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Tuesday 15 August 2017

THE MONSTERS OF HAMMER: A SCREAMINGLY GOOD EXHIBITION! #TOOCOLTUESDAY!

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: The Monsters of Hammer : A Screen Bestiary is an amazing exhibition housed at De Montfort University, Leicester within the University's Cinema and Television History research centre (CATH), which now holds some of Hammer films scripts archive. The exhibition was designed by a third-year DMU design student named Chelsea Walker. It's an pretty amazing accomplishment. I particularly like the text of DRACULA written in blood, that trickles off the glass screen around the exhibit, and on the FLOOR! the exhibition contains the draft script, of an idea called 'DRACULA ON ICE: The Legend of the Arch Vampire' by Don Houghton, the writer behind Hammer / Cushing / Lee Dracula AD 1972, The Satanic Rites of Dracula, several tv dramas and some BBC Doctor Who episodes too . . . These images were sent to me a few weeks ago. I have no idea where they came from, or who took the pics . . maybe the person who sent them? If you are in Leicester, UK you may want to scout this exhibition out...it's very cool . . .

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

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY: THE MODEL PERFECTIONIST : NO SMALL TIME HOBBY

#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! I have made this #BANNER using a series of promotional photographs that were commissioned by the #HAMMERFILMS press office, during the publicity campaign of their fourth #FRANKENSTEIN film with Cushing, 'Frankenstein Created Woman' with Susan Denberg. It's true, while the good Baron was very great at making 'Monsters', Cushing was quite an accomplished and expert model maker.

EVERYTHING FROM his model soldiers, used in his #WARGAME past-time, model aircraft, ships, boats, houses and theater's . . . particularly theaters. After Cushing's death all of his model work, was auctioned to help pay his DEATH TAX bill..a REAL horror story... of the eight or nine that still existed, displayed and fully functional in the attic studio workshop at his Whitstable home, some are now in the 'eat you heart out collectors' MEGA COLLECTION, of huge Cushing fan and director, Guillermo del Toro Gómez. Each of the theaters, consisted of a proscenium arch, scenery, tabs, curtains, actors, props and a fully operational lighting system, complete with lightning board.

I HAVE LABELLED the photographs, with close up images, so you can see the amazing eye for detail and authenticity that Cushing really had. Take a look at the handmade GOBO light, with different colored gels and working selection motor. The lighting positioned at the rear of the set in photograph C, a shows that colored lighting gel, was positioned over the lamps, so that the light source on the model stage, depicted daylight! I have no idea just how much the theaters sold for, but from his telephone bidding on the day, it's known their was huge interest in the theaters, and the 'lolly' that went under the hammer, was big bucks.

Monday 14 August 2017

#MONSTERMONDAY: SCREAMING ALL THE WAY WITH SIR HENRY FENGRIFFEN

#MONSTERMONDAY: Today's monster is Sir Henry Fengriffen played by Herbert Lom from Amicus's 'And Now The Screaming Starts!' (1973) One of their few non-anthology horror films.

THE FILM was based on an obscure novella entitled `Fengriffin,' after the name of the cursed family line around which the story centres, though the film goes for a more 'shocking' sounding title courtesy of Max Rosenberg. The film boasts an impressive cast with Peter Cushing, Ian Olgivy, Stephanie Beacham & Patrick Magee.

PETER CUSHING'S DR POPE, arrives late too. It's not a performance that is going set any screen a flame, but Pope provides a calming influence, other than when he's pushing the buttons that reveals, what is causing all the spooky shenanigans. Sadly for our young couple, all does that not end well. It would have been interesting to have seen any audience response from pre-opening tests, if there were any. The final moments compete with Price's Witchfinder General and 'Blood On Satan's Claw'. I would have guessed the schlocky title and that down beat ending didn't bring in good returns for the distributor or Amicus, thus bringing the company's short flirtation with period ghost stories, to a sudden end, setting the course firmly back on chartered waters, tried and tested . .. the portmanteau film.

ALTHOUGH HERBERT LOM is second-billed in the film, does not appear at all until the last quarter of the film, and only appears in an extended flashback sequence, however with the screen time he does have, he certainly make an impression.

How do you rate Herbert Lom's performance in the film?

#GETTHECUSHIONSUNDAY! COMPETITION WINNERS AND NOTHING BUT THE NIGHT!

#GETTHECUSHIONSUNDAY! Here's a treat for a Sunday evening . . . Director Joe Dante has gone on record saying, Nothing But The Night is a Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee film, where the magic doesn't work. Personally, I disagree. It's not because i think EVERYTHING that Lee and Cushing did together is wonderful...far from it! The dynamics of their character relationship here is different from what we have seen before, and it's interesting. The script is at time a little slack, but the ending? Yup, that's what is worth waiting for...but you need to go on the journey, follow the story, the experience, of this different dynamic to appreciate the pay off.

MANY CONGRATULATIONS to MARK JAY and RON CANATELLA who have each won a copy of Michael Armstrong's Screenplay Book of 'House Of The Long Shadows'! Thanks to EVERYONE who entered the competition and to Kevin and the Team at Paper Dragon Productions, where you can purchase your own copy too! RIGHT HERE!

Sunday 13 August 2017

#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! FRIGHTENINGLY MUCH MORE THAN A FALL GUY . . GIFS

#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! FALLING DEADLY! Under the heading of The Many Deaths of Christopher Lee In The Movies, should be a sub-heading . . . 'Falling and Falls' Can you name and count how many times one of Christopher Lee's Bad Guys or Monsters, FELL while dying??? Here's My favorite from 'Dracula Has Risen From The Grave' Hammer 1968 . . .

IT'S AMAZING when you stop and examine how many death's Christopher Lee's DRACULA experienced that also featured FALLING...! You would have thought after his giant 'Whoops-a-Daisy' in '#DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE' in 1968, in his next adventure in 1969, 'TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA', he'd be watching his step... nope. That Church balcony was pretty high too. That's gorra hurt . . . all hail to the stuntman, the late Eddie Powell.

COME 1970 and 'THE SCARS OF DRACULA', he goes and falls head first,from the parapet of castle DRACULA ...ON FIRE! In 1972 he still proved to be not that steady on his pins, when Van Helsing tricked him, in a pit of wooden stakes, in DRACULA AD 1972.

BACK IN 1966 Lee's Rasputin, fell to his death, from a three story castle window, on to an ice covered moat, that only three months earlier, he had slipped and slithered through, a ice hole to a watery death as DRACULA again, in DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS . . .

FLAMES AND A STAIRCASE, provided the 'out', when Lee played in an adaption of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, cunningly renamed 'Dr Marlow and Mr Blake' in Amicus films, 'I MONSTER'. When this film made its debut in 1970, audiences must have thought that the guys pushing the pens, got some weird pleasure seeing a 6ft' 5 guy hitting the deck...!

FULL MARKS must be awarded to scriptwriter Michael Armstrong, who I am sure realised this too. When it came to writing 'HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS', the only film to star Lee, Peter Cushing and Vincent Price in scenes together, Armstrong was careful to litter the story with skip loads of visual references to the three 'Masters of Terror's' long careers. So when it came to offing Christopher Lee, you can take a guess at how his exit was dispatched. Armstrong decided that only a double nod would suffice . . . the falling down the stairs from 'I, MONSTER' and poleaxing and Shish kebab from 'DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE'... even down to the shocked expression on realizing he was impaled, was a nice touch.

AND FINALLY, perhaps the longest fall, was kept until last, with Christopher Lee's Saruman the White, from 'Lord Of The Rings : The Return Of The King' (2003), unfortunately cut from the theatrical version . . . . but thankfully they can be seen in the extended version of the film, available on the blu ray release.

Friday 11 August 2017

MARKING PETER CUSHING PASSING : 23 YEARS AGO TODAY.

REQUESTED: This is the first time we have posted the televised #NEWS #OBITUARIES from UK television, that were broadcast on August 11th 1994. It's a sign of the times, that today obituaries on tv do tend to get a little 'over egged' these days. I think, both the BBC and ITV did quite respectful tribute. So as requested by Juan Talos, Maria B, Anthony W . . . the two obituaries as broadcast by the BBC and UK ITV

TODAY AUGUST 11TH marks the 23rd Anniversary of Peter Cushing's passing. It's an anniversary we mark here every year, but in a style we think Peter Cushing would have probably approved of . . in celebration of his life 🙂 I have three posts for you today, that show some of the diversity of Peter's life . . . please feel free to share any images and comments on the threads below our posts or on the section to the right, called 'Posts by Others' Although for much of his life Peter was a private man, we have learned he was as busy at home, as he was on the screen. He loved music, reading and his many hobbies filled his life, a life for the most part, he lead with good humor...and it's his sense of humor we see in this clip.

We are slowly building the MORECAMBE AND WISE CUSHING APPEARANCES

Playlist at our PCAS YOUTUBE Channel. Just ONE more CLIP to complete it! You

Can WATCH Peter Cushing's GUEST Appearances on the shows : CLICK HERE!

A REGULAR GUEST on the Morecambe and Wise Show, where their long running joke about Peter never getting paid for his first appearance back in 1969, always made us laugh. Anytime Peter turned up to try and get his money, Eric and Ernie, tried their best to get rid of him. In this rarer clip from Eric and Ernie's 1970 Christmas Show, Eric thinks has the perfect solution, with his Xmas party magic trick.... 'Ladies and Gentlemen... Sawing A Peter Cushing In Half! ENJOY!

Thursday 10 August 2017

HOT TOYS TARKIN AND VADER 40TH ANNIVERSARY SET

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY: Here's a VERY popular character that Peter Played 'A long, Long Time Ago...' and just keeps on giving! You may remember me posting some exclusive photographs here of Peter Cushing's TARKIN as an amazing new figure from HOT TOYS? Well, Graham Alexander Holden, provided those great pics, and today as promised he got in touch, to let us know that HOT TOYS have posted a great gallery of images of the Cushing Tarkin figure on their facebook page, and they look terrific! Graham told me, ' The Tarkin figure is also going to be part of a package containing Vader, as well as other extras. This will make it a very pricey purchase, so for those on a limited budget, the single figure purchase will be the better option!' Good advice. This is certainly the best collectable figure we have seen here of Tarkin for a long time. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Many thanks also to Roger Andreas Bendlin who give us a heads up about the figure

#THROWBACKTHURSDAY! HOT TOYS has released new details regarding the sixth scale Grand Moff Tarkin and Darth Vader figures that debuted at SDCC. According to the press release, Grand Moff Tarkin will be available individually and as part of a Star Wars 40th anniversary set with Vader. Naturally, both of the figures look fantastic, and they come with plenty of extras.

THE GRAND MOFF TARKIN figure features a newly developed head sculpt, a finely tailored Imperial uniform, a high back chair, and a Death Star themed figure base. The new Darth Vader 1/6th scale figure features redesigned gloves, an LED lightsaber, an Interrogator Droid, and a Death Star-themed figure base.

The 1/6th scale Grand Moff Tarkin Collectible Figure:

• Authentic and detailed likeness of Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
• Movie-accurate facial expression with detailed skin texture
• Body with over 30 points of articulations
• Approximately 30 cm tall
• Six (6) pieces of interchangeable hands including:
• One (1) pair of relaxed hands
• Two (2) pairs of gesturing hands
• Each piece of head sculpt is specially hand-painted

Costume:
• One (1) olive green Imperial officer uniform
• One (1) leather-like belt with silver colored buckle
• One (1) pair of black-colored leather-like boots

Accessories:
• One (1) Grand Moff Tarkin’s high-back chair
• Specially designed figure stand with character nameplate and Star Wars logo

The 1/6th scale Darth Vader Collectible Figure specially features:

• Authentic and detailed likeness of Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
• Body with over 30 points of articulations
• Approximately 35 cm tall
• Nine (9) pieces of newly redesigned interchangeable gloved hands including:
• One (1) pair of fists
• One (1) pair of open hands
• One (1) pair of hands for holding lightsaber
• One (1) pair of posing hands
• One (1) Force choking right hand

Costume:
• One (1) specially crafted Darth Vader armor and suit
• One (1) black cape
• One (1) system function belt with LED light-up function (white light, battery operated)
• One (1) pair of black boots