#FEMMEFATALEFRIDAY!
You think you've read all there is about an actor or actress, then one
day you find another interesting tid-bit, and a little more . . that's
the case with the late VALERIE GAUNT who sadly pass late last year.
I'll be posting our usual Friday, over the weekend this week. But here
is a taster of the banner, to look out for . . . a interesting lady,
who vanished from our screens all too quickly, retiring in the early
1960's. So, later then
REMEMBER! 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
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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
JOIN US IN WISHING MELVYN HAYES a VERY Happy Birthday today. Melvyn was
born today January 11th 1935, and since 1950 when he was "disappearing
twice daily for £4 per week" performing the indian rope trick in
Maskelyne's Mysteries at the Comedy Theatre in London! A very long and
accomplished career on stage, tv and the big screen. Melvyn is quite an
institution in the UK, having appeared in many TV dramas, soaps and
comedy shows, the most successful probably being 'It Aint Half Hot Mum'
in the 1970's. The show is now banished to 'Room 101' at the BBC, being
considered like many shows from that era, quite UN-PC... you decide?
MELVYN WORKED WITH Peter Cushing as the young Baron Frankenstein in
Cushing's first film for Hammer, 'The Curse of Frankenstein' (1957) he
appeared as Daft Jamie in the brilliant 'Flesh and the Fiends' (1960)
and with Cushing in 'Violent Playground' (1958) His last appearance with
Peter was in the doomed 'A Touch of the Sun' in 1979 with Oliver
Reed..see our PCAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL. A versatile actor, who stays young at 83, who will no doubt be having
a real knees up and party as we wish him, Many Happy Returns Today 😉 Happy Birthday Melvyn and many more to come 🙂
ABOVE: IN CASE YOU MISSED IT. HERE'S MELVYN SHARING A GREAT ANECDOTE ABOUT MEETING HIS FELLOW CAST MEMBER, CHRISTOPHER LEE. . .
REMEMBER! 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
#CUSHINGGIFWEDNESDAY:
MICHAEL RIPPER as we all know, was one of the Hammer repertory players
of Hammer films. He played lots of small supporting roles, but
occasionally he got a larger slice and a larger role in a film. Amicus
films, 'TORTURE GARDEN' features Ripper in a supporting role, that is
quite a surprising 🙂 Do you have a favorite MICHAEL RIPPER role??
#THEGORGON is a Peter Cushing Hammer film, that has suffered from a quite horrible symptom since the first day of its release back in August 1964. I am not referring to the death gaze of Prudence Hyman's Magaera's baleful spell. The 'SNAKES". And as Hammer film fans, we all know it. The film IS a 'Hammer film Classic' made during that ten year golden era, of those Bray studio Magical Gothic Nightmares, that made Hammer more than just a step above, most that had gone before. THE GORGON has the perfect ROMANCE TRIANGLE, it has TRAGEDY, CONFLICT, superb direction, art direction and cast, but ever Hammer Horror HAS to have a figure that truly frightens. That with the help of Cushing, Lee, Shelley and Co however fantastical, is believable. Pru looked and performed amazingly. Those serpents however and that 'head' on the deck, did not then and doesn't now. The story of the struggle that the props and effects department had with the 'twitching head set', is well documented, so we'll pass here.
IN OVER FORTY YEARS, cries have remained largely the same, 'Shot with too much light!' 'You see her, too early' 'Why didn't they surround her in mist, dry ice, fog . . .anything!?' It's true. In 90% of Magaera's shots, she IS seen. Clearly. I still do love the film, I love the sets, the costumes, it looks beautiful. There were enough of the sets and props left around from the 1958 'Horror of DRACULA' 'Curse of FRANKENSTEIN' and 'Revenge of FRANKENSTEIN' that the film can clearly been seen to be more than a cousin, of those other Hammer classics. Such a pity.Maybe the tweaks and 're-imagining' of the SPIDER and the horse-bound
ANGEL OF DEATH, should be tried on MAGAERA too? Not that Studio Canal
or anyone else will ever be in a hurry to try that out again. Like some
great Greek Shakespearean tragedy, 'Some quarters, they doth protested
too much, methinks' . . . .
JOSHUA KENNEDY HAS PLANS to produce an amazing NEW FILM called, 'THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON' which will star Hammer film actors, Veronica Carlson, Caroline Munro, Martine Beswicke and Christopher Neame! FIND OUT MORE and how YOU can help to make this film a reality in our PCAS FEATURE CLICK HERE!
#CUSHINGGIFWEDNESDAY!
The film, 'ISLAND OF TERROR' (1966) has always been very popular here.
The love for those Silocates is always evident whenever, we post an
image of them. Considering the budget for this film, it looks as though
someone had the foresight to understand, a monster film, has to have
convincing monster and pose a threat that looks real. Someone, maybe
director Fisher thought to make sure a sizeable slice went to making the
special effects.
THAT SHRIVELED CORPSE that Cushing's Dr
Stanley finds, was quite a moment for me when I first saw this film when
I was around ten. In ANY Cushing film, can you think of any effect
'special or otherwise' that made an impression on you when you first saw
it???
AMICUS FILMS 'MADHOUSE' (1974) is a film that revels in the many cliques and well trod dramas and dilemmas of the celebrated thrillers and horror films of the 30's, 40's and 50's. Vincent Price plays Horror film star PAUL TOOMBES, driven crazy when off screen life unravels and starts to imitate the scripts of his DOCTOR DEATH movies. Like his 'PHIBES' films and 'THEATRE OF BLOOD' (1973) lots of ingenious scenarios of 'horrible deaths' follow and Peter Cushing's HERBERT FLAY tries his best to help his desperate friend, but despite his best efforts, DOCTOR DEATH came after TOOMBES time after time. Just like in the above GIF ;)
PART SIX of 'The Amicus Films of Peter Cushing' covers MADHOUSE and includes a gallery of RARE images. You can find it HERE!
REMEMBER! 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
How cool is this? Here's a photograph that was passed onto me over
Christmas. As you know, Peter Cushing's walks through his home town were
often opportunities for visiting fans to bump into Peter and have a
chat, but also Peter had many friends in the town, he would meet on the street or beach, during his daily jaunt. One of these were the
Hewlett family. Many UK followers here will I am sure recognise Donald
from the extremely popular 1970's BBC tv comedy series, 'It Ain't Half
Hot, Mum', in which he played Colonel Charles Reynolds 🙂 Peter was very good friends with the family. This photograph was taken on the beach just outside Peter's own front door 🙂 Did any of you ever 'bump' into Peter on the beach at WHITSTABLE? Do tell . . .
#TOOCOOLTUESDAY! OVER THE YEARS I have seen lots of strange and wonderful illustrations on VHS and DVD covers, that grace the covers of Cushing films. But this one would be sure to make any Hammer fan, raise their eyebrows! Both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee star in the film, contained in the box . . . but Lee certainly doesn't appear as Dracula, neither does Cushing play Baron Frankenstein. The image of Dracula has been lifted from the 'Satanic Rites of Dracula' (1973) press kit. Cushing's up to his elbows in Kensington Gore pic, comes from Hammer films, 1969 'Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed' . . along with Simon Ward who plays, the Baron's assistant Karl. . . and no, Ward doesn't make an appearance in 'Cuerpos Vivientes' either! It's certainly not the worst of bungled Cushing film covers and there are more to come . . .
#WHOISTHAT?MICHAEL ANDREWS popped onto the PCASUK FACEBOOK FAN PAGE today, and set you all this puzzler. Andrew asks: 'Does anybody recognise the gentlemen below? He has a certain Cushing
look about him. He does actually have a connection with Hammer films!' If you can put a name to that face, we'd be pleased if you too can pop over to the PCAS Facebook Page and provide the answer!
REMEMBER! 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
THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED OVER THE NEXT NINE DAYS! COME BACK FOR UPDATES AND PROGRESS!
THE CONVERSATION? IT WENT LIKE THIS. 'To pull something like that off, you'd have to have lots of added value' 'How do mean?' 'Well, working in that genre the audience expects to see names.' 'Names?' 'Yes, that's why something like this would never happen!. You have to have a cast that features prominent names that are associated with THE studio.' 'Oh, I see. Well, he's got them!' There was a three second pause. One 'What?' One for 'Did you just say just say, what I think you said?' and the last for, 'You DID!''And the concept?' "Yes?' 'Well, that's going to be amazing. What an amazing opportunity!'
THIS CONVERSATION happened over the phone, as I write, was four days ago. I am talking to a close friend. Someone who I have known since we were teens. I went on to work in television and lecturing, he became an award winning script-writer, working in an international multi award winning show, with a cast made up of directors and actors with very respected names, the majority some of the most experienced and trusted actors in the business. He's a little jaded now. There isn't much that makes his eyes sparkle, make him sit up and listen. This conversation went on for another hour. I was enjoying hearing him get just as excited as I am about this . . . .
'LET ME WRITE THIS DOWN.And, this is the guy we spoke about previously. 'The Dracula AD 2015?' guy?" 'Yeah!' ''Remind me. His name?' 'Joshua Kennedy' 'And, the title?' 'House of The Gorgon!'. I could hear his smile down the phone. 'Of course. It had to be! Ha'
SO WE HAVE FOLLOWED JOSH KENNEDY'S journey over the past few weeks, as he launched his INDIEGO CAMPAIGN PAGE the updates on THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON YOUTUBE CHANNEL and the HOUSE OF THE GORGON FACEBOOK FAN PAGE. It's a gamble. It seems there have been a few HAMMER film projects launched over the past few years. One in particular asked for a sizeable budget, for a concept that was nothing new, but seemed to get fans of the Hammer flicks excited. Sadly, fingers got burned. ...Cue 'I told you so'.... If it looks too good to be true, based on past experiences of some the people who were involved with that project, then you can bet it certainly is!
THE RISKS
'We are all professionals. Aside from the decades of experience our
actors have in show business, writer-director Joshua Kennedy has
written, produced, and directed fourteen feature films entirely on his
own... in less than seven years... with little to no budget for any of
them! The possibilities to make movie magic with this cast are endless
with your help.' The HOUSE OF THE GORGON Indiegogo Campaign Site
OTHER WAYS TO HELP! Times
are hard, it's that time of year, and if you are not able to contribute
to this project... no problem!You CAN help by sharing this campaign
with your family, friends,
neighbors, pets, Hammer fans, Classic Universal fans, vampires living in
your basement....The more we can spread the word, the better. How many chances will we ever have to see these FOUR TITANS TOGETHER in a Gothic Horror film? Let's make this happen! THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON Indiegogo Campaign Site
AS JOSH SAYS in his promo trailer, 'This might be the last opportunity to see FOUR Hammer film actors appear together in a film!'. That fact alone, has to be worth some serious consideration, of an Hammer film fan? I remember my youngest daughter asking me one time, many moons ago, 'Dad. how do you eat an elephant?' To which I replied, 'I have no idea, Lucy' 'ONE MOUTHFUL AT A TIME! She screamed laughing! She has a point. It's a sizeable budget, but even a dollar, ten dollars, twenty five dollars, as a contribution, all goes ion the pot. And eventually, he would get that budget. Problem is of course is, TIME. As I wrote there are just NINE DAYS until the closing of the INDIEGO CAMPAIGN PAGE. So, if you feel THIS IS something you would like to get behind, NOW is the time to send that lolly! No matter how small, it ALL adds to the total. THE HOUSE OF THE GORGON has a FLEXIBLE GOAL on Indigo. Basically, that means, the campaign will receive ALL the money it has raised even of it doesn't reach it's goal! So, you are backing a production, where the contributions really do count! I would LOVE to see this happen. Wouldn't you?
The year is 1896 and the lovely Isobel Banning travels with
her mother Anna to the village of Carlstadt to marry her university
sweetheart Dr. Julian Pritchard.
Along their journey they meet the mysterious Father Llewellyn, the
local priest, who refuses to explain why the villagers appear to be in a
state of mortal fear... as if the town is hiding a terrible secret.
Frightened and confused, Isobel and Anna readily accept an invitation
from Dr. Pritchard to stay with him and his aunt, the Baroness
Bartov, in their large chateau overlooking the town... unaware of the
ancient horror that lies within.
THE CAST
CAROLINE MUNRO AS BARONESS BARTOV Embedded in the minds of fans worldwide for her work in AT THE
EARTH’S CORE and THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD, Caroline Munro's stunning
looks also made her an easy victim for Christopher Lee's Dracula in
DRACULA AD 1972, and a vicious thwart to Roger Moore's James Bond in THE
SPY WHO LOVED ME. Her numerous fans throughout the globe have
unanimously dubbed her "The First Lady of Fantasy."
MARTINE BESWICKE AS EURYALE Martine currently holds the rare distinction of being one of the few
"Bond Women" to participate in two James Bond films: FROM RUSSIA WITH
LOVE and THUNDERBALL; both opposite Sean Connery. She is also famous for
her work in Hammer films fighting Raquel Welch in ONE MILLION YEARS
B.C., lording over a kingdom of cavewomen in PREHISTORIC WOMEN and, of
course, as the vicious villainess in DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE.
VERONICA CARLSON AS ANNA BANNING Veronica is probably best known throughout the world for her
career-defining performances in two of the greatest Gothic Hammer Films
of all time acting opposite Christopher Lee's Dracula in DRACULA HAS
RISEN FROM THE GRAVE and Peter Cushing's Baron Frankenstein
in FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED. Her other film roles include THE
HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE GHOUL.
CHRISTOPHER NEAME AS FATHER LLEWELLYN Known primarily for his role as Johnny Alucard in Hammer's DRACULA AD
1972, Christopher Neame has had an incredibly lengthy film and stage
career, including the titular role in Shakespeare's ROMEO AND
JULIET, guest roles on DOCTOR WHO, STAR TREK, THE A-TEAM, and Timothy
Dalton's James Bond film LICENSE TO KILL. Christopher also played Chuck
Norris’ antagonist, the Devil himself, in the film HELLBOUND.
GEORGINA DUGDALE AS ISOBEL BANNING Having completed her Bachelors in “Costume for Performance” at the
London College of Fashion, Georgina has also chosen to pursue acting
through her membership in the National Youth theatre, the RADA Youth
Group, and the Tricycle Youth Theatre. In addition, Georgina has also
performed in a number of films including BECOMING, FOX TRAP, DRESS
REHEARSAL, directed by Sam and George Clemens, and THE MILKY WAY, winner
of “The Best No-Budget Feature” at the London Independent Film
Festival.
JOSHUA KENNEDY AS DR. PRITCHARD Joshua Kennedy is the 23 year-old writer, producer, and director of
fourteen feature films. A graduate of Pace University in New York City,
he has been nominated for four Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards for,
among other things, his tributes to Gothic horror: DRACULA A.D. 2015 and
THE NIGHT OF MEDUSA. His latest film, THESEUS AND THE MINOTAUR,
premiered at the Monster Bash Convention this past summer and is now
available on DVD from oldies.com.
PAST JOSHUA KENNEDY AND GOOEY FILM PRODUCTIONS:
REMEMBER! 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
