RIP Richard Matheson (1926-2013) - author, screenwriter, legend

The news that American author and screenwriter Richard Matheson has passed away this week (23 June) at the age of 87 has filled me with sadness. His massive body of work was hugely influential in the world of science fiction just as the late Ray Bradbury (who left us in June of last year) was in the field of fantasy fiction. 

On screen, I will forever remember Matheson as the writer of many of Roger Corman's Poe films starring Vincent Price.
 

1960 The Fall of the House of Usher (screenplay) 

1961 Master of the World (screenplay) 

1961 Pit and the Pendulum (screenplay) 

1962 Tales of Terror (screenplay) 

1963 The Raven (writer) 

1963 The Comedy of Terrors (novel - uncredited screenplay)

But my favourite work of his remains 1954's I Am Legend, which has been adapted for the screen three times – first with Vincent in 1964's underrated The Last Man on Earth (as Logan Swanson), then with Chuck Heston in 1971 classic The Omega Man, and finally in that Will Smith one. 

RIP Richard. Thanks for taking me beyond the stars and beyond the limits of my imagination.

If you'd like to share your favourite Richard Matheson titles on Twitter, then use the hashtag #RIPMatheson, otherwise please leave a comment below.



 

Kensal Green Cemetery | The Theatre of Blood film location is having an Open Day

In the 1973 film Theatre of Blood, in which Vincent Price's Shakespearean actor Edward Lionheart takes delicious revenge on the critics who spurned him, one of the film's key scenes took place at Kensal Green Cemetery, the first of the 'Magnificent Seven' garden-style cemeteries in London. 

Hector's grave was sited in front of the Anglican Chapel portico

 

Disguised as a gravedigger, Lionheart watched 'in the wings' as the body of Hector Snipe (Dennis Price) was dragged behind a horse in full view his horrified theatre critic colleagues, in a bloody re-enactment of Hector's demise the hands of Achilles in Shakespeare's play Troilus and Cressida.

The Anglican Chapel portico in the film and today

 

In another scene, which takes place within The Anglican Chapel, Lionheart's daughter Edwina (Diana Rigg) visits her supposedly dead father's memorial and is quizzed by Peregrin Devlin (Ian Hendry).

Lionheart's memorial is actually the tomb of Robert Sievier

This monument was altered for the film. It belongs to sculptor and inventor Robert William Sievier (1794-1865), and shows the sculpted figures of a seated man, one hand placed on the head a woman kneeling in adoration, while the other holds the Bible, its pages opened to a passage in the Book of Luke. For the film, plaster masks of Price and Rigg were substituted for the statue's real ones, the Bible became a volume of Shakespeare and there is a suitable engraving at the front with Lionheart's name and dates.

If you have ever wanted to visit the location, then the Kensal Green Cemetery Open Day on Saturday 22 June 2013 is a perfect opportunity. It hosts tours of the cemetery and the catacombs, a range of stalls and also a display of classic hearses. It's free and fun and here's the link if you want more information.

Kensal Green Cemetery

Address: 385 Ladbroke Grove, London, NW10 5JX

Aliens in the Mind | The 1977 radio drama starring Vincent Price and Peter Cushing | Airs Saturday 15 June, BBC Radio 4 Extra

Saturday 15 June, BBC Radio 4 Extra, 6:30pm

Starring Vincent Price and Peter Cushing.

Also featuring Henry Stamfer, Sandra Clark, Shirley Dickson, Irene Tucklef, Fraser Carr, Andrew Spear, Steve Titus, Joan Matheson, William Eagle, Clifford Norgate, Michael Harver, James Thomlinson, Richard Herndle and Joan Benom.

Writers: Robert Holmes and Rene Bijenico

Producer: John Dyre

Effects: Chris Jenkins 

Two doctors head to the remote Scottish island of Luig to attend a colleague's funeral. During their visit to the village they question how he died and in their research find that he actually died of supernatural causes…

ORIGINAL TRANSMISSION

4280 AC1 "ISLAND GENESIS"

1 01-02-77 0:27:00

4280 AC2 "HURRIED EXODUS"

2 01-09-77 0:27:00

4280 AC3 "UNEXPECTED VISITATIONS"

3 01-16-77 0:27:20

4280 BD1 "OFFICIAL INTERCESSION"

4 01-23-77 0:27:20

4280 BD2 "GENETIC REVELATION"

5 01-30-77 0:26:40

4280 BD3 "FINAL TRIBULATION"

6 02-06-77 0:27:20

 
'Cushing is the perfect gentleman investigator, while Price could be reading a tax return and it would still be gripping. It might be old but this screams quality, just as loudly as that howling wind.' Radio Times (Jane Anderson)

Click here for the official Radio 4 Extra website

Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story on Sky Arts 1 HD tonight at 11pm

Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story

Thursday, 6 June at 11pm , Sky Arts 1 HD (Sky 129, Virgin 281)
Another chance to see the brilliant documentary about the life and work of famous B-Movie producer and director William Castle. A master of publicity, Castle started making cheap horror films in the late 1950s, luring audiences to such films as The Tingler and The House on Haunted Hill with a battery of gimmicks, including 3D effects, fake skeletons and cinema seats hooked up to vibrating buzzers. With contributions from John Waters, Terry Castle, John Landis and Roger Corman among others.

Watch The Tingler trailer here


Watch The House on Haunted Hill here
 

 

Peter Cushing at 100 | Whitstable Museum and Gallery Exhibition

A peek inside the Peter Cushing at 100 exhibit at the Whitstable Museum and Gallery.

Happy Birthday to Vincent Price and Chistopher Lee

Happy birthday to Vincent and Christopher. Our dear Vinnie may no longer be with us, but Chris is still going strong at 91. He's even releasing a heavy metal (his second) today, Charlemagne: The Omens of Death. Click here for more details.

Peter Cushing Centenary | The Horror Channel celebrates the iconic actor's 100th birthday

Today, The Horror Channel (Sky 319, Virgin 149, Freesat 138) celebrates 100 years of the birth of one of the country’s most beloved actors, Peter Cushing OBE with three films from his long film career, and a classic episode from the 1980s TV horror anthology series, Hammer House of Hammer.

10am Frankenstein Created Woman (1967)
In the fourth of Hammer’s Frankenstein series, directed by Terence Fisher, Peter Cushing’s obsessed scientist Baron Frankenstein embarks upon his most ambitious work – bringing a young maiden (Susan Denberg) back to life using the soul of an executed man.




12noon The Blood Beast Terror (1968)
Victorian-set horror in which Peter Cushing plays a Scotland Yard detective investigating a series of grisly deaths in the English countryside and discovers an entomology professor (Robert Flemying) is trying to create a mate for his half-woman/half-moth daughter (Wanda Ventham aka Beneditch Cumberbatch’s mum).



1.30pm I, Monster (1971)
In this Amicus adaptation of the Jekyll & Hyde story, Christopher Lee plays Charles Marlowe, a psychologist who invents a drug that releases his patients’ inhibitions. But when Marlowe tests it on himself, he becomes the cruel, murderous Edward Blake. It’s up to Peter Cushing’s lawyer to discover the truth.



3pm The Beast Must Die (1974)
This 1970s action whodunit sees Cushing playing lycanthropy expert Dr Lundgre – one of a number of invited guests of a wealthy sportsman (Calvin Lockhart) who believes one of them is a werewolf. Near the conclusion, the audience have a 30-second interlude during which they can decide, who the hunted beast is.



4.50pm Hammer House of Horror:
The Silent Scream (1980)
Cushing gives a finely tuned performance as Martin Blueck, an ex-Nazi doctor posing as a seemingly kindly pet shopkeeper who befriends a released convict, Chuck Spillers (Brian Cox) only to trap him and his wife in his latest experiment. Classic chills.



***NEWS IN!*** There are just a handful of tickets left for the May 29 screening of Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell at BFI Southbank in London, which will be introduced by two stars from the film, Madeline Smith and Dave Prowse, plus the editors of the Peter Cushing: The Complete Memoirs, Jonathan Rigby and Joyce Broughton (Cushing's secretary). Click here for more information.

Altitude Films release Scream and Scream Again and Madhouse on DVD in the UK

Just found these two Price titles are being re-issued on Region 2 DVDs from a new outfit called Altitude Films, part of a package of horror classics being released on Monday 27th May, the others are The Black Cat, The Raven, The Legend of Hell House, Phantom Lady, and Black Friday.

Other genre titles to be released include The St Valentines Day Massacre and Fugutive Kind (also 27th May); Hot Rock, McLintock! and Story of GI Joe on 3rd June;  Desiree and Arabian Nights on 10th June.

Will they be any different from the US MGM Home Entertainment releases? Will they come with new extras? Below is the blurb from the distributors. As soon as they arrive, I will update this post.

Scream and Scream Again, 1970 (Order Here)
Starring – Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing.
Police are called in to investigate a series of brutal murders. At first they believe the deaths are unrelated, until pathologist David Sorel (Christopher Matthews) performs a post-mortem revealing that each body has been sucked dry of blood, giving the appearance of the work of vampires. Ordered by a government official to destroy the evidence, the police drop the case. But Sorel refuses to stop looking into the mystery. In an attempt to capture the crazed killer he is led to the mysterious mansion of Dr. Browning (Vincent Price), where he finds a secret operating theatre; a workshop for the creation of super humans out of limbs and organs from living bodies. But in a sadistic twist, the mastermind behind Browning’s evil deeds pushes him into a vat of acid, putting a grisly end to his diabolical plans.

Madhouse, 1974 (Order Here)
Starring – Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, Robert Quarry.
Paul Toombes (Vincent Price), veteran Hollywood horror film star, is making a comeback in a new TV series based on the old “Dr. Death” movies which first made him world famous. The trouble with Paul is his past. A beautiful young actress to whom he was engaged to be married was found murdered in strange circumstances. Although acquitted after standing trial for the killing, Paul’s career was shattered and the breakdown he suffered left him an unbalanced wreck. Now twenty years on, his old actor-friend Herbert Flay (Peter Cushing) welcomes him back to the role. But the curse of Dr. Death strikes again as a series of gruesome murders drag Paul into his past and he begins to wonder if he is in the grip of impulses totally beyond his control.

The Keys of the Kingdom | The 1944 religious drama that made Gregory Peck a star gets a UK DVD release from Odeon Entertainment

THE STORY

This adaptation of AJ Cronin's 1941 novel, The Keys of the Kingdom, explores the life of Catholic missionary Francis Chisholm (Gregory Peck). Told in flashback, it spans some 60 years, from his childhood days in Scotland (where he is played by Roddy McDowall) to his helping the poor in a remote rural Chinese province. Along the way, we see the compassionate cleric’s tireless devotion to his cause in spite of such obstacles as a civil war, a disagreeable mother superior (Rose Stradner) and a pompous monsignor (Vincent Price), and witness the humbling influence he had on the lives of the people he ministered over the decades.

 

THE LOWDOWN

While this long, faithful 1944 adaptation of AJ Cronin’s popular novel may make lack the nobility of that well-known religious epic The Song of Bernadette (which came out a year before by the same studio, 20^th Century Fox) or the enchantment of the year’s biggest grossing film Going My Way – which also concerned a young priest (Bing Crosby) making his mark in the world – it’s success is down solely to Peck’s sincere, spiritual performance. While this was only his second film, Peck scored a well-deserved Academy Award nomination playing the humble Father Chisholm. His next film, Spellbound for Alfred Hitchcock, would further cement his leading man credentials. 

VINCENT ON THAT ‘FAT PRIEST’

In news articles of the day, Price described his character, Angus Mealey, as ‘that fat priest’. Having been forced to lose weight for the three films he made during 1944 – the religious epic TheSong of Bernadette, the Pacific war drama The Eve of St Mark, and the political biopic Wilson, Price had to pile on the pounds to play Peck’s snooty, racist superior. ‘I started to eat. Boy did I eat. I’m still eating,’ says Price.

DID YOU KNOW?

Vincent’s first wife Edith Barrett (1938-1948) can be seen in the film’s opening scenes playing Aunt Polly. It was second and last time that the couple would appear in a film together. The first was The Song of Bernadette.

THE DISC
Odeon Entertainment’s UK DVD release features a pretty decent print and a handful of extras, including a 1988 documentary, Gregory Peck: His Own Man, in which Peck reviews his life as an actor while shooting Old Gringo with Jane Fonda. Also included are a gallery and trailer.

Peter Cushing at 100 | The Centenary Celebrations

On screen he portrayed some of most iconic characters, from Sherlock Holmes to Doctor Who and the Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars, and made his name in Hammer horror movies playing Baron Frankenstein and vampire hunter Dr Van Helsing. Yet for all the frights he gave audiences, Peter Cushing was well known as one of life’s gentlemen – devoted to his late wife Helen, a passionate watercolour artist, and in love with his adopted town of Whitstable in Kent – which he made his home from the 1950s until his death in 1994. To mark the 100th anniversary of the actor’s birth on 26 May, a number of special events are taking place in Whitstable and London.

Peter Cushing at 100
Whitstable Museum and Gallery (Kent) | 29 March-13 June 2013
A special exhibition celebrating the life of Whitstable’s favourite resident features a host of artefacts, from film stills and posters to examples of his artwork and even the pair of slippers he famously wore while filming Star Wars. Click here for ticketing details.

Peter Cushing: The Complete Memoirs | Book Launch
Cinema Museum (London) | Sunday 12 May, 7.30pm
Film historian Jonathan Rigby and Peter Cushing’s former assistant Bernard Broughton will be special guests at the launch of Peter Cushing: The Complete Memoirs, which collects together Cushing’s 1980s books – An Autobiography and Past Forgetting – with the 1955 memoir The Peter Cushing Story, and includes extensive unseen material from his private collection. For tickets, click here.

Brides of Dracula | Film Screening
Horsebridge Community Centre (Whitstable, Kent) | Saturday 25 May, 7.30pm
A screening the 1960 Hammer horror film starring Peter Cushing as vampire hunter, Van Helsing. Tickets are £5 – Box Office: 01227 281174

Peter Cushing Centenary Weekend
(Whitstable, Kent) | Saturday 25 May-Sunday 26 May
In 2004, on the 10^th anniversary of the actor’s death, more than 12,000 people from around the world descended on the coastal town, visiting the local museum and the strolling around the same places that Cushing frequented, including the Tudor Tea Rooms and Cushing’s View, a seaside spot much favoured by the actor. The 100^th anniversary will be even more special, with events being held in and around the town, including the Peter Cushing pub (a converted art deco cinema) on Oxford Street, which will host a special Hammer horror fancy dress party.

The Peter Cushing Scrapbook | Signings
Wayne Kinsey, Tom Johnson & Joyce Broughton (Peveril Publishing)
This 328-page pictorial history to Peter Cushing has been compiled in time for the centenary of the much moved actor and is only available direct from Peveril Publishing. Signings of the book will be held on 12 May at the 4th Norwich Sci Fi Convention and 25 May at the Peter Cushing pub (11am-5pm).

Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell | Film Screening
BFI Southbank (London) | Wednesday 29 May, 6.30pm
This 1973 Hammer horror was the final instalment in the studio’s Frankenstein franchise starring Peter Cushing. The BFI are screening a new HD restoration of the film, with an introduction from actress Madeline Smith and Joyce Broughton, Cushing’s secretary for 35 years. For more information, click here.