Top Ten Horror Films of Peter Cushing
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6 ай бұрынBy every account, Peter Cushing was the loveliest of men, kind, generous, an old-fashionedgentleman. He is the unlikeliest of horror icons, but a horror icon is what he is.
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Summary: Depending on how flexible you want to be Peter Cushing made around 50 horror films, even though he didn’t make one until he was 44, peaking in 1972 when he made 6. He made 20 horror films for Hammer, 15 for their rival Amicus, 19 with his friend Christopher Lee. He has prominently featured in 7 Dark Corners specials and been mentioned
in several more, we’ve reviewed 8 of his films for our Streaming Movie strand and 11 for our bad movie strand.
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SHADOWS: Michaela Urban, jay snigler, Kristin Hitron, Doug Sparks, Matthew Wolforth, Maurice Terenzio, Hal Remorse, Brian B, Dan D Doty, Paul Keating, Johnny Compton, Adi Wood, Rodney J Kelly, Chris Hewson, Andreas Buckley, Shaun Turcott, Todd Y., Symon O'Hagan, Allan Liska, Walter Durham, Rick Walz, Kristiyan Butev, Al Champagne, Dragonfyree, Robert Hedges, E. P. Haury, Spooky Robot, Mark Osborn, Dave Church, Travis Stephenson, Ossie Nelson, Mark Welsh, Michael Clark, Rachemus, Lightning Round, Ian Lewis, Cecelie, Jonathan Harrison, Colleen Crouch, Darren Le Noble, Melanie Atherton Allen, Gappasaurus, Chris Weakley, Joe Porter, Scott Nesmith, John L., Normand Richardson, Richard Sadler, Ken Smiley, John Hepp, Chantelle Corey, Joe Niedbala, Joseph Hines, Stephen Crane, Kali, Anthony Strocks, Sikander, Joseph Dougherty, Jasmine Shafer, goddessoftransitory, Michael and Heather Bailes, steve scibelli, Connor Brennan, Raven House Mystery, ChaosOverlordZ,
ACOLYTES: Robert Ornelas, Thomas Thaler, Richard R. Adams, Alan, Scott Johnson, Kenneth, Kholek92, Chris Spaseff, NelsonR, Kyle Olson, don H Andrews, Brian Gillen, Terrance Odette, Goosefoot, Brian Kidd, Christopher Nam, TomPiller, Coogrfan, TheZodMaker, Bryan White, C, Hester Grayson, Craig, Timothy Gonyea, Sean Manogue, Steve Dessent, Lou Faulhaber, IrritableBadger, Sean in Florida, Jim Kallaugher, Lisa Kuta, Walt Marsters, James Miers, Geoffrey of Clan Gunn, Peter Sondheim, Chris Anastasio, Tarami Bedona, Mark J. Matthews, Ariana Thompson, Andrew Hughes, Chris Baglin, Angelina Licchelli, Karl Bernhard, Picatea, Mary Whitcher, Rhea Fleming, Mason Highreich, David Gattis, Mark, Heather L., Larry Cloud, Rick Winters, Lloyd, Roger Edwards, Ann Knight, James J Kelly, David work, The Craven Fop, Brian T., Ch'aska Huayhuaca, Jenny Swindells, Arbie A, Ivo, Jon, Brett Hopkins, Joost, Tman, Fritz Rutz, Robert ALAN Bryan, Chris McGarel, Scott Underwood, Larry Willoughby, Mark Curtis, KwaidanFan, Daniel Adams, David Nevarrez, Dave Smith, Barbara Mosley, Mark Maillet, John Wick, Kenneth Carlson, Ron Klym,
James Vance, Joe Goes Over, Tom Lanckman, Nancy A. Collins, Alex B, Gary Mercer, Janna Nicole, Clarence Pitre, james Steadman, Simon Ash, Thomas Brown, Chris Fischer, D R Wellington, Richard D'Ambrosia, Milton Knight, Michael Schmidt, Michael Dean Jackson, Dark_Roast, Gemma Crowley, Andrew Weber, Jim Rockford, Johnathan Henning, James Robertson, Nils Muninsheim, Albertus Magnus, Janne Wass, Robert Freeborn, David Conner, Ford, Amber Wesley, Karl Bunker, Tony Belmonte, Jim Smith, Mark Buckley, Uwe Marquardt, Terry LeCroix, Russ Chandler, Melissa Hayes,
Written and presented by Robin Bailes @robinbailes
Directed and Edited by Graham Trelfer
Vincent Price Top Ten Horror Films
#HorrorMovieReview #DarkCornersReview #PeterCushing
@christineKT 6 ай бұрын
Peter Cushing is one of the rarest in the business, known as a class act, a true professional, and a good man.
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
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).
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
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.
@alienmindwarp3455 6 ай бұрын
@@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.
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
@@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.
@rickhenderson7866 6 ай бұрын
A Great Man indeed. He put himself into every role without a bit of ego.
@eileenweeks1815 5 ай бұрын
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@KarlBunker 6 ай бұрын
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.
@DarkCornersReviews 6 ай бұрын
I hope you named it Peter. Or Cushing. Cushing is a good name for a cat.
@bezoticallyyours83 Ай бұрын
@@DarkCornersReviews Grand Meowf Tarkin?
@matthewh.9544 6 ай бұрын
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.
@MikeL-7 6 ай бұрын
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.”
@suechapel1443 6 ай бұрын
Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are the best best horror duo ever!😊
@daffyphack 6 ай бұрын
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.
@caryblack5985 6 ай бұрын
A great presence in the Hammer films. He is the heart of the Dracula and Frankenstein series
@percymcmurphy1957 6 ай бұрын
Peter Cushing is the actor who got me into horror movies as a whole. He was so talented ❤️
@guythinkingoutloud 6 ай бұрын
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.
@davidlionheart2438 6 ай бұрын
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.
@xhagast 6 ай бұрын
He makes forgettable movies watchable and even interesting. If HE takes something serious then it IS serious and you better do the same.
@Gondarth 6 ай бұрын
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...
@lindamcfarland9656 6 ай бұрын
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👍
@rubberneckinc.8937 6 ай бұрын
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.
@Gondarth 6 ай бұрын
@@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...
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
@@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.
@christopherwall2121 2 ай бұрын
@@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_
@stevencarter87 6 ай бұрын
Adore Cushing , Lee, Price my childhood would not have felt the same without them. But Peter was my definite favourite.
@Torgo-and-the-Lucifer-Cat 6 ай бұрын
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.❤
@historylover 6 ай бұрын
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.
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
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.
@Rxlrpl 6 ай бұрын
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.
@DarkCornersReviews 6 ай бұрын
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.
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
Cool! How did you happen to run across him, if you are comfortable talking about it?
@alienmindwarp3455 6 ай бұрын
@@hcu4359I 2nd that request for a commensurate reply.
@rubberneckinc.8937 6 ай бұрын
Thanks for sharing
@Rxlrpl 6 ай бұрын
I lived in Whitstable. He was a familiar figure. Very approachable. Treasured memories.
@moose6509 6 ай бұрын
An actor who gives you a warm, comfortable feeling every second he´s on screen. Loved him in the Morecambe & Wise classics too.
@richiebassett1284 6 ай бұрын
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.
@VonWenk 6 ай бұрын
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
@TheBeird 6 ай бұрын
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.
@julietfischer5056 6 ай бұрын
He persuaded Cushing to make _Horror Express_ to help take his mind off his grief.
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
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.
@julietfischer5056 6 ай бұрын
@@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 6 ай бұрын
I am going to go right ahead and believe that it is true. Both very fine men.
@johnathonhaney8291 6 ай бұрын
@@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.
@matthewconstantine5015 6 ай бұрын
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.
@nickcardillo3269 6 ай бұрын
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.
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
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.
@bensneb360 6 ай бұрын
Of all the famous Hammer actors, Peter Cushing is my favorite, with The Curse of Frankenstein being my all time favorite Hammer film
@bradencampbell464 6 ай бұрын
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.
@blatherskite3009 6 ай бұрын
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.
@MrKaiserdurdenex 6 ай бұрын
One of the 3 pillars of cinematic horror. Lee, Price and Cushing.
@neanderthal- 6 ай бұрын
was there a movie where they all was in?
@johnathonhaney8291 6 ай бұрын
@@neanderthal- Yes, two of them. Scream And Scream Again (NOT recommended by me BTW) and House Of Long Shadows (also featuring John Carradine).
@flybobbie1449 4 ай бұрын
Price, House of Wax and Witchfinder general.
@mjd4502 6 ай бұрын
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!
@DarkCornersReviews 6 ай бұрын
That's fantastic. He really was that nice a man!
@l.a.gothro3999 6 ай бұрын
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.
@ThreadBomb 6 ай бұрын
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.
@georgemetcalf8763 6 ай бұрын
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.
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
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.
@blatherskite3009 6 ай бұрын
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.
@travisrygg3317 6 ай бұрын
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 👍.
@johnathonhaney8291 6 ай бұрын
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.
@thewanderingfool4435 6 ай бұрын
Peter Cushing was many great & wonderful things in his life, but non more so than the simple fact, that he was above all else a true gentleman. rip Mr Cushing, your work lives on and still captivates & inspires other to this day.
@blackenedwritings 6 ай бұрын
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.
@DamnedSilly 6 ай бұрын
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.
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
@@DamnedSilly Vader is supposed to be the sidekick in that, TBH.
@alienmindwarp3455 6 ай бұрын
@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.🤔
@johnathonhaney8291 6 ай бұрын
@@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.
@christopherwall2121 6 ай бұрын
@@alienmindwarp3455 Elstree, actually. And after _Star Wars_ was a runaway success, Lucas used those stages as a good luck charm.
@blackbaron0 6 ай бұрын
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.
@eddysgaming9868 6 ай бұрын
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.
@IronSalamander8 6 ай бұрын
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!
@johnathonhaney8291 6 ай бұрын
2:42 Cushing's kind of professionalism is rare anywhere. But if my experience as a ghostwriter, it's especially rare in the arts.
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
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.
@DDlambchop43 6 ай бұрын
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.
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
I crush on a variety of types, but he defines one of them. :)
@lindamcfarland9656 6 ай бұрын
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!
@mauriciogutierrez2145 6 ай бұрын
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
@user-is6pz7nk3u 6 ай бұрын
Such a good actor a joy to watch, and if you saw his name in the cast, you were in for a show.
@walterfechter8080 6 ай бұрын
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!
@Ethan_McClane 6 ай бұрын
Your channel made me appreciate more Cushing and Lee as actors and as individuals,so thank you
@kevincrighton3130 6 ай бұрын
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.
@jeffagain7516 6 ай бұрын
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. 🥰
@stephenvelez9710 6 ай бұрын
The vampire bite-cauterizing scene has stayed with me since I was 5 years old. What a giant. ❤ Peter Cushing. Great video, as always🙏🏼
@jasonjuneau3554 6 ай бұрын
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.
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
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 6 ай бұрын
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!
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
@@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.
@20th_century_specter 6 ай бұрын
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. 🖖🏼
@frankb821 6 ай бұрын
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!
@Randall1001 6 ай бұрын
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.
@marklanier8657 6 ай бұрын
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.
@normandrichardson3721 6 ай бұрын
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)
@DarkCornersReviews 6 ай бұрын
Brides is certainly a great film
@leppeppel 6 ай бұрын
It doesn't matter if Cushing is the only reason to watch a film; that's the only reason one needs.
@elflvr04 6 ай бұрын
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❤
@amb163 6 ай бұрын
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.
@benediktschander7609 6 ай бұрын
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!
@davidkoenig8592 6 ай бұрын
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.
@garygriffiths2911 6 ай бұрын
Im so glad that you mentioned The Skull. I first saw this wonderful old film at the tender age of ten - half a century ago now - and that was an experience I'll never forget. Neither before or since have I ever been qute so bloody scared by a film. There is something about watching a good horror - alone and at the dead of night of course - at such an impressionable age that you can never quite recaputure in later life is there?
@DarkCornersReviews 6 ай бұрын
No. Those childhood terrors stay with you in films that would never scare you now.
@tommydarbe1524 6 ай бұрын
I found his role Grimsdyke the best of his anthology parts. Horror Express is my personal favorite Cushing and Lee vehicle
@shannondore 6 ай бұрын
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.
@BretRBoulter 6 ай бұрын
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!
@rossedwards3989 6 ай бұрын
I just want to say thanks for helping to keep the legends of horror like peter alive and not just focusing on the greatest hits reminding us there was more to him then van helsing and moff tarkin. Im going to plan a cushing marathon for next weekend now. Also just random aside im from herne bay dont know any murfins but it tickled me that being Whitstable is the neighbouring town where peter cushing used to live the murfins may have met him or passed him in the street
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
He and his wife only started going to Whitstable in the late 1950s, IIRC, and only bought a residence there after a few of his horror hits. 1984 was in 1954, so before all that. We can't rule out the Cushings crossing paths with the Murfins (especially since Peter and Helen traveled all over England touring with ENSA in the war), but if so there probably wasn't a Whitstable angle to it.
@theawesome925 6 ай бұрын
I love how palpable your love and adoration for these films, and the artists who made them, shines in every video. Another masterpiece, bravo. ❤
@DarkCornersReviews 6 ай бұрын
Thank you
@theawesome925 6 ай бұрын
@@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!
@DarkCornersReviews 6 ай бұрын
@@theawesome925 Here you go, you made need a VPN if you are based in the UK kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Z79hZbSBq97LeZc.htmlsi=7m-yBGXRhtLER2He
@silverfishimperitrix 6 ай бұрын
The Evil of Frankenstein is a lot of fun. A very underrated film.
@countgeekula9143 6 ай бұрын
Great stuff. What an absolute legend he was. A fabulous talent and a wonderful man.
@davidsigalow7349 5 ай бұрын
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!
@hcu4359 4 ай бұрын
I envy you - I think that's the only Hammer Frankenstein I'd like to see on the big screen.
@wintermute- 6 ай бұрын
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.
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
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.
@johnathonhaney8291 6 ай бұрын
@@hcu4359Very much on the edge of fifty for Price. As pointed out elsewhere, he'd had a 20 year career before all that.
@marlasotherchannel9847 6 ай бұрын
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).
@willmfrank 5 ай бұрын
Robin: "Horror Express:" it's fun; Cushing and Lee are brilliant... Peter Cushing: Monsters? We're British, you know. 😁
@OldPirate1718 5 ай бұрын
Cushing, Lee, and Price--the horror greats
@Shadowman4710 5 ай бұрын
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.
@josepha5885 6 ай бұрын
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.
@MrSparky1977 6 ай бұрын
He also did comedy. Cushing acted with Laurel and Hardy in A Chump at Oxford, and Top Secret with Val Kilmer.
@peterbailey6930 6 ай бұрын
His movies are all Great. My favorite is Brides of Dracula.
@wayneashford5697 6 ай бұрын
1 of my personal greatest heroes of cinema;i ❤❤❤d him-& always will- as THE 'Van Helsing'❤❤❤.
@stillhuntre55 6 ай бұрын
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!
@DarkCornersReviews 6 ай бұрын
It's pretty extraordinary to have a gag that's a call back to a film he made so long ago.
@vordman 6 ай бұрын
Brides of Dracula is such a sumptuous looking film. I love it.
@patricklee6066 4 ай бұрын
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.
@hcu4359 4 ай бұрын
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.
@gabrielboorom2683 6 ай бұрын
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.
@icon_uk624 6 ай бұрын
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.
@MisterSplendy 3 ай бұрын
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.
@DarkCornersReviews 3 ай бұрын
Thank you!
@RavenHouseMystery 6 ай бұрын
Thank you for this video. It makes for a perfect Christmas present, not only for the great research on Peter Cushing, but also for two films making the list: The Skull and Shock Waves. Both films are personal favorites of mine. As Robin pointed out, any film with Peter Cushing is worth watching, because Cushing could just make any film better by his presence. When I first saw Star Wars as a kid in 1977, Peter Cushing was the only name I recognized in the cast. He was so good as Grand Moff Tarkin that you couldn't help but like him. I could also believe that he was the one person who could keep Darth Vader in check.
@nikkicat254 6 ай бұрын
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!
@colleencrouch4346 3 ай бұрын
Wonderful special! One reason why Peter’ Frankenstein edges out his Van Helsing may have to do with Christopher Lee’s statement that “the baddies get the best lines”
@ennesshay5040 6 ай бұрын
29:52 I always wince at that stuntman hitting the floor - Looks like he really landed on his head and broke his neck !
@Wyrmwould 6 ай бұрын
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.
@clyde9803 6 ай бұрын
I will never understand how the stuntman didn't break his neck taking the header through the railing in CoF. You can see the guy hit a cushion but did so head first. Dang impressive.
@nickmitsialis 6 ай бұрын
LOL! I follow another vlogger who does WW2 flight sims; his favorite comment when he 'flames' an AI opponent is 'get out, man, get out!'; So one day, I posted "THAT" video clip (LOOK OUT DOCTOR, LOOK OUT!) to his vid--the other vlogger was very impressed with that fall, and wondered how the stuntman survived uninjured----or did he?
@hcu4359 6 ай бұрын
@@nickmitsialiswhat looks like a floor is actually a mattress, it crinkles when the stuntman lands.
@nickmitsialis 6 ай бұрын
@@hcu4359 Thanks; It still looked dangerous as hell.
@alienmindwarp3455 6 ай бұрын
I always think that too! Like, OMG, there's no way that guy survived that fall for sure! Very effective for the movie. Great stunt work! 👏
@zsoltbartus169 6 ай бұрын
Sure its a mattress, but he still landed directly on his head. Still has no idea how that fella was fine after that (hope he was)
@eddymadison9655 6 ай бұрын
I'm so happy you include Tales Of The Crypt, it was Cushing best & most emotional performance imo
@debragburg 6 ай бұрын
I think your offering on Peter Cushing was splendid! Thank you.
@TheMetalGeorge 6 ай бұрын
Amazing work, as always. My young son and I enjoy sharing my memories and his new discoveries via your lists and retrospective documentaries. We love what you do.
@DarkCornersReviews 6 ай бұрын
That's really great to hear! If we can introduce people to these movies then that's our job done.
@rsacchi100 6 ай бұрын
Enjoyed this video. You did a great job of telling about Peter Cushing and his films.
@RussLudwig 6 ай бұрын
Well done! 🥂 And thanks for the love for Horror Express
@Ipsifendis 6 ай бұрын
like the vincent price overview, this, too, is excellent! i read a biography of cushing and will soon read his complete memoirs. he was truly an interesting fellow :D
@lindseykipp191 6 ай бұрын
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
@daviddowsett1658 6 ай бұрын
My best "Afternoon Tea" (with some cakes) would be with Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing and Robert Englund ...
@reignfire85 6 ай бұрын
Very insightful analysis of his career and life, and some great selections. I really need to get around to seeing a lot of these, but damn it all if they aren't tricky to find at times (Blood from the Mummy's Tomb and The Gorgon were very difficult to find a while back at a reasonable price, and with Netflix ending its DVDs and not always having streaming options, the hunt has become trickier).
@DarkCornersReviews 6 ай бұрын
I think The Gorgon is on Dailymotion if that helps.
@reignfire85 6 ай бұрын
@@DarkCornersReviews --- I just checked and it is indeed there, thanks for the info.
@BarefootonBricks 6 ай бұрын
Not an easy task to choose a top 10 but an excellent overview of a master at his craft.
@euansmith3699 6 ай бұрын
So many wonderful voices on display in this collection of clips. Andrée Melly's turn as a Bride of Dracula is so weird and creepy; her makeup and expression turning her in to a living Warren Publishing horror character. 29:52 How did they pull off that fall without killing the stuntman?
@naparry4772 6 ай бұрын
What a wonderfully informative and darkly entertaining way of spending half an hour. Thank you.
@8009luke 5 ай бұрын
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.
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