Peter Cushing - The Great Gentleman of Horror
Why do we have so much love & care for our favorite actors in cinema?
In celluloid media I think it's actually in the process of viewing beautiful films of a certain actor(s). After watching some great performances that we liked so much that we developed an emotional bond with them intentionally or not. But when the business is to frighten the audience in an uncanny & shivering tale things get bit challenging for an actor. But there were some masters who entertained the genre fans all over the world for years, kept us always wanting to see more of their films and on a day when nothing goes right, we sit down & watch one of their films was like visiting an old friend and that always feels comforting and blissful. Peter Cushing is undoubtedly one of those kind of legends in horror cinema and today, on his 98th birthday we...HDC, a small but great community of fans likes to thank & salute him for the numerous hours of entertainment he given to us in a career that spanned well over fifty years, from the irrepressible Baron Frankenstein, the tireless Van Helsing, the quick-witted Sherlcok Holmes and the sympathetic Arthur Grimsdyke, any fan is sure to find some character that they can identify with and love immensely. http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...shing/HDC1.jpg http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...shing/HDC4.jpg "That character of his always shined through in all of his movies. No matter how mean they were supposed to be, you always felt that underneath the makeup or acting was a real Santa Claus character. That's certainly true of Peter Cushing." Forrest J Ackerman. Though I'm sure we all more or less know about him well but just for a little tribute let's take a glimpse in the life & works of this great legend of Horror cinema: Quote:
http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...shing/HDC5.jpg http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...shing/HDC3.jpg Sources: Online Archives & Articles |
Cushing as Hammer's Frankenstein:
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Sources: Online Archives & Articles |
Cushing as Dr. Van Helsing in Hammer's Dracula:
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Sources: Online Archives & Articles |
Cushing as Sherlock Holmes:
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Grew up watching Lee & Cushing. Another actor who never gave a bad performance. Let's not forget his turn as Dr. Who!
Loved him in The Skull and Dr. Terror's House of Horrors ... or whatever it was named. |
Cushing in Other Hammer Films:
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Thank you for this, Roshiq. Obviously, one of my favorite actors.
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Cushing in Non-Hammer Studios work:
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Sources: Online Archives & Articles |
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Notable quotes of Cushing:
"As for that old blood-sucker Dracula, whatever I did to get rid of him, he would keep turning up again, like a bad penny. There was no stopping him - a glutton for punishment as well as gore." "If I played Hamlet, they'd call it a horror film." "You have to have a sense of humor, darling, to be alive. Even a bit mad. It helps to be mad." "People look at me as if I were some sort of monster, but I can't think why. In my macabre pictures, I have either been a monster-maker or a monster-destroyer, but never a monster. Actually, I'm a gentle fellow. Never harmed a fly. I love animals, and when I'm in the country I'm a keen bird-watcher." - ABC Film Review (Nov 1964) "You cannot make a film like this without integrity. To make the audiences believe in you, you must believe utterly in what you are doing." - (1972) "It gives me the most wonderful feeling. These dear people love me so much and want to see me. The astonishing thing is that when I made the "Frankenstein" and "Dracula" movies almost 30 years ago the young audiences who see me now weren't even born yet. A new generation has grown up with my films. And the original audiences are still able to see me in new pictures. So, as long as these films are made I will have a life in this business -- for which I'm eternally grateful." (from a 1985 "Starlog" interview) "When Helen passed on six years ago I lost the only joy in life that I ever wanted. She was my whole life and without her there is no meaning. I am simply killing time, so to speak, until that wonderful day when we are together again." Sir, wherever you are...we believe once again you're having a wonderful time with your beloved wife in the eternal life of happiness. We miss you greatly but you'll always have a special place in our heart as well as in our limitless world of imagination & great creativity. Happy Birthday, Sir! http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...shing/HDC9.jpg http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...shing/HDC7.jpg ---------------^^^------------------ |
Fantastic thread. Stickied.
And happy birthday indeed to the noblest horror icon on-screen, Sir Peter Cushing! |
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What a great undertaking, Roshiq! A fitting tribute to such a legend. Well done!
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Great thread Roshiq he was an amazing actor :)
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incredible stuff, exhaustive and informative. bravo. peter always brought an understated class to any role he partook in, whether heroic or evil. i also quite enjoyed his brief turn as the backward bookkeeper in top secret, showin off his funny side. long live van helsing and grand moff tarkin.
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Thank you, guys for the appreciation. And so...7 more pics added.:)
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Great informative article and pictures. Peter Cushing is one of my all time horror favorites. He was a great actor and derserves the credit you gave him.
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Peter Cushing was the last of the horror fim icons, there will never be another like him.
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Well, Chris Lee is still with us, so I don't think I'd call Cushing the last.
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And he's still in movies with The Resident being the most recent-its great to see Lee still a force to be reckoned with.
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He's awesome! I just drew him for an illustration for Little Shoppe of Horrors magazine. They have a feature on him in their next issue :)
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Thanks so much for posting that! Very touching.
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he is my fave in the hammer movies, awesome actor :D. i loved him as doctor who, still think he was the best doctor.
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I'm new on this site and a big Hammer Films fan - so it's nice to see a thread for Peter Cushing.
He is one of my all time favourites and a fantastic actor. The effort he gave was always 100% - which is incredible when you think of the low budget films he was in (a lot of modern so-called US stars don't make an effort if their film is being made for anything less than 50 million dollars!) But as well as being a great actor, he was such a nice person in real life - and rightly known as the gentleman of horror. When the old Hammer actors/actresses talk about Peter Cushing, it is always with such genuine affection and love. He was always a loving uncle to the actresses and a friend to everyone else. There was certainly no ego. He is a great man, who should have been knighted in his lifetime. |
He was also great in 1984 (1951)
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Even the Queen was impressed with the programme and his performance - so much so that the BBC televised it again the following week. |
One of the greats for sure.
Ironically I first came to know him when I was 10 years old as Grand Moff Tarkin in the summer of 1977 when I (like every other kid that summer) became a Star Wars disciple. It was shortly after that when I saw my first hammer films that I noticed Grand Moff Tarkin chasing Dracula and things like that. Later on as an adult I recognized his portrayal of Frankenstein was every bit as sinister as that of Darth Vaders sidekick. The constant pairing of two actors in film after film usually gets tedious and boring, somehow Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing pulled it off. They are right up there with Karloff and Lugosi. |
Peter Cushing was one of a kind, he was awesome in those Hammer films. One of my favorite films he was in was a little-known film that came out about 1958 or so, The Abomanble Snowman. Scared the hell out of me back then, I saw it on TV a couple years ago and it is still frightning.
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Was just watching Island of Terror the other day. Great film and a with (as usual) a great performance by Cushing.
As for my favourite Cushing performance, I might say his Hound of the Baskervilles would be it. |
Cushing's best
Though it jumps the barrier into the 70's and out of the classics, I think one of Peter Cushing's most entertaining performances is in the only so-so Legend of the Werewolf. The film is okay, but Cushing as the coroner is a hoot.
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Cushing fan
You are not a real horror fan if u dont love peter cushing. period. :cool: cushing rules. best victor frankestein ever.
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A lovely man by all accounts. Every person who worked with him seems to have loved him to bits. Any film I put on with Peter Cushing in it, I know I'm going to enjoy.
The film itself might not be the best, but I'm just happy watching him on screen. |
WOW. Just WOW!!!
Thank you so much for this. I enjoyed reading it and learning some new things about an actor that I just love watching. |
Fans of Mr. Cushing, may want to check out "Famous Monsters Of Filmland #268" .It has several nice articles on the life and career of Peter Cushing. A great cover too.
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Ahh Peter Cushing, cheekbones to cut diamonds with!
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LOVE Peter Cushing...always gave 110% in every film and even if the film wasn't great, he was always worth watching.
Some of our favorites are: HORROR OF DRACULA STAR WARS TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972-how sad this story made me when I first saw it) ASYLUM FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES (1959) Sad day when he passed::sad:: |
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