We get to pick and edit, what is another classic moment from a Cushing film, and this one, might not be so well known as the Amicus and Hammer films shocking scenes, but it does do VERY well! LEGEND of the WEREWOLF has been covered many time at our website, what was once our facebook page, before THEY turned into a TERROR...and again on our PCAS You Tube Channel today. On the theme of WEREWOLVES, it ALSO TIES IN  well with our SPEEDY COMPETITION today too! 


OVER THE YEARS, it has been gaining a lot of notice, more than when it was made in 1975. Some of it may have to do with the fact that this and THE GHOUL Cushing films from TYBURN FILMS ..still has not had a legit release of dvd or Blu Ray. MANY MANY illegal and poor releases, but we still await the arrival. Cushng is smashing, Rintoul as our Werewolf is top dog and Ron Moody and Roy Castle make the film fun. Until that release arrives, here is another clip, sharpened for the TERROR factor!


CALLUM MCKELVIE SUNDAY DOUBLE BILL : ITS A MESS! VAMPIRE GIRLS VAMPIRE GUYS AND PC TOO


OH DEAR. When I embarked upon this two-part examination of Peter Cushing’s four vampire films that didn’t feature him playing a variation of his Van Helsing character, I had no idea what I was in for. Now my first part concerned what are, essentially, two solid later day Hammers that stand up to this day. One, The Vampire Lovers, isn’t the best showcase for Peters talents, but it’s a pretty great film overall and a successful attempt by Hammer to eroticise their Vampire formula further than before. Twins of Evil, on the other hand features one of Cushing’s very best roles, as the vicious Gustav Weil. 


ABOVE: LAST WEEK'S FIRST FEATURE ON the theme of Cushing in VAMPIRE FILMS not playing one of his most popular anti-vamp roles, VAN HELSING: HERE! 


HOWEVER, WITH THOSE TWO out of the way, it was up to me to then tackle both Incense for the Damned (1970) and Tendre Dracula (1974), two films I had not seen. Now writing this piece…I wish I hadn’t.




WE'LL START WITH ABOVE,  Incense for the Damned, a 1970 British production starring Cushing as Dr Walter Goodrich. Goodirch is something of a high-up in British society, whose son has gone missing in Greece, having fallen under the influence of a mysterious girl. A group of the young man’s friends and a private detective embark on a journey to find him. On the You-Tube description for the posting of this film, my colleague Marcus opens by stating; 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'


A SENTIMENT I am afraid I must agree with. The film is truly terrible, with a sluggish and plodding narrative that makes tremendously little sense. The majority of the characters come across as childish and unlikeable, bickering constantly.  






PATRICK MACNEE, always a welcome sight, has a role and the film is elevated somewhat whenever he is on screen. Unfortunately, and this is not something I thought I’d say, the opposite must be said for Cushing. For once in his career he seems utterly bored and…well…is clearly going through the motions with very little vitality an energy resulting in a lacklustre performance. I don’t want to be too harsh, his role is very small and so its possible there’s just nothing for him to work with, for whatever reason the results are the same.





MOVING ON TO Tendre Dracula, I was mortified that Marcus had also included it in his list of the ‘five-unwatchable Cushing films’, stated in the video description mentioned above. None the less I soldiered on, sat down to watch it…and was not rewarded. A bizarre French comedy centering on an aging horror star, MacGregor, who has decided he only wants to play romantic roles. 


CUSHING THIS TIME, is the only good thing, probably enjoying playing a variation of himself but alas even he cannot save what is one of the most god awful train wrecks of a film I have ever seen. Crude, poorly acted, poorly shot and well just cringe worthy, Tendre Dracula may have Cushing giving it his all…but here it’s simply not enough. 



THERE'S A FEW INTERESTING snippets, a nice touch which clearly are supposed to reflect an actual horror star reflecting on his career through the guise of a fictional character but this is hardly a new idea. Of course the best example of this is Peter Bogdonavich’s Targets (1968), starring Boris Karloff and but if you want to see Cushing do this in a far better film I suggest Madhouse (1974). 


HERE HE PLAYS A WRITER, not an actor (that role goes to Vincent Price) but some of the sentiments shared between the two are clearly meant to be based in reality. In Tendre Dracula these moments come across as shallow and ineffective…what’s more it feels like instead of having a bit of fun but ultimately respecting Cushing, that the Director is actively taking the piss.




THE INFAMOUS and much maligned ‘spanking’ scene seems horrifically out of place and Cushing himself hardly seems pleased. I’m not really sure what I expected when I put this on, usually being a fan of the weird and oft maligned but what I got wasn’t even vaguely entertaining. Tendre Dracula deserves its reputation as a childish exercise in farce.


WELL AFTER THOSE TWO, I feel I need a stiff drink. But I leave you with a solemn warning. Whilst that old feeling that Cushing can save truly awful films is often correct, it’s not always. When he even he can’t, then you must wonder just how awful the resultant product can be. If you ever get tempted to sample these… delights, then I warn you dear reader, STAY AWAY. Down that road only madness lies. Until next time! 

HERE IS A FOOTNOTE to this review feature on TENDRE DRACULA. LATE last year, I received this email. I THINK I managed to provide a good answer, for their TV show. What do YOU think the answer would be?  


Hello Marcus Brooks
My name is Jose Puig, and I work as journalist for a cultural quiz show on the Spanish TV called ‘BOOM’. I’m writing you because we are working on a question about the Peter Cushing and I have thought that you maybe could help me confirming the information that we mention in it in order to be as precise as possible and make sure we don’t spread wrong information to our contestants and our audience. With your permission, I attach you the information we want to confirm:It would be really helpful if you could confirm us that Peter Cushing has never performed a vampire character in cinema in order to give this option as a false one for a question we are working for.


I hope you don’t mind helping us with our doubts.
Thanks in advance for your help and your time.
Best wishes,
JOSE PUIG




Saturday 17 March 2018

CHRISTOPHER LEE SATURDAY EUNICE HAS A BIRTHDAY AND LEE HAS A TALL TERRIBLE TALE!


TODAY WE WISH a happy birthday to the lovely Eunice Gayson. Best known for playing Sylvia Trench, James Bond's girlfriend in the first two Bond films (Dr. No 1963 and From Russia with Love 1963). Originally, Gayson was to be cast as Miss Moneypenny, but that part went to Lois Maxwell instead. BELOW we have great part of the series that we produced with BRUCE G HALLENBECK on the actresses tht appeared with PETER CUSHING in the HAMMER FILMS Frankenstein series of film, of which EUNICE was indeed one . .




EUNICE GAYSON WOMEN IN GOTHIC : PART TWO : HERE!


AN INTERVIEW feature we made with CHRISTOPHER LEE a while ago, some of you have emailed about, having problems finding, to repost! So, for your entertainment (!!) here it is again today on CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY!  Enjoy!







GOODBYE TO FACEBOOK : THE HASSLE STOPS NOW.


YOUR Peter Cushing Appreciation Society LEAVES Face, after eight years . . .

AND SO the PCAS Facebook Fan Page, within hours, will be no more . .  seven years of daily posts, competitions rare, rare photographs, free box sets, autographs of Peter Cushing as prizes, and much more that helped it gain almost 35 thousand followers and members. All this was challenged and made almost impossible to maintain and deliver the last year and half. Posting never stopped or competitions, but but Facebook made adjustments that squashed the posts and a demand on the PCAS Facebook Fan Page, to pay if you want to be seen. First Facebook asked for 20 Pounds, then more. When they didn't pay anything or bend to the pressure, the posts were reaching WAY OVER the amount Facebook said their payment would help them reach. Why would anyone pay for access to make a  reach of 200 people, when posting WITHOUT paying, hit almost a THOUSAND!?? 


ABOVE: PAY! PAY! PAY! FACEBOOK BRIBE, JUST ONE OF HUNDREDS!
EVEN THIS WEEK, Facebook tried asking for UNDER ten UK Pounds, for boosting. This BOOST would let people who have JOINED your page, see the post...that they have JOINED to SEE anyway! Seven Pounds / Six and Half USA Dollars, might not seem much...but at THREE posts a day, seven days a week?? When it all originally COST NOTHING?...and no one is making money apart from Facebook. PCAS or competitions, rare photographs and content are, always has been..FREE! 


BELOW just a handful of the HUNDREDS of PCAS FACEBOOK MEMBERS who were unhappy, angry and frustrated to see the FAN PAGE go, and left messages to explain why. As many of you know, no posts on this website have Facebook type buttons or openings to click LIKE. The posts are what they are. The only way to contribute to the post, is using the message button below, at the bottom. Those messages will add YOUR message to this post . .

Brandon Curtis This is easily the best page I have ever joined on Facebook. Count me in on that website daily. 

Bruce Coates I will take to the website but will genuinely miss this page. Another reason to ditch Facebook altogether. I totally agree with your comments regarding boosting of posts etc. Your content and quality far outshine this medium anyway. All the best to you

Charlotte O'Farrell Sorry to hear this but thank you for all the years of Peter Cushing related content - it’s been enjoyable and I’ve learned a lot about his career and life that I didn’t know. I’ll definitely be visiting the website regularly! All the best.

Jonas Magnusson What!?! No? I LOVE this page! There's nothing like it! Your work is astonishing!


Marcia Loisel Thank you so much, Marcus. This has been a wonderful place to go to on fb. xx  

Douglas Prosch Thank you many times over, Marcus, for keeping this page fun, informative, respectful, and with every ounce of dignified bearing that one perceives in Mr Cushing himself. It was a real oasis for me. I have already started checking out your PC blog, and will continue to visit it. But thanks for this here, while it lasted. You rock, sir.!

Ann Schde You're right, of course..about FB being underhanded and sneaky with hiding things...they're struggling to keep people on FB. Once they started to use/monitor what was being watched, used, said ...people started to flee to other media sites. They wanted control...and more money. Always greed. I'm sad that this page is closing..but I'll be visiting the site/blog you run daily. I've loved going down memory lane with you here...I believe Peter Cushing was my very first crush...even before I saw the Hammer films..I was enamoured with PC from "Captain Clegg". oh my goodness.

Paul Evans A tremendous shame. This has always been one of the very best pages on Facebook and will be dearly missed. The website will, of course, go straight into my favourites. Many thanks for all the fascinating information and fabulous images over the years - very much appreciated.

Richard Holden so sad one of the few face book pages that didnt post endless tripe and was always interesting , I will follow your blog keep up the good work .

Mateja Djedovic I'm really sad to see the page go. It has, for a long while now, been a continuing source of fun facts, great photos, and quality conversations. One of the few true oases in the endless sludge of useless information that's Facebook. It's been brightening up my social media existence for a long while and its absence will be a hole that'll be hard to fill. I will surely continue to visit the site as well, but there was something wonderful about logging onto Facebook and being surprised by an unexpected gem of Peter Cushing trivia on my homepage, like a wee unsolicited gift, a little bit of kindness. All my love, gratitude, and regrets that it had to end like this...

Eldon Glen Very sad that such an entertaining page for classic horror has to end because of facebook greed. I too enjoyed the random posts that popped up on my feed from time to time, it was what made it all the more special. All the best with the website, I am bookmarking it now,Marcus.

Al Spangle Sorry to read this Marcus. I never understood all this fb stuff and haven't been a member of any other group for years now. This is the last. Speak soon. Al.


Fran Gannon Such a pity, you did a fantastic job Marcus and I'm sure like all on here we are truly grateful for bringing us all your wonderful posts, Hammer Horror at its best.Will be checking out the Web page for sure, thanks a million and all the best for the future.


Roni Romero Sorry to hear this Marcus :-( thanks for all your posts. Will miss it but have already added the website to my favourites so will continue to look on there!

Michael Macaulay Sincere thanks for everything uv done, this has been an amazing page and you built an amazing community!

Hywel David Evans What an absolute bloody shame.Thank you for all the wonderful stuff you've given us over the years.See you on the website! 

Alyson Andrew This is so sad, I'm very sorry your hard work has been overturned in such a way. It seems like every day there's another good reason not to log on to Facebook any more, so I'll continue to enjoy your work through Instagram and your website instead. It's always a joy to see one of your wonderful pictures of Mr Cushing pop up (that dear man just can't help but put a smile on your face can he?) so keep up the good work, and wishing you the very best for the future.

Douglas Prosch Oh, no :( With all the useless garbage inundating the horror groups in Facebook, was a jewel for me. So many wonderful, rare photos, anecdotes, and appreciation for an amazing man, his beloved wife, his hobbies, his opinions, and his peers. I will miss this page alot. Thank you for all the wonderful images and words. They brightened many a day. I will certainly follow your blog.


Glyn Horsfall Very sad to see you go Marcus, but fully understand your reasoning. We have had good conversations in the past, mostly about those pesky PC films stuck in limbo! I will of course check out the website as I do anyway. All the best.

Jim Player This was one of the fewnbright spots left on the internet with entertaining and useful information. What a pity that it was forced to succumb to "number of clicks".

Tim Burrows What a mucking fess. It's a sheer pleasure having your output drip feed into my day, so thanks very much for your efforts. I'll be sure to dip into your blog 





Paul Bunyan So sad that this is happening. It really has been a treasure trove of wonderful things for fans. Thank you so much for the work you’ve done. So sorry.

Eve Altman My newsfeed with still be cluttered with rubbish about which FB does nothing and this page has to go?!!

Karen Stevens Sorry to see this go, but PCAS now has the first spot on my 'favourites' bar and I shall be dropping in regularly. I hope the thieves that stole from you crash and burn!

Philip Jones A great shame Marcus, it was always a great pleasure to see new postings. I'm very glad the website is continuing so please do keep on keeping on. 


Debbie Snell Very sad indeed. Will miss this fine site on my feed. I remember how thrilled I was when you joined Facebook. Will make sure to check the website from now on. So sorry.

Jason Arbuckle Am really sorry that you are stopping. I am one of the silent thousands who love the page.

Tom Ehlers Very sad to see this, I grew up watching Peter Cushing and his contemporaries. I always enjoyed your content in my feed, always gave me that “gotta watch that again soon” when I saw the movie. I’ll follow you to the blog and stay with it there. Thank you the time on FB.

Philip Bryan be Proud you have kept the memory of a wonderful man and brilliant actor alive and introduced him to a whole new audience. my sincere thanks to you Marcus and for the commitment you have shown to Peter and to us all

Demelza Downes Really sad to read this today. The page has been an absolute joy. Many thanks for all your hard work over the years Marcus. I will definitely be trying to keep up with the website too. Good luck for the future! Xxx

Graham Alexander Holden Thank you for all of your efforts Marcus and the brilliant, informative posts you do for us, the fans of Peter Cushing. This is a real shame and sadly not the first time Facebook has let it's users down. Will continue to pop by the website  

Paul Chadwick Thanks Marcus for everything you do, it's really appreciated and I will definitely be on the website every day, cheers


MANY MANY thanks to all the thousands of followers, friends, contributors, competition sponsors who gave us prizes for free. It WILL STILL all happen, and to the world at large, from here, at this website. No rules, many more photographs and much content to each feature post, as you have seen here, over the years. You can only do so much, on a FACEBOOK post. Here? It's YOURS!

Joe Fex The new site looks FANTASTIC!

Corinna Freiburg Sad to see you leave. Met so many nice and decent people here during the last few years. But I understand your reasons. FB has become a pessimistic mess, same as the whole www is slowly becoming. Maybe it will change again some day and become the fun place it used to be. C U Markus. Keep spreading the word and thank you for the great stuff you did so far and you're going to do. Website is not disappointing!

Rob Hayton Thanks Marcus.....Facebook’s loss....see you at the blog . . .

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