Showing posts with label #petercushing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #petercushing. Show all posts

Wednesday 2 September 2020

REMEMBERING : ROY CASTLE TODAY

REMEMBERING ROY CASTLE TODAY : To give full credit and accurate listing of Roy castle's career, would take a FB page in it's own right! But in addition to his many talents.. and before being a very familiar face on children's television from 1972 -1993 on BBC TV's 'Record Breakers'.. #RoyCastle appeared with #PeterCushing in three films, '#AmicusFilms 'Dr Terror's House of Horrors' in 1966, '#DrWho and the Daleks' in 1965 and Tyburn Films 'Legend of the Werewolf' in 1975. In all three he supplied, a little drama with a good spoonful of comic relief. Although, Castle makes no mention of any of his film appearances, '#CarryOn Up The Khyber', 'The Plank' in his autobiography, it is for these films and his tv appearances you would think he would mostly be remembered...


CASTLE WAS DIAGNOSED with lung cancer in March 1992, and was told that his chances of recovery were slim and that it was unlikely that he would live for more than six months. A non-smoker, he blamed his illness on passive smoking during his years of playing the trumpet in smoky jazz clubs. Castle carried out the high-profile Tour of Hope to raise funds for the erection of the building that would become the #RoyCastleLungCancerFoundation, which is the only British charity dedicated solely to defeating lung cancer. By this stage, however, his condition was deteriorating and recovery was looking highly unlikely.

HIS WIDOW FIONA worked with the charity after her husband's death, and campaigned for the #British smoking ban which came into effect in #NorthernIreland in 2004, Scotland in 2006 and England and #Wales in 2007, banning smoking in virtually all enclosed public places.

 THE PCASUK SERIES of MAKING OF 'LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF' PART ONE RIGHT HERE!


Behind The Scenes Gallery of #DrWhoandtheDaleks : RIGHT HERE! 

FOR ME, of his screen performances, I'll take the 'Photographer' in Legend of the Werewolf. Castle had played stooge for many years early in his career on stage with British vaudeville stars Jimmy Clitheroe and Jimmy James... and was very good at it. These skills he once again brought to the Cushing / Werewolf scene.... classic! Missed and very much remembered... Roy Castle, who died today in 1994 aged 62. 


YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US and over 33,000 others Peter Cushing followers at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! With posts every day, rare images and photographs, features ad prize competitions.. all celebrating the LIFE and CAREER of Peter Cushing OBE

Tuesday 1 September 2020

'I DON'T WANT TO PLAY DRACULA AGAIN... OR DO I?'

#CHRISTOPHERLEE : A very full career, which Lee managed to steer quite well, certainly in the last twenty years. BUT there has always been a period, which I never quite understood.. along with many others I am sure. After his first #Dracula film in #1958 for #Hammerfilms.. he was quite anti in appearing in anything connected with Dracula.. though he made more than his fair share in the later 60's and 1970's... in the 1980's and 90', he was even against signing Dracula photographs.
 

IF HE WAS AGAINST playing The Count... why on earth did he step up and appear in the #Italian '#UnclewasAVampire'... yup, that's Dracula really... and in my opinion, the 1970 #clanger supremeo.. 'El Conte Dracula' .. where he MUST have been aware things were 'off track' during the shooting... Over at our Facebook PCASUK Fan Page, I am asking for your opinion on this, so please feel free to join our debate 😊YOUR opinions much appreciated 😀 - Marcus
 



YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US and over 33,000 others Peter Cushing followers at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! With posts every day, rare images and photographs, features ad prize competitions.. all celebrating the LIFE and CAREER of Peter Cushing OBE

PETER CUSHING : BEFORE FRANKENSTEIN'S CREATURE THERE WAS ANOTHER CREATURE!


FROM 1950 UNTIL 1957, PETER CUSHING'S work with BBC Television was very prolific.  Some twenty five or more television plays and radio dramasappearance in the legendary BBC television production of '1984', he set foot in another BBC play by Nigel Kneale that was also directed by 1984 director, Rudolph Cartier. The Kneale / Cartier relationship is probably best known for also originating the three Quatermass serials of the 1950s with the BBC, but there was another. Two years before Cushing appeared in a television play created by the same team, and should be seen as Cushing FIRST step into the realm of supernatural and frightening creatures, BEFORE the famous Hammer films, 'The Curse of Frankenstein' where Cushing would play the titled Baron in 1957. This lesser-known production was 'The Creature' from early 1955. It's primary reason for slipping out of the 'list' for most filmographies and horror genre books and neglect, is probably because the no recording exists of the play or broadcast, except for a handful of black and white photographs and a page of the BBC listings magazine, The Radio Times.! It was wiped, dumped and hit the skip along with thousands of other recordings during the BBC 'erase and/or dump' choice. So, unlike the BBC 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' which only survives by just one recording from it's second live broadcast and most of the episodes of the 'Quatermass' serials, it is no longer available to view.



THE FIRST THING TO REMEMBER IS, the early period of Cushing's career with the BBC, not ALL his work or shows was actually recorded. Many were broadcast live and very much like a theatre production of the time, it was a live only seen at that time live on television, with only it's viewers and crew at the studio watching... Peter Cushing's 1952 'Pride and Prejudice' and the 1954 'Beau Brummell' are good examples of this . .


OF THOSE THAT WERE RECORDED, they were part of a process that hung on the fate of many of those BBC television broadcasts.They were recorded with the prospect of MAYBE being added to some of the BBC output that could be sold, or rebroadcast overseas. A live recording may also have addition scenes like model work, location scenes that were recorded, edited to be cued and played live during the actual live broadcast. 
 

The Radio Times Write Up for the episode from April 28th 1964
"NEW YORK some 200 years from now: a city of 14-million people living in one vast domed hall, looking on the open countryside as dangerous territory.  Beyond is Spacetown, where the scientists from other worlds who have subjugated Earth study the human species in the hope of saving it from self-extinction.  When one of their scientists is found murdered, the 'Spacers' issue an ultimatum.  Unless the killer is found within forty-eight hours, New York may be destroyed.  The city's Deputy Commissioner of Police, Elijah Baley, has the task of solving the case, with the aid of a detective from Space Town, named R. Daneel Olivaw.  The 'R' stands for Robot. Dramatised by Terry Nation from the novel by Isaac Asimov, The Caves of Steel is science fiction at its most intriguing.  Directed by Peter Sasdy, the play stars Peter Cushing as Elijah Baley.  Several times winner of television 'best actor' awards, he is thoroughly at home in the realm of fantasy, having starred in such films as The Flesh and the Fiend, The Mummy, and The Evil of Frankenstein. Commissioner Enderby is played by Kenneth J. Warren, who appeared recently in the comedy thriller Justin Thyme; while John Carson, whom many viewers will have seen earlier this year in Murder in the Cathedral, has the part of R. Daneel Olivaw." 
 

IT IS IRONIC THAT at the time when the story of 'what had happened to much of the BBC out put over a 30 year period, broke to the public' it was input pre-recorded shots and scenes as maybe 30 second or more sequences that had survived.. without the whole production to now support it!
 



PETER CUSHING'S 'The Caves of Steel', is a very good example of this, 'THERE ARE ONLY BITS' nightmare. Unfortunately BBC film prints of 'The Caves of Steel' have long since been junked during the the first "purge" in the 1970's, and no copy of the whole play exists in the BBC's Film and Videotape Library. But at least four extracts have fortunately survived however, having been utilised in later editions of Horizon, Tomorrows World and a BBC Visual Effects Department promotional show reel from the early seventies. In seeing the clips, it makes the whole experience, frustrating and sad.

 
ALONG WITH MANY TITLES from Peter Cushing's substantial play and drama television work for the BBC during the 1950's and 60's, Nigel Kneal's 'THE CREATURE' is one that really makes you question the criteria, of the people who choose which titles got the skip treatment. Opinions are divided, as to if this broadcast was actually recorded, but as it was directed by Rudolph Cartier, of the BBC Cushing '1984' fame, and had numerous BBC credits including both series of the 'Quatermass' drama's to his credit. The episode also featured pre-recorded clips of land and snow scapes, and named cast member STANLEY BAKER, who even though was eight years away from his big screen hit, 'ZULU', like Cushing  was a tv drama regular and had seven BBC Sunday-Night Theatre episode credits.

 
THIS EPISODE ALSO ATTRACTED the attention of Hammer films too, who could see the box office potential, in the script and three of cast, who held the structure of the company's box office hit, 'The Abominable Snowman' made just over a year later! The BBC unfortunately, didn't think it had the merit to either maybe record OR if they did, the shelf space was more valuable... 

 
TODAY, EVERY FEW MONTHS, the cry goes out when someone makes the claim to have found a long thought lost recording of a 1950's or 60's comedy or drama or Doctor Who clip in a mouldy box, inside a long shut down annex of what was once a UK army or navy base in Europe, India or Canada! Thankfully, also tapes are turning up or rather, being surrendered, from 'collections' of chaps who were once keen BBC technicians, camera operators or editors, who thankfully back in the day, saw what was happening to their treasured efforts, thanks to the directives of suited pen-pushers and penny pinching executives and whipped the gems away, rather than wipe! 
 


IT REMINDS US MAYBE, of the almost psychic theories and writing of once BBC writer, Douglas Adams, and his frightening visions of future red tape and bureaucracy gone crackers in his 'Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy'. What Adams didn't tell us was, that most of it had already happened, in the BBC office... next to him!
 
#MarcusBrooks

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YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US and over 33,000 others Peter Cushing followers at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! With posts every day, rare images and photographs, features ad prize competitions.. all celebrating the LIFE and CAREER of Peter Cushing OBE

Monday 31 August 2020

CAROLINE MUNRO UNCUT INTERVIEW 2000: THE FLASHBACK FILES : DRACULA AD 1972 : AT THE EARTHS CORE

AS PROMISED, here is the link to the FlashBack Files interview from 2000 with actress #CarolineMunro UNCUT! Caroline worked with #PeterCushing in 'At The Earth's Core', appeared in Hammer's '#DraculaAD1972' and 'Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter'. There's a little mention of the purchasing of the #BBC '#DoctorWho' rights here too... which is, .... interesting 😒😯
INTERVIEW IS : RIGHT HERE!


HERE'S A INTERESTING full colour with banner stills too PCASUK GALLERY featuring #CarolineMunro promotional stills from Hammer films, #DRACULAAD1972 too...RIGHT HERE! 


PCASUK GALLERY of #CarolineMunro promotional stills from Hammer films, #DRACULAAD1972 too...RIGHT HERE!  


YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US and over 33,000 others Peter Cushing followers at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! With posts every day, rare images and photographs, features ad prize competitions.. all celebrating the LIFE and CAREER of Peter Cushing OBE

Sunday 30 August 2020

'HE WAS A WONDERFUL KIND AND SWEET MAN! PETER CUSHING WAS JUST LIKE MY GRANDFATHER! : CAROLINE MUNRO TOMORROW!

FOLLOWING THE RESPONSE and popularity of the Ingrid Pitt interview, I am sharing this one tomorrow... she has lots to tell and share.. UNCUT!

#THEFLASHBACKFILES Ingrid Pitt Uncut Interview can be found HERE!

YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US and over 34,000 others Peter Cushing followers and friends at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! With posts every day, rare images and photographs, features ad prize competitions.. all celebrating the LIFE and CAREER of Peter Cushing OBE

Saturday 29 August 2020

NEWS: WICKED VISION RELEASES CUSHING'S 'MADHOUSE' AND 'BIGGLES' BLU RAYS WITH NEW EXTRAS AND SIX COVER DESIGNS!

IF COVERS OF BLU RAY RELEASES ARE YOUR THING and the design of that is as important to you as the movie, HERE is a release for you! There's lots to choose from in WICKED VISIONS DISTRIBUTION release of TWO Peter Cushing films. Both have been released before and some of the extras included on both releases are familiar, though there are some attractives on offer, if either film isn't in your collection. As with many of the Wicked Vision releases, the releases are limited editions, and I mean, LIMITED! Stock runs into only three figures for both films, for instance MADHOUSE, No 40, Cover C is a Limited Collectors Edition, that comes with a Mediabook, and is limited to 444 units! This one obviously pays dividends, if you place a 'pre-order, before street release'. The good news is, the titles are REGION FREE. 


AS THERE ARE THREE CHOICES WITH EACH TITLE, I would recommend, you visit the link below, to see the range for yourselves. Below is a selection of some of the choices available. All titles are being billed as UNCUT.


MADHOUSE : STREET RELEASE DATE: 25th September 2020.  The  FIRST 111 customers will receive a personalised and numbered collectors card with autograph of TIMO WURRZ the cover artist signature

SPEC DETAILS

Region: A,B,C / 0
Runtime: 92 minutes (uncut) / 88 minutes (uncut)
Aspect Ration: 1,85:1 (1080p) / 1,85:1 (anamorph)
Language: German, English
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo / Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles: German, English
Subtitles Specials features: German
Packaging: Mediabook
Discs: 2
Format: Blu-ray & DVD
Disc-Typ: BD-50 / DVD-9
Color 

EXTRA FEATURES

  • 24-pages booklet by Dr. Rolf Giesen
  • Brand new audio commentary by David Del Valle and Phoef Sutton [Recorded Dec. 2019]
  • Making-of: "Revenge of Dr. Death"
  • German Trailer
  • Original trailer
  • German Trailer [Re-Cut censored]
  • German Trailer [Re-Cut uncensored]
  • Original trailer [Re-Cut censored]
  • Original trailer [Re-Cut uncensored]
  • Picture gallery

ABOVE: A TWO PART PCASUK GALLERY OF RARE BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTOGRAPHS featuring PETER CUSHING and VINCENT PRICE, plus cast and crew during the making of Amicus films, 'MADHOUSE' CLICK HERE!  



THE PLOT: 
NEWLY REMASTERED IN HD! Masters of macabre #VincentPrice (Tales of Terror), #PeterCushing (The Creeping Flesh) and #RobertQuarry (Count Yorga, Vampire) give terrifying performances to die for in this diverting little chiller. When horror star Paul Toombes' fiance is brutally killed, he loses more than this job - he also loses his mind. But twelve years after suffering a nervous breakdown, the washed-up horror legend (Price) agrees to do a TV-series based on his old screen creation, the monstrous  #Dr. Death. Soon the cast and crew of the series begin dying in ways similar to the deaths the characters suffered in the actor's old movies. Editor Jim Clark (#MarathonMan) directed this top-notch horror classic based on the novel by Angus Hall (Qualthrough). 
 

BIGGLES : ADVENTURE IN TIME : STREET DATE RELEASE 25th September 2020
GERMAN HD PREMIER : WITH BRAND NEW EXTRA FEATURES. 
The first 200 PRE-ORDERS will receive a collectors card.

SPEC DETAILS:
 
Region: A,B,C / 0
Runtime: 92 minutes (uncut) / 88 minutes (uncut)
Aspect Ration: 1,85:1 (1080p) / 1,85:1 (anamorph)
Language: German, English
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo / Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles: German, English
Subtitles Specials features: German
Packaging: Mediabook
Discs: 2
Format: Blu-ray & DVD
Disc-Typ: BD-50 / DVD-9
Color 
 
EXTRA FEATURES:
  • 24-pages booklet by Christoph N. Kellerbach
  • "My Friends Call Me Biggles": Interview with Neil Dickson
  • "A Matter of Time": Interview with Alex Hyde-White
  • "The Stunts of Biggles": Interview with Stuntman Dinny Powell
  • BBC TV-Show: "Saturday Superstore" (1986)
  • BBC TV-Show: „Blue Peter“ (1986)
  • Making-of BIGGLES
  • Music Videos
  • Video Game Promo
  • German trailer
  • Original trailer
  • TV spots
  • Picture gallery
 
THE PLOT: 
Modern-day American businessman Jim Ferguson (#AlexHydeWhite) is propelled into a one-of-a-kind adventure when he is hurled through time into World War I. His mission could determine the end of the war... and destroy his life as he tries to save famed daredevil flying ace Captain James "Biggles" Bigglesworth (Neil Dickson) with the courageous help of Colonel William Raymond played by screen legend #PeterCushing (#TheSkull) in the final role of his iconic career. Ferguson soon finds himself going back and forth between contemporary London and a world of old-fashioned #spy games and breathtaking aerial battles. Created by a real-life military hero, Captain W.E. Johns, #Biggles is based on the character from Johns’ popular novels that has enthralled millions in #Britain and #Europe for decades and continues to do so. Wonderfully directed by cult-great #JohnHough (Twins of Evil, The Legend of Hell House, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry) 
 
'BIGGLES : AN ADVENTURE IN TIME', was Peter Cushing's last theatrical released film.

 


YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US and 35,000 followers at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE! With posts every day, rare images and photographs, features and prize competitions.. all celebrating the LIFE and CAREER of Peter Cushing OBE

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