Showing posts with label madeline smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label madeline smith. Show all posts

Tuesday 4 February 2020

NEWS: SCREAM FACTORY ANNOUNCES ANOTHER CLASSIC HAMMER FILM FOR USA BLU RAY RELEASE


NEWS: Scream Factory have announced they are putting out Hammer's Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell on blu-ray details below


SCREAM FACTORY PRESS RELEASE BELOW:
**NEW TITLE ANNOUNCEMENT**

YESTERDAY, we announced an upcoming Hammer Films Blu-ray In May with Frankenstein and with Peter Cushing. Well, today we have yet another one! 1973's FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL makes its Blu-ray debut in North America on May 19th 2020. YOU can PRE-ORDER HERE!


'Is Baron Frankenstein truly dead? That's precisely what he wants the world to think. He's had it up to here with a public that doesn't appreciate the trouble a mad scientist goes through to snatch good body parts. To carry on his work, he holes up in a place where the possibilities are utterly maddening: a home for the criminally insane! A hand here. A brain there … true to form, the Baron (Cushing) keeps his gruesome creation (David Prowse, known for his portrayal of Darth Vader) in stitches in this sixth and final fright fest in Hammer Films' Frankenstein cycle.'

EXTRAS are in process and will be announced on a later date.

Wednesday 30 October 2019

BEHIND THE SCENES ON CLASSIC HAMMER VAMPIRE FILM ALMOST 50 THIS MONTH PLUS PHOTO CONTACT SHEETS!

 

THIS MONTH 'OCTOBER 2019' marks the 49th anniversary of a Peter Cushing Hammer film, that kind of shook up the 'adult' content of his future 'horror films', for Hammer. 'The Vampire Lovers' is a neat short clip of raw footage, unedited and very entertaining, from a BBC film programme that featured the making of the film in 1970. This was shared here quite a long time ago, so certainly worth a re-airing today! Peter is seen very relaxed, having a giggle about an actor he spotted on the train, who was quite the character... and liked... a glass, or two.. or three. Director Roy Ward Baker, ever the pro, arranges shots, lighting and motivation . . there is a charming shot of Ingrid Pitt too, in this her first leading role and third film. You can't help but notice the huge difference between Cushing's character voice and authority .. and that of the softest, sweetest gentleman, chatting while having his hair stylds by the lovely Pearl Tipaldi, the production hair-dresser. Enjoy!


'THE VAMPIRE LOVERS' was released in the UK on October 4th 1970, making a star of it's lead, #IngridPitt. For the future, she would always be known as a #ScreamQueen, playing a vampire in her next film for Amicus, 'The House That Dripped Blood' and 'vampire with a twist' in Hammer's #CountessDracula' also in 1971. The film did well at the box office. Cushing was almost supporting with actors Douglas Wilmer and George Cole along with love interests of Jon Finch and #MadelineSmith and #KateOMara, pulling together a script based on Sheridan Le Fanu's classic vampire tale, 'Carmilla'.


THE CENSOR LAWS lost their grip, man in macs queued in the rain to see botts and bosom's compete with #blood and #fangs . . there was no turning back after this one. It provided a much needed zap to the now, slightly predictable Hammer presentations . . #vampires for Hammer would never be the same again. So it's Happy Birthday The Vampire Lovers Where does #TheVampiresLovers sit on your TOP TEN of Cushing #Hammerfilms ðŸ˜® ..


INCLUDED in this photo selection, I have reposted SIX rare contact / proof sheets of stills from the film, that were posted a while ago. Some really like and collect these, and have told me you missed them when first posted, so here they are again, for your pleasure!










Friday 3 August 2018

CELEBRATING TWO CLASSIC HAMMER HORROR SCREAM QUEENS BIRTHDAYS TODAY!


PLEASE JOIN US IN WISHING MADELEINE SMITH a Very Happy Birthday today! She best known for her roles in three films for Hammer, Taste The Blood of Dracula (1970), The Vampire Lovers (1970) and Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell (1974).


FEATURED IN OUR BANNER is what is probably one of her best performances as Sarah (The Angel) in Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell co-starring Peter Cushing, and Shane Briant. Mind you, she was pretty good in the UK tv series, The Steam Video Company in the early 1980’s. She has a very good sense of humour and timing too!


PLEASE JOIN US in wishing SUSAN DENBERG a Very Happy Birthday today! She's best known for her role as Christina in ‪#‎hammerfilms‬ Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) with Peter Cushing and known to Star Trek fans as Magda Kovacs in the Original Series episode 'Mudd's Women' in 1966. HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSAN... Wherever you are!
 

SUSAN WAS ONE  of several HAMMER SCREAM QUEENS, that were featured in our series 'THAT FEMIMNINE TOUCH' written by BRUCE HALLENBECK.  


FIND SUSAN IN PART FOUR by just clicking HERE! Each part come with individual backgrounds to the actress features, plus a gallery of rare images and gifs!



PLEASE FEEL FREE to come and join us at the FACEBOOK PCASUK FAN PAGE!

Friday 17 November 2017

FREE CONTACT SHEETS 'THE VAMPIRE LOVERS' FOR CUSHING'S FEMME FATALES!


#CUSHINGFEMMEFATALESFRIDAY! This week, we present a gallery dedicated to one, who has proven to be larger than life itself, even in death . . INGRID PITT. In just over a week it would have been her birthday and the tenth anniversary of her all too soon passing . . . I have a few photographs to share here today, and whole gallery here at the website, some new and some favorite pics, of the only actress to have been friends with not only Peter..but also Helen, his late wife too . .To start the ball rolling... to mark Ingrid's inclusion in the FRIDAY FEMME FATALE GALLERY, I am giving away below, SIX rare hi res CONTACT SHEETS of rare photographs taken during the making of Hammer films 'The Vampire Lovers', for free! Join us on our NEXT #CUSHINGSFEMMEFATALES! POST TODAY, in just a few hours hours - Marcus







 

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  . .

Thursday 16 November 2017

WATCH 'THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN GOLDEN VAMPIRES' AND #GIFS #GIFS #GIFS


#SILENTBUTDEADLY: BITE! Carmilla (Ingrid Pitt) biting Mademoiselle Perrodot (Kate O'Mara) as Emma Morton (Madeline Smith) watches on in horror from Hammer's 'The Vampire Lovers' (1970), the first film in their 'The Karnstein Trilogy'

#petercushing #thevampirelovers #hammerfilms #ingridpitt #fangs #lesbianfiction


#SILENTBUTDEADLY: #FLESHANDTHEFIENDS The Moment where after Hare (Donald Pleasance) agrees to turn King's Evidence against his former partner he gets cornered, by the locals and they burn out his eyes. Peter Cushing gives one of his best performances in this film & Donald Pleasence as William Hare. George Rose as William Burke are outstanding. How do you feel this film compares to other versions of the story of Dr Knox and Burke and Hare?

#SILENTBUTDEADLY: Ready for action! Despite its many faults, I have always found Hammer's 'The Legend Of Seven Golden Vampires' is full of great moments such as this one, with Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) and his group watching and waiting ready to battle with Golden Vampires and their undead!
Do you have a favourite moment or shot from the film?

#petercushing #vampires #kungfu #shawbrothers #hammerfilms


ABOVE: WATCH PETER CUSHING IN 'THE LEGEND OF THE SEVEN
GOLDEN VAMPIRES'!



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  . .

Friday 7 October 2016

#FRANKENSTEINFRIDAY: ANOLIS FRANKENSTEIN HOLLENMONSTER BLU RAY REVIEWED


Released by: Anolis Entertainment
Released on: September 9th, 2016.
Director: Terence Fisher
Cast: Peter Cushing, Shane Briant, Madeline Smith, David Prowse, Bernard Lee
Year: 1974




Video: Having owned FATMFH on both VHS and DVD, I was very satisfied of the increase in detail and resolution of the blu-ray. Fine details like in the (rather cheap) monster suit are even more pronounced, for better or for worse. Many of the close-ups, like on Shane Briant, for instance, allow us to see the skin pores and sweat on the actor. Some other details like the dummy of Prof. Durendel during the brain transplant sequence are even more noticeable with the improved resolution, although the brain transplant itself, as well as all other gore, are very well done. There are some softer shots which are inherent to the film, such as Peter Cushing's entrance - always a bit soft on other releases.


I didn't notice any edge enhancement or DNR. I also didn't notice any blemishes or marks on the print, but I also don't recall there being any from prior transfers. I did notice a few examples of shimmer or artifacts on some surfaces but they were fleeting and didn't distract me too much. While other recent Hammer releases have been rushed and done on the cheap, FATMFH seems to have been much better treated.

 

I always found the older releases to be somewhat dark and hard to see, hiding some of the details. Many of the shadows and blacks were quite crushed, for example. It almost seems like someone turned on a light in the movie for this release. Nothing is too bright (it IS an asylum after all), but I have a feeling this is just how Terence Fisher wanted it to be seen. It should be noted that this DOES include the famous artery clamping scene where Cushing holds an artery with his teeth. This was cut for most of the other releases and I was happy to finally get a chance to see it.




Audio: If there has to be a downside to the release, it has to be the audio. While dialogue is generally good and audible, I found the music to be a tad muffled and restrained, although this might have something to do with the technical limitations of how it was recorded or the time period. I thought the music, dialogue, and sound effects were somewhat constricted in the space and would've liked a bit more clarity. Still, it was adequate for the movie.





Extras

Extras start off with an audio commentary with Dr. Rolf Giesen and Uwe Sommerlad that is in German only without any subtitle. However, the menu does give you the option to choose ‘English’ and when you do that, rather than a traditional commentary you get a thirty-nine minute featurettes with Gisen and Sommerlad speaking in English about the history of the film. They cover the details of the set, the involvement of various players including the film’s producers, the state of Hammer in the early seventies, how they’d been grooming Briant in hopes of making more Frankenstein pictures with him and of course, Peter Cushing (describing him as Edwardian rather than Victorian) and the actor’s very specific ideals and old fashioned beliefs.

Carried over from the Australian and UK discs, however, is and English language commentary with Madeline Smith and Shane Briant moderated by Hammer historian Marcus Hearn. This is quite a good track, with Smith and Briant participants in good spirits and seemingly quite keen on talking up their work on the picture. They both look back on Cushing quite fondly but also talk about their experiences working under Fisher, some of their thoughts on the picture and more. When they aren’t talking, Hearn does a fine job of offering the listener his expertise in terms of who did what, the locations and sets, the costumes, the music, the film’s censorship issues and loads more. This is a pretty interesting track, one definitely worth taking the time to listen to.
 

I enjoyed seeing the surviving cast members talk about the film and, of course, about Cushing. I had assumed the monster's suit was more of a foam rubber material but Shane Briant commented on how plastic it felt. Interesting. The documentary on Terence Fisher was a bit brief but I appreciate that they included it at all.

*** out of **** stars. A solid Hammer release.

PURCHASE AND ORDER HERE 



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