Showing posts with label patrick allen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patrick allen. Show all posts

Sunday 13 May 2018

CALLUM MCKELVIE ON 'NIGHT OF BIG HEAT' PLUS EXCLUSIVE COMPETITON TO WIN THE CUSHING /LEE ISLAND DOUBLE BILL!


FOLLOWING ON from my look at Island of Terror, in PART ONE, this week I’m tackling its spiritual successor, NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT. As discussed last week, these two films represent a section of only a small number of Science Fiction films that Cushing lent his talents too and it’s hard to discuss one without the other. Both were made by the short-lived Planet films and Night, featuring the same director (Terrence Fisher), Composer (Malcolm Lockyer) and of course Cushing again, does feel in many ways like a natural successor to the previous film.


PLANET FILMS EVEN SEEM to have gone a little further this time, with Cushing only having a small role and Christopher Lee taking the lead, having those two names on the poster would mean box office dynamite, surely? Unfortunately, I must confess to being somewhat ‘cold’ when it comes to Night of the Big Heat. Whilst not a bad film, in many ways it pales in comparison to Island of Terror.


FOR A START there’s the story. Night, is a fairly basic alien invasion story utilising elements from an earlier (and much better) British Science Fiction film, The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961), by having the temperature slowly rise. Christopher Lee plays Godfrey Hanson, a scientist staying in a small hotel owned by Patrick Allen’s Jeff Callum on the isolated island of Fara, somewhere off the English coast. Jane Merrow shows up as an old flame of Cullum’s with whom he had an affair and who seems determined to cause trouble for him and his marriage. However they all have bigger fish to fry when Hanson reveals that the rising heat is actually being caused by an alien invasion…..and it’s only going to get hotter.


ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS with Night, is that at points it actually strays a little too close to Island. For example, the opening scene in which the radar equipment is destroyed and we have a freeze frame into titles, exactly like Island, really isn’t necessary. In Island, this was effective as it still didn’t spoil the mystery of the plot- we knew there was an explosion in a lab, but we don’t know yet what that lab is and Islands superior script is far too intelligent to reveal anything to its viewers off the bat. 



IN 'NIGHT' A SIGNIFICANT amount of time is devoted to the characters attempting to get to the radar station (indeed Cushing dies for it) but we as an audience know that there’s no point because we saw it destroyed in the opening 2 seconds. Then there’s also the end, whilst the trick of having it all seems hopeless and then having an almost surprise revelation. Again, in Island, that revelation felt a great deal more intelligent than it does here and the sudden rain storm saving the day, is faintly ridiculous. 


OF COURSE I’m not ignoring the fact that Island was an original story whilst Night is based on a novel by John Lyminton. Having not read that book I can’t comment if these problems are inherent within it, or whether they are unique to this adaptation. However its literary heritage in 50’s British Sci-Fi does lead to one of the strengths of Night, and that is of course it’s wonderfully John Wyndham-esque atmosphere. The old trope of the heroes spending much of the end of the world in a pub is seen here and it’s as effective now as in any other British Sci-Fi flick (such as another of Fishers sci-fi films, The Earth Dies Screaming from 1964).  


ABOVE OUR EXCLUSIVE PCAS COMPETITION : WIN THE MOVIES FROM THIS PCAS FEATURE! : ENTER NOW : GOOD LUCK!


THERE ARE SOME POSITIVE things that this film manages to duplicate from Island. That being the sense of danger. Lee’s character of Hanson makes it through most of the film, then dies minutes before the end. Killing off essentially your biggest name and one of the two leads minutes before the resolution is a brave move and again makes the viewer think that there really is no hope. Lee plays the part of Hanson as well as he plays any role, though unfortunately he’s not really given anything new to do and so it’s hardly a standout role in his career. 




PATRICK ALLEN IS A GOOD leading man- though he struggles with a character that for the most part comes across as inherently unlikeable. This is due mostly to the ‘affair’ subplot which, whilst actually being one of the most enjoyable parts of the film, doesn’t really set his character up as the most likeable of individuals and really should have been revealed later. As stated in my review of Island, Cushing has a small but enjoyable role- though it’s really too dismissible to really stand out in his filmography. His death lingers due to a wonderfully charming performance, his easily the most likeable character in the entire film. However special mention has to be made of Jane Merrow, who plays the role of Angela Roberts with such a maliciousness that she is utterly watchable the entire time.

IN SOME WAYS I feel I have been way to negative towards Night, and perhaps it will be a film that I’ll revisit in my column again someday because for the most part- it’s bloody good fun. This isn’t like Incense for the Damned (1970) or Tender Dracula (1974) where there really is little to no joy to be had, in fact I feel ashamed even mentioning those movies in this review because Night of the Big Heat isn’t even a bad film. It’s a perfectly well made science fiction horror film, let down by a few small elements that don’t allow it the originality that made Island of Terror, so damn good.


WRITTEN BY CALLUM MCKELVIE: If you would like to share YOUR THOUGHTS with CALLUM about the film or the feature you can contact him HERE: spookycallum58@gmail.com 


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 reach all lovers of Peter Cushing's work AND Help Keep The Memory Alive!

Saturday 8 July 2017

AVENGERS NEVER SAY DIE: ISLAND OF THE BURNING DAMNED CONCEPT ARTWORK


#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY! I have been asked for YOUR opinion please.... which of the designs do you PREFER. The original US Vintage cinema poster design on the left OR the NEW concept artwork on the right? Please don't be shy in sharing your opinions on the style and artwork and maybe the reasons for your choice. Thank You! It's #CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY Today and there's some goodies on baddies coming up during the day!







#CHRISTOPHERLEESATURDAY: Christopher Lee like Peter Cushing and many other top actors at the time guested on the classic TV Show The Avengers. Lee made two appearances on the show, first in the Emma Peel era episode 'Never, Never Say Die' And the second being from the Tara King era called 'The Interrogators' which was directed by Oscar-nominated Ealing Studios veteran Charles Crichton. Lee plays Colonel Mannering who is running a special interrogation course, established to determine the degree to which agents can withstand interrogation. Except that everyone who passes the course soon learns that all of their contacts have been murdered. And then, Tara is called in for a run through the course as well. Its a fun episode with Lee delivering a great performance as Mannering





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. 

Tuesday 20 May 2014

#PETERCUSHING AND CHRISTOPHER LEE SWEAT IT OUT! NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT: BLU RAY NOW ON PRE ORDER



#ODEON ENTERTAINMENT'S '#NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT' starring #PeterCushing, Christopher Lee is now available for PRE ORDER with a street release date of JUNE 23rd 2014.

Sunday 4 May 2014

'NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT' CUSHING LEE BRIT SCI FI CLASSIC GETS BLU RAY RELEASE DATE


The Terence Fisher, 1969 Brit sci fi classic 'NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT' starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Patrick Allen. Jame Merrow and Sarah Lawson is available on BLU RAY (Region B/2) , for the first time as a 'pre order' with a street date release of JUNE 17th 2014, from Odeon Entertainment. Now on sale at amazon. Order Here.

Sunday 13 April 2014

'ISLAND OF TERROR' AND 'NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT' ON BLU RAY FROM ODEON ENTERTAINMENT


Odeon Entertainment have announced the release of TWO Peter Cushing blu rays. 'ISLAND OF TERROR' (1966) also starring Edward Judd and Carole Gray and 'NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT' aka 'ISLAND OF THE BURNING DAMNED' (1967) also starring Christopher Lee, Patrick Allen, Kenneth Cope and Jane Merrow. BOTH films were directed by Terence Fisher.


'NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT' is expected to be released first, and very soon. The 'NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT' Blu Ray IS REGION FREE. It is hoped that both releases and will include extras. More info to come....


Wednesday 2 January 2013

PETER CUSHING: YVONNE ROMAIN: OLIVER REED: CAPTAIN CLEGG : NIGHT CREATURES


SYNOPSIS:
During 1776 there was a notorious pirate sailing the high seas named Captain Clegg. When one of his crew, a mulatto (Milton Reid), killed his wife shortly after she gave birth, he cut out the man's tongue and marooned him on an island on the coral reef - however, this man was picked up by a passing ship later on... Moving forward to 1792, and the Romney Marshes in southern England are host to smugglers who the King's men are desperately trying to catch and stop from illegally importing alcohol without paying duty on it. 


One of the villages on the marsh has Dr Blyss (Peter Cushing) as its mild-mannered pastor, and today he is giving a sermon to the townsfolk in the local church. A troupe of the King's men led by Captain Collier (Patrick Allen) arrive in the area at the same time - will they uncover any wrongdoing?


COMMENTARY:
Captain Clegg, or Night Creatures as it was known overseas by a less giveaway title, was a Hammer exploit in the historical adventure stakes, a remake of the nineteen-thirties George Arliss vehicle Dr. Syn. Although it has elements of a horror film, it's not really part of that genre; in spite of the spectres haunting the marshes and the touches of macabre and the occasional brutalities, it's more of a romp, played straight but with the odd item of wit to lighten the story. It was scripted by Anthony Hinds under his John Elder pen name, with additional dialogue from Barbara S. Harper, and wins you over with its spirit and atmosphere.


That said, it's not what you could call surprising, so it's a better watch if you're feeling indulgent towards its predictability - although the film attempts to play games with the viewer's expectations, there's no doubt about who is doing the smuggling and who is really who under an assumed name. Cushing is a lot of fun here, whether preaching from his pulpit and encouraging his congregation to sing with more gusto, or revealed as the mastermind behind the illegal activities, here painting him as something of a Robin Hood figure with the best of intentions toward the villagers, if not the badly-behaved soldiers.


Every Robin Hood needs his Sheriff of Nottingham just as every good hero (or anti-hero, I guess) needs a formidable villain to show him off to his best advantage, and here the stern, booming-voiced Allen is the equal of Cushing. The plot throws in who turns out to be the daughter of Clegg, Imogene (Yvonne Romain), who works as the serving wench at the inn and wishes to marry Harry (Oliver Reed as a romantic type), the son of the squire, but how will he react when he finds out her lineage? 


Then there's the mute mulatto from the prologue who is kept on a leash by the soldiers and sniffs out any illegal alcohol - why does he seem to recognise Dr Blyss? Well, it's not too difficult to work out, is it? It's nice to see Hammer regulars like Reid and Michael Ripper, especially good as the undertaker, get a bit more to do than usual, and overall Captain Clegg proves most diverting, if never inspiring. What it really needed was a good old-fashioned swordfight. Music by Don Banks. 

REVIEW SOURCE: HERE
IMAGES: Marcus Brooks 
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