Showing posts with label Peter Cushing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peter Cushing. Show all posts
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| Cushing and Lee at cross-purposes |
THE SKULL (1965). Director: Freddie Francis.
Dr. Christopher Maitland (Peter Cushing) is a collector of macabre esoterica who is brought a certain skull by Marco (Patrick Wymark); Marco insists it is the skull of the Marquis De Sade. Exposure to the skull brings doom and death to certain parties, and begins to control the mind of Dr. Maitland. Another collector, Sir Matthew Phillips (Christopher Lee), from whom the skull was stolen, warns Maitland about the skull, to no avail. Amicus studios tried to go Hammer one better by hiring away their stars and directors, and using similarly handsome settings, but producer (and Amicus bigwig) Milton Subotsky's script for this pretty much does it in. Just about everything that happens is completely predictable, and at one point the skull even goes flying through the air like a bat in a silly bit of business. Based on a story by Robert Bloch, it presents a foolish stereotype of De Sade as well. Cushing is marvelous, as usual, with fine support from Lee and Jill Bennett (For Your Eyes Only) as his wife. George Coulouris is an early victim of the skull and Michael Gough is an auctioneer. The whole thing becomes surprisingly boring pretty quickly. Asylum was a much better Amicus picture.
Verdict: More of a numbskull than a skull. **.
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| Dangerous tentacle of silicate |
When the body of a man is discovered with all of his insides somehow sucked out on an isolated island, Dr. Brian Stanley (Peter Cushing) and Dr. David West (Edward Judd of First Men in the Moon) are called in for consultation by the local constable, John Harris (Sam Kydd). There the two men discover more dessicated corpses, and learn that researchers attempting to create living matter to counteract cancer cells only succeeded in creating silicon-based tentacled creatures ["silicates"] that feed on humans and animals by leeching away bone via osmosis. While the monsters themselves aren't the most frightening things in the world, Island of Terror is still quite creepy, has good performances from the leads, Kydd, and Carole Gray [Curse of the Fly] as West's plucky date, and offers some fairly unusual beasties in the bargain. There are a couple of illogical moments, such as when one character takes an axe to another's arm instead of chopping at the tentacle that ensnared it, and the idea of herding everyone on the island into one place so the monsters can congregate and feed on them is also a boner, especially when they've already herded some animals together for that purpose. Cushing is as marvelous as ever.
Verdict: Fun monster movie despite some dumb moments. ***.
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| Peter Cushing and Andre Morrell |
Harry Fordyce (Peter Cushing of Frankenstein Created Woman) is a tight-assed manager of a local bank. One afternoon into the bank walks amiable Colonel Gore Hepburn (Andre Morell of The Plague of the Zombies), who represents the firm of Home and Mercantile, which provides security for the bank. Once Fordyce and Hepburn are ensconced in the former's office, Fordyce receives a desperate phone call from his wife, who tells him that she and their little boy are being held prisoner. Hepburn then coolly tells him that if he wants the woman and child to live, he must help him rob the bank ... Cash on Demand is not only suspenseful, but beautifully acted by the two principals and the rest of the cast. It even manages a moment or two of pathos. It is a real and rare treat to watch those fine actors Cushing and Morell work together. Quentin Lawrence also directed the delightful Crawling Eye/Trollenberg Terror.
Verdict: A little gem from Hammer studios. ***.
Based on the Dr. Syn novels that first appeared in 1915 [also the basis of Walt Disney's Dr. Syn, the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh], this interesting Hammer feature takes place in the village of Dymchurch in 1792. British sailors led by Captain Collier (Patrick Allen) come to town hunting for smugglers who want to bypass the high taxes on liquor and other items. The whole town leads Collier and his men on a merry chase as they do their best to hide the taxable items and outwit the revenue men. The supernatural aspects of the film -- the phantoms of Romney Marsh or the "night creatures" of the American title -- are a bit of a cheat, but the film is suspenseful and entertaining enough in its own right. Peter Cushing is excellent, as usual, as the reverend Dr. Blyss, who may have a secret or two up his sleeve, and Martin Benson [The Cosmic Monsters] and Michael Ripper also offer superior performances as two of his co-conspirators; Allen is also fine as Collier. Oliver Reed [Paranoiac] is as intense as ever as young Harry, who has fallen in love with barmaid Imogene (Yvonne Romain), who is the secret daughter of the supposedly dead and notorious pirate Captain Clegg. Jack MacGowran [The Giant Behemoth] offers another of his flavorful portrayals as a villager who tries to mislead Collier and his band, and Milton Reid is vivid as the "mulatto" who hates Clegg and causes all manner of mischief. Dan Banks' exciting musical score helps keep things percolating.
Verdict: Something different! ***.