Vincent Price's 1968 musical Darling of the Day is reborn

Darling of the Day tells the story of a celebrated artist yearning for anonymity. He fakes his own death and assumes his valet's identity but carries on painting - which means that his art mysteriously keeps reappearing.

The show is based on Arnold Bennett's The Great Adventure, and was adapted by Jule Styne (Gypsy, Funny Girl), E.Y. Harburg (Finian’s Window, Wizard of Oz) and Nunnally Johnson (The Grapes of Wrath, Roxie Hart).

The 1968 show, which originally starred Vincent Price and Patricia Routledge, is being resurrected as part of the Sadler's Well's Lost Musicals season in London, from 22 August to 19 September.

So, if you're in London... this is a real trip down memory lane.

For tickets and information, go to the Sadler's Wells website.

The Sound of Vincent Price YouTube Channel now has 600 subscribers

Ok, so Lady GaGa's got 16 million Facebook fans and 20,000 Twitter followers, but I'm chuffed that The Sound of Vincent Price website now has 600 subscribers. The legend lives on.

Check out my latest upload, Masters of Fantasy, a documentary profiling Vincent's career.

Vincent Price in 1947's The Web | Watch it now!

Vincent Price played the elegant but sinister industrialist Andrew Colby in the 1947 film noir The Web.

Its been a long time since I watched this and its still a solid piece of film-making, with great performances from Ella Raines (whatever happened to her?), Edmond O'Brien and William Bendix.

Watch it now!

Watch The Bribe and Moss Ross now!

I have just posted the films Moss Rose (1947) and The Bribe (1949) for Vinnie fans to enjoy.

Hope you like them.

Pete's Peek | Ray Harryhausen reveals his 90th birthday treat

Take a look at what's happening today at the London Film Museum

Who knew Dr Phibes was a hoodie!

Hey Phibes fans, just comes across this unique piece of merchandising from the American death metal band The Black Dahlia Murder.

Its a hoody featuring artwork inspired by The Abominable Dr Phibes. How cool is that?

Pete's Peek | Enter the wild, wild world of RoboGeisha

It's like a crazy update of Dr Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, minus Vinnie. Check it out!

RIP Dennis Hopper

Dennis Hopper, best known as the director and star of Easy Rider and for his roles in Hoosiers, Blue Velvet and Apocalypse Now, died on Saturday in Venice, California of prostate cancer. He turned 74 two weeks ago. He was also a great friend of the late Vincent Price, sharing not only two film credits (1957's Story of Mankind and 1993's Heart of Justice) but also a life-long passion for collecting art.

Born May 17, 1936 in Dodge City, Kansas, Hopper was a life-long fixture in Hollywood. His long career included roles in some of the best or most well-known films from each decade of the last half-century. In the '50s he appeared in two of James Dean's three films; as one of the goons, troubling Dean's Jim Stark in 1955's Rebel Without a Cause, then as Jordan Benedict III in Giant. Hopper became friends with Dean, who died in a car accident in September of 1955, as his star was on the rise.

Hopper spent much of the '60s on television, usually playing a nervous, fidgety criminal but Hopper ended the decade with a triumph. He directed and starred in Easy Rider, a film made on a shoestring that became a nation-wide phenomenon and that helped define the hippie generation (at least for people who weren't really of that generation). Hopper played Billy, half of an iconic duo, looking for America with Wyatt (aka Captain America), played by Peter Fonda (who also co-wrote the film). The memorable third act line from Wyatt, "You know Billy, we blew it" would bedevil critics as they hounded both actors for the meaning of the line for the next forty years. Nevertheless the film was nominated for an Academy Award for the script and neither men ever essentially divulged what that line truly meant.

The film made so much money that Hopper was allowed to indulge in his whims and darker demons through the next thirteen years, first directing the bizarre The Last Movie and thereafter cementing his reputation as an erratic, difficult person to be around and to employ.

The '70s included Hopper's underrated turn as Tom Ripley in Wim Wenders's The American Friend and as a photographer-turned-high-priest proselytizing for Marlon Brando's jungle-god Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now.

Hopper's rumored drug addictions and abusive demeanor while high were part of his mystique until 1983 when a nearly catatonic Hopper was found wandering in the woods in Mexico naked. He entered rehab shortly after which then resulted in a rumored 30-year-dedication to sobriety and another one of his comebacks.
1986 was a particularly kind year to Hopper as Blue Velvet and Hoosiers (and a minor role in River's Edge) put him back on Hollywood's radar. The role in Hooseers, of an alcoholic who struggles to become an assistant basketball coach, earned him an Oscar nomination. But it was his completely creepy turn as Frank Booth, sucking from an air tank in David Lynch's disturbing, great Blue Velvet that stuck with people and gave Pabst Blue Ribbon a reason to celebrate.

The '90s included great roles in John Dahl's noir-western Red Rock West ('93) and Tony Scott's True Romance ('93) and another chance to prove what a true villain looked and felt like in Jan De Bont's Speed.

Hopper was married five times, including a week long marriage to Michelle Phillips in 1970, and, lastly, to Victoria Duffy. Hopper landed in the tabloids again as earlier this month, ailing badly, he filed for divorce from Duffy, citing irreconcilable differences. Rumors swirled that the divorce was in truth prompted by Hopper's oldest daughter, Marin, and was principally inspired by a dispute over Hopper's estate.

Hopper is survived by four children, including Galen, a six-year old whom he had with Duffy.

Happy 99th Birthday Vincent

Yes, 27 May is Vinnie's birthday.

Don't forget to check out Richard Squires new Facebook page, where I found this lovely little pic.

Pete

Pete’s Peek | Freddy’s back in the all-new Nightmare on Elm Street

Posted using ShareThis