My favourite Cushing moment is in Horror Express when they realise the monster is a shape shifter and when someone says anyone of us could be the monster Cushing delivers the immortal line: “Monsters? We’re British you know.”
My own little Peter Cushing story: Once my wife and I were looking to adopt a new cat. She was visiting a shelter, and sent me a picture of a candidate; an all-white cat with a rather gaunt face and sharp cheek bones. I answered back, “He looks nice, but maybe a little…” and pasted in a picture of Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin. My wife thought that was hilarious, and we adopted the cat.
Thank you for this tribute. The highest compliment I can pay to the actor is this: I don't watch Peter Cushing because he is in horror movies, I watch horror movies because Peter Cushing is in them. (And sometimes because his friends are in them).
My own Cushing horror top ten, from lowest to highest: Night Creatures, Island of Terror, Curse of Frankenstein, Revenge of Frankenstein, 1984, Horror Express, Mummy, Hound of the Baskervilles, Brides of Dracula, Horror of Dracula. I think Gorgon and Frankenstein Created Woman are flawed and rather boring movies that get a pass because of people's enthusiasm for their leading ladies, while the last two Cushing Frankensteins are too gloomy for my tastes, and Evil of Frankenstein is the definition of fun but not top ten material.
@@hcu4359I generally like your list, but I would throw the Skull on there somewhere, and I love the Gorgon, and don't consider it boring in the least. The House That Dripped Blood is also quite excellent, but I don't like ranking, just appreciating.
@@alienmindwarp3455I've seen Cushing's segment from House That Dripped Blood and enjoyed it. there's some great moments in the Skull (I could watch the Russian roulette scene over and over), but like his last two Frankensteins I just find the film over all too much of a downer. Ditto Gorgon (great atmosphere and some interesting ideas), but with that stupid artist and his annoying relatives sucking up screentime that should go to either Lee or Cushing.
The most loved man in the business, played the most gruesome parts. He was universally respected and the best thing that happened to Hammer. Without Peter Cushing Hammer would never have been the movie company it became.
Side note on "the skull": incredibly, the skull of de sade really WAS dug up, cleaned, and studied by a phrenologist. When he died, his medical collection was sold, but nobody knows where the skull is now.❤
1. The Mummy (because of the way it combines the original Mummy series, the way it cuts away from Kharis' resurrection and flashes back to it later, and the scene where Bannion confronts the Egyptian in his own home) 2. Horror of Dracula 3. The Skull 4. Brides of Dracula 5. Dr. Terror's House of Horrors 6. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed 7. The House That Dripped Blood 8. Tales from the Crypt 9. Horror Express 10. The Abominable Snowman of the Himilayas
Peter Cushing's name is an absolute guarantee of the highest possible quality of which an actor is capable and of the highest possible enjoyment of which an audience is capable. His every performance was gift, as was the man himself. I should dearly love to thank him for the countless genuinely happy hours he has given me.
Carrie Fisher would tell the story that he was the hardest person to be scared of during Star Wars. The boots he was given were too small for his feet, so he wore slippers in shots where his feet weren't seen. She recalled that he smelled like lavender. And he was the most gentlemanly man she had ever met. I love your lists. You convinced me to buy Cash on Demand. So, I agree -- you have thoroughly covered Peter Cushing's career. I'm glad this one did showcase his other roles. And his two Doctor Who movies are true horrors.
A story I heard about Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee’s friendship is that after Cushing’s wife passed away, he began having night terrors. So Lee decided to sleep in the same room as him to be there when he woke up screaming. I dunno if that’s true but it’s a beautiful thing if it is.
There are a couple of stories about male costars being assigned by cheapskate producers to share a room (separate beds) with Cushing on location, and the costar finding out the hard way that Cushing had night terrors. One story involves John Forbes-Robertson on the 7 Golden Vampires shoot and the other involves Christopher Lee on the Horror Express shoot. It's a safe assumption that Lee, with his military experience and long friendship with Cushing, worked harder and more successfully at calming him down than Robertson, who didn't know him very well. I don't know that we know for sure whether the night terrors started with Helen's death or that was just when other people were in a position to find out about it.
@@hcu4359- If the production budget is low enough, shared rooms are one way to reduce costs. The mental image of Lee comforting Cushing is sad and sweet.
@@marklotinga And the closest of friends...when I saw them together on This Is Your Life for Lee, the intro of Cushing stood head and shoulders as the sweetest moment.
I remember first seeing Peter Cushing in Star Wars. I was 5 or 6, I had no idea he was one of the most iconic British horror actors of all time. It's like Christopher Lee. When I first saw one of his movies, I had no idea he was Dracula...
I was 7 when I saw Star Wars in theaters and my older siblings and I were so excited to see him in it because we were big fans of his Dracula films. We always tuned in when he or Christopher Lee were in a movie 😊 We watched them on TV whenever we got a chance and they often showed them on our local station👍
When I grew up I could never understand why Darth Vader was such a big deal. He was Cushing's sidekick after all. Tarkin was the real bad guy in A New Hope. Vader is just a henchman.
@@lindamcfarland9656 I think I first saw Christopher Lee in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was that late to the party, but he was great in that. How often do you get someone as dignified as him saying "Lollipops" with such malice? When I learned he was Dracula, it was so weird to go back 60 years and see a much younger version of him play a character I never would've imagined him playing...
@@Gondarth I'd heard about him playing Dracula, and seen pictures in books, since I was pretty small, and I knew Cushing from watching Star Wars a bunch of times. I'd seen...some less famous movie with them relatively young (or at least not ancient-looking), Hound of the Baskervilles, She, Gorgon, something like that, so I sort of knew what they looked like. I watched Horror of Dracula to see Lee's Dracula, but it was "Tarkin's" van Helsing that fascinated me.
@@rubberneckinc.8937 Vader had the look, the physicality, the strange powers, the attention-grabbing voice, and the personal connection with the hero. Lucas knew this, it's why Vader is the main antagonist of both _The Empire Strikes Back_ and _Splinter of the Mind's Eye_
Lovely man. He was the best of us. Fantastic, underrated, actor too. I was fortunate enough to know him a little bit and he was everything you would have hoped. A true gentleman of the kind we don’t see too many of these days.
The last part of this overview was said with real passion, deserving of the legend himself. Cushing was always a class act often in material not worthy of him but he always respected his craft and his fans, giving nothing less than his total dedication. As a young boy often catching this presence late on TV or on VHS recordings, he shined a light into an eerie but strangely comforting world where horror of this type was firmly rooted in traditional fantasy not realism. As I commented, a class act always on screen it was a joy when old enough to take interest in the man himself, to find he was even more of a class act as a person. Much missed, never forgotten, never surpassed.
Yeah, about the worst I've ever seen anyone say about him was that he was very quiet and introverted and tended to fret (politely) about small details of continuity and hair and makeup and props. He's kind of an enigma in some ways because he had no children and pretty much all his immediate family (wife, parents, older brother) seem to have predeceased him, so we're dependent on the accounts of his caretakers, the Broughtons, and the acquaintances he made on film sets or in the theater. Of the people he met and befriended in the movies (as distinct from his theater friends) perhaps only Christopher Lee was close enough to him to be much of a confidante.
Like a lot of folks of my generation, I was introduced to Cushing through Star Wars, but fairly quickly after that, I started seeing him in other films and had soon gained an appreciation for him. Over time, he grew to be one of my favorite actors. As a tabletop gamer, I was most gratified to find that he too was quite the nerd for miniatures. Sacrilege though it may be among many, but I much prefer the Hammer versions of Dracula & Frankenstein, in no small part because of Cushing's work.
My hero. Elegance, master of diction, props and a true professional. Plus the perfect gentleman. Thank you for all your hard work. Merry Christmas to you.
I for one love the broader context behind these top tens. As much love and enthusiasm for Cushing’s work can never be a bad thing. I would have included The Creeping Flesh in this list - some of his most underrated and heartbreaking work.
I avoided watching that one for years, due to people hyping the incest subtext (actually limited or nonexistent), only caught it last year and was greatly impressed.
I'm so happy that Horror Express made the top 10 - twice! It's a unique, fun film with a ton of atmosphere. But I must confess that, when I saw the thumbnail, Cushing with the magnifying glass instantly made me think of Top Secret.
Horror express is definitely a great showcase of the collaboration of Cushing and Lee, so I am happy it made this list. Add in telly sevalas as "an honest cossack", and it is definitely an enjoyable watch.
Fell in love with that film when I saw it on late-night TV as a child. Just such a wonderfully weird idea, with a strange atmosphere. It was many years later, in the internet age, that I realised "Horror Express" was written by the same duo who wrote "Psychomania" - another film from that era which I loved for its sheer oddness and atmosphere. Had no idea that those two cult oddities came from the same pens. Turns out they were "blacklisted" Hollywood writers slumming it in Europe because they couldn't work in America. So I suppose something good came of that era of "red" paranoia and blacklisting. It's doubtful that we would ever have got those weird and wonderful films if those writers hadn't been "exiled" to Europe. It probably explains the Russia themes in "Horror Express" too; the way it's a weird reimagining of the Russian revolution on a train - almost a prototype "Snowpiercer" - complete with the "nobility" in their posh carriage having a troublesome Rasputin-adjacent character along for the ride. And "Horror Express" and "Psychomania" have something else in common, too: the way beautiful quality prints of both films miraculously turned up a few years ago, long after everyone thought it was impossible that any original film materials would ever be found, and we'd be stuck forever viewing them in grotty "public domain" quality.
I, too, first saw Cushing in Star Wars in 1977. I was too young to know that this acting veteran already had such a long history of excellent roles. Until I later discovered Hammer Films. He elevated any role he was given. Another great retrospective.
Absolutely an old world gentleman of genuine class. Something which I will always treasure, is a letter I received from Mr Cushing in the mid 1980s. I wrote to Mr Cushing care of the publisher's after I had read his first volume of autobiography. I thought nothing more of it until a few months later when I received a letter in the post from Whitstable, Kent. Typed on an old fashioned typewriter and signed in fountain pen, thanking me for writing. It just showed his class. An actor and an uncommon one! Lovely tribute!
I first saw him in Star Wars (like many of us, I guess) back when I was a kid. Years later when I started to really take an interest in movies I "discovered" him again. I don't know what I like more: His incredible range as an actor or all the stories about the man himself. I saw an interview with Christopher Lee a couple of years before he passed away. The affection he had for this friend Cushing was infectious.
The only thing that might have mad Star Wars better was if Christopher Lee had been Vader. Nothing against Jones, but Lee could have pulled off the voice _and_ the stage presence it took two actors to fill. I was eight or nine when it came out and it sure felt to me like this Vader guy was just the side kick to the real villain, Tarken.
@DamnedSilly I've not thought of that before, but you are correct. As I remember, some of it was filmed at Pinewood studios, and as a Hammer fan, it makes perfect sense to have Lee as Vader. Thanks for the ponderance.🤔
@@DamnedSilly Oddly enough, the guy in the Vader suit, David Prowse, DID have a Hammer connection. He popped up in three late period Hammer Horrors: Horror of Frankenstein (which shouldn't be held against him), Vampire Circus and Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell.
Some time ago, I saw Hammer's The Hound of the Baskervilles with my parents and it delivered the chills. After that, we looked at a brief interview in the DVD specials with Christopher Lee on his last interaction with Peter. I am very glad those two have met each other through Hammer because they both lived lives beyond being actors. I could never favor one over the other, those two were soulmates. RIP to both and thank you Robin for your history lessons 👍.
That interview easily remains the highlight of my DVD copy of Hound Of The Baskervilles. The final section about Cushing gets me every time, especially when Lee talks about that last time together and waving goodbye.
Peter Cushing has been one of my favorite male actors since I was a kid, my first Dracula movie was his, and to me Christopher Lee was Dracula and Cushing was the only Van Helsing. One of my favorite Cushing movies, a clip was shown here, is Island Of Terror, even though it might not be most peoples, it is one my favorite older horror movies, I guess you could even call it a scifi movie. I have seen it so many times and even managed to find it on DVD. Of course when I said when I was a kid, I'm talking about the late 70s and early 80s, when I used to see a lot of old horror movies on a Creature Feature show they had on a local channel in the Metro Detroit area in the late 70s early 80s on Saturdays, so I never saw any of his work on a big screen. The only movie I ever saw that way that he was in was Star Wars, lol!
Seeing him with Lee and Savalis really makes me wish Eon had picked him up for a Bond villain. Would have been great in The Spy Who Loved Me. Or in Diamonds Are Forever.
I personally agree - Donald got a Bond Villain, Chris got a Bond villain, Ollie got a Bond parody villain in Condorman, why couldn't Pete get a role like that? But I think he was seen as too grounded an actor for the increasingly kooky Bond villains of the 1970s, and much as I cringe at Roger Moore punching out Curt Jurgens in Spy Who Loved Me, I shudder to think what that scene would look like with a man weighing maybe half of what Jurgens did.
I was lucky enough to meet Peter Cushing in his favourite haunt (pun intended) in Whitstable a couple of years before his death. He sat opposite me in the cafe and - rarest of things according to the owner - he struck up a conversation with me as he noticed my book on birds. I looked over and, realising it was the older face of a childhood hero, was whispering as quietly and shyly as Peter. I wanted so much to thank him for the Hammers, but we discussed birdwatching (a hobby of his apparently) for a few minutes with other people listening in. He finished his tea and I said 'thank you Mr Cushing', Peter insisting he appreciated our chat and asking ME if I'd like an autograph to remember it. I've a personal inscription in my bird guide to this day from one of the kindest gentlemen in film.
@@DarkCornersReviews He must've been. Off-topic, but Michael Bentine was another I met (as a lad) who had nothing but affection from everyone. The gits in the business tend to get found out soon enough. Love your work, cheers!
Elegant, well-spoken, charisma and an excellent sense of humor, all wrapped up in the guise of a good-natured old man. Next to possibly Boris Karloff, I cannot think of an actor who was so influential in horror movies & who did so much for the Frankenstein movies of the time, and if I'm not mistaken, he even briefly played Dr. Who as well. Thankfully Star Wars kept him alive in the minds of children too young to remember his previous works.
I blush to admit this, but Cushing was my first real crush as a kid. I was about 13 and saw him in...either Evil of Frankenstein or Brides of Dracula on tv. He set my "type"; charming, intelligent, blue eyes preferrably, and a British accent.
What more could be said of Mr. Cushing? Robin, you've ably covered nearly a lifetime of Mr. Cushing's amazing achievements, both as a loving husband and as an amazing actor. As with Mr. Cushing's amazing wife, my beloved Mum's name was (is) "Helen." Many thanks!
Love Peter Cushing so much. Along with Christopher Lee and Vincent Price, they were the horror stars I've enjoyed since my childhood in the 70s and 80s, and still today. Peter Cushing made even the worst movie better, part of why he was so good at horror, a genre that as we all know can be difficult to make work well at times. He was so good. Cushing is so good as Holmes! Only Basil Rathbone compares to him at that role. As a fan of classic Doctor Who, especially Tom Baker of course! I do like the 2 Cushing Doctor Who movies, and Bernard Cribbins was in the Invasion of Earth movie! Helen's loss was so awful for him, I'm impressed that he was able to turn such powerful grief into some amazing performances. I was surprised at how good Brides of Dracula was! We had Cushing but no Lee, but it was still great. I love Yvonne Monlaur in that one as well. Great list! And I 100% on his performances of Van Helsing and Frankenstein. Brilliant performances indeed. Now I have some DVDs to acquire from your list! I own several, but not all, at least not yet!
I grew up watching Hammer House of Horror movies in the 70's and early 80's so I was aware of Peter Cushing, and I loved him in "Star Wars" but it's only been the last decade or so that I've come to appreciate what a fantastic actor he was.
He'd had a couple of heart-breaking near-misses with success: a short subject that got him a contract with MGM when he was in Hollywood but didn't lead to anything; a nervous breakdown which largely killed his stage career in the early fifties; an impromptu vacation at the end of the 1952 Pride & Prejudice broadcast which cost him movie offers because people saw and liked him as Darcy and then couldn't reach him to negotiate. I think that just as growing up poor makes certain people scrimp and save, professional failure made him believe he needed to bring his A+ game at all times or he was going to be back out on the streets.
Really enjoyed this. I grew up in whitstable and would stay up late to watch hammer films and then see him on his morning walks. I chatted a few times with him as a kid, and he was a lovely person. If there's ever a film made of his career, Tom Hiddleston is an actor I would give my vote for.
As dedicated and meticulous as the man himself. Someone I definitely would have liked to have met, not just for his thoughtfulness, generosity and tenacity, but also because of being a wonderful human being in the midst of what the subject of his films were as a contrast.
When I introduced my daughters to classic horror films at an age when I thought they were ready for them, they immediately fell in love with Peter Cushing and Vincent Price. I think it was the gentlemanly sweet old uncle/grandfather image that got to them (Boris Karloff affected them similarly of course). Maybe it's what drew me to them as well. Funny how the great classic horror actors were all (apparently) kind, decent, funny, down-to-earth, *good* people. But I imagine if I could only pick one to actually BE my uncle or grandfather... it would be Cushing. I've never seen him give a bad performance, and he elevates every single movie he's in. No matter how actually bad the movie is, if Cushing's in it, it's worth watching if only for him.
Another fantastic video. Peter Cushing is my favourite actor, partly for the reason you gave, the film quality overall may have been mixed, but Cushing was always brilliant. Agree that his Baron is a superb creation and while I think Dracula the better film, can’t disagree with your top choice. Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell deserves to sit at the table along with Unforgiven and Logan as stories about legacy and the characters endings. I love that film. Nice mention for The Abominable Snowman, I think a very underrated Hammer film. And Horror Express. Just a fantastic film. Basically, Peter Cushing, a legend.
Didn't Cushing say "I don't worry about being typecast. It just means that if a type of role crops up, they think of me first" ? And yes, the man could never give a less than an utterly committed performance.
We love him as kids from Friday night Hammer films on tv. 10:30pm on Friday evenings in the 70's. We would watch at nan's house, father would moan getting home late Saturday morning, he had work.
Its the 1970s. You work at a movie theater playing old looney tune cartoons, when suddenly your boss tells you to remove 2 old men from the theater for laughing so hard they are causing a disruption You walk into the theater only to find Count Dracula and Von Helsing laughing at Daffy Duck, and have the unenviable task of telling them to leave (This story was told by christopher lee about how close their friendship was, and the idea of that usher finding those 2 horror icons like that still makes me laugh)
I fist became aware of Doctor Who because of Peter Cushing playing the Doctor. I was 12 when I saw those films on TV. I was 19 when I finally saw Tom Baker as the Doctor.
God bless you and your team Robin, for providing us this wonderful capsulation of some of Mr Cushing's works. A true legend of Cinema imho, who holds a well established couple of shelves of my Blu-ray & dvd collection. He is sorely missed but never forgotten. 🥰
I was always tuning in to watch Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee films when I was a kid. We didn't have cable and my sibs and I weren't allowed to see scary movies in theaters (my parents thought they were too scary) we watched them on our local tv station whenever we could. Cushing and Lee are still my top favorite horror team!
One of my favourite Peter Cushing "films" isn't even a film at, but it _feels_ like one in my memory. It's "The Silent Scream" (1980) in which Cushing plays a former [WW2 villain], now living as the elderly proprietor of a pet shop, who is intent on continuing his experiments to create "a prison with no bars." It's an episode of the "Hammer House of Horror" series, so just shy of an hour long, but (imho) every episode of that series is basically a Hammer film, just leaner, with 30 minutes of padding trimmed. Cushing's performance is as memorable as any in his "proper" full-length features. As you say, he never phoned it in.
I would give an "honorable mention" to "Island of Terror" (1966). Not because it's a good film, (I'm too biased to judge,) nor because Peter Cushing's performance was so fine, (they all are I think,) but because it's one of only two films that ever gave me nightmares. (The other was "The Devil Rides Out" (1968) with Christopher Lee.) Thank you so very much for the videos. I also have fond memories of Peter Cushing, in "The Avengers" (1968) with the Arab Swordsman from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) (Terry Richards).
Peter Cushing has been my favorite actor for the last 50 years, thank you for that special, Robin, great top 10 (my personal favorite has always been The Brides of Dracula)
Hammer Baron Frankenstein is a villain protagonist inhabiting movies that are middling good at best, but I keep revisiting them, because Cushing's take on the character is weirdly compelling.
Peter Cushing is one of my all time favorites. The films he made with Hammer as well as the anthologies are true classics of the genre and make for terrific Halloween marathons (or any time for that matter). And I absolutely adore the pairing of him with Christopher Lee; the fact that they were friends in real life just makes it that much greater. Do yourself a favor and look up interviews of Christopher Lee where he discusses his friendship with Peter Cushing.
I recently watched the Hammer horror movies and loved the Frankenstein films. And I liked them more than Dracula, even though I'm a huge vampire fan. He was a very, very interesting actor who made small, interesting acting choices that made the character less wooden, in a time when many actors stood on their marks reciting lines.
His characters usually feel real, even if the rest of the film doesn't. In some ways, it's more impressive because he was not one to stay in character 24/7 and seems to have been mildly disapproving of the type of actor who did. If you run across his Star Wars blooper scene on youtube, you will see how quickly he switches Tarkin "on" when his part of the scene starts and then "off" when he realizes he's flubbed his line beyond any hope of recovery.
Peter Cushing movies was my childhood. My mom would let me stay up and watch the late night horror movies on the weekends and most of them were Hammer and Amicus movies. The anthologies were my favorites, at the top of that list is Asylum, The Uncanny, Torture Garden, Tales from the Crypt, and The House that Dripped Blood.
I saw Cushing's Dracula and The Mummy at such a young age that he defined both roles for me to such an extent I considered them "the originals" for years and was totally confused when much, much later I saw the earlier B&W versions and they contained none of the great things I remembered (though plenty of great things on their own). Once I got a little film history under my belt I pompously ranked the 1932 originals as definitive, and only through your channel has my inner child found the long lost "true" originals and the great pleasure to be had with them. Your in-depth retrospectives are absolutely outstanding!
Only you could put together such a well placed and meaning tribute to the films of the wonderful, beloved Peter Cushing. In the h history of films, the friendship and chemistry of Cushing and Lee are unmatched. You brought up one of my all time favorite films, “Horror Express” .Thanks again for this! You’ve done old Peter proud.
I can certainly empathize with Cushing on burying himself in work after his wife’s death. I did the same. Indeed I buried her in the morning (not me personally, her funeral) and was entertaining the crowds at the ballpark that night. For a year I worked almost every day. My day job, my gigs, Door Dashing. I didn’t want to be home alone. It eventually came to a head and I had a breakdown. But I got the help I needed and am in a much better state of mind now! I implore anyone who has read this, if you need help, talk to someone. Talk to me if you must. It’s better than the alternative.
I really can't tell you how much I love this channel. It's always a pleasant surprise when a new Dark Corners Reviews video drops. Thank you, guys, for all of your hard work. 🖖🏼
Thank you for this wonderful video. Of all the classic horror stars... indeed, I think classic stars in general... Peter Cushing is the one I would have loved to meet the most. His intelligence, compassion, and respect for the art form comes across in every film he's in.
Saw Twins of Evil for the first time a few weeks ago. Thoroughly enjoyed His performance. For me, the Mummy has always been my favorite Hammer film and one of my favorite horror films of all time
Excellent work putting this video together, you covered quite a bit. You are right about Cushing and "nuance". Every scene he is doing something: using his hands, picking up objects, facial gestures... nothing I am sure was in the script. Just him making memorable characters. Again, great job here.
As a young child I saw “The Evil of Frankenstein” at an old theater in Petersburg, Virginia in the early 60s. Now, as I approach 70, I am still enchanted and engaged with the performance of Peter Cushing. His performances have always been , for me, utterly outstanding. Thanks, Robin, for yet another brilliant overview of one of horror’s greatest actors.
Like many others, I first saw Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin, but I next saw him in the comedy "Top Secret"! At that time I didn't understand the reference of the magnifying glass gag!
I love him so much! As a person and as an actor.I had a thought, Elijah Wood is reminding me of a younger Cushing. Especially with the eyes. A very versatile actor with a heart of gold. Now I want a Cushing designed scarf lol. His version of Dr. Frankstien is my fave❤
As Robin said, Peter Cushing never phoned in his performance. P.S.-I am a big fan of "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires" as the Shaw Brothers films are among my favorite genres (1965-1983).
Your affinity for this endearing actor shines through...makes me like Cushing even more than I already did, which I didn't think was possible. Thank you!
Thank you for all your videos about Mr, Cushing. He is always a joy to watch. His professionalism makes many films very watchable if not wonderful. The film you missed I think was his performance as Memnon in the 1956 Alexander the Great. He took a bit part and made it a subplot.
Well, it's meant to be Claire Trevor's subplot, with a bit of added context on the Battle of the Granicus...but since she's a useless block of wood, he dominates it quite handily. Does the same in his scenes in End of the Affair and Magic Fire, FWIW. Rule of thumb, if you cast Peter Cushing as a cuckold in your movie, people will root for the cuckold. (Producers in the 1950s were REALLY REALLY dumb.)
@@DarkCornersReviews In fairness, very few of his nongenre films are much to write home about. You'd be debating where to rank Tale of Two Cities, Cash on Demand and Night Creatures, and maybe End of the Affair or Cone of Silence or Suspect (haven't seen those last two in their entirety), and perhaps wondering whether Magic Fire and Alexander the Great make the Worst-of list.
I enjoyed this so much, thank you. I love Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Vincent Price not just for their acting but in interviews they seem to be genuinely decent people who are thankful for their success. I think that perspective is why I don't think I can really remember where any of them just "mailed it in for a paycheck". I will not tire of videos focusing on any of these gentlemen for their on screen or off screen stories. Happy Holidays to you.
All three of them had a long, hard road to professional success: Lee was well into his thirties when Horror of Dracula was made, Cushing in his mid-forties. Price made House on Haunted Hill around that time and must have been close on fifty.
Excellent tribute to the wonderful Peter Cushing. I’d like to know why after all these years we still don’t have The Ghoul 1975 available on DVD or Blu-Ray?
The Tyburn movies have some kind of rights issues. I feel the lack of Legend of the Werewolf more than The Ghoul, even though it's probably a less good movie, because Cushing's pathologist/coroner guy is just that amusing.
I really adore dark corners videos, for they give me the chance of having a lovely 'discussion' (even though I'm just listening of course) about the movies and actors I loved all my life, but nobody ever really wanted to talk about where I grew up. Thanks to you I am no longer a lonely Peter Cushing nerd. Now I am a Peter Cushing nerd in splendid company!^^ Thank you!
It's incredible hearing your vocal inflections and word choices in this, especially towards the end when discussing the performance of Baron Frankenstein and Peter Cushing the man. You manage to elevate discussion of one actor in low budget entertainment into high class film analysis.
Peter Cushing is one of the rarest in the business, known as a class act, a true professional, and a good man.
My favourite Cushing moment is in Horror Express when they realise the monster is a shape shifter and when someone says anyone of us could be the monster Cushing delivers the immortal line: “Monsters? We’re British you know.”
My own little Peter Cushing story: Once my wife and I were looking to adopt a new cat. She was visiting a shelter, and sent me a picture of a candidate; an all-white cat with a rather gaunt face and sharp cheek bones. I answered back, “He looks nice, but maybe a little…” and pasted in a picture of Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin.
My wife thought that was hilarious, and we adopted the cat.
I hope you named it Peter. Or Cushing. Cushing is a good name for a cat.
@@DarkCornersReviews Grand Meowf Tarkin?
Thank you for this tribute. The highest compliment I can pay to the actor is this: I don't watch Peter Cushing because he is in horror movies, I watch horror movies because Peter Cushing is in them. (And sometimes because his friends are in them).
My own Cushing horror top ten, from lowest to highest: Night Creatures, Island of Terror, Curse of Frankenstein, Revenge of Frankenstein, 1984, Horror Express, Mummy, Hound of the Baskervilles, Brides of Dracula, Horror of Dracula. I think Gorgon and Frankenstein Created Woman are flawed and rather boring movies that get a pass because of people's enthusiasm for their leading ladies, while the last two Cushing Frankensteins are too gloomy for my tastes, and Evil of Frankenstein is the definition of fun but not top ten material.
@@hcu4359I generally like your list, but I would throw the Skull on there somewhere, and I love the Gorgon, and don't consider it boring in the least. The House That Dripped Blood is also quite excellent, but I don't like ranking, just appreciating.
@@alienmindwarp3455I've seen Cushing's segment from House That Dripped Blood and enjoyed it. there's some great moments in the Skull (I could watch the Russian roulette scene over and over), but like his last two Frankensteins I just find the film over all too much of a downer. Ditto Gorgon (great atmosphere and some interesting ideas), but with that stupid artist and his annoying relatives sucking up screentime that should go to either Lee or Cushing.
A Great Man indeed. He put himself into every role without a bit of ego.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
The most loved man in the business, played the most gruesome parts.
He was universally respected and the best thing that happened to Hammer. Without Peter Cushing Hammer would never have been the movie company it became.
A great presence in the Hammer films. He is the heart of the Dracula and Frankenstein series
An actor who gives you a warm, comfortable feeling every second he´s on screen. Loved him in the Morecambe & Wise classics too.
Peter Cushing is the actor who got me into horror movies as a whole. He was so talented ❤️
Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are the best best horror duo ever!😊
Learned Doctors and Scolars of Drama.
Side note on "the skull": incredibly, the skull of de sade really WAS dug up, cleaned, and studied by a phrenologist. When he died, his medical collection was sold, but nobody knows where the skull is now.❤
1. The Mummy (because of the way it combines the original Mummy series, the way it cuts away from Kharis' resurrection and flashes back to it later, and the scene where Bannion confronts the Egyptian in his own home)
2. Horror of Dracula
3. The Skull
4. Brides of Dracula
5. Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
6. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
7. The House That Dripped Blood
8. Tales from the Crypt
9. Horror Express
10. The Abominable Snowman of the Himilayas
Peter Cushing's name is an absolute guarantee of the highest possible quality of which an actor is capable and of the highest possible enjoyment of which an audience is capable. His every performance was gift, as was the man himself. I should dearly love to thank him for the countless genuinely happy hours he has given me.
He makes forgettable movies watchable and even interesting. If HE takes something serious then it IS serious and you better do the same.
Carrie Fisher would tell the story that he was the hardest person to be scared of during Star Wars. The boots he was given were too small for his feet, so he wore slippers in shots where his feet weren't seen. She recalled that he smelled like lavender. And he was the most gentlemanly man she had ever met.
I love your lists. You convinced me to buy Cash on Demand. So, I agree -- you have thoroughly covered Peter Cushing's career. I'm glad this one did showcase his other roles.
And his two Doctor Who movies are true horrors.
I think his Dr. Whos are overhated, frankly, but then again, I don't have any use for the tv series, so what do I know.
I was already a huge fan of his performance in Tales of the Crypt, but finding out what he was drawing upon just makes it all the more impressive.
Adore Cushing , Lee, Price my childhood would not have felt the same without them. But Peter was my definite favourite.
A story I heard about Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee’s friendship is that after Cushing’s wife passed away, he began having night terrors. So Lee decided to sleep in the same room as him to be there when he woke up screaming. I dunno if that’s true but it’s a beautiful thing if it is.
He persuaded Cushing to make _Horror Express_ to help take his mind off his grief.
There are a couple of stories about male costars being assigned by cheapskate producers to share a room (separate beds) with Cushing on location, and the costar finding out the hard way that Cushing had night terrors. One story involves John Forbes-Robertson on the 7 Golden Vampires shoot and the other involves Christopher Lee on the Horror Express shoot. It's a safe assumption that Lee, with his military experience and long friendship with Cushing, worked harder and more successfully at calming him down than Robertson, who didn't know him very well. I don't know that we know for sure whether the night terrors started with Helen's death or that was just when other people were in a position to find out about it.
@@hcu4359- If the production budget is low enough, shared rooms are one way to reduce costs.
The mental image of Lee comforting Cushing is sad and sweet.
I am going to go right ahead and believe that it is true.
Both very fine men.
@@marklotinga And the closest of friends...when I saw them together on This Is Your Life for Lee, the intro of Cushing stood head and shoulders as the sweetest moment.
I remember first seeing Peter Cushing in Star Wars. I was 5 or 6, I had no idea he was one of the most iconic British horror actors of all time. It's like Christopher Lee. When I first saw one of his movies, I had no idea he was Dracula...
I was 7 when I saw Star Wars in theaters and my older siblings and I were so excited to see him in it because we were big fans of his Dracula films. We always tuned in when he or Christopher Lee were in a movie 😊 We watched them on TV whenever we got a chance and they often showed them on our local station👍
When I grew up I could never understand why Darth Vader was such a big deal. He was Cushing's sidekick after all. Tarkin was the real bad guy in A New Hope. Vader is just a henchman.
@@lindamcfarland9656 I think I first saw Christopher Lee in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I was that late to the party, but he was great in that. How often do you get someone as dignified as him saying "Lollipops" with such malice?
When I learned he was Dracula, it was so weird to go back 60 years and see a much younger version of him play a character I never would've imagined him playing...
@@Gondarth I'd heard about him playing Dracula, and seen pictures in books, since I was pretty small, and I knew Cushing from watching Star Wars a bunch of times. I'd seen...some less famous movie with them relatively young (or at least not ancient-looking), Hound of the Baskervilles, She, Gorgon, something like that, so I sort of knew what they looked like. I watched Horror of Dracula to see Lee's Dracula, but it was "Tarkin's" van Helsing that fascinated me.
@@rubberneckinc.8937 Vader had the look, the physicality, the strange powers, the attention-grabbing voice, and the personal connection with the hero. Lucas knew this, it's why Vader is the main antagonist of both _The Empire Strikes Back_ and _Splinter of the Mind's Eye_
Lovely man. He was the best of us. Fantastic, underrated, actor too. I was fortunate enough to know him a little bit and he was everything you would have hoped. A true gentleman of the kind we don’t see too many of these days.
Wow, that's amazing to have known him. I've read so much about him over the years and no one has a bad word to say.
Cool! How did you happen to run across him, if you are comfortable talking about it?
@@hcu4359I 2nd that request for a commensurate reply.
Thanks for sharing
I lived in Whitstable. He was a familiar figure. Very approachable. Treasured memories.
The last part of this overview was said with real passion, deserving of the legend himself. Cushing was always a class act often in material not worthy of him but he always respected his craft and his fans, giving nothing less than his total dedication. As a young boy often catching this presence late on TV or on VHS recordings, he shined a light into an eerie but strangely comforting world where horror of this type was firmly rooted in traditional fantasy not realism. As I commented, a class act always on screen it was a joy when old enough to take interest in the man himself, to find he was even more of a class act as a person. Much missed, never forgotten, never surpassed.
He was really classy,but never a snob.Nobody says a bad word about him,and I never tire seeing him,esp. in the amicus films.
Yeah, about the worst I've ever seen anyone say about him was that he was very quiet and introverted and tended to fret (politely) about small details of continuity and hair and makeup and props. He's kind of an enigma in some ways because he had no children and pretty much all his immediate family (wife, parents, older brother) seem to have predeceased him, so we're dependent on the accounts of his caretakers, the Broughtons, and the acquaintances he made on film sets or in the theater. Of the people he met and befriended in the movies (as distinct from his theater friends) perhaps only Christopher Lee was close enough to him to be much of a confidante.
Like a lot of folks of my generation, I was introduced to Cushing through Star Wars, but fairly quickly after that, I started seeing him in other films and had soon gained an appreciation for him. Over time, he grew to be one of my favorite actors. As a tabletop gamer, I was most gratified to find that he too was quite the nerd for miniatures.
Sacrilege though it may be among many, but I much prefer the Hammer versions of Dracula & Frankenstein, in no small part because of Cushing's work.
Of all the famous Hammer actors, Peter Cushing is my favorite, with The Curse of Frankenstein being my all time favorite Hammer film
One of the 3 pillars of cinematic horror. Lee, Price and Cushing.
was there a movie where they all was in?
@@neanderthal- Yes, two of them. Scream And Scream Again (NOT recommended by me BTW) and House Of Long Shadows (also featuring John Carradine).
Price, House of Wax and Witchfinder general.
Just the idea of Peter Cushing wandering around the Everglades shouting in German is such a mind fk for me.
Robin: "Horror Express:" it's fun; Cushing and Lee are brilliant...
Peter Cushing: Monsters? We're British, you know. 😁
My hero. Elegance, master of diction, props and a true professional. Plus the perfect gentleman. Thank you for all your hard work. Merry Christmas to you.
I watched him on "This is Your Life" and it was beautiful, simply beautiful. And nobody, dead or alive, can wear a waistcoat like he did.
29:52 I always wince at that stuntman hitting the floor - Looks like he really landed on his head and broke his neck !
I for one love the broader context behind these top tens. As much love and enthusiasm for Cushing’s work can never be a bad thing. I would have included The Creeping Flesh in this list - some of his most underrated and heartbreaking work.
I avoided watching that one for years, due to people hyping the incest subtext (actually limited or nonexistent), only caught it last year and was greatly impressed.
I'm so happy that Horror Express made the top 10 - twice! It's a unique, fun film with a ton of atmosphere.
But I must confess that, when I saw the thumbnail, Cushing with the magnifying glass instantly made me think of Top Secret.
Horror express is definitely a great showcase of the collaboration of Cushing and Lee, so I am happy it made this list. Add in telly sevalas as "an honest cossack", and it is definitely an enjoyable watch.
Fell in love with that film when I saw it on late-night TV as a child. Just such a wonderfully weird idea, with a strange atmosphere. It was many years later, in the internet age, that I realised "Horror Express" was written by the same duo who wrote "Psychomania" - another film from that era which I loved for its sheer oddness and atmosphere. Had no idea that those two cult oddities came from the same pens.
Turns out they were "blacklisted" Hollywood writers slumming it in Europe because they couldn't work in America. So I suppose something good came of that era of "red" paranoia and blacklisting. It's doubtful that we would ever have got those weird and wonderful films if those writers hadn't been "exiled" to Europe.
It probably explains the Russia themes in "Horror Express" too; the way it's a weird reimagining of the Russian revolution on a train - almost a prototype "Snowpiercer" - complete with the "nobility" in their posh carriage having a troublesome Rasputin-adjacent character along for the ride.
And "Horror Express" and "Psychomania" have something else in common, too: the way beautiful quality prints of both films miraculously turned up a few years ago, long after everyone thought it was impossible that any original film materials would ever be found, and we'd be stuck forever viewing them in grotty "public domain" quality.
I vividly recall watching "The Evil of Frankenstein" first-run, in a crowded theater, on Halloween day. One of my favorite Halloweens of my lifetime!
I envy you - I think that's the only Hammer Frankenstein I'd like to see on the big screen.
I, too, first saw Cushing in Star Wars in 1977. I was too young to know that this acting veteran already had such a long history of excellent roles. Until I later discovered Hammer Films.
He elevated any role he was given.
Another great retrospective.
Absolutely an old world gentleman of genuine class. Something which I will always treasure, is a letter I received from Mr Cushing in the mid 1980s. I wrote to Mr Cushing care of the publisher's after I had read his first volume of autobiography. I thought nothing more of it until a few months later when I received a letter in the post from Whitstable, Kent. Typed on an old fashioned typewriter and signed in fountain pen, thanking me for writing. It just showed his class. An actor and an uncommon one! Lovely tribute!
That's fantastic. He really was that nice a man!
I first saw him in Star Wars (like many of us, I guess) back when I was a kid. Years later when I started to really take an interest in movies I "discovered" him again. I don't know what I like more: His incredible range as an actor or all the stories about the man himself. I saw an interview with Christopher Lee a couple of years before he passed away. The affection he had for this friend Cushing was infectious.
The only thing that might have mad Star Wars better was if Christopher Lee had been Vader. Nothing against Jones, but Lee could have pulled off the voice _and_ the stage presence it took two actors to fill. I was eight or nine when it came out and it sure felt to me like this Vader guy was just the side kick to the real villain, Tarken.
@@DamnedSilly Vader is supposed to be the sidekick in that, TBH.
@DamnedSilly I've not thought of that before, but you are correct. As I remember, some of it was filmed at Pinewood studios, and as a Hammer fan, it makes perfect sense to have Lee as Vader. Thanks for the ponderance.🤔
@@DamnedSilly Oddly enough, the guy in the Vader suit, David Prowse, DID have a Hammer connection. He popped up in three late period Hammer Horrors: Horror of Frankenstein (which shouldn't be held against him), Vampire Circus and Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell.
@@alienmindwarp3455 Elstree, actually. And after _Star Wars_ was a runaway success, Lucas used those stages as a good luck charm.
He also did comedy. Cushing acted with Laurel and Hardy in A Chump at Oxford, and Top Secret with Val Kilmer.
Some time ago, I saw Hammer's The Hound of the Baskervilles with my parents and it delivered the chills. After that, we looked at a brief interview in the DVD specials with Christopher Lee on his last interaction with Peter. I am very glad those two have met each other through Hammer because they both lived lives beyond being actors. I could never favor one over the other, those two were soulmates. RIP to both and thank you Robin for your history lessons 👍.
That interview easily remains the highlight of my DVD copy of Hound Of The Baskervilles. The final section about Cushing gets me every time, especially when Lee talks about that last time together and waving goodbye.
Youve done him justice, he was a superb actor, a true class act and an icon for horror fans around the world, even for this colombian
Peter Cushing has been one of my favorite male actors since I was a kid, my first Dracula movie was his, and to me Christopher Lee was Dracula and Cushing was the only Van Helsing. One of my favorite Cushing movies, a clip was shown here, is Island Of Terror, even though it might not be most peoples, it is one my favorite older horror movies, I guess you could even call it a scifi movie. I have seen it so many times and even managed to find it on DVD. Of course when I said when I was a kid, I'm talking about the late 70s and early 80s, when I used to see a lot of old horror movies on a Creature Feature show they had on a local channel in the Metro Detroit area in the late 70s early 80s on Saturdays, so I never saw any of his work on a big screen. The only movie I ever saw that way that he was in was Star Wars, lol!
Seeing him with Lee and Savalis really makes me wish Eon had picked him up for a Bond villain. Would have been great in The Spy Who Loved Me. Or in Diamonds Are Forever.
I personally agree - Donald got a Bond Villain, Chris got a Bond villain, Ollie got a Bond parody villain in Condorman, why couldn't Pete get a role like that? But I think he was seen as too grounded an actor for the increasingly kooky Bond villains of the 1970s, and much as I cringe at Roger Moore punching out Curt Jurgens in Spy Who Loved Me, I shudder to think what that scene would look like with a man weighing maybe half of what Jurgens did.
I was lucky enough to meet Peter Cushing in his favourite haunt (pun intended) in Whitstable a couple of years before his death. He sat opposite me in the cafe and - rarest of things according to the owner - he struck up a conversation with me as he noticed my book on birds. I looked over and, realising it was the older face of a childhood hero, was whispering as quietly and shyly as Peter. I wanted so much to thank him for the Hammers, but we discussed birdwatching (a hobby of his apparently) for a few minutes with other people listening in. He finished his tea and I said 'thank you Mr Cushing', Peter insisting he appreciated our chat and asking ME if I'd like an autograph to remember it. I've a personal inscription in my bird guide to this day from one of the kindest gentlemen in film.
We only ever hear great stories about Peter Cushing. Truly a genuine lovely and charming man.
@@DarkCornersReviews He must've been. Off-topic, but Michael Bentine was another I met (as a lad) who had nothing but affection from everyone. The gits in the business tend to get found out soon enough. Love your work, cheers!
NO WAY :-DD
Elegant, well-spoken, charisma and an excellent sense of humor, all wrapped up in the guise of a good-natured old man. Next to possibly Boris Karloff, I cannot think of an actor who was so influential in horror movies & who did so much for the Frankenstein movies of the time, and if I'm not mistaken, he even briefly played Dr. Who as well. Thankfully Star Wars kept him alive in the minds of children too young to remember his previous works.
My best "Afternoon Tea" (with some cakes) would be with Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing and Robert Englund ...
I blush to admit this, but Cushing was my first real crush as a kid. I was about 13 and saw him in...either Evil of Frankenstein or Brides of Dracula on tv. He set my "type"; charming, intelligent, blue eyes preferrably, and a British accent.
I crush on a variety of types, but he defines one of them. :)
What more could be said of Mr. Cushing? Robin, you've ably covered nearly a lifetime of Mr. Cushing's amazing achievements, both as a loving husband and as an amazing actor. As with Mr. Cushing's amazing wife, my beloved Mum's name was (is) "Helen." Many thanks!
Peter Cushing so funny on the Morecambe and Wise show. He finally did get paid lol.
Brides of Dracula is such a sumptuous looking film. I love it.
Love Peter Cushing so much. Along with Christopher Lee and Vincent Price, they were the horror stars I've enjoyed since my childhood in the 70s and 80s, and still today.
Peter Cushing made even the worst movie better, part of why he was so good at horror, a genre that as we all know can be difficult to make work well at times. He was so good.
Cushing is so good as Holmes! Only Basil Rathbone compares to him at that role.
As a fan of classic Doctor Who, especially Tom Baker of course! I do like the 2 Cushing Doctor Who movies, and Bernard Cribbins was in the Invasion of Earth movie!
Helen's loss was so awful for him, I'm impressed that he was able to turn such powerful grief into some amazing performances.
I was surprised at how good Brides of Dracula was! We had Cushing but no Lee, but it was still great. I love Yvonne Monlaur in that one as well.
Great list! And I 100% on his performances of Van Helsing and Frankenstein. Brilliant performances indeed.
Now I have some DVDs to acquire from your list! I own several, but not all, at least not yet!
I grew up watching Hammer House of Horror movies in the 70's and early 80's so I was aware of Peter Cushing, and I loved him in "Star Wars" but it's only been the last decade or so that I've come to appreciate what a fantastic actor he was.
The vampire bite-cauterizing scene has stayed with me since I was 5 years old. What a giant. ❤ Peter Cushing. Great video, as always🙏🏼
2:42 Cushing's kind of professionalism is rare anywhere. But if my experience as a ghostwriter, it's especially rare in the arts.
He'd had a couple of heart-breaking near-misses with success: a short subject that got him a contract with MGM when he was in Hollywood but didn't lead to anything; a nervous breakdown which largely killed his stage career in the early fifties; an impromptu vacation at the end of the 1952 Pride & Prejudice broadcast which cost him movie offers because people saw and liked him as Darcy and then couldn't reach him to negotiate. I think that just as growing up poor makes certain people scrimp and save, professional failure made him believe he needed to bring his A+ game at all times or he was going to be back out on the streets.
Really enjoyed this. I grew up in whitstable and would stay up late to watch hammer films and then see him on his morning walks. I chatted a few times with him as a kid, and he was a lovely person. If there's ever a film made of his career, Tom Hiddleston is an actor I would give my vote for.
As dedicated and meticulous as the man himself. Someone I definitely would have liked to have met, not just for his thoughtfulness, generosity and tenacity, but also because of being a wonderful human being in the midst of what the subject of his films were as a contrast.
When I introduced my daughters to classic horror films at an age when I thought they were ready for them, they immediately fell in love with Peter Cushing and Vincent Price. I think it was the gentlemanly sweet old uncle/grandfather image that got to them (Boris Karloff affected them similarly of course). Maybe it's what drew me to them as well. Funny how the great classic horror actors were all (apparently) kind, decent, funny, down-to-earth, *good* people. But I imagine if I could only pick one to actually BE my uncle or grandfather... it would be Cushing.
I've never seen him give a bad performance, and he elevates every single movie he's in. No matter how actually bad the movie is, if Cushing's in it, it's worth watching if only for him.
Another fantastic video. Peter Cushing is my favourite actor, partly for the reason you gave, the film quality overall may have been mixed, but Cushing was always brilliant. Agree that his Baron is a superb creation and while I think Dracula the better film, can’t disagree with your top choice.
Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell deserves to sit at the table along with Unforgiven and Logan as stories about legacy and the characters endings. I love that film.
Nice mention for The Abominable Snowman, I think a very underrated Hammer film.
And Horror Express. Just a fantastic film.
Basically, Peter Cushing, a legend.
Didn't Cushing say "I don't worry about being typecast. It just means that if a type of role crops up, they think of me first" ?
And yes, the man could never give a less than an utterly committed performance.
We love him as kids from Friday night Hammer films on tv. 10:30pm on Friday evenings in the 70's. We would watch at nan's house, father would moan getting home late Saturday morning, he had work.
Its the 1970s.
You work at a movie theater playing old looney tune cartoons, when suddenly your boss tells you to remove 2 old men from the theater for laughing so hard they are causing a disruption
You walk into the theater only to find Count Dracula and Von Helsing laughing at Daffy Duck, and have the unenviable task of telling them to leave
(This story was told by christopher lee about how close their friendship was, and the idea of that usher finding those 2 horror icons like that still makes me laugh)
I fist became aware of Doctor Who because of Peter Cushing playing the Doctor. I was 12 when I saw those films on TV. I was 19 when I finally saw Tom Baker as the Doctor.
God bless you and your team Robin, for providing us this wonderful capsulation of some of Mr Cushing's works.
A true legend of Cinema imho, who holds a well established couple of shelves of my Blu-ray & dvd collection.
He is sorely missed but never forgotten. 🥰
I was always tuning in to watch Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee films when I was a kid. We didn't have cable and my sibs and I weren't allowed to see scary movies in theaters (my parents thought they were too scary) we watched them on our local tv station whenever we could. Cushing and Lee are still my top favorite horror team!
One of my favourite Peter Cushing "films" isn't even a film at, but it _feels_ like one in my memory. It's "The Silent Scream" (1980) in which Cushing plays a former [WW2 villain], now living as the elderly proprietor of a pet shop, who is intent on continuing his experiments to create "a prison with no bars." It's an episode of the "Hammer House of Horror" series, so just shy of an hour long, but (imho) every episode of that series is basically a Hammer film, just leaner, with 30 minutes of padding trimmed. Cushing's performance is as memorable as any in his "proper" full-length features. As you say, he never phoned it in.
Your channel made me appreciate more Cushing and Lee as actors and as individuals,so thank you
I would give an "honorable mention" to "Island of Terror" (1966). Not because it's a good film, (I'm too biased to judge,) nor because Peter Cushing's performance was so fine, (they all are I think,) but because it's one of only two films that ever gave me nightmares. (The other was "The Devil Rides Out" (1968) with Christopher Lee.)
Thank you so very much for the videos.
I also have fond memories of Peter Cushing, in "The Avengers" (1968) with the Arab Swordsman from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981) (Terry Richards).
Peter Cushing has been my favorite actor for the last 50 years, thank you for that special, Robin, great top 10 (my personal favorite has always been The Brides of Dracula)
Brides is certainly a great film
The genius, intensity, and integrity of his Baron Frankenstein over the entire series was what made even the mediocre films exceptional.
Hammer Baron Frankenstein is a villain protagonist inhabiting movies that are middling good at best, but I keep revisiting them, because Cushing's take on the character is weirdly compelling.
Peter Cushing is one of my all time favorites. The films he made with Hammer as well as the anthologies are true classics of the genre and make for terrific Halloween marathons (or any time for that matter). And I absolutely adore the pairing of him with Christopher Lee; the fact that they were friends in real life just makes it that much greater. Do yourself a favor and look up interviews of Christopher Lee where he discusses his friendship with Peter Cushing.
Such a good actor a joy to watch, and if you saw his name in the cast, you were in for a show.
I recently watched the Hammer horror movies and loved the Frankenstein films. And I liked them more than Dracula, even though I'm a huge vampire fan. He was a very, very interesting actor who made small, interesting acting choices that made the character less wooden, in a time when many actors stood on their marks reciting lines.
His characters usually feel real, even if the rest of the film doesn't. In some ways, it's more impressive because he was not one to stay in character 24/7 and seems to have been mildly disapproving of the type of actor who did. If you run across his Star Wars blooper scene on youtube, you will see how quickly he switches Tarkin "on" when his part of the scene starts and then "off" when he realizes he's flubbed his line beyond any hope of recovery.
Peter Cushing movies was my childhood. My mom would let me stay up and watch the late night horror movies on the weekends and most of them were Hammer and Amicus movies. The anthologies were my favorites, at the top of that list is Asylum, The Uncanny, Torture Garden, Tales from the Crypt, and The House that Dripped Blood.
I saw Cushing's Dracula and The Mummy at such a young age that he defined both roles for me to such an extent I considered them "the originals" for years and was totally confused when much, much later I saw the earlier B&W versions and they contained none of the great things I remembered (though plenty of great things on their own). Once I got a little film history under my belt I pompously ranked the 1932 originals as definitive, and only through your channel has my inner child found the long lost "true" originals and the great pleasure to be had with them. Your in-depth retrospectives are absolutely outstanding!
Only you could put together such a well placed and meaning tribute to the films of the wonderful, beloved Peter Cushing. In the h history of films, the friendship and chemistry of Cushing and Lee are unmatched.
You brought up one of my all time favorite films, “Horror Express” .Thanks again for this! You’ve done old Peter proud.
Thank you!
I can certainly empathize with Cushing on burying himself in work after his wife’s death. I did the same. Indeed I buried her in the morning (not me personally, her funeral) and was entertaining the crowds at the ballpark that night. For a year I worked almost every day. My day job, my gigs, Door Dashing. I didn’t want to be home alone. It eventually came to a head and I had a breakdown. But I got the help I needed and am in a much better state of mind now! I implore anyone who has read this, if you need help, talk to someone. Talk to me if you must. It’s better than the alternative.
Thank you.
I really can't tell you how much I love this channel. It's always a pleasant surprise when a new Dark Corners Reviews video drops. Thank you, guys, for all of your hard work. 🖖🏼
Thank you for this wonderful video. Of all the classic horror stars... indeed, I think classic stars in general... Peter Cushing is the one I would have loved to meet the most. His intelligence, compassion, and respect for the art form comes across in every film he's in.
HE was my favorite actor in horror movies. A great actor for sure. I really liked his movies. I liked Christopher Lee a lot also.
Saw Twins of Evil for the first time a few weeks ago. Thoroughly enjoyed His performance. For me, the Mummy has always been my favorite Hammer film and one of my favorite horror films of all time
Excellent work putting this video together, you covered quite a bit. You are right about Cushing and "nuance". Every scene he is doing something: using his hands, picking up objects, facial gestures... nothing I am sure was in the script. Just him making memorable characters. Again, great job here.
As a young child I saw “The Evil of Frankenstein” at an old theater in Petersburg, Virginia in the early 60s. Now, as I approach 70, I am still enchanted and engaged with the performance of Peter Cushing. His performances have always been , for me, utterly outstanding. Thanks, Robin, for yet another brilliant overview of one of horror’s greatest actors.
Brilliant just brilliant thanks for keeping his name alive
I watched Hound of the Baskervilles during COVID lockdown. It's an absolute banger of a movie.
Like many others, I first saw Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin, but I next saw him in the comedy "Top Secret"! At that time I didn't understand the reference of the magnifying glass gag!
It's pretty extraordinary to have a gag that's a call back to a film he made so long ago.
I love him so much! As a person and as an actor.I had a thought, Elijah Wood is reminding me of a younger Cushing. Especially with the eyes. A very versatile actor with a heart of gold. Now I want a Cushing designed scarf lol. His version of Dr. Frankstien is my fave❤
The presenter has a strong look of a youthful Peter Cushing.
As Robin said, Peter Cushing never phoned in his performance. P.S.-I am a big fan of "The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires" as the Shaw Brothers films are among my favorite genres (1965-1983).
It doesn't matter if Cushing is the only reason to watch a film; that's the only reason one needs.
Your affinity for this endearing actor shines through...makes me like Cushing even more than I already did, which I didn't think was possible. Thank you!
Thank you for all your videos about Mr, Cushing. He is always a joy to watch. His professionalism makes many films very watchable if not wonderful. The film you missed I think was his performance as Memnon in the 1956 Alexander the Great. He took a bit part and made it a subplot.
Well, it's meant to be Claire Trevor's subplot, with a bit of added context on the Battle of the Granicus...but since she's a useless block of wood, he dominates it quite handily. Does the same in his scenes in End of the Affair and Magic Fire, FWIW. Rule of thumb, if you cast Peter Cushing as a cuckold in your movie, people will root for the cuckold. (Producers in the 1950s were REALLY REALLY dumb.)
Alexander the Great wasn't a horror film so it didn't qualify. If we were trying to do a top ten of all his films this would have been even harder!
@@DarkCornersReviews In fairness, very few of his nongenre films are much to write home about. You'd be debating where to rank Tale of Two Cities, Cash on Demand and Night Creatures, and maybe End of the Affair or Cone of Silence or Suspect (haven't seen those last two in their entirety), and perhaps wondering whether Magic Fire and Alexander the Great make the Worst-of list.
I found his role Grimsdyke the best of his anthology parts. Horror Express is my personal favorite Cushing and Lee vehicle
I love how palpable your love and adoration for these films, and the artists who made them, shines in every video. Another masterpiece, bravo. ❤
Thank you
@@DarkCornersReviews I'm also gonna seek out that adaptation of 1984 he was in. I didn't even know existed, so I should be thanking you!
@@theawesome925 Here you go, you made need a VPN if you are based in the UK ruclips.net/video/1Y12QPFxgIc/видео.htmlsi=7m-yBGXRhtLER2He
I enjoyed this so much, thank you. I love Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Vincent Price not just for their acting but in interviews they seem to be genuinely decent people who are thankful for their success. I think that perspective is why I don't think I can really remember where any of them just "mailed it in for a paycheck". I will not tire of videos focusing on any of these gentlemen for their on screen or off screen stories. Happy Holidays to you.
All three of them had a long, hard road to professional success: Lee was well into his thirties when Horror of Dracula was made, Cushing in his mid-forties. Price made House on Haunted Hill around that time and must have been close on fifty.
@@hcu4359Very much on the edge of fifty for Price. As pointed out elsewhere, he'd had a 20 year career before all that.
Excellent tribute to the wonderful Peter Cushing. I’d like to know why after all these years we still don’t have The Ghoul 1975 available on DVD or Blu-Ray?
The Tyburn movies have some kind of rights issues. I feel the lack of Legend of the Werewolf more than The Ghoul, even though it's probably a less good movie, because Cushing's pathologist/coroner guy is just that amusing.
The Evil of Frankenstein is a lot of fun. A very underrated film.
I really adore dark corners videos, for they give me the chance of having a lovely 'discussion' (even though I'm just listening of course) about the movies and actors I loved all my life, but nobody ever really wanted to talk about where I grew up. Thanks to you I am no longer a lonely Peter Cushing nerd. Now I am a Peter Cushing nerd in splendid company!^^ Thank you!
It's incredible hearing your vocal inflections and word choices in this, especially towards the end when discussing the performance of Baron Frankenstein and Peter Cushing the man. You manage to elevate discussion of one actor in low budget entertainment into high class film analysis.
Poetic Justice is such a gut wrenchingly tragic tale.
It's even more relevant today because of social media, in my opinion.
Not an easy task to choose a top 10 but an excellent overview of a master at his craft.
Iconic doesn't begin to cover it. Thank you for this warm and fascinating assessment.
Great stuff. What an absolute legend he was. A fabulous talent and a wonderful man.
So glad The Hound of The Baskervilles is in your list 😂😂😂