Category Archives: Hammer-Amicus-Tigon
The Mummy and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell | The Hammer horror classics get a Limited Edition Blu-ray release
From Second Sight Films comes the Hammer Horror classics The Mummy (1958) and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) on Blu-ray in a Limited Edition set on 29 August 2022. But are they worth double-dipping? Well, you do get some new commentaries and featurettes, plus some super art cards and gorgeous new artwork by Graham Humphreys. But you will have to make up your own mind. Here are my comparisons.
THE MUMMY – SPECIAL FEATURES
• Main feature presented in original UK theatrical aspect ratio 1.66:1 and alternative full frame 1.37:1: These are the same as the 2012 Icon Home Entertainment release.
• New audio commentary by film academic Kelly Robinson:
• Audio commentary by Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby: Ported over from the Icon release.
• An Appreciation of The Mummy by David Huckvale: This is new, and David is always of great value.
• The Music of The Mummy: Ditto, and David really is the go-to guy for all things musical.
• Unwrapping The Mummy (28:40): Ported over from the Icon release.
• The House of Horror – Memories of Bray (46:40): Also ported over, thankfully, as it includes interviews with many Hammer alumni who are no longer with us, such as Barbara Shelley and Renee Glynne.
• The Hammer Rep Company (14:20): Johnathan Rigby’s insightful featurette has been ported over too.
• Original Promo Reel (5:31): Also on the Icon release.
• Stills Gallery (6:58): Ported over too.
• New artwork by Graham Humphreys: Simply divine illustration work, of course.
• Collector’s book with new essays by Kat Ellinger, Lindsay Hallam and Kevin Lyons plus production stills
• Five art cards
WHAT’S MISSING: The 2012 Icon Home Entertainment Blu-ray also included an episode of The World of Hammer: Hammer Stars Peter Cushing and a bonus feature directed by Terence Fisher, Stolen Face (1952)
FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL – SPECIAL FEATURES
• Main feature presented in original UK theatrical aspect ratio 1.66:1 and alternative full frame 1.37:1: These are the same as the 2014 Icon Home Entertainment release and are the full uncut version of the film (unlike the Shout!/Scream Factory 2020 Blu-ray release, which is the censored US theatrical version that loses a couple of minutes of extra gore footage.
• New audio commentary by film academic Kat Ellinger
• Archive audio commentary by Shane Briant, Madeline Smith and Marcus Hearn: This has been ported over from the Icon release and is most welcomed here, considering Shane’s passing in 2021.
• An Appreciation of Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell by David Huckvale: This is new, and as I’ve said before, David’s contributions are always entertaining.
• The Music of Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell: David is back again tinkling the ivories and discussing James Bernard’s score.
• Taking Over the Asylum: This has been ported over from the 2014 release and includes Denis Meikle and Shane Briant, who have since passed away.
• Charming Evil: Terence Fisher at Hammer: Likewise, this was on the 2014 Blu-ray.
• Stills Gallery: Ported over too.
• New artwork by Graham Humphreys: Great work, as usual from Graham.
• Soft cover book with new essays by Kevin Lyons, Kelly Robinson and Emma Westwood plus production stills
• Five collectors’ art cards
Asylum | Amicus’ chilling compendium of terror heads to Blu-ray
A year on from releasing The House That Dripped Blood (in February 1971), Amcius brought their latest horror anthology Asylum to UK screens in July 1972.
Written by Robert Bloch and directed by Roy Ward Baker, Asylum sees Robert Powell playing a doctor who undergoes a bizarre job interview for a position at a secluded asylum for the incurably insane. He must prove himself by listening to the macabre tales of four inmates to determine which is the former head of the institute who experienced a breakdown.
In Frozen Fear, Barbara Parkins relates a grisly plot to murder the wealthy wife (Sylvia Syms) of her lover (Richard Todd); The Weird Tailor sees Barry Morse stealing a suit from Peter Cushing that has power of reanimation; Charlotte Rampling is trapped by her imagination when Britt Ekland’s Lucy Comes to Stay; and Herbert Lom plots to transfer his soul into a tiny automaton in Mannikins of Horror.
Following its Limited Edition Blu-ray release last July, this chilling compendium of terror is now out as a standalone Blu-ray from Second Sight Films and includes the following special features…
• Audio Commentary with director Roy Ward Baker and camera operator Neil Binney
• Two’s a Company: 1972 on-set BBC report featuring interviews with producer Milton Subotsky, director Roy Ward Baker, actors Charlotte Rampling, James Villiers and Megs Jenkins, art director Tony Curtis and production manager Teresa Bolland
• Screenwriter David J. Schow on writer Robert Bloch
• Fiona Subotsky remembers Milton Subotsky
• Inside The Fear Factory: Archieve featurette with directors Roy Ward Baker, Freddie Francis and producer Max J Rosenberg
• Theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys and original artwork
• SDH English subtitles for the hard of hearing
The House That Dripped Blood | The Amicus anthology horror UK Blu-ray is out now!
Seminal 1971 Amicus horror The House That Dripped Blood, from Peter Duffell in his directorial debut and written by renowned screenwriter Robert Bloch (Psycho), is a star-studded anthology and its out now in the UK as a stand-alone Blu-ray from Second Fight Films.
Scotland Yard’s Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) investigates an old mansion with a ghoulish history and a chilling fate for its occupants in these four tales of terror…
Method for Murder stars Denholm Elliott as a writer whose latest character seeminly comes to life; Peter Cushing and Joss Ackland are haunted by a lost love in Waxworks; Christopher Lee fears his daughter (Chloe Franks) is a witch in Sweets to the Sweet; and The Cloak finds Jon Pertwee playing a horror star who starts turning into a vampire when he buys a vintage cloak from a mysterious antique shop owner (Geoffrey Bayldon).
Following its limited edition Blu-ray release last June, Second Sight have now released The House That Dripped Blood as a standalone Blu-ray with the following special features…
• Audio commentary with director Peter Duffell and author Jonathan Rigby
• Audio commentary with film historian and author Troy Howarth
• Interview with second assistant director Mike Higgins
• A-Rated Horror Film: Vintage featurette featuring interviews with Peter Duffell and actors Geoffrey Bayldon, Ingrid Pitt and Chloe Franks
• Theatrical trailers
• Amicus radio spots
• Stills gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys
• SDH English subtitles for the hard of hearing
If you want to read more about the film, and its colourful costuming, check out my original post: https://kultguyskeep.wordpress.com/2019/07/29/the-house-that-dripped-blood-claret-and-colourful-cravats/
Hammer Volume Four: Faces of Fear | Four classic chillers arrive on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK
Four classic Hammer chillers arrive on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK from Indicator: The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll (1960), Taste of Fear (1961) and The Damned (1962). Accompanied by a wealth of new and archival extras – including exclusive new documentaries, audio commentaries, alternative versions, new and archival cast and crew interviews, a series of appreciations of their female stars, analyses of their composers’ scores, and extensive booklets – this stunning limited edition box set is strictly limited to 6,000 units. Out on 25 November 2019. Expect some individual reviews very soon.
THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1958)
• New 4K restoration
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historians Marcus Hearn and Jonathan Rigby (2019)
• Audio commentary with authors Stephen Jones and Kim Newman (2019)
• Back from the Dead: Inside The Revenge of Frankenstein (2019, 22 mins): new documentary, featuring Alan Barnes, Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
• Hammer’s Women: Eunice Gayson (2019, 8 mins): actress profile film historian Pamela Hutchinson
• A Frankenstein for the 20th Century (2019, 27 mins): video essay by film historian Kat Ellinger and Dima Ballin
• Arpeggios of Melancholy (2019, 13 mins): appreciation of composer Leonard Salzedo’s score by David Huckvale
• Outtakes reel (1958, 12 mins, mute): rare, unseen on-set footage
• Super 8 version (8 mins, b&w, mute): cut-down home cinema presentation
• Original theatrical trailer
• Joe Dante trailer commentary (2013, 2 mins)
• Image gallery
• New and improved English subtitles
• 36-page booklet with essays the film, Hammer’s unrealised Tales of Frankenstein TV series, plus promotional materials and film credits
THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL (1960)
• High Definition re-master
• Original mono audio
• Audio commentary with film historians Josephine Botting and Jonathan Rigby (2019)
• Identity Crisis: Inside The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (2019, 19 mins): documentary, featuring Alan Barnes, Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
• Hammer’s Women: Dawn Addams (2019, 11 mins): actress profile by British cinema expert Laura Mayne
• Interview with Paul Massie (1967, 10 mins): archival audio recording
• Now and Then: Wolf Mankowitz (1968, 28 mins): archival interview
• Mauve Decadence (2019, 11 mins): appreciation of composer Monty Norman’s score by David Huckvale
• The Many Faces of Dr. Jekyll (2019, 7 mins): an overview of the film’s censorship history
• Original theatrical trailer
• Sam Hamm trailer commentary (2013, 3 mins): short critical appreciation
• Image gallery
• New and improved English subtitles
• 36-page booklet with essays, promotional materials, reviews, and film credits
TASTE OF FEAR (1961)
• High Definition re-master
• Original mono audio
• Two presentations of the film: Taste of Fear, with the rarely seen original UK title sequence, and Scream of Fear, with the alternative US titles
• Audio commentary with Kevin Lyons
• Body Horror: Inside Taste of Fear (2019, 23 mins): documentary, featuring Alan Barnes, Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby
• Hammer’s Women: Ann Todd (2019, 12 mins): actress profile by Melanie Williams
• The BFI Southbank Interview with Jimmy Sangster (2008, 68 mins): archival audio recording
• The BEHP Video Interview with Jimmy Sangster (2008, 117 mins): archival video recording
• The BEHP Interview with Douglas Slocombe, Part Two: From Hammer to Spielberg (1988, 82 mins): archival audio recording
• Fear Makers (2019, 9 mins): interviews with camera operator Desmond Davis and assistant sound editor John Crome
• Anxiety and Terror (2019, 25 mins): appreciation of Clifton Parker’s score by David Huckvale
• Super 8 version of Scream of Fear (20 mins): original cut-down home cinema presentation
• Original US theatrical trailer
• Sam Hamm trailer commentary (2013, 2 mins): short critical appreciation
• Image gallery
• New and improved English subtitles
• 36-page booklet with essays, an archival on-set report, promotional materials, reviews, and film credits
THE DAMNED (1962)
• 2K restoration
• Original mono audio
• Alternative presentations of the complete 96-minute version, playable as either The Damned or These Are the Damned
• Box-set exclusive presentation of the rarely seen original 87-minute UK theatrical cut of The Damned
• Audio commentary with film historians Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan
• On the Brink: Inside The Damned (2019, 27 mins): documentary, featuring Alan Barnes, Kevin Lyons, Nick Riddle and Jonathan Rigby
• Hammer’s Women: Viveca Lindfors (2019, 15 mins): profile by film historian Lindsay Hallam
• Looking in the Right Place (2019, 10 mins): actor Shirley Anne Field on working with Oliver Reed and Joseph Losey
• Children of The Damned (2019, 24 mins): interview with David Palmer, Kit Williams and Christopher Witty
• Something Out of Nothing (2019, 7 mins): interview with screenwriter Evan Jones
• Smoke Screen (2019, 12 mins): interview with camera operator Anthony Heller
• Beneath the Surface (2019, 26 mins): interview with filmmaker Gavrik Losey, son of director Joseph Losey
• Beyond Black Leather (2019, 15 mins): academic IQ Hunter discusses The Damned
• No Future (2019, 26 mins): appreciation by author and film historian Neil Sinyard
• The Lonely Shore (2019, 21 mins): appreciation of James Bernard’s score by David Huckvale
• Isolated music & effects track
• Original US theatrical trailer
• Joe Dante trailer commentary (2013, 4 mins)
• Image gallery
• New and improved English subtitles
• 36-page booklet, includes Joseph Losey on The Damned, a look at the US pressbook, reviews, and film credits
The House That Dripped Blood | Time to break out the claret and colourful cravats
Written by Robert Bloch, the 1971 Amicus horror anthology, The House That Dripped Blood, stars Denholm Elliott, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Jon Pertwee in four tales of terror that unfold as a Scotland Yard Inspector Holloway (John Bennett) investigates a mansion with a ghoulish history…
To celebrate Second Sight’s Limited Edition UK Blu-ray release, I’ve embarked on my own investigation — into the campy, colourful men’s neckwear worn by the film’s leading male stars. Here’s what I unearthed…
Method For Murder
In this first tale, Denholm Elliott’s horror novelist Charles Hillyer rents the old mansion with his wife (Joanna Dunham) but becomes haunted by visions of Dominic (Tom Adams), the murderous, psychopathic central character of his latest novel.
As he’s working from home for most of the time, Elliott’s hack writer doesn’t really need to dress up – so we only see him wearing a dashing little brown cravat on the day of his arrival to the house.
Waxworks
Our second story features Peter Cushing as Philip Grayson, a retired stockbroker who gets a surprise visit from his old friend Neville (Joss Ackland). But after they visit a local wax museum, the two men become fixated on a statue of Salome, that appears to look like the woman they once knew and fell out over…
While relaxing in his new abode, listening to Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No. 14 in D minor (aka Death and the Maiden – and director Peter Duffell’s preferred title for the movie), Cushing sports a classy red smoking jacket with black lapels, white wide collar shirt and a white cravat with a naval motif tied with a toggle. He also matches this white shirt and cravat with a cream sports jacket while out strolling through the local pond, graveyard and high street – where he happens upon Jacquelin’s Museum of Horror.
He also favours a lovely burgundy and gold cravat which he pairs with a pink shirt and his red smoking jacket while lounging, and its this ensemble that he wears when Ackland’s Londoner arrives flourishing a flowing green and pink silk number (how very Ossie Clark).
The next morning Cushing is back in his white shirt, cravat and cream jacket; while Ackland has ditched the Ossie Clark number for a too-long blue tie (the kind that Boris Johnson favours). Why ditch the silk scarf? I suspect Neville thought it a tad too ginger beer to wear down in the village. After all, this isn’t hip and happening London
But there are two more neckties to admire before this one ends – a paisley cravat worn by Wolfe Morris’ waxworks proprietor and one with what looks like a Mexican theme worn by a customer (as seen in our first picture above) who gets the shock of his life – a terrible dummy head on a plate that’s suppose to be Cushing’s Grayson.
Sweets to the Sweet
In this one, Nyree Dawn Porter plays a private tutor who is perturbed by the severe way Christopher Lee’s widower treats his young daughter (played by Chloe Franks), even forbidding her to have a doll. The teacher feels like a helpless bystander, but his daughter is not everything that she seems…
Given Lee’s role here as the uptight puritanical father, there’s nothing colourful or fanciful on display here – just a rather dull Houndstooth suit… roll on the next tale.
The Cloak
Horror film actor and occult specialist Paul Henderson (Jon Pertwee) moves into the house, which we discover is located very near the studio where his latest film, Curse of the Bloodsuckers, is being shot (In reality, the house used in this film was actually an old cottage used for storage on the Shepperton studio lot before it got torn down to make way for an ugly council block).
Furious about the poor production values, cheap sets and crap costumes, he buys a black cloak from a shopkeeper (Geoffrey Bayldon channelling Ernest Thesiger’s Dr Pretorius in The Bride of Frankenstein) to use as his film character’s costume. Unfortunately, the cloak turns its wearer into a vampire, something his co-star (Ingrid Pitt) quickly discovers…
This final tale is an all-out campfest and the best of the bunch – especially in regards to men’s attire. Pertwee chews the scenery as the preening peacock horror star and has a nice line in fashionable clobber – from trendy scarves, ties and cravats to white ruffle shirts and the titular vampire cloak – all of which wouldn’t look out of place between the pages of The Chap.
But let’s not forget the film’s director, script supervisor and art director all decked out in the latest fashions from Carnaby Street. This scene sees Paul vent his anger, asking the director ‘Since leaving the depressing confines of television, how many films have you made?’, to which he replies, ‘Well actually this is my second’. ‘But your first horror film,’ Paul retorts, ‘Well let me tell you, I’ve made hundreds!’ No doubt this scene spoofs the real-life altercation between Vincent Price (who was originally approached to play Pertwee’s part) and his Witchfinder General director Michael Reeves.
This is one of Amicus’ most entertaining horror anthologies with a terrific cast, smart direction, funny (in-joke) script and great production values (especially those costumes sourced by Laurel Staffel), and it all looks terrific in the new Blu-ray release from Second Sight, which has some superb extras (check them out below), some great new artwork from Graham Humphreys, and a collector’s booklet. Apologies for the quality of my screen grab, but I do assure you that the Second Sight print is amazing.
SPECIAL FEATURES
• Audio commentary with director Peter Duffell and author Jonathan Rigby: This is the definitive take on the making of the movie from the man who made it.
• Audio commentary with film historian and author Troy Howarth: I loved all the background info on Shepperton, the actors and crew. Very well researched.
• Interview with Second Assistant director Mike Higgins
• A-Rated Horror Film: Fang-tastic vintage featurette featuring interviews with director Peter Duffell and
actors Geoffrey Bayldon, Ingrid Pitt and Chloe Franks
• Radio Spots
• Stills Gallery
• Reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys
LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS FOR EACH RELEASE
• Rigid slipcase featuring new artwork by Graham Humphreys
• 40 page booklet with new essays by Allan Bryce, Jon Towlson and Kat Ellinger
• Reversible poster featuring new and original artwork
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Inside Bray Studios – The Complete Story of Hammer’s House Studio
In 1951, Hammer Film Productions took up residence at Down Place, a derelict country house on the banks of the Thames outside Windsor, and over the following decade turned it into the most unique film studio in England. This exciting new tome from Hammer historian Wayne Kinsey and Peveril Publishing traces the studio’s history from Hammer and beyond, to its closure with plans to develop the site into housing.
Over 344 pages packed with hundreds of behind-the-scenes photos, plans and drawings, you get a virtual tour of the studio, showing how Hammer’s skilled technicians turned Down Place into a working studio, complete with a backlot of building sets that became iconic in eyes of Hammer fans. The last Hammer production made at Bray was The Mummy’s Shroud, which wrapped on 21 October 1966, but the story does not end there as an incredible amount of film, TV and music work has also taken place there since Hammer left on 19 November 1966.
It practically reinvented itself as a centre for stop motion and special model effects over the next 20 years, with Jim Danforth working on When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth there, while Gerry Anderson’s sfx team set up camp in Stage 2 for Space 1999 and Terrahawks, where lots of model and miniature work was created for Ridley Scott’s Alien. But the other stages continued to be used for for a host of genre favourites, including Trog and Rocky Horror Picture Show, which were filmed almost exclusively at nearby Oakley Court, and this book includes a complete list of the films and TV shows shot here, which, for a film location nerd like me, I found most illuminating.
There’s also three separate chapters on the 1998, 1999 and 2007 Bray Open Days that were organised by Donald Fearney and Simon Greetham with some great photos, many sent in by fellow fans, of what has now become something quite historic and never to be repeated, especially since the passing of many of those who worked at the studio.
Kinsey concludes his tour with the sad demise of the studio showing evidence of the chronic damp damage that destroyed the interior of Down Place and the redevelopment plans to save it by converting into housing. Currently, the studio has reopened to a handful of productions as the redevelopment plans are finalised, but a part of the studio has already had to be demolished because it was beyond repair and the jury is still out on the future of the main house.
ORDER DIRECT FROM PEVERIL PUBLISHING
Peter Cushing’s handprints get a new home at the Whitstable Community Museum
On Saturday 26 May 2018, I spent a wonderful day in the coastal town of Whitstable in Kent to celebrate Peter Cushing’s 105th birth anniversary and see the handover of the legendary actor’s handprints to the Whitstable Community Museum & Gallery by long time fan Chris Hassell.
Peter’s secretary Joyce Broughton provided some great anecdotes about her dear friend, whom she always called ‘Sir’, while the museum’s volunteers put together a mini exhibition of Peter’s personal artefacts and memorabilia from some of the many items that they have in storage.
Chris Hassell and Joyce Broughton with the handprints
Lunch followed at the Peter Cushing pub – a former cinema where many of Peter’s classic Hammer films were shown; followed by a walk to Peter’s former home and his bench at Cushing’s View.
Interestingly, the plaque which has been missing for a while was recently returned to the museum, and Joyce was over the moon – as it was she who had organised to have it made in the first place. She is now hoping to have it reinstated on the bench very soon. Let’s just hope no-one vandalises it again.
Courtesy of the Peter Cushing Association, here’s a copy of the press release which tells the story of the handprints long journey to the museum.
At the end of the post, I have included a video that I made of the museum exhibition, which was mounted in 2013 to mark Peter’s centenary. The museum is now looking at redevelopment plans, which enable more of Peter’s personal items to go on permanent display.
THE TALE OF THE PETER CUSHING HANDPRINTS
Peter Cushing was one of the most beloved and important actors for the genres of horror and fantasy films. He began in British Theater before making a name for himself in Hollywood with such films as The Man in The Iron Mask and A Chump at Oxford. Cushing returned to his native England during World War II and soon after became a television star with such hits as Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Creature and Beau Brummell. To his fans however, Mr. Cushing is recognized mostly for his work with Hammer Films. He began to star in many of Hammer’s horror and fantasy films starting in the late 1950’s, which consequently breathed new life and energy into the nearly forgotten genre of classic horror films.
These films gained such favor and popularity with the public that Mr. Cushing was quickly catapulted to international stardom. Such classics included The Curse of Frankenstein, Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas, Horror of Dracula, The Mummy, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed plus many more. He also appeared in films for Amicus – Hammer’s rival. Some of these classics included Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors, Dr. Who and the Daleks, Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., I Monster, Asylum, and Tales from the Crypt. Mr. Cushing capped off his career in the late 1970’s with Star Wars.
From then on, he made only a handful of films with Biggles being his last in 1986. Still very active in retirement, Mr. Cushing wrote two autobiographies, received the O.B.E. (Officer of the British Empire) in 1989, helped in raising money for cancer research, along with painting, collecting books, and bird watching in his spare time.
I couldn’t resist getting my pic taken with ‘the relic’
The Peter Cushing framed handprints you now see displayed at the Whitstable Museum were almost lost to history if not for the diligent actions of Peter Cushing Association member Chris Hassell. Peter Cushing had his hands cast in plaster in 1992 at Leicester Square in London. The plaster prints were framed and eventually displayed at the Prince Charles Cinema in London.
Years later a member of the Peter Cushing Association informed the group about the prints in their fanzine ‘The Cushing Courier’ which immediately struck the curiosity of Hassell who, finding no information about them in Cushing’s own autobiographies, wrote to the Prince Charles Cinema explaining about the Peter Cushing Association and inquiring about the prints.
Uwe Sommerlad and Chris outside Peter Cushing’s former home in Whitstable
The view from Peter Cushing’s former home
Little did he know the events he would set in motion but weeks later Hassell received a postcard from Ben Freedman, owner of Robins Cinemas, who asked if he would like to come to London to collect the handprints! The Prince Charles was originally owned by the Cannon group and Robins Cinema had taken it over. Freedman wanted the prints to be housed in a suitable location relevant to fans of Peter Cushing.
Amazed at the response, Hassell reached out to Freedman who explained to him that the Cinema would consider donating the handprints to the Peter Cushing Association, so it could be displayed at a final resting place for all fans of Peter Cushing to view. Hassell worked with the first president of the Peter Cushing Association, Brian Holland, to send an issue of ‘The Cushing Courier’ with a letter outlining the plan for the handprints. On July 27, 1999, Robins Cinemas called Hassell to inform him they would be happy to donate ‘The Relic’ (the nickname Hassell gave the handprints) to the PCA.
After an unforeseen circumstance, Hassell was unable to pick up the handprints at Robins Cinema on October 22 at the Prince Charles Cinema. As described by Hassell, “Picture, if you will, a shallow wooden tray about four inches deep, eighteen inches square with sides almost one-inch-thick, filled to the brim with heavy and hardened years-old plaster. Inset into the plaster, a pair of hand-prints, above which is etched a very familiar signature and a date (‘92). Unfortunately, the middle finger of the left hand-print shows some slight damage but, otherwise, the plaster is perfect. Between, and slightly below, the two hand-prints is embedded a five-pointed golden star. In the middle of this star are engraved two words: ‘PETER CUSHING’.”
A montage of pics taken at the Peter Cushing pub
After the pickup, the PCA was awaiting a decision on whether the Whitstable Museum or the Theatre Royal, Chatham would become the final resting place for the Peter Cushing handprints. Unfortunately, the Theatre Royal closed-down and the PCA went through changes in leadership which delayed the final decision. The Whitstable Museum, with its permanent display of some of Peter Cushing’s personal items, was chosen as the final resting place of the handprints and Hassell was once again tasked with arranging the final trip. On May 26th, 2018, Peter Cushing handprints will finally be on display at the Whitstable Museum in town he called home.
Anyone interested in joining the Peter Cushing Association to enjoy and discuss his films and legacy (no dues to join, just request to join us on Facebook) please visit us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/petercushingassociation/
Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960) | Hammer’s bravest venture is ripe for rediscovery in HD
1960’s Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (aka Never Take Candy from a Stranger in the US) was one of Hammer’s bravest ventures: an earnest precautionary tale with its intentions in the right place that never really got a chance on its original release. But its now ripe for rediscovery as it joins Indicator’s second volume of Hammer classics: Criminal Intent.
Adapted from a 1953 play, The Pony Cart, by Roger Garris, it follows a British family settling into a small Canadian town where the father, Peter Cater (Patrick Allen) has been appointed the new school principal. When daughter Jean (Janina Faye) claims that the town’s respected patriarch, Clarence Olderberry Sr (Felix Aylmer), offered her and her friend Lucille (Frances Green) sweets in exchange to seeing them naked, Jean’s horrified mother Sally (Gwen Watford) demands an investigation. But the ensuing trial sees Jean coming under some brutal cross-examining and the elderly Olderberry being found not guilty… a verdict that results in murder!
Hammer’s social drama boasts great turns from Allen and Watford as the concerned parents, while Janina Faye gives a career-best performance as Jean (in a role that she also played on the West End). As the elderly paedophile, knighted stage and screen actor Felix Aylmer must be one of Hammer’s most chilling monsters (with or without makeup), and the fact he never utters a word only makes his performance all the more unnerving – as you never know what’s really going inside his sick mind.
Cinematographer Freddie Francis adds a touch of cinéma vérité to the nerve-wracking courtroom sequences, which were all shot in a single take at Bray Studios, and he makes atmospheric use of some of Hammer’s favourite locations – Oakley Court (standing in for a sanatorium) and Black Park, as well as Burnham Beeches and a housing estate in Slough. The suspenseful score is from idiosyncratic composer Elisabeth Luytens, while director Frankel brings a tremendous amount of suspense to the proceedings (he would later helm Hammer’s The Witches in 1966).
Hammer purposely plays down the sensationalism to craft an insightful message movie which explores both predatory behaviour and how power and privilege can shield dangerous people from proper justice. Applauded by critics of the day, the film was quite ground-breaking – especially as child sexual abuse was still a taboo subject. But the film was denied a certificate that would have allowed children to see it, as it was deemed too upsetting. Even the film’s star Janina Faye did not see her fine performance for many years. While promoted as a warning for parents, the film was not a commercial success and quickly disappeared – becoming one of Hammer’s most elusive titles in their back catalogue.
Watching it afresh, it is a stark and impressive piece of cinema that continues to send a chill down the spine with its authentic exploration of a very real grim subject that refuses to go away. Brave, intelligent and way ahead of its time – this is Hammer at its most sincere.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
• HD restoration with original mono audio and new improved English subtitles.
• Two presentations: Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (UK); and Never Take Candy from a Stranger (US).
• New documentary: Conspiracy Theories: Inside Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (The film’s background and production are retraced by Indicator’s stable of Hammer experts, plus there’s some great archive audio interview excerpts from director Frankel).
• Appreciation of Gwen Watford by British cinema expert Dr Laura Mayne.
• An interview with Janina Faye, who looks back over her career with Hammer and recalls her role in the film.
• The Perfect Horror Chord: David Huckvale explores composer Elisabeth Lutyens’ ‘eerie weirdy’ musical compositions for Hammer (if you are musically inclined, this is a must).
• Actor and film-maker Matthew Holness explores the film’s message, intentions, cast and crew.
• Trailers From Hell commentary with Brian Trenchard-Smith, who succinctly does the same.
• Advertising and Publicity Gallery
• Press Material
• Exclusive booklet
Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960) can be found on Indicator’s Limited Edition Box Set, Hammer Volume Two: Criminal Intent, which includes three other classic thrillers from the vaults of Hammer Films (all world Blu-ray premieres): The Snorkel (1958), The Full Treatment (1961) and Cash on Demand (1961) .
The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (1964) | Hammer’s ancient avenger stalks Victorian London in HD
I’m finally dipping into Indicator/Powerhouse’s fantastic box-set Hammer Volume One: Fear Warning, in which a quartet of classic chillers get their first-ever HD restorations (region free) with a host of exclusive extra features. Here’s my look back at 1964’s The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb.
In 1900 Egypt, a team of archaeologists, including John Bray (Ronald Howard) and his Egyptology expert fiancée, Annette (Jeanne Roland), unearth the tomb of the Ra-Antef.
When Annette’s father is murdered, the expedition’s main backer, Alexander King (Fred Clark), hatches a plan to have the treasure and sarcophagus shipped back to England for a luridly sensational tour. But when the seals are cut during the exhibition’s opening night – the coffin is found to be empty.
Soon the beat of cloth-wrapped feet begin to sound in foggy Victorian London as the ancient avenger (Dickie Owen) pursues all those who defiled its tomb…
What happens next is entirely predictable: the mummy goes on the rampage as Annette gets herself involved in a love triangle with her wimpy fiancé John and charismatic arts patron Adam (Terence Morgan), before ending up in the sewer system with the lumbering bandaged evil.
This 1964 horror sequel is a far cry from Hammer’s original 1959 classic; with pretty lame sets (especially the desert scenes) and suffers from some middle of the road casting (and sadly lacking Hammer favourites Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee), but US import Fred Clark certainly makes up for it as Alexander King, a PT Barnum meets William Castle showman with a heart of gold. A great comic actor, Clark would go onto co-star alongside Frankie Avalon in the Vincent Price spy spoof Dr Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine the following year.
Burmese-born actress Jeanne Roland tries her best to present her educated Annette as an independent, modern (Victorian) woman, but ends up being little more than an alluring decoration.
This was Roland’s only starring vehicle for Hammer (she also suffered the same fate as many a Hammer scream queen – being dubbed), and later popped up in You Only Live Twice as Bond’s masseuse.
Hammer stalwarts George Pastell and Michael Ripper also appear – albeit too briefly, and future Virgin Witch director Ray Austin gets into a punch-up with Morgan’s Adam.
With its scenes of head crushing and severed hands, it’s surprisingly violent, and there’s a neat twist in the final act. Originally released in the UK and the US on a double-bill with The Gorgon, it actually proved a big success for Hammer despite its flaws.
SPECIAL FEATURES
• Blood and Bandages: Inside The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb (very informative and illuminating anecdotes)
• An appreciation of Jeanne Roland by Diabolique editor-in-chief Kat Ellinger
• Interview with Michael McStay (2017): the British film and TV actor looks back at his time working for Hammer (his deaf person’s story is a hoot)
• Interview with composer Carlo Martelli on the use of sourced music for the film
• Super 8 Version: original cut-down home cinema presentation
• Trailer and Image Gallery
The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) | Hammer’s ham-fisted Gothic horror parody restored in HD
Heading into black comedy horror territory, Hammer screenwriter Jimmy Sangster made his directorial debut with 1970’s The Horror of Frankenstein, a revisionist remake of the studio’s stylish 1957 Gothic horror classic The Curse of Frankenstein – which he also wrote. But it’s quite the disappointment – even to die-hard fans.
With Hammer eyeing up a hipper, younger crowd, Taste the Blood of Dracula’s Ralph Bates takes over the title role of the monster-making Baron from Peter Cushing (who had played it four times) and he portrays him as a psychopathic serial killer and arrogant womanising misogynist who prefers tight breeches to show off his ‘average’ manhood.
Taking its narrative cue from Curse, the Gothic horror parody finds Bates knocking off his dad, claiming his Baronic title and fortune, and heading off to medical school. But, after getting the Dean’s daughter pregnant, he returns to the family castle, where he sets up shop with fellow medical student, Wilhelm Kassner (Graham James, wearing a hideous pink cravat), to create human life using a big chart labelled with numbered body parts.
Once assembled and activated, the new Baron’s creature – played by a pec flexing Dave Prowse (aka bodyguard Julian in A Clockwork Orange and the strongman in Vampire Circus) – starts killing all and sundry for no apparent reason – altough the indignity of having to wear an S&M collar, nappy and red lipstick applied stitch marks could be justifiable.
The studio-bound exteriors (except for a shot of Austria’s Hohenwerfen Castle, and a bridge and churchyard scene shot in North Mymms, Hertfordshire), re-used sets (the castle stonework looks like wallpaper), and ‘toilet humour’ does Sangster a real disservice (something he later admitted); but this lacklustre affair is worth watching for the Hammer glamour on display.
The Vampire Lovers‘ Kate O’Mara, sporting a dodgy accent that’s West Country by way of the Emerald Isle, vamps it up as the ‘accommodating’ chambermaid Alys, while statuesque Veronica Carlson (who was so good in 1969’s Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed) tries her best as needy professor’s daughter, Elizabeth, whose designs on the Baron get short shrift – probably on account of her Heidi hair-do of greasy links of bratwurst.
Both O’Mara and Carlson add some real Hammer glamour to the proceedings, and on a personal note, it has been great to have met them on the convention circuit. Sadly, Kate O’Mara passed away on 30 March 2015, aged 74, from ovarian cancer. Veronica, meanwhile, has become quite the artist and lives with her family in the US.
Dennis Price (now there’s someone I would have loved to have met) and Joan Rice (in her last film role) steal the show as a husband and wife pair of body snatchers, while Jon Finch is totally wasted as the Baron’s former childhood friend turned local copper. He did, however, find his stride in Roman Polanski’s The Tragedy of Macbeth the following year, and Robert Fuest’s The Final Programme in 1973.
Carry on… Young Frankenstein this is not! But it should have been!
The Horror of Frankenstein gets its Blu-ray UK debut (on Doubleplay from 29 January 2018) courtesy of Studiocanal featuring a brand new HD restoration (which only serves to accentuate the ‘wallpaper’ scenery, plastic forest trees and garish costumes).
It does, however, include the featurette, Gallows Humour: Inside The Horror of Frankenstein, which includes some interesting comments from Veronica Carlson about her time on the production, as well as some interesting production trivia from a handful of Hammer experts.
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