Showing posts with label pirates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pirates. Show all posts

Wednesday 8 May 2019

PETER CUSHING PLASTER HANDS PRINTS : OLIVER REED AND BARBARA WINDSOR PLUS PIRATES AND UNCOOL SUN!


BACK IN THE 1990'S, cinema and the arts in the UK were looking for all kinds of inventive ways to mark and celebrate British Cinema and it's many stars. One such great idea was the Best Of British Cinema Hand Prints! The release of this photograph to the press on February 24th 1992 and it probably hasn't seen the light of day since then, came with the press notes of . . .


'Stars of British Cinema put the palm prints into plaster slabs to part of a new monument to the stars! The slabs will be placed in the Prince Charles Cinema, in Leicester Square, London.Among the stars who placed the palms are Oliver Reed, Barbara Windsor and Peter Cushing'




ABOVE are two neat behind the scenes photographs taken during Cushing's and Reed's shooting of 'Captain Clegg / Night Creatures' for Hammer films in 1962 . Cushing was such a stickler for getting detail correct, that when the script called for him to perform a wedding service for Reed's and Yvonne Romain's characters, he called in Rev Sidney Doran, the minister for the Bray church where this scene, and a lot of the scenes in the film was shot!

OLIVER REED had worked with Peter in several films, 'The Sword of Sherwood Forest 'in 1960, and a great pirate-smuggling movie, 'Captain Clegg' aka 'Night Creatures' in 1962, both for Hammer Films and the weird, wonderful and terribly UN-PC, 'A Touch of the Sun' in 1979. Barbara Windsor, didn't work with #PeterCushing on the big screen, but on occasions like this, as there were many in the 1980's, they did socially rub shoulders. Peter looks very happy to be there!



ABOVE AND VERY BELOW: Peter Cushing, Bruce Boa and Oliver Reed in the 1979 film 'A Touch of the Sun', a movie that manages to cross  just about every UN-PC line, within the first ten minutes of it's sometimes uncomfortable screen time. Below, on it's release, straight to video, the misprint of Reed's surname, was just about it's last bow of bad timing, before sinking into a very dark sunset  . .


Sunday 8 July 2018

HAVE WHEELS WILL TRAVEL : CLASSIC CAR AND CLASSIC PIRATE CAPTAINS! UPDATED!


ABOVE THIS WEEK'S TUESDAY TOUGHIE. Although Cushing had this car for many years, he rarely actually drove it! Most journey's to the studios in Borehamwood, Elstree and the BBC, a driver was provided. IF he did travel using his car, his friend, stand in and driver GEORGE, would be behind the wheel. SO WHICH make of CAR, DID Cushing own from the early 1960's until the late 1970's??? ANSWER NEXT TUESDAY! You'll find the to our LAST Tuesday Toughie BELOW! How did you do?






TAKE IN OUR extensive gallery of photographs and review in the ABOVE feature at our website! JUST CLICK HERE!




ABOVE NEW THEME for SUNDAYS! Starting SUNDAY 15th JULY!



WE UPDATE REGULARLY at our well supported Peter Cushing Appreciation Society FACEBOOK FAN PAGE! With over 33,000 followers, and archives of rare images and gifs, you would be most welcome! PLEASE come join us! JUST CLICK HERE AND CLICK LIKE THERE!

Friday 17 November 2017

HOW COLD WAS IT ON THE NIGHT THEY BURIED PETER CUSHING'S CAPTAIN CLEGG?


#THROWBACKTHURSDAY! HOW COLD was it on the NIGHT they BURIED Peter Cushing's CAPTAIN CLEGG??? Well, our behind the scenes photographs, tell all BRRRRRRR!!






IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll  love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.  Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA  . .

Sunday 24 September 2017

#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! PIRATES OF BLOOD RIVER TWILIGHT TIME BLU RAY!


#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! Available OCTOBER 17th October 2017 from Twlight Time... The Pirates of Blood River LIMITED EDITION Blu Ray! Special Features include: Isolated Music & Effects Track / Audio Commentary with Writer Jimmy Sangster, Art Director Don Mingaye, and Film Historian Marcus Hearn / Original Theatrical Trailer.








IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll  love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.  Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA      

Wednesday 6 September 2017

#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY! : LEE PLAYS WICKED : RIPPER PLAYS MIPPS : CUSHING PLAYS EVIL


#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY!: I GUESS, if you had to quickly come up with a list of what one would consider to be, Christopher Lee's FIVE most wicked roles, Dracula would be in there. So, would Rochefort from the 'Three Musketeers' and maybe Fu Manchu. But, I doubt if many would count or include this chap, Professor James Hildern from the 1973 film, 'The Creeping Flesh'. 'Flesh' also starred Peter Cushing, as his Lee's half brother, Emmanual and unlike many of the roles that he played in a rash of  British horror movies through out the 1960's and early 70's, Lee's James Hildern is a villain, thankfully, with a cause! Jealously and ambition. Hildern didn't just push obstacles aside, he cold bloodidly crushed them. 

If you though the chemistry of 'Cushing hero' versus 'Lee's black hearted monster' was magic, then 'Cushing weak and tortured' versus 'Lee merciless and Machiavellian' is a test tube, that holds a chemical reaction that gave both actors, the opportunity to really pull out the stops. Whether slaughtering and torturing patients in his care, or turning the thumbscrews on his poor half sibling, Lee is wonderfully wicked. It's a film, that has over the years sadly snuck past the notice of many a Brit Gothic horror fan. To have enjoyed the classic cinematic teamings of Cushing and Lee, watched their Hammer horrors and their Amicus adventures, but then to have never seen this Tigon tale of terror.... you have missed out on one of their best.... and that's just wicked!   Requested by Alan Goodfield. UK.


#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY!: A SET UP from Hammer films, 'The Evil of Frankenstein' that Peter Cushing, no doubt enjoyed blocking and performing. All appearing like one continuous shot, but really three edits. And just how did they get that spilled acid to stop, just short of Cushing's forelock, like that???


#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY! : THERE IS AN obvious comment or question to ask about this shot, but I'll avoid it here and instead, let's focus on why David Meredith from the UK requested this shot as one of this weeks #GIFS. The role of Coffin maker, Jeremiah Mipps, in Hammer films, 'Night Creatures' / 'Captain Clegg' (1962) was actually a character role that Ripper was quite proud of. In a PCAS interview in 1981, he told us his most favorite role for Hammer films, was Longbarrow in 'The Mummy's Shroud', but 'Clegg' gave him the opportunity to try something a little different. When given the chance Ripper was a great character actor. Michael Ripper holds the record for being the single actor, who appeared in more Hammer productions, than any other.


#SILENTBUTDEADLYWEDNESDAY! : JUDY GEESON staggers into a chilling secret, at the school where all isn't what it seems. Peter Cushing's Headmaster, Michael Carmichael is in a class...of his own, in Hammer films, 'FEAR IN THE NIGHT' (1972).



IF YOU LIKE what you see here at our website, you'll  love our daily themed posts at our PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE.  Just click that blue LINK and click LIKE when you get there, and help us . . Keep The Memory Alive!. The Peter Cushing Appreciation Society website, facebook fan page and youtube channel are managed, edited and written by Marcus Brooks, PCAS coordinator since 1979. PCAS is based in the UK and USA  

Monday 6 February 2017

CLEGG HERO OR MONSTER : MONSTERMONDAY


#MONSTERMONDAY: Peter Cushing's Captain Clegg aka Rev. Dr. Blyss comes from the much loved Dr Syn pirate adventure books written by Russell Thorndyke.... Much has been shared here about the alternative titles used during the release of this Hammer film, 'Night Creatures (US) Captain Clegg (US) and the copyright problems with the name of Syn and the bad timing of being produced the SAME TIME as Disney's Dr Syn The Scarecrow feature film! ...Want to know more about that... you'll find extensively illustrated features starting  HERE at this website!



WAS BLYSS a good man, robbing from the Tax Collectors and Exercise Menand giving to the poor of his parish..OR was his treatment of Milton Reid's character... cutting out his tongue and banishing him to an island, a bit on the rough side of justice??? He WAS a pirate. He did fight and kill....the stories of his fights were legendary in the books.. he was a man to be feared! This still stands as one of the Cushing films that is least seen by most people here. If you haven't caught this one, now is the time... in the tradition of Robin Hood and Errol Flynn Peter LOVED playing this role and even spent time writing a sequel to this Hammer classic! So, Clegg...Villain, Monster and a Slayer on the High Seas....or a Hero? YOU decide!



TRIVIA: Above is the face well known of a quite well known British character actor who appeared in Captain Clegg / Night Creatures and at least TWO films with Peter Cushing... but can you name him and the title of the ONE television show he also appeared in with Cushing? ANSWER later....

Saturday 14 February 2015

OLIVER REED REMEMBERED


Today we remember Robert Oliver Reed, born today February 13th 1938. The 'Cushing Connection' spreads over three films, 'Captain Clegg /Night Creatures' in 1962, 'Sword of Sherwood Forest' in 60, both for Hammer films and a car crash of a film entitled 'A Touch of the Sun' in 1979... a film produced in Africa, and never found a distributor outside of it! A larger than life character both on and off the screen..who was always happy to acknowledge his 'Hammer film roots.... 'The Curse of the Werewolf in 1961 and 'These Are The Damned' in 1963. Happy Birthday Oliver!

Sunday 29 June 2014

WINNERS AND ANSWERS: SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW CAPTAIN CLEGG COMPETITION.


We have our WINNERS! Picked out of the hat, just two hours ago....Congratulations PAULA T (USA) and E Passmore (Australia)! Your blu rays of 'Captain Clegg are on their way! Many thanks to the guys at Final Cut Entertainment for generously providing our prizes

NOW... here are the questions and answers to the competition. How did you do?

1: WHO wrote the DR SYN novels? Please give their full name, the year and date they were born.
Answer: Arthur Russell Thorndike, born 6 February 1885

2: This author also had a famous SISTER. Please name her. Answer: Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike

3: What is the FULL name of DR SYN?
Answer: Reverend Doctor Christopher Syn

4: What was the FIRST DR SYN novel was called? What Year was it published and who were they publishing company?
Answer: Doctor Syn: A Tale of the Romney Marsh, published in 1915 by Nelson Press

5:The author of the DR SYN novels was also an actor. One of his last performances was in a film that also starred PETER CUSHING. NAME that film.
Answer: Hamlet (1948)

6: CAPTAIN CLEGG was released as part of a HAMMER FILM DOUBLE BILL in 1961. NAME the film that SHARED the billing. 
Answer: The Phantom of the Opera

7: DR CLEGG's producer was John Temple Smith. He was also the chairman of a small film company. NAME that film company.
Answer: Major Productions

8: When Anthony Hinds adapted the DR SYN script for Hammer Films, DR BLYSS wasn't his only name for the Captain he intended for the Captain...Which other name did he have in mind?
Answer: Dr Arne

9: WHEN did CAPTAIN CLEGG commence production? Tuesday 29th March.. Thursday 4th Feb.. Monday 25th September.. Monday 4th August..
Answer: Monday 25th September

10:CAPTAIN CLEGG was OLIVER REED’S FIRST? SECOND? THIRD? FIFTH? FILM FOR HAMMER FILMS?
Answer: Fifth

11: During the shooting of CAPTAIN CLEGG, OLIVER REED had an accident while driving his car, but he carried on not only shooting on CAPTAIN CLEGG but also doing some of his own stunt work. Did he break his: A) LEGG? B) FOOT? C) SHOULDER? Or D) HAND? 
Answer: Shoulder

12: DAVID LODGE played the BOSON in CAPTAIN CLEGG. Lodge is probably better known for his comedy work with Spike Mulligan and Peter Sellers. Which  FILM connects both Milligan and Peter Cushing?
Answer: Suspect (1960)t

13: Which Hammer film crew member was responsible for throwing the HARPOON, off camera, into CAPTAIN CLEGG’S/ Peter Cushing back? A) Peter Graham Scott B) Les Bowie C) Ian Scoones D) Tilley Day
Answer: Ian Scoones

14: Make Up Artist, ROY ASHTON not only worked on Hammer films CAPTAIN CLEGG in 1961, but also worked on the first production of the DR SYN story in 1937 for Gaumount Pictures. TRUE or FALSE 
Answer: True

15: During the making of CAPTAIN CLEGG Peter Cushing presented Hammer films’ script writer Anthony Hinds with a script and treatment for a DR SYN Hammer films sequel. The script was based on the second and third novels, Dr Syn on the High Seas and Dr Syn Returns. Cushing’s script was dated July 1961 and had a working title of a) Dr Syn, The Quality of Mercy ? b) Dr Syn : Wild Justice ? c) Dr Syn : Waiting Revenge ?
Answer: ANY of these three titles would be considered correct, as Cushing had all all THREE titles in pencil with title Dr Syn on his script!

16: Actor Patrick Allen played Captain Collier in CAPTAIN CLEGG. He had previously appeared in another Hammer film. Name the film and the character he played.
Answer: 'Never Take Sweets from a Stranger', Peter Carter.

That's it! Thank you to everyone who took part in the competition, it wasn't any easy one, for sure. Join Us THIS WEEK for our 'SO YOU THINK YOU KNOW: PETER CUSHING Competition! With THREE copies of 'The Peter Cushing Scapbook' up for grabs!


You can Purchase YOUR copy of CAPTAIN CLEGG BLU RAY
HERE 

You can purchase YOUR copy of The Peter Cushing Scapbook 
HERE 

CAPTAIN CLEGG: BLU RAY REVIEW : TROY HOWARTH


An English coastal town serves as the haven for a gang of smugglers and it’s up to the intrepid Captain Collier (Patrick Allen) to unmask them and bring them to justice …


In 1961, Hammer embarked upon adapting the adventure stories of Russell Thorndike, hoping to bridge the gap between their Gothic horror films and their recent attempts at more “family friendly” swashbuckler fare, including Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) and The Pirates of Blood River (1961). Their efforts were nearly squashed when word got out that Walt Disney acquired the rights to the stories and was mounting his own, bigger budgeted adaptation with Patrick McGoohan. Happily, a compromise was reached: Hammer would be allowed to use the 1937 film version of Doctor Syn as their template, provided they didn’t actually use the name of Dr. Syn.  Since this was the model they were looking to follow anyway, the matter was amicably resolved and the company was free to move forward with what would become Captain Clegg.


Released in the US under the more horrific title of Night Creatures, the film offers up some classic Hammer horror imagery while playing things in a lighter, more family-friendly key.  Bloodshed is kept to a minimum and the supernatural angle is rationally explained in the final reel.  The emphasis is more on derring do and adventure, with large doses of impish humor, though the opening scenes would seem to promise more scares and chills.  Many reference books therefore list the film as a horror film, but truth be told it’s no more horror in the strictest sense than their later “historical melodrama,” Rasputin the Mad Monk (1966).  Even so, the spooky imagery on display is very potent indeed and anybody willing to accept the film as a more genteel genre offering – a sort of Hammer Horror For The Whole Family – is hardly doing the film a disservice in doing so.


Peter Cushing gives one of his finest performances as the meek Reverend Dr. Blyss, who is in fact actually the notorious pirate Captain Clegg.  Clegg is believed to have been executed years before and indeed, for all intents and purposes this is the case: having narrowly escaped the hangman’s noose, he turns over a new leaf and settles down under his assumed identity, doing good deeds and rescuing his poor village from poverty… while still doing a little light smuggling on the side.  It’s a fascinating character which allows Cushing to switch between being soft spoken and grimly authoritative without missing a beat; in this sense, it’s something of a dry run for what is arguably his finest performance for Hammer, as Baron Frankenstein in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), wherein his courtly exterior helps to mask a perverse and vile reality.  Captain Collier is the nominal hero, but he’s scripted as something of a dolt and Patrick Allen sensibly plays him that way, allowing Cushing to quietly steal their scenes.  Allen is very effective in the part, truth be told, and his willingness to play up the character’s thick-headed and self-righteous persona makes him a very satisfying adversary for Clegg.  23-year-old Oliver Reed, just a few years away from becoming England’s biggest box office draw, is very good as the dashing Harry.


Reed was one of the few younger actors at Hammer who could take the romantic interest roles and make them into something interesting and he certainly makes the best of his screen time here.  His love interest is played by Yvonne Romain, arguably the most drop dead gorgeous woman ever to grace a Hammer film, and she does well enough as the usual under written damsel in distress.  The supporting cast includes a number of stellar character actors: Jack MacGowran (The Fearless Vampire Killers, The Exorcist), David Loge (Corruption, The Return of the Pink Panther), Martin Benson (Gorgo, The Omen)… but if anybody comes close to stealing the show from its star, it’s the wonderful Michael Ripper.  Ripper was often squandered in minor roles for Hammer, but he has a rare meaty role in this films and he delivers a moving and amusing performance.


Well directed by Peter Graham Scott and boasting a stirring Don Banks soundtrack, Captain Clegg also moves at a good clip and holds up as a marvelous piece of Saturday matinee afternoon entertainment.


Captain Clegg makes its Blu-ray debut courtesy of Final Cut in the UK. The region B presentation has garnered some controversy online, but truly: when DOESN’T a Hammer Blu-ray release garner a bit of grousing?  On the downside, the master provided by Universal is overmatted at 2:1. This is simply what Final Cut had to work with and that’s all there is to it: all the complaining in the world isn’t going to result in a new master being struck for a relatively obscure catalogue title such as this. With that caveat in mind, the framing is thoughtfully done and doesn’t look unduly tight, excepting one or two shots here and there.  Colors are vivid, detail is strong and the source materials are in good shape.  Some of the optical effects look a little weak, but on the whole the image is robust and pleasing to the eye. The mono English soundtrack is very good, too: Banks’ score has lots of pep and the dialogue is easy to make out.


English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing are included.  Extras include a 30 minute featurette narrated by the wonderful John Carson title The Making of Captain Clegg.  Hammer historian Wayne Kinsey scripted and introduced the piece, which is mostly comprised of Carson talking over behind the scenes images and documents; Carson’s marvelous, James Mason-like voice makes this a pleasure to watch and Kinsey’s script packs in plenty of interesting information and production background.  Up next is another featurette, The Mossman Legacy: George Mossman’s Carriage Collection, wherein Kinsey takes us on a tour of the collection of carriages leant by the late George Mossman to English production companies, including Hammer.  It’s an interesting glimpse into a crucial but often neglected aspect of film production and breezes by at a mere 6 minutes. Lastly, there is a stills gallery.



Images and Design Marcus Brooks


PURCHASE YOUR COPY OF CAPTAIN CLEGG HERE:
HERE 

 

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