Sunday 1 December 2019

SOCIAL UNREST GANGS AND GUNS : IVESON REVIEWS THE 1958 BAKER : CUSHING AND MCCALLUM DRAMA 'VIOLENT PLAYGROUND'


EVERY CITY HAS ITS DANGEROUS YOUTH! Stark explosive drama - as the CAMERAS LAY BARE the heart of a big city and probe the secrets of its Violent Playground  . . . 

MARK IVESON REVIEWS 
Starring Stanley Baker, Anne Heywood, Peter Cushing, David McCallum Directed by Basil Deardon
 


IT IS ALWAYS a pleasure to watch a Peter Cushing film for the first time, especially if it’s not horror related, and this gritty, if dated slice of social commentary is an interesting part of the actor’s movie portfolio.  


AFTER HIS TELEVISION success, Cushing’s burgeoning film career quickly gathered momentum with several high profile supporting roles. Had Hammer not intervened to make Cushing a star in The Curse of Frankenstein (1956), he would have still commanded some excellent film work throughout the late fifties, and in a variety of cinema genres.



VIOLENT PLAYGROUND is a British attempt to imitate the style of America’s popular juvenile delinquent films that included The Blackboard Jungle (1955), Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and Crime in the Street (1956). It’s an important movie because it effectively presents the struggles of post war Britain, and is further emphasised by the striking use of locations, in this case the city of Liverpool. Val Guest later made excellent use of Manchester in Hammer’s Hell is a City (1960), and Sidney Hayers did the same for Newcastle in Payroll (1961). Interestingly enough, none of these films feature regional accents! 



THE SOCIAL REALISM in Violent Playground also pre-dates Jack Clayton’s Room at the Top (1959), a pivotal film that created the documentary style ‘kitchen sink’ drama that was influential in British cinema during the early sixties, and was followed by Karel Reisz’s Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1961), John Schlesinger’s A Kind of Loving (1962) and Lindsay Anderson’s This Sporting Life (1963).




THE PLOT:
DETECTIVE SERGEANT Jack Truman (Baker) is investigating the activities of an arsonist known as ‘Firefly.’ He is suddenly dropped form the case to be appointed juvenile liaison officer at a local inner city estate populated by mainly Irish families. Truman does not relish his new job because, being a bachelor, he knows nothing about kids.



A MEETING WITH twins Patrick and Mary Murphy (Fergal and Brona Boland, in their only film together) brings him to the attention of older brother Johnny (McCallum), leader of a street gang whose own activities seem to run parallel with his earlier investigation into arson attacks. The situation is further complicated by Truman’s emotional involvement with the twins’ older sister and guardian Cathie (Heyward). Also on hand is the tough but kindly priest (Cushing), who is aware of Johnny’s traumatic early life. This chain of events soon spiral out of control.


VIOLENT PLAYGROUND is a film of its time. It has dated, and some scenes are melodramatic, but it pulls no punches in showing the gritty realism of a working class area, and the increasing criminal activities of a younger generation left with no direction in life.  


THERE IS NOTHING feel good about the subject matter, and it is all down to producer Michael Relph and director Basil Deardon, who would later tackle the taboo subjects of racism in Sapphire (1959) and homosexuality in Victim (1961). The film has a nostalgic feel; all plain clothes cops wore trench coats and trilbies, the delinquents are a tad too well scrubbed and the ladies wore headscarves, but there are no stereotypes. 


THE CHINESE brother and sister (brilliantly played by real life siblings Michael Chow and Tsai Chin) are not ‘me so solly, no speaky English’ characters; it’s actually quite refreshing to see Tsai Chin not playing a double-agent or sinister daughter of a master criminal! Everyone is clearly defined and this is further enhanced by excellent performances from a well chosen cast.


PERHAPS THE MOST DISTURBING scene is where Johnny (why are all bad boys called Johnny in these movies?), armed with a machine gun, takes a class of school kids hostage. This uncomfortably echoes the recent shootings that have occurred in the States. It still makes for a tense and uncompromising climax. Basil Deardon directs with a sense of unease, and had it not been for the studio insisting on a happy ending, it could have ranked as a classic piece of British cinema. 



AS PREVIOUSLY STATED, the performances are excellent. Stanley Baker is his usual charismatic self, showing typical urban intensity mixed with the quiet authority of his position within the community. There is also a genuine chemistry between Baker and Anne Heywood, who is equally compelling in a somewhat underwritten role. 




SUPPORTING PERFORMANCES are of a typical high standard. Clifford Evans provides a nice touch of humour as the understanding headmaster, with John Slater being well served as Baker’s colleague. The Boland twins are a creepy pair; I wonder if they inspired Stanley Kubrick when he made The Shinning (1979)!
 


THE REAL STAR is David McCallum, who had previously worked with Baker in Hell Drivers (1955). At 24, his is a tad too old for Johnny, but his youthful good looks and fierce intensity makes him a passable teenager. As one of the new angry young men of British cinema McCallum shows real star promise with an aggressively powerful performance. Sadly future films failed to make use of his unique presence, and he subsequently got blander with each role, despite his major success in Hollywood in the mid sixties. 




WE NOW COME TO PETER CUSHING. As versatile as he was in period roles, it is difficult to place the actor in this kind of film as his classical approach could not be further away from the modern method acting style seen in Violent Playground. That said he gives a first rate performance. Moving away from the Miles Malleson ecclesiastical bumblers from previous British films, Cushing’s priest is convincingly street wise, and looks at home in the surrounding area. Although understanding of Johnny’s problems, he becomes a more forceful presence when confronting the boy during the climax. It is a winning turn, and one regrets Cushing not having more screen time. 



LOWER DOWN THE CAST we have Young Frankenstein himself, Melvyn Hayes, and comedian Freddie Starr, under his real name Freddie Fowell, as members of Johnny’s gang. You can’t miss Freddie; he’s the only one with a Scouse accent!
 




RELEASED IN 1958, Violent Playground did well in the UK and Europe, although it failed to do much business in America as the market for juvenile delinquent movies had pretty much been flooded by their home grown efforts. The success of The Beatles, and David McCallum’s TV popularity in The Man From UNCLE a few years later made Liverpool a popular city world wide, and as a result, the film got a belated Stateside release to reasonable box office success.




VIOLENT PLAYGROUND, is by no means a classic British movie, but it holds enough interest and does require repeated viewings. Of course it’s always wonderful to see Peter Cushing doing something against his usual style, and his performance here remains one of his best non horror efforts.


Thursday 21 November 2019

THE AMAZING 25MM VAMPIRE KILLER AND REMEMBERING QUEEN OF THE VAMPIRES TODAY!


#COLLECTINGCUSHING! I once had a weenie-little figure of Peter Cushing as #Tarkin, he really looked wicked and mean.. but he hadn't accounted for the even more wicked and cunning of my tom-cat, Reg! . . chomp..chomp . . I thought you would appreciated this 😉 NOW ready as a pre order and will be available early JANUARY 2020. . . #PeterCushing as #Hammerfilms Vampire Hunter : VAN HELSING, now available as a.. 25MM figure! What do YOU think? If you know a Cushing fan, you are having Christmas Dinner with this year, why not pick up one of these ...and slip it in their table cracker??? a neat Cushing-Christmas surprise 😉😃


WITH HIS HOBBIES in #modelmaking, #theatremodels and the huge collection of #figures and soldiers Peter Cushing made over the years.. I think Cushing would have appreciated and liked this little figure, very much! 😊


THE MAKERS of this figure say only 500 will ever be made and each miniature comes with a numbered gift card! at ONLY £4.00 . You can PRE ORDER from : HERE!


TODAY, NOVEMBER 21st, had she lived.. would have been Ingrid Pitt's 82nd birthday. Any regular visitor here will already know, how highly we valued her friendship to our society, her skill as an actress and as a beautiful person who touched everyone's heart who ever met her. Today, we mark her birthday and make a little space, to share how much we still miss her . . . Happy Birthday, Ingrid 😊


ABOVE: A RARE #INGRIDPITT INTERVIEW, from the PCAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL ARCHIVE!


ABOVE: THE PCASUK INGRID PITT AT HALLOWEEN GALLERY
FROM 2014 : JUST CLICK HERE!



THE CONNECTION OF INGRID PITT, PETER CUSHING AND THE
 THEATRE ROYAL FEATURE: CLICK  RIGHT HERE!


THE PCAS GALLERY: THE ONE AND ONLY INGRID GALLERY: HERE! 

TWO GREAT COMPETITIONS TO WIN INDICATOR BOX SETS AND BLU RAY CUSHING CLASSIC!


TWO GREAT PCAS competitions, with MANY thanks to #Indicator and #Powerhouse .. COPIES to be WON! You can read the PCAS review feature on Indicator's blu ray release of 'Time Without Pity' Starring Michael Redgrave and #PeterCushing with Ann Todd  HERE!


THE FEATURE REVIEW AND GALLERY of Indicator's 'Hammer Volume Four : Faces of Fear' which includes a REMASTERED blu ray release of Hammer 'Cushing's 'Revenge of Frankenstein' . . and some amazing EXTRAS.. will be soon at the PCAS website! Meanwhile, look out for the REGION FREE blu ray competitions 😉 - Marcus



YOU CAN ORDER 'TIME WITHOUT PITY' DIRECT from POWERHOUSE : HERE! and the HAMMER VOLUME FOUR : FACES OF FEAR BOX SET DIRECT from POWERHOUSE : HERE!

Sunday 17 November 2019

TERRY O'NEILL : MASTER PHOTOGRAPHER OF ICONS SADLY DIES AGED 81


TERRY O'NEILL , the photographer who chronicled London’s 1960s culture by capturing the celebrities and public figures who defined the era, has died aged 81.

O'NEILL, who was awarded a CBE last month for services to photography and was known for his work with the likes of #FrankSinatra, #DavidBowie and Elizabeth Taylor and #EltonJohn died at home on Saturday night after a long illness, his agency said. He had prostate cancer.


MANY #PeterCushing #ChristopherLee, #VincentPrice and #JohnCarradine Fans, will know Terry's work from the outstanding promotional photograph he created of all four movie icons for the 1983 film, 'House of the Long Shadows'. The film brought all four actors together for the first time, but it was O'Neill who captured it in an amazing photograph!

IT IS WITH a heavy heart that Iconic Images announces the passing of Terence ‘Terry’ O’Neill, CBE,” a spokeswoman for the agency said. “As one of the most iconic photographers of the last 60 years, his legendary pictures will for ever remain imprinted in our memories, as well as in our hearts and minds 


CLICK GIVE SUPPORT MAKE THE DIFFERENCE : HERE! 
.

Friday 15 November 2019

ROYAL MAIL RELEASES TARKIN AND DOOKU CELEBRATION POSTAGE STAMPS IN STAR WARS COLLECTION



THE UK #RoyalMail has revealed the final set of stamps in its own #StarWars-themed collection.The 16-stamp set will mark next month's release of #StarWars: #TheRiseOfSkywalker, and features characters and vehicles from the Skywalker saga.

TEN STAMPS feature the characters #CountDooku, Lando Calrissian, Sith Trooper, Jannah, #GrandMoffTarkin, Darth Maul, Zorii Bliss, Wicket Warrick, Poe Dameron, and Queen Amidala.

THE COLLECTION will be release on November 26th 2019!

YOU CAN PRE-ORDER HERE!
Many thanks to our friend and pcasuk follower, Johnny Thunders Martin for the heads up 😉


OVER AT THE  FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE  we have also opened up the post to YOUR suggestions! 'If you could choose ANY Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee character for a postage stamp, WHICH character would YOU choose?' Feel fee to have fun and make YOUR suggestion too! 
 

Thursday 14 November 2019

HIGHGATE CEMETERY : THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF DAN AND DAVID BARRATT : AMICUS FILMS : 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE'


THOSE OF YOU WHO ANSWERED 'Highgate' to our #WarnerBrothers / #PCAS Blu ray #competition last week, will recognize these really fabulous photographs 🙂 These stills were taken of Highgate Cemetery...located on Swain's Lane, Highgate, London . . by Dan and David Barratt 🙂 Dan is a friend and follower here on the PCAS facebook page, and kindly offered to share his photographs here . . for anyone to see, what an incredible and #magical place #HighgateCemetary truly is! Many, many of you recognized the location as the setting of the title sequence of #PeterCushing's 1974 #Amicusfilm, 'From Beyond The Grave' . . it was then and is now, such an incredible place, a location that needs NO dressing!! I wonder how many of you, reading this have visited there too? Any pics?? Many thanks to Dan and David for sharing these 🙂 What do you think? - Marcus

Those of you who may want to comment on the photographs below, can do so by clicking HERE and going to the Facebook PCAS Fan Page post of this feature! 












ORDER YOUR COPY of Amicus films, 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' remastered BLU RAY from WARNER BROTHERS ARCHIVE HERE TODAY! JUST CLICK HERE!


Monday 11 November 2019

WARNER BROTHERS ARCHIVE PCAS COMPETITION : ARE YOU A WINNERS? FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE BLU REMASTERED BLU RAYS


#CONGRATULATIONS to BOTH our #WINNERS of our #PCAS #Halloween #Competition this year, TED JOHNSON and KELLY SHAW! 🙂 You have each bagged yourselves copies of the EXCELLENT #WarnerBrothers REMASTERED BLU RAY of the #Amicusfilms classic ' From Beyond the Grave'!


YOU'LL FIND OUR PCAS full review of the #WARNERBROTHERS remastered 'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' #BLURAY with GALLERY HERE: CLICK HERE! 

THE ANSWER TO THE COMPETITION WAS 'HIGHGATE CEMETERY'!


'FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE' has an all star cast supported by #PeterCushing, who plays the keeper of the shop called 'Temptations Limited ..it's not your average Asda or Walmart, for sure!  IF you too are TEMPTED, this Warner Archive remastered blu ray is OUT NOW, set at 'region 0' .. and is certainly a addition worthy of any space on the shelf of any Cushing, Amicus films collector! 


ORDER DIRECT FROM WARNER BROTHERS ARCHIVE STORE: CLICK HERE!

THANK YOU to everyone .. the MANY, who entered our competition HERE and at the FACEBOOK PCAS FAN PAGE and MANY thanks to the team  at #WarnerBrothers, who once again supported another fabulous PCAS Competition! Keep a sharp eye OUT, for our NEXT PCAS #competition.. coming VERY soon. RIGHT HERE! 😃

 

Sunday 10 November 2019

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY : PETER CUSHING : THE POEM, THE PIANO, THE BATTLE HYMN AND THE DANCE REMIX

 
Remembrance Sunday : REQUESTED: BEFORE Peter put on his base-ball cap and bling, his recording of the Peter Kayne war poem, 'No White Peaks' existed as a solum recording, accompanied by appropriate piano . . The Rap version, as we posted in our previous post today, never quite sat comfortably with Kayne, and as for Peter Cushing he was happy to assist, even though the recording of his vocals had been made at his home in Whitstable months before. ABOVE, This is the original recording and maybe more fitting ..


NO WHITE PEAKS by Peter Kayne

No white peaks on mountains high
For there is no snow left in the sky
No children going out to play
Upon a sunny summer’s day
No lovers to kiss or caress in the park
And when the sun’s bright, it still seems dark
The will-‘o-the-wisp of a spider’s web
The soldiers too busy to bury their dead
The pall of smoke where a house used to stand
A mother and child lie hand in hand
And in the air where birds once flew
There’s the screeching sounds of something new
Shells explode with the thunder of war
And somebody dies or maybe more
For they seem to lose count and they’re not really sure
Of how many people have died in that war
Oh there must be a reason why men fight
For both sides think that they’re right
The dead can’t speak but of this I’m sure
If they could they’d say “No more.
No more killing. No more hate.
No more war before it’s too late.”
Too late for those who’ve died in vain
And those with bodies racked in pain
Too late for those who’ve gone through Hell
With their limbs torn loose from the blast of a shell
Are we so blind we cannot see
That this will be our destiny?
No white peaks on mountains high
For there is no snow left in the sky.

—Peter Kayne



ABOVE: AFTER THE RELEASE of #PeterCushing's reading of Peter Kayne's poem 'No White Peaks' as a charity record, the recording embraced re-mixing of the vocal into #DanceMix! At 78 years of age on 11 November 1991, Peter Cushing released the recording, made a promo video and appeared live on the UK tv show, #RichardandJudy' in an interview to help give the release a push! It's true Peter never considered himself a singer . . hence the 'only speaking the lyrics in the song in my performance on the #MorecambeandWise Show'!' ..and thought 'Rapping' was 'Something you got round a parcel'. Here is the entire interview! Owing to traffic problems, Peter arrived late, but the live show waited moving items, until he arrived. In this interview we also get to see some clips from the very rarely seen promo video. Peter does well and uses his still considerable charm on co-presenter Judy Finnegan.





ABOVE: AS RECENT AS 2012, another remix of Peter Cushing's reading landed on YOUTUBE, this time with a emotive 'Battle Hymn of Republic' playing! One thing for sure, come Remembrance Day or Veterans Day you usually see one of these three versions appearing somewhere. It's great that Cushing's reading still gets interesting and exposure. . .

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...