Showing posts with label olivier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label olivier. Show all posts

Thursday 21 March 2019

WHEN SIRE OF ACTING DYNASTY APPEARED WITH FANTASY ICON REMEMBERED


MICHAEL REDGRAVE was of the generation of English actors that gave the world the legendary John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, #Britain three fabled "Theatrical Knights" back in the days when a knighthood for thespian was far more rare than it is today. . . Sir Michael Redgrave. A superb actor, Redgrave himself was a charter member of the post-Great War English acting pantheon and was the sire of an acting dynasty. According to his daughter, Vanessa, and son Corin, Sir Michael's favourite film roles were in The Browning Version (1951), The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) The Dam Busters (1955) The Lady Vanishes (1938) #1984 (1956) Dead of Night (1945) and The Magic Box (1951) and many more gems . .




PETER CUSHING  appeared in a 1955 stage production of The Browning Version as Andrew Crocker-Harris in London, recorded and transmitted by BBC TV. He co started with #PeterCushing in Time Without Pity, Cushing's role as barrister, Jeremy Clayton is neat role. Cushing plays it with an impatient sharpness , that makes you feel all the more sorry for Redgrave's 'David Graham'. Just a support role, but in that added to Cushing's already sizeable characters he had played in theatre, radio and massiviely on television. Redgrave's opinion about working in film, when he had made such a career of the theatre, was pretty much like Peter Cushing also felt . .'I didn't think I'd be any good in films... I couldn't imagine myself on the screen. Besides, there were such exciting things to do in the theatre, so much to learn!'. Michael Redgrave passed away on this day in 1985 only one day after his 77th birthday.

If you are not familiar with Time Without Pity, a little later we have posted and shared a clip over at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE, which features a scene with both Redgrave and Peter from the film. IF you have seen the film, love to know, what do you think of it?

Saturday 28 January 2017

A SAMPLE FROM THE LAST SEVEN DAYS AT THE OFFICIAL PCAS FACEBOOK FAN PAGE


MONDAY : We STARTED the week on a good note, by announcing the winners of our FINAL CUT COMPETITION to win TWO copies of THE HAMMER COLLECTION UNIVERSAL YEARS box sets! CATHERINE ANN AND DAVE SPIKE LINCOLN, were the lucky winners, picked out of the hat from a few hundred entries! (see the competition answers below) CONGRATULATIONS to them and thank you to everyone lese who entered... there will be another competition soon!




MONDAY ALSO brought us this little teaser of info above . . . .no doubt the drip feed will start soon, and DECEMBER will be here again, before we know it!




TUESDAY: BROUGHT MORE FROM THE #STARWARS universe, with these two #TOOCOOLTUESDAY posts, and two splendid cartoons... poor ol Krennic...








WEDNESDAY IS ALWAYS #GIMMETHEGIFWEDNESDAY! And above is just a sample of the ones YOU requested this week, and a scattering of GIFS shared during the week of posts . . .A few favorites there, how many of the films can you name? I'll post the answers at the bottom of this post 🙂


THURSDAY: AND #THROWBACKTHURSDAY brought us a dapper Peter Cushing with friend, George Copper out for a stroll and a photo op, during a party with the Old Vic Company in 1949.  During this time, with finances almost at zero, Cushing engaged in work with Olivier's company in a production of Chekhov's, 'Jest In One Act', entitled 'The Proposal'. A review in April's 'Theatre World' wrote, '...Peter Cushing as Lomov, reveals himself as a comedian of outstanding gifts..' Below a publicity still from the production with Cushing as Lomov and Derek Penley . . . . 




FRIDAY: WE MARKED MICHAEL RIPPER'S BIRTHDAY! 'I've seen the likes tonight, that mortal eyes shouldn't look at!'... say that line of dialogue and any Hammer film fan worth his or her salt, quick as a flash will reply, 'Michael Ripper, as the poacher in 'The Mummy!'.. And it is Michael Ripper who we remember today on the day his birth, 27th January 1913. Ripper appeared in many productions for Hammer, seven with Peter Cushing, nine with Christopher Lee. Inn keepers, coachmen, police officers, Ripper an accomplished stage and film actor it could be argued is as much part of the Hammer family as Cushing, Lee, Fisher and Francis. Christopher Lee once announced to a packed convention in Baltimore, with Ripper standing at his side.. 'This man IS Hammer!' And for many of us, he always will be…. What are some of your favorite Ripper performances?

FRIDAY ALSO BROUGHT US THIS GEM! A chance to see SIDE BY SIDE comparisons of Peter Cushing from his 1977 Tarkin performance and the CGI from 2016 in Rogue One... also the images of both the late Carrie Fisher and her younger CGI from Rogue One... What do you think???


PLEASE VISIT OUR PCAS YOUTUBE CHANNEL: UPDATED AND FULL OF THE BEST OF PETER CUSHING! HERE


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GIF FILM TITLES: In order of the position on page: Dracula / Horror of Dracula.  Dracula AD 1972.  Top Secret.  The House That Dripped Blood.

Sunday 10 April 2016

VINTAGE AND RARE : PETER CUSHING PAINTS AT HOME


Cushing Hobbies: It didn't matter where Peter Cushing was in the world, in the city, a studio, the jungle or in the middle of a desert, he always took brushes, paper and paints. At times when sitting out a long prep on a shoot and his brushes and paints were not to hand, he would sketch on the cover of his script... he was a man who had to create. Here's an early photograph, probably around 1946 - 48, just before or after the shooting of Olivier's Hamlet ... I wonder what's on that canvas ?


COMING SOON

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Thursday 28 August 2014

#TBT HELEN KELLER : THE MIRACLE CONTINUES 1983


#tbt August 1983...and Peter Cushing his wrapping his cameo appearance as Professor Copeland in the 20th Century Fox television biopic, 'Helen Keller :The Miracle Continues' in Hollywood. PC plays Copeland with wry sense of humour, has some lovely lines and looks quite splendid in his academic gown. Alan Gibson directs, in this his fourth outing with PC. The film was marketed in the UK as 'Helen and the Teacher' and starred Blythe Danner and Mare Winningham.

*Trivia* : In 1949 the real Helen Keller attended a performance of Olivier's Richard III in which Peter Cushing played several small roles!


Peter Cushing as Prof Copeland

Sunday 15 December 2013

A TALENT TO TERRIFY: PART ONE: TO START AT THE BEGINNING: BY TROY HOWARTH


For many viewers, the names Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are inextricably linked.  They would become one of the screen’s great duos – not quite in the same way as Laurel and Hardy or Abbott and Costello, perhaps, but definitely akin to Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi for the Technicolor generation.  Their styles would offer a strong contrast, both in acting technique and in public perception.  If Cushing was perceived as the heroic, kindly, avuncular type, then Lee was icy villainy embodied: cool (if not downright cold), detached and imposing.  Stories of Cushing’s generosity and warmth are many and varied; tales of Lee vary from the admiring to the damning.  You'll find hardly anybody who has a bad word to say about Cushing, either as a person or as an actor, but the same isn’t true of Lee: some critics have dismissed him as wooden and boring on screen, while some fans have found him arrogant and aloof in person.  Both actors would struggle before finally finding success – Cushing would find his initial acclaim on television, while Lee would rise to prominence essaying various monstrous and villainous character for Hammer Films.



Cushing would embrace his role as a genre icon, though he approached this with some reluctance and trepidation in the beginning; Lee would relish the opportunity to establish a name for himself, only to spend much of his later years trying to put some distance between himself and his initial successes.  Truth be told, it’s easy to appreciate the rationale behind both mentalities.  Cushing had established himself as actor of range and sensitivity, adept at the classics and in more contemporary subjects – to burden himself with the “baggage” of being a horror star would surely tarnish his reputation somewhat, but, as he rightly reasoned, it would provide stability and a cash flow which would enable him to support his ailing wife in the style he felt she deserved.


For Lee, finding success in this venue at a comparatively youthful age meant being eternally limited – it was easy enough to say “yes” to yet another Dracula picture, but as he rightly recognized, the part didn’t stretch his abilities and, worse still, would prevent him from achieving the types of roles in the types of films he openly craved.  Even so, the two men would cross paths at different points in their careers before finally becoming known as something of a “double act.”  Once they became linked, they would remain so for the remainder of their lives – fortunately, the two men were genuinely fond of each other and could make each other laugh in ways that would have seemed foreign to Karloff and Lugosi.



The first of their many collaborations would occur in 1948, courtesy of Laurence Olivier’s film of Hamlet.  Cushing had already impressed Olivier by a display of professional honesty: while undergoing a lean period of no work and grim prospects, Cushing had the chance to play a role in one of Olivier’s stage productions; sadly, the role required an actor capable of performing a convincing American accent.  Cushing told Olivier that he would let the play down rather badly on that front, and Olivier responded by telling the struggling actor that he would remember this display of honesty.  Cushing figured it was a nice way of saying “don’t call us, we’ll call you,” but lo and behold, Olivier remained true to his word.  In addition to giving Cushing a number of plum roles in his theatrical ventures, the actor-director also awarded Cushing with the supporting role of Osric in Hamlet.


The part would require Cushing to play it fey and broad and he responds with a larger than life performance; one can virtually smell the perfume emanating from the screen whenever he appears. Truth be told, this sort of broad comedy was never the actor’s strong suit and Hamlet is no exception. It’s interesting to see him in this context, but it’s not one of his more persuasive pieces of acting.



And what of Lee?  What, indeed… Lee, who was at the very start of his acting career, has long maintained that he snuck on set, donned a uniform for one of the heavily armored spear carriers and soaked in all he could of Olivier at work.  Mind you, this is the same Lee who also claims to have refused to speak the lines in Dracula Prince of Darkness (there never were any). That said, in a few long shots involving this characters lingering in the background, there is an admittedly tall extra in evidence.  Is it Lee or is it just wishful thinking?  Hard to say, but his contribution – if legitimate – would of course go unnoticed and unbilled.  The film itself would become a major box office hit, netting Olivier Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor.  Cushing’s performance attracted some good notices and would help him in pursuing more theatrical and film work into the 1950s, before the burgeoning medium of television claimed him for its own – for a time.  For Lee, it was nothing more than anecdote to be told and retold, and he would spend the better part of a decade losing out on various acting jobs because he was “too tall” or “too foreign looking.”



In 1952, Cushing and Lee would find themselves in the same vehicle once again, when producer/director/all-around-maverick John Huston relocated to the UK to make Moulin Rouge.  This colorful and melodramatic account of the artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (played by José Ferrer, in an Oscar-nominated performance) would also find favor at the box office and with critics.  It marked a change of pace for the normally action-oriented Huston and demonstrated that his abilities could extend to costume fare, as well.  Cushing, by virtue of his rising star power, would claim billing in the finished film despite having a minor role that is rather indifferently covered by Huston – indifferently in the sense that it doesn’t even grant him a close up, not that the role really called for one, anyway.



Lee, still unknown at this stage, would go without billing – but he gets the better part, playing the painter Georges Seurat, discussing life and art with Lautrec in a Paris café.  Lee would be awestruck by Huston, while Cushing never made much mention of the experience.  For the former, it was a feather in the cap – a film for one of the great Hollywood filmmakers, allowing him to share screen time with an Oscar winning actor – while for the latter it was a minor paycheck gig at a time when he was getting more and more accustomed to playing larger leading roles.  Little did either man realize just how dramatically things would change in a mere five years…


Part Two: A Partnership In Deadly Deeds! Look out for updates!

A Talent To Terrify: is written by Troy Howarth
with images and artwork by Marcus Brooks


Please come join us at our Facebook Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/petercushingblog 




Tuesday 26 March 2013

SUPERNATURAL: PETER CUSHING AT 100: WITH RARE PHOTOGRAPH GALLERY


As a lifelong fan of Peter Cushing, I’ve suffered the trauma of his “dying” on three separate occasions. Bear with me, that’ll make sense soon enough. I was born in 1977, the year that Star Wars was unleashed on the world. I was too young to see it theatrically, though my father and my brother both went nuts over it and became fans for life. I seem to recall seeing the film theatrically at a very young age, however, and I can only imagine it was in 1980, when the film was reissued to coincide with the release of The Empire Strikes Back. I don’t recall much about what I thought of it then, but even at that ridiculously young age, I knew who Peter Cushing was. Even though he was playing a villain with a heart of stone, I still recall being deeply upset that he went up in smoke at the end. Somehow, that just didn’t seem quite right and proper to me.


The second time I learned of his demise was when WTBS ran Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed in 1986. A friend of mine was able to watch the telecast, including the host segments by station personality Bill Tush, but I had to wait to watch it until later - fortunately, we had a VCR by then, so I wasn’t too terribly resentful that my dad had whisked my brother and I off to Kennywood for a sunny day at the amusement park, when I could have been inside, huddled in front of the TV set. When I got home, I sat down and watched the film - and it made a tremendous impression on me. The next day, I spoke with my friend - and he told me that Peter Cushing had died. I couldn’t believe it; it must be a mistake! There was nothing in the paper, nothing on the news. Surely his passing would attract some kind of attention? But, he was insistent - Bill Tush said the man had died. Spurred by this, I decided to check out my recording to see if there was any truth to it. Tush made no mention of anything of the kind at the start of the film, but sure enough, after the film was done, he made note that Cushing had died earlier that year. I was crestfallen. Cushing was one of my idols, and he was gone. I grieved for a little while, but life went on.


Imagine my amazement, therefore, when I found out a few years later that he was not only still alive - but he was also granting interviews! I caught up with some pieces on him, and felt like order had been restored. Peter Cushing, the epitome of the English gentleman, the symbol of good in the horror film, was back among the living. I gather Tush’s gaffe did not escape notice; I have no idea if he ever issued a retraction or if indeed he ever gave it much thought altogether…


The third time proved to be unlucky, however. I can remember it well: my dad was watching the news, and he called me to come to the living room. As I entered the room, I noticed a clip playing from Horror of Dracula: the final battle between Van Helsing and Dracula, played to perfection by Cushing and Christopher Lee. Oh no, I thought, one of them has died. A voice over confirmed the worst - Peter Cushing has died at the age of 81. Truth be told, saddened as I was, I wasn’t as devastated as I was when Vincent Price passed away the year before. I had no idea how ill Price was, and I pictured him as he so often appeared on films and TV talk shows - vibrant, full of energy, and loving life. With Cushing, I knew the man had been ill for years. I knew that he had been miserable ever since the death of his wife in 1971. I knew that he was so sickly that he couldn’t even get acting jobs anymore - producers and directors wanted him, but the insurance companies weren’t so keen. Somehow, I knew he was at peace - and though I was not - nor do I remain - a man of religious conviction, he was, on some level, free of years of suffering. It was hard to imagine that he was no longer among the living, and yet - he had had a long life, and he finally got what he really wanted.


Among genre fans, Cushing remains a true icon. Like so many icons, he is sometimes elevated to a level of perfection that no human being can ever truly attain. Some insist upon referring to him as “Sir Peter,” perhaps even believing that he was finally made a Knight before his passing in 1994. The reality is, he was a human being, with flaws and shortcomings like the rest of us; and though he had been honored by his government with being given OBE (Order of the British Empire) status, the Knighthood never did come his way. Perhaps if he had lived a bit longer, the latter might have really occurred. As to the former, far from glossing over his defects and acting as if he never uttered a bad word or ever made a bad move, it’s more instructive to acknowledge his flaws and accept him as a terrific human being - as opposed to a one dimensional saint.


Cushing’s love of his wife is well known; indeed, it has become the stuff of legend. They married in 1943, but Helen’s health was in precarious condition from the beginning. She suffered from emphysema for many years, and Cushing often took on acting roles in order to pay for her mounting medical expenses and treatment. After the success of The Curse of Frankenstein 1957, the actor contemplated the horrors of typecasting - but the realization that steady employment would benefit Helen’s treatments talked him out of any concerns over being “trapped” by his horror roles. Nobody would ever question the man’s adoration of his wife, but by his own admission he “strayed” on several occasions. One can theorize that the nature of Helen’s illness made it difficult - if not impossible - to sustain much of a physical relationship, and that Cushing, being a man rather than a saint, had to turn elsewhere to have these needs satisfied. Cushing apparently confessed his transgressions, and Helen was understanding throughout. Ultimately, it’s not for us to judge him for this - but the fact that his relationship with Helen remained as deep and profound as it was speaks volumes in itself. Really, it only bears mention in this context to drive the point home: Cushing was many things, but he was not above making mistakes. His ability to talk about these mistakes, with disarming honesty, is part of what makes his two-part memoirs such a warm and rewarding read.



As an actor, Cushing was arguably one of the greats - his friend and colleague Sir Laurence Olivier was even moved to remark that he was one of the country’s best screen actors. He was not, however, beyond reproach. Like any other actor, he had his limitations. He was not especially convincing when it came to accents - he had a peculiar theory that audiences would accept it if the actor threw the accent in on occasion, just to remind them that they were playing a foreigner - and he seemed ill at ease in roles that deprived him of any shred of charm or affability. He could play villains beautifully, but they needed to have a bit of depth - “cold fish” characters, by contrast, simply didn’t gel with him. He could deliver a putdown with rapier wit, but when he played broad comedy, he seemed terribly strained. Cushing was always a very mannered actor, one prone to indulging in little bits of “business,“ but when he went too far with these mannerisms and quirks, it could seem a bit phony and arbitrary. On the whole, however, he was a compulsively watchable actor. At his best, he was brilliant. Truth be told, his “dud” performances are few and far between.



Cushing’s long career saw him making triumphant appearances on stage, on film, and on television - but it was the latter that first made him a bankable name. Legend has it that, at the peak of his popularity as a TV star in the 1950s, Cushing could empty the pubs, because everybody wanted to be home to see him in whatever play he was appearing in on “the telly.” Like so many actors, Cushing struggled to find a reputation on film - he started off by going to Hollywood, where he was given his first (minor) break by British director James Whale. The irony of Cushing being given his start by the director of the most iconic screen version of Frankenstein (1931) cannot go unremarked, but there was nothing remotely “horrific” about his early screen appearances. He scored some nice notices for a flashy supporting role in the three-hanky melodrama Vigil in the Night (1941), but his screen career never really took off until the 1950s, boosted, in no small measure, by his triumphant appearance on so many landmark BBC teleplays of the era, including Nigel Kneale’s then-shocking adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 (1954). 



Hammer Horror helped to make Cushing a known property worldwide, but for many critics, he was limited by his associations with such gaudy fare. Genre magazines would extol his talents, but more mainstream publications would adopt a cooler attitude. There was no denying the man’s talents, yet critics with an axe to grind against the genre seemed to view him as a once-fine actor who was content “slumming” his way through B-and-Z-grade horror films. There would be no recognition from the British or American Academy Awards, though smaller, fantasy-oriented festivals would festoon him with prizes for his nuanced work on such titles as Tales from the Crypt (1972). If Cushing’s health had stood up better, he may have been able to parlay his reputation into appearances in films by fans-turned-filmmakers - just as his good friend and colleague Christopher Lee is continuing to do to this day. Alas, it was not meant to be. Worsening health and a general contet to enjoy the quiet life in his seaside abode in Whitstable took Cushing away from the limelight. Fans would continue to seek him out, and being a true gentleman of the old school, he always tried to make time to speak with them and sign countless autographs.


I, myself, never had the privilege of meeting Peter Cushing - but I did manage to make some contact with him. In 1993, inspired by the passing of Vincent Price, I decided I had better put my thoughts to paper and send Peter Cushing a fan letter. I was able to pass the letter on to his agent, having been given contact information by a fanzine, and I still shudder with embarrassment to think of my commenting on how he never won an Oscar (but deserved several!) and asking if he could autograph a picture of himself (maybe one with Christopher Lee!) and mail it to me. Most celebrities would have tossed this aside, but much to my amazement, I received a letter from the UK. I didn’t get an autographed picture, but he did see fit to write me a brief little note - with his autograph attached. I’m sure it was just a standard letter he sent out at this stage in his life, as he was certainly too ill to do much beyond just an autograph. Even so, it was a classy gesture that filled me with joy. It was almost surely one of the last autographs he ever did. It remains one of my most treasured possessions and has been displayed proudly on the walls of every home I have lived in since that timeframe. For me, there is no need to attach phony honors or attributes to the man as a sign of respect. Warts and all, he was a class act - a great actor, a decent human being, a loving husband, a true philanthropist. There’s no need to enshrine him as some kind of a wannabe saint - I prefer, rather, to think of him as he was: as a man to be respected and admired for his many good points.



 This year marks the centernary of Peter Cushing.  He's been gone for 19 years - though, for me, it seems like just yesterday that he passed - but his legacy continues to inspire and create new fans.  His acting style remains fresh, his appeal undiminished.  For me, he remains one of the most purely enjoyable actors to watch when he's at the top of his game.  I'm still catching up with a few titles that have eluded me, but by now I've seen all of his major credits - and I've revisited favorites from Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed and The Mummy to Cash on Demand and The House That Dripped Blood more times than I can calculate.  Truth be told, he's not my favorite actor - but he runs a very close second to his most beloved co-star, Christopher Lee.  To read of his life and his ups and downs - the true version, not the airbrushed one perpetuated by some blinkered sections of fandom - is to be inspired to be a better person - and in a business not exactly renowned for its moral backbone, he remains one of the truly "nice" people about whom seldom a negative word is uttered.


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