THE THREE ROLES THAT CREATED the career of Peter Cushing! A NEW series
of features from CALLUM MCKELVIE starting very soon! The RARE photograph
of Peter in this promo banner marks probably one of Cushing's best
known roles. Over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE we asked, which THREE roles would you personally list as being Cushing's
TOP THREE? Lots of interesting answers and many suggesting the THREE we have chosen to focus on, in this new weekly feature! Feel free to visit the PCASUK page and join in!
PETER CUSHING as the brief but interesting WAZIR AL WAZARA in ARABIAN ADVENTURE in 1979. Often see as another AMICUS film, the film was in fact produced in April 1978 EMI Films announced they would make the film as part of a series of films they wanted to produce with the newly formed Orion Pictures. Granted both the partnership of the Amicus Kevin Francis and John Dark were on board, and both Christopher Lee and Cushing were starring and almost, guest starring, but Amicus it aint. The budget was much more than what Dark and Connor ever had to tackle their Land that Time Forgot, At The Earth's Core or Warlords of Atlantis, but it wasn't as successful. The promo strap line of 'Star Wars with Magic Carpets!' promised much, but fell well short of anything close to the new benchmark of children and family entertainment on the big screen.
WHEN CUSHING does finally arrive, his appearance as the cell trapped Wuzara, it is a bit of shock. Sporting what looks like 15 years over growth on the handle-bar moustache he wore as Dr Naramrov in Hammer films, The Gorgon, his character is dusty, grubby and broken. Cushing gave the role, however short, his full attention and commitment and the facial hair he grew and wore, for the role of Commissioner Potts in the truly weird and way off, A Touch Of The Sun with Oliver Reed, remained. Work on TOUCH on location in Zamiba had only wrapped two weeks, so what little of Cushing's face we could see was, certainly sun kissed for the Arabian climate!
THE REASON WHY this film is being included in our usual COMIC TURNS and MAGAZINE themed WEDNESDAY, is because the press office for the movie managed to pull two quite interesting stunts in the drive for publicity. ONE was the fabulous FULL COLOUR photo that graced the cover of an EARLY issue of blood splat and gore effects screamarama, that is now FANGORIA magazine. Granted this was only issue three, and the magazine would soon being making off in a completely different direction, but brownie points to the press office. SECOND was the wave of alternative cinema and press design posters that were drawn up and produced on the release of the film. One poster carried a selection of COMIC STRIP panels on a full colour cinema quad poster. Rarely does this kind of artwork feature on a cinema poster, but the well intended move to capture the attention of the target audience kiddies, was still much more impressed and still dizzy from the hi tech visuals, of 'A GALAXY FAR FAR AWAY'. Magic carpets were for this crowd, were seen as thread bare and dated. It would be a long time far far in the distance, before those impressive visuals would stop tinting any fantasy adventure on the big screen. . .
A FACE YOU WILL SURELY KNOW! Ever wondered whatever happened to ACTOR MILTON REID. FIND OUT : RIGHT HERE!
FIND MORE and DAILY with LOTS of opportunity to comment and share your opinions and thoughts at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE!
THIS WEEKS TUESDAY TOUGHY! This weeks TOUGHY features a rare and quite splendid photograph of director, Terrence Fisher. The answer to last week's TOUGHY is below! Have fun, I will give you the answer to this one, right here next week. THIS POST also appears at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE today too, where no doubt, many will be debating the two questions. IF YOU would also like to join in the fun, simple click HERE and click LIKE there and maybe, YOU will come up with the answer!
BELOW THE ANSWER TO LAST WEEKS TUESDAY TOUGHY!
IT'S VERY SAD TO HEARof the passing of an actress, who made her name on the small screen, playing a very popular and sinister villain, in the TV soap series, Crossroads. In the 1970's along with actress Sue Lloyd, the character – whom Hargreaves once described as a “Technicolor villain” – was labelled “unhinged” and “deranged”, and kept millions nightly glued to the screen. From 1971 until her explosive final storyline nine years later, Rosemary became increasingly bitter – and unstable – while seeking to hold on to those closest to her. Her final episodes pulled in millions of viewers.
DURING THIS TIME, Janet Hargreaves also played a small role with Peter Cushing in the last of Hammer's Frankenstein saga, 'Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell', playing 'on-the-edge' Challer, one of the many hand picked excellent character actors, who chillingly twitched and stared, as the unfortunate inmates of the Baron's hospital ward. Janet also played the role of 'Mother' in the Sylvester McCoy Doctor Who story, 'The Greatest Show in the Galaxy' in the late 1980's. Janet didn't get many roles on the big screen, but her face was known to many UK TV viewers.
WHEN WATCHING 'Monster from Hell' with my Grandmother for the first time back in the late 1980's, she let out a shrill note of surprise, when the inmates shuffled on screen. 'Goodness, that's Rosemary Hunter, from Crossroads!!' My Gran was a big fan of the soap. Janet Elizabeth Hargreaves, actor, born 31st May 1937; died 4th August 2018, remembered today
ALL POSTS here at the website are also shared and posted at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE. EVERY DAY we invite everyone at the page to take part in comments and opinions about the images and features. It's a very interactive FAN PAGE! Please come join us! JUST CLICK HERE!
TODAY WE REMEMBER ACTOR ANDRE MORELL, born on this day in 1909. A
celebrated actor whose career had more than a few teamings with Peter
Cushing and the fantasy genre.In 1938, Morell joined the Old Vic theatre
company, and appeared in several of their high-profile productions both
at their home theatre and on tour throughout Britain and across the
rest of the world, appearing with both Alec Guinness and John Gielgud.' He kick-started his association with 'creepy cinema' with Cushing as
Sherlock Holmes, and playing Arthur Conan Doyle's character Doctor John
H. Watson, in Hammer Film Productions' version of The Hound of the
Baskervilles (1959). In 1960. He played Captain Edward Manningham in
'Cone of Silence' in 1960 also starring Cushing, Michael Craig and
Bernard Lee. His wonderful portrayal as the 'bounder' Colonel
Gore-Hepburn in Hammer's 'Cash on Demand' in 1961 makes very
entertaining viewing, as he piles the pressure on Cushing's tormented
bank manger, Harry Fordyce and 65 as Haumeid in Hammer's 'She'..with
rather odd dubbing.
THERE
WERE OTHER VERY GOOD HORRORS and thrillers too, Hammer's 'Plague of the
Zombies' in 66 and the rather limp 'THE MUMMY'S SHROUD' again for
Hammer in 1967, along with Michael Ripper's Longbarrow, one of the few
times where supporting actors are more interesting then the central
'monster'. But, his stand out performance with Cushing, for me has to be
in the BBC live televised production of George Orwell's '1984', as the
chillingly good O'Brien. It's interesting that Morell played a very good
Prof Quatermass in the BBC Quatermass tv series (1958-59) but when
offered the role of the Prof in Hammer's 'Quatermass and the Pit' in
1967, turned it down.
OUR FULL FEATURE REVIEW WITH GALLERY of 'CASH ON DEMAND' starring Peter Cushing and Andre Morell : HERE!
MORELL
ALWAYS LOOKED very at home in Hammer's early horrors, but inside
personally felt a little more than embarrassed by the subject matter of
some of the films, and often forbid his family to actually see them at
the local cinema. By all accounts, a rather private man, but very
generous on screen and made an outstanding contribution to some of
Hammer and Cushing's best work.
#CHRISTOPHERLEE SATURDAY! BY THE BEGINNING of 1969, Peter Cushing no longer owned a London home, when he he was working and filming at a studio close to London, Pinewood, Shepperton or Elstree, but far from the home where he and his wife, Helen lived in Whitstable in Kent, he would stay at Brown's Hotel in Mayfair, in the city centre. . . 'My favourite hotel in London!' . .and this accommodation would be included in his fee for appearing in the film. For the contract of the Amicus film, I MONSTER, he did not want to be away from Helen in the evenings so he travelled on the 'milk-train' from Whitstable at 6am and returned back to his home at 10pm at night. It was a busy time . . .
I MONSTER, was based on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, was filmed from October 10th 1970, directed by 22 year old director Stephen Weeks. Christopher Lee starred in the dual role. But Amicus films angle on the story, was quite different for those that had been released in the past. Some believe producer Milton Subotsky, was ducking copyright restrictions, as MGM owned the rights to the title of the the story . . and so, the lead characters names, Jekyll and Hyde. And so, in I Monster, the good doctor and his alter ego, Mr Hyde carried different names, Doctor Marlowe and Mr Blake. Others believe, Subotsky had heard that his competition Hammer films, were in the process of shooting their own production of the tale. Though I guessing if this was true, he had no idea of the secret spin that it's director Roy Ward Baker and the producers, also had in the wings, to give their release a new and refreshing angle and adapted title! Although Subotsky changed the names of the doctor and his frightening flip identity, most of Stevenson's other characters remained the same, as in the novel. Back in 1983, when PCASUK carried out a video interview with Milton at his home, he was asked why he changed the main characters names, his answer was, 'I thought it would be fun to try!'
SUBOTSKY ALSO WAS DETERMINED to make in film in 3D. Again, when he became an honorary member of PCASUK in 1983, and gave us access and several interviews, the subject matter of how he always wanted to make a 3D film, often came up. He thought a 3D version of Alice in Wonderland in a feature film would make an amazing release... and a feature about the London, Lord Mayor Show, would also be ideal! Sadly, he never got the chance, nor did we or he ever bring up the subject matter of the failed and impossible attempt to shot 'I Monster' in 3D too! Subotsky, before he entered the world of making successful fantasy movies, spent time producing a series of shorts, based on the 'School Boy Scientist' market. Subotsky LOVED science and had been aware a simple and cost effective way of a shooting film in 3D since he too, was a school boy. The process required constant lateral movement within the frame, making conventional film shooting methods and rules of thumb impossible.
AFTER A WHILE, the process was abandoned by director Stephen Weeks, and the fact that many of the sets had been built, the opposite way to what was needed, to achieve the pans and movements in the correct directions, made movement and continuity impossible or jarring too. The finished release still contains several interminable tracking shots clumsily cut together with static close ups. Despite the technical problems, Christopher Lee gives an excellent central performance.
CUSHING LOVED THE PERIOD FURNISHINGS, and wore some of his own Edwardian styled clothes for the film, which were specially tailored for him by theatrical costumiers Montague Burton's- and as a result seems completely at home in this era. His is even able to reprise the 'eye up to the magnifying glass trick as he compares the identical signatures of Marlowe and Blake.
DESPITE WHAT SOME SEE as tedious pacing, and the occasional wandering camera the film does have several startling scenes and quite unique turns from both Lee and Cushing. A nightmare sequence features a distorted, faceless Doctor Marlowe; there is a spectacular chase through the massive turbines of an Edwardian water works! Also the monstrously ugly Blake's pathetic encounter with a small child in a park. Make up artist, Harry Frampton creates an amazingly Blake / Hyde whose appearance with every arrival becomes more frightening and a true monster, in every way!
CATCH UP with our I MONSTER RARE IMAGE GALLERY PART ONE : HERE!
IS I MONSTER ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE CUSHING FILMS OR MAYBE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IT? COME SHARE YOUR OPINION AND THOUGHTS ON ONE THE LESSER TALKED ABOUT AMICUS FILMS AT THE FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! COME AND JOIN A FOLLOWING OF OVER 33 THOUSAND FANS OF THE PAGE! JUST CLICK : HERE!!
