Is The Wake Wood doomed?

I just caught this item on Robert Simpson’s Unofficial Hammer Site. This is quite interesting, somewhat disconcerting news that – if true – seems to have completely fallen off the radar.

Robert noticed that a) the DVD release of Beyond the Rave seems to now be at least questionable and b) that Hammer’s new production The Wake Wood has apparently been taken off the list of productions for 2009. Read the article to get the full details of this discovery.

Personally, I couldn’t care less about Beyond the Rave. I hated it with a vengeance when I watched it for free, have no intention of ever seeing it again and definitely do not intend to spend any money on it. The only thing I may regret is not seeing Ingrid Pitt’s appearance in the DVD release, but based on the serial this would likely have been an insignificant blink or you’ll miss it moment anyway, so I guess I’ll survive that one easily.

I am much more sorry to hear that The Wake Wood may now have fallen off the schedule. From all I have heard about it this seems to have been a production that was much more in line with Hammer’s previous image and whereas I didn’t care an iota for BTR, The Wake Wood was something I was genuinely looking forward to especially also as this would have been filmed in Ireland.

Not too sure what to do about this. It would be nice to hear from a source directly at Hammer about it. Is it worth starting a concerted effort to rescue that production and try and push Hammer to continue with it?

I’d definitely appreciate comments and suggestions about this situation.

Yet more news!!!

There's just no end to Hammer related news:

Christopher Lee finally received his Knighthood. I am sure he is ecstatic about that and it sure was well deserved. Not certain though how much he appreciates those Sir Dracula jibes.

Mind you: Lee has also just joined the cast of the new Hammer movies The Resident, so Lee, Hammer and Horror can finally be mentioned in the same breath again.

**********

Start pre-ordering and wait with baited breath until the end of September! Then pre-order again and count the days until the end of the year!

Cause none other than Marcus Hearn and Titan Books have joined forces again to publish the kind of oeuvre I have been salivating about ever since I became a Hammer Fan. (And hey, don't I also have a Hammer Glamour related website that needs updating soon?)

"Hammer Glamour" (the book) will no doubt be a visual feast and chock full of interesting, ahem, titbits. I wouldn't expect anything less from the people who brought us "The Hammer Story".

And to celebrate a new year full of salacious memories we will also be able to purchase a Hammer Glamour calendar at the end of this year.

Now I can die a happy man.

**********

Looks like Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires may soon be remade. You know what? It could just work. I like the original, but it is not one of the all time critically acclaimed classics, so not really heresy.

**********

And last but not least: The Internet Archive now has the rare (non-Hammer) Peter Cushing movie The Risk available for download. Can't wait to watch this.

Two US events that I'd love to frequent

Is it my imagination or are there more and more events around of interest to the Hammer Fans? I am looking forward to Don's London based Cine Lumiere do next month. If I could (i.e. live in the US) I would also visit the follow two happenings:

DRIVE-IN SUPER MONSTER-RAMA
September 11/12
Riverside Drive-In, Route 66, Vandergrift, PA 15690

The line up is simply electric for anyone interested in Hammer movies and Brit Cult. September 12 is dedicated Hammer Horror Saturday with the following shows: The Vampire Lovers, The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula, The Satanic Rites of Dracula and Vampire Circus.

The previous day is also nothing to be sneezed at with the following shows on offer: The Witchfinder General, Scream and Scream Again, The Crimson Cult and Terror Creatures From the Grave.

Another show of interest for us Hammer Fans is the Vampire-Con, August 14-16, in Hollywood and organised by Harris Publications. Check out more info about them on their official website.

Christopher Lee's Dracula Cape at Auction next Tuesday 16th of June

Got tons of news over the last week that I only now find the time to update. The most pressing one is with regards to an auction of Christopher Lee's original Dracula cape tomorow! Angels the Costumiers together with Bonhams will auction off that cape tomorrow with a bunch of other fascinating film memorabilia. Below please find the press release with all the details. Here's a link to a recent article about the sale.


CHRISTOPHER LEE’S DRACULA CAPE, JOHN PERTWEE’S DR WHO FROCK COAT
AND PIERCE BROSNAN’S JAMES BOND LEATHER JACKET GO UNDER THE HAMMER

BONHAMS PRESENTS ENTERTAINMENT MEMORABILIA INCLUDING ITEMS FROM
THE ANGELS COLLECTION OF TELEVISION & FILM COSTUMES


A remarkable collection of costumes supplied by Angels the Costumiers to some of the biggest and most iconic international film and television productions are to go under the hammer at Bonhams, Knightsbridge, on Tuesday 16th June 2009 at 11am as part of the Entertainment Memorabilia sale.

With prices ranging from £50 to £30,000, just under 250 lots featuring film and television costumes from the Angels archive will be available to collectors and amateur fans alike at this phenomenal 600-lot auction. Star lots include Christopher Lee’s Black Cape from Dracula (estimate: £20,000 – 30,000); Laurence Olivier’s Military Tunic from The Prince and the Showgirl (estimate: £8,000 – 12,000); John Pertwee’s Frock Coat from Doctor Who (estimate: £7,000 – 10,000); a full length cloak worn by Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia (estimate: £5,000 – 6,000); and James Bond’s Leather Jacket, as worn by Pierce Brosnan in Tomorrow Never Dies (estimate: £4,000 – 6,000).

Other items from the Angels archive going under the hammer include costumes from productions including The Fifth Element, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Highlander, Beyond the Sea and several James Bond films.

ANGELS – SUPPLYING COSTUMES FOR A CENTURY AND A HALF

Angels was established in 1840, when actors were expected to purchase their own costumes for auditions and performances. The company founder, Morris Angel, then a trader in second-hand clothing and tailors’ samples, allowed actors to hire, rather than buy, their outfits. He was the first person to make such an innovation, and as a consequence his shop became popular with theatre actors. With the advent of cinema, the Angels family made their second major diversification by supplying costumes to the fledgling movie industry, and Angels the Costumiers has continued to be a major success story within the British and international film industry to the present day.

In 1948 Angels the Costumiers supplied costumes to the first of many films to win Academy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design – Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet. The company has followed suit a further 30 times, with international greats such as Gigi, Star Wars, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Titanic, The English Patient, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and this year’s The Duchess.

Today Angels the Costumiers is based in Hendon, North London, and boasts a warehouse containing more than five million costumes on around eight miles of hanging rails. The company also retains a costume hire shop for consumers – Angels Fancy Dress (run by sixth generation, Emma Angel) – at its original 19th Century premises on Shaftesbury Avenue in London’s West End. Angels Fancy Dress is the UK’s largest business of its kind, and the company’s online presence, www.fancydress.com, is the UK’s most visited fancy dress website. Angels Fancy Dress prides itself on providing fancy dress outfits to the general public and celebrities alike –Sir Elton John, Sir Mick Jagger and a number of young Royals can often be found rubbing shoulders with other Londoners visiting the shop in order to obtain the best and most extraordinary costumes.

Tim Angel, Chairman of Angels, and fifth generation of the family firm, is delighted to be providing to Bonhams a significant proportion of one of the biggest sales of major film costumes and explains his motivation for the sale:

“Following the incredible public response to our first public auction in 2007, and The Angels Big Vintage Clothing Sale held in 2008, we are thrilled to announce the sale of Items From The Angels Collection Of Television & Film Costumes in the biannual Entertainment Memorabilia auction being held at Bonhams’ Knightsbridge salerooms in June. At Angels we take great pride in creating costumes that help immerse an audience in a believable fictional world. Our costumes are famously well researched and tailored to the highest standard, impressing industry insiders and audiences alike with the authenticity and effectiveness of the costumes worn on screen. The down-side to creating costumes that become so famous and strongly associated with particular characters, actors or films is that they can never be used again in future, nor can they be hired out at our fancy dress shop. Over two years have now passed since we held our first auction at Bonhams and our warehouse is once again approaching capacity, so now seemed to be the right time to offer fans and collectors the opportunity to take home a piece of film or television history from the Angels archive.”

Stephanie Connell, Entertainment Memorabilia Specialist at Bonhams, comments:
“Following the huge success of the initial sale of costumes from the Angels archive in 2007, we are delighted to offer at auction, another wonderful selection of costumes from classic BBC productions and iconic international movies. This auction will again give a rare opportunity for collectors to acquire some of the most important pieces of film and television costume ever to appear on the market.”

Below are selected highlights:



CHRISTOPHER LEE AS DRACULA
One of the star lots of the sale is Christopher Lee’s black opera-style cape from his role as the infamous vampire in the 1958 Hammer production of Dracula (estimate: £20,000-30,000). Lee is regarded by many as the definitive Dracula, and this film marked his first appearance as the character. The imposing full length woollen cape is being sold together with a letter signed by Christopher Lee himself, on Angels-headed note paper, confirming the authenticity of the item, as well as a still image of Lee wearing the cape as Dracula (see left). This lot is one that is sure to garner attention from serious memorabilia fans, and would be a valuable asset to any collection. Fans of Lee’s Dracula with a rather smaller budget needn’t be put off however, as there is also a chance to snap up a checked tweed waistcoat worn by the actor in the Dracula Pere Et Fils (1976) in a joint lot with another waistcoat worn by Lee in the 1971 production of Sherlock Holmes (estimate: £100-150).




LAURENCE OLIVIER, OMAR SHARIF AND SIR DONALD WOLFIT
This sale presents an opportunity for fans of Laurence Olivier, one of the greatest thespians of the 20th century, to get their hands on an impressive Military Tunic from The Prince and the Showgirl (estimate: £8,000 – 12,000). This wonderfully detailed early twentieth century style military tunic, supplied by Angels, was worn by Olivier when starring opposite Marilyn Monroe in the 1957 film that he also directed and produced.

Also on offer from the Angels archive is a full length cloak worn by Omar Sharif in his Golden Globe award-winning performance as Sherif Ali in 1962’s Lawrence of Arabia (estimate: £5,000 – 6,000), a role for which Sharif was Oscar-nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category. A khaki military-style tunic worn by Sir Donald Wolfit as General Sir Archibald Murray in the same film is also going under the hammer, with an estimate of £1,000-1,500. Lawrence of Arabia is widely considered to be one of the greatest films ever made – it won 25 awards, including the Oscar and Golden Globe in both the Best Picture and Best Director categories – making these pieces especially desirable to serious movie memorabilia collectors.
JAMES BOND
Any 007 fan worth his or her salt would be wise to mark Tuesday, 16th June in their diaries, as a vast array of items from eight different James Bond titles will be going under the hammer in this impressive sale. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), Octopussy (1983), The Living Daylights (1987), Goldeneye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002) are all represented, and with estimates starting at just £100, there are pieces on offer to suit every budget.

For those with some serious money to spend, there are two stylish leather jackets worn by Pierce Brosnan in 1997’s Tomorrow Never Dies (estimates: £4,000-6,000 and £2,000-3,000); a Naval Commander’s battledress jacket worn by Roger Moore in 1977 as Bond in The Spy Who Loved Me (estimate: £3,000-4,000); and even Halle Berry’s wetsuit from 2002’s Die Another Day (estimate: £800-1,200).

FASHIONABLE FINDS
Fashionistas looking for truly unique vintage pieces to add to their collections could find some unexpected treasures in this sale, including costumes and accessories from films such as Beyond the Sea, Eyes Wide Shut and a number of items designed by Jean Paul Gaultier for The Fifth Element. Of particular interest are two elaborate Venetian masks from Stanley Kubrick’s infamous final film, Eyes Wide Shut, each estimated at £200-300; a 1950s style dress worn by Belinda Mayne as Delta from Doctor Who – Delta and the Bannermen (estimate: £200-300); an ornate headdress worn by Christina Ricci in Man Who Cried (estimate: £100-150); and a stunning outfit worn by Kate Bosworth in Beyond the Sea, comprising a full length sequinned cloak in sliver and white, a cream coloured lace evening dress, a floral hair ornament and a pair of gold brocade court shoes (estimate: £400-500).

BRITISH TELEVISION COMEDY
Costumes worn by television’s comedy greats, both past and present, feature heavily in this sale, including a number of items from Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Tim McInnerny in Blackadder (estimates ranging from £50 all the way up to £3,000). Also going under the hammer is a Roman Centurion's costume worn by Nicholas Lyndhurst as Rodney Trotter in Only Fools and Horses (estimate: £500-600); two Edwardian style dresses worn by Jennifer Saunders during a French and Saunders Titanic Sketch (estimate: £300-400); a collection of costumes relating to Morecambe and Wise (estimate: £80-120); and two monkey masks from The Mighty Boosh (estimate: £500-600 each).

MILITARY AND HISTORICAL
Fans of military and historical costumes will be spoilt for choice, as excellent costumes covering a wide range of periods and nationalities are on offer, with estimates staring at just £100. Highlights include a British military-style tunic in khaki green wool, worn by Rowan Atkinson in Blackadder Goes Forth (estimate: £800-1,200) and ten stunning Elizabethan-style dresses worn by Glenda Jackson as Queen Elizabeth I from Elizabeth R (1971), with estimates ranging from £350 to £800.

Other female costumes in this sale include items worn by: Barbara Murray, Sophie Wilcox, Glenda Jackson, Diana Dors, Dianna Rigg, Miranda Richardson, Susan Sarandon, Anne Bancroft, Kathy Burke, Catherine Zeta Jones, Renée Zellweger, Sienna Miller, Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Julianne Moore, Anna Friel, Victoria Beckham, Andie McDowell, Uma Thurman, Kim Cattrall, Ingrid Bergman and Faye Dunaway.

Male actors whose costumes are featured include: Sean Connery, Richard Burton, Mel Gibson, Denzel Washington, Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins, Hugh Grant, Heath Ledger, Joseph Fiennes, Johnny Depp, Rupert Everett, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Tim Curry, Ralph Fiennes, Robert Downey Jr., Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Ben Kingsley, Christian Bale, Kevin Spacey, Sean Bean, David Jason, Robert Carlyle, Robert Duvall, Dick Van Dyke, John Lennon, Alec Guinness, Errol Flynn, Clark Gable and Bruce Willis.

Entertainment Memorabilia
Including Items from the Angels Collection of Television & Film Costumes

Tuesday June 16th 2009, 11am

Bonhams
Montpelier Street
Knightsbridge
London SW7 1HH
020 7468 8340

For further information on the Angels Collection of Television & Film Costumes Auction
Please contact Benjamin Webb / Lynsey Haddow at Deliberate PR
benjamin@deliberate-pr.com / lynsey@deliberate-pr.com
Phone – 020 8732 8867 / 020 8732 8851
Mobile – 07930 408 224 / 07792 072 453

Vincent Price Presents

I love comics. I really do! But over the last couple of years I have gradually pruned down my regular subscriptions at my local comic store to a bare minimum. Gone are the Daredevils and Captain Americas that have accompanied me for practically all my life. Can’t get too bothered about Batman these days. And even my beloved Spiderman has got the chop after One More Day too many, though I do still hold on to Ultimate Spiderman and felt that the Spidergirl comics should never have been cancelled.

I am really sick of endless relaunches and retcons and am amazed about how little story there is to read these days for an ever more extortionate cover price (especially given the inflated $-to-€ ratio charged in this neck of the woods). Whatever happened to the time when each comic (including the letters pages that are now as rare as a decent script) could keep me entertained for half an hour? These days a visit to the loo often lasts longer than a cover to cover read.

So when I finally come across a comic series that I really could get into, it annoys me endlessly when it is nigh impossible to subscribe to locally.

I recently came across issue #4 of Vincent Price Presents, an older entry in Bluewater Comics' Vincent Price related series.

Judging from this one edition Price in this series acts as the narrator at the beginning and end of a short piece of horror fiction. The Price segments are drawn in a kind of photorealistic style by Joel Robinson, the story proper in a more contemporary comic book style by Giovanni Timpano and featuring a main character who appears reminiscent (though not entirely spitting image) of Price.

This edition features a new take on the old Bluebeard tale, focussing on the initiation rites designed by an older member of the Bluebeard family for his young son. That rite of passage also features a mechanical dog somewhat out of place in the Gothic atmosphere of the tale.

Though I can’t say that the twist had me really stunned (remember: there are always twists in these kinds of comics), I did enjoy reading the comic and definitely would love to read more of them.

Only trouble is that not a lot of comic dealers seem to be carrying those, at least not here in Ireland, so online orders are a Must. The publishers also have an Ebay store that appears to be the most convenient way to purchase some of the past issues.

This is probably a very niche market idea. Let’s face it: Vincent Price’s name may still carry a lot of weight amongst classic horror fans, but who amongst the young comic readers of today really is a classic horror fan? (Then again, *are* there actually still young readers out there? Can’t remember the last time I saw a kid reading a comic.)

Anyone wanting to support this kind of project would probably also be well advised to drop the title of this series next time they visit a comic store. It’s only through this kind of awareness that the shops will actually order new series such as these.

Interview with Shane Briant, Hammer star and author of WORST NIGHTMARES

Shane Briant’s new novel WORST NIGHTMARES has just been released this week and Shane has kindly agreed to participate in a bit of Q&A for our blog.

Shane has of course featured in four of Hammer’s most interesting 1970s movies (Demons of the Mind, Straight on till Morning, Captain Kronos and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell), and has remained very active on screen, TV and stage. In actual fact if you are based in the UK/Ireland look out for the new Vauxhall ad with him in it.

I am always very curious to learn more about what happened to our favourite Hammer actors once they stopped working for the studio, so ever since I first heard about him being a writer a couple of years ago I wanted to find out more about this lesser known part of his career. Now that I know that one of his past novels features a 10-year old hitman for the Mafia you can bet I’ll be on the lookout for his earlier novels! (Incidentally a plot summary I just discovered demonstrates that the Internet/Murder angle is one that Briant seems to have been fascinated with even before Worst Nightmares.)

Shane is now based in Australia and will soon go on a whirlwind tour of American book stores to promote his new work. So check out your local listings to see if you can even meet up with him in person. (And if you do, don’t forget to take a photo and share it with us!)

Hi Shane, your new novel, Worst Nightmares, has just been released. Can you tell us a little bit about it? What was the inspiration for the plot?

I’ve always been fascinated by the amount of trust, and lack of fear, people have chatting away to the world at large on the Internet. They share their most intimate secrets, their fears and aspirations – even their sexual preferences. They appear to have no thought about any demons that might be lurking in Cyber-Space. There have been many instances of people being tracked down and raped and/or murdered by contacts on the Net, yet because they initially chat on a computer they have no fear. Nor caution. So I came up with the Dream Healer’s website. “Tell me your nightmares and I shall give you peace.” Yeah, right. Eternal peace in the most horrific way – their nightmares amped up 100 times! That was the idea. Then I used that as a secondary plot in a novel about a man that makes one error of judgment and it creates a tragic domino effect that destroys his life.

Tell us a little bit about your own dreams and nightmares?

I have VERY vivid dreams. In them everything is amped up. So a visit to Venice (Italy) is an explosion of colour and activity. As if the real thing wasn’t huge enough. My nightmares used to be about plane crashes. Now they are more like ‘the end of the world’. I can see invaders in huge space ships in the sky and people are running. I know this is it! I always ask myself, ‘Am I dreaming?’ I pinch myself and don’t wake up. Quite often I dream Wendy is fed up with me and says she’s leaving me. This is the worst one!

Given that the plot is very much featuring a menacing Internet presence I thought it was somewhat ironic that the first question you asked me when I started touching base with you was what Twitter was about as you were “just getting started when it comes to the Internet”. Given the novel’s subject matter I’d have thought you were an old Internet pro. Can it really be that you are just getting into it? How was the research like in that regard?

Twitter is odd. As a writer I find it hard to ‘Twit’. Only a few words? And who the heck am I talking to? Who’s actually reading and is interested? Mmmm. But I can easily grasp the magnitude of research on the Net. I no longer have to trawl the bars and brothels of Valetta to know what it’s like in Malta’s ‘Gut’ and what’s being served ‘de jour’. Often quite grizzy. But it’s gloriously vicarious. And getting back in touch with people I haven’t seen for ages. And never missing a good news story – just look it up. I’ve been an Internet devotee since it’s inception really but I find it difficult to wrap my head around Twitter – that’s all!

I believe a sequel to Worst Nightmares is already written. Can you tell us a bit more about this?

OOOOO! I LOVED writing this one. It gave me soooo much pleasure. It was FUN! Sometimes I worry that I am becoming one of my characters. How can one have so much fun writing about such grizzy things? Well, it’s because it’s fiction! And I can let my VERY dark houmor run amok! The sequel takes over where the first book leaves off. It’s an uber-scary ride from Malibu to Paris and back to Los Angeles. So many twists and turns I should have a contest – ‘Tell me what’s going to happen next and win a hundred bucks!’ Difficult to organize that one, but it’d be fun.

Worst Nightmares is being promoted as your debut novel, though I understand that you have previously published five novels in Australia. Were they in a similar style? What can you tell us about them?

The promotion is really to debut my breaking into the HUGE American market. That’s so exciting for me. “If you can make it here…” as the song goes. Back in Australia I’ve had five others published. First (‘The Webber Agenda’) was cold war espionage. Second (‘The Chasen Catalyst’) about drugs and the diplomatic bag. Third (‘Hitkids’) about a ten year old contract killer for the Mafia. Fourth, (‘Bite of the Lotus’) a saga about world wide money-laundering and the American Presidential campaign. The fifth (‘Graphic’) was about crime wars in Sydney.

Looking back at your life starting off as a law student in Dublin, becoming an actor on screen and stage as well as a writer, how would you summarise your career? Did you ever follow a “career plan”? What are your proudest achievements? Is there anything you wish you’d have done differently? Or anything you wanted to do but haven’t done yet?

I’ve been so very lucky. I started working as a pro in Dublin Ireland while still at University. Then I was in a play that was a huge hit at the Dublin Theatre Festival (‘Children of the Wolf’) and transferred to London’s West End. I was nominated for the Critic’s Award for Best Newcomer that year. Then I was contracted to Hammer Films for 4 pictures. Then I got a huge break and was cast as Dorian Gray in the re-make in Hollywood. I don’t regret much. Maybe I should have stuck around in Hollywood after Dorian Gray and made serious money. But I was young and wanted to get back to the B.B.C. and do more serious work. ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ and ‘The Naked Civil Servant’ and a theatre production of ‘Equus’ in which I played Dysart (and David Wenham played the boy) are probably my best work. It’s not always the most remembered work that makes one proud. What do I want to do from now on? See Worst Nightmares made into a movie. Then keep writing and become an established thriller writer around the world. Then travel and share any money I make around. I don’t need much and there are a million blind kids in India alone. $50 gives each one sight. (Fred Hollowes Foundation)

You appeared in four Hammer movies: Demons of the Mind, Straight on till Morning, Captain Kronos and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell. How did you get involved with Hammer? What are your memories of those productions and the stars you were working with?

The writer of the West End play I was in had just written ‘Straight on till Morning’. Michael Carerras (head of Hammer Films) had just seen ‘Children of the Wolf.’ Michael C wanted me, but Michael Peacok (the writer) didn’t – he wanted someone more ‘famous’. Anyway, I got the role and Carerras thought it a good idea to sign me up for 4 pictures. So I started work at Elstree and had a ball, working with some of the best actors in England. Peter Cushing was a real pro and a lovely gentle man. A perfectionist. Gillian Hills was scrumptuous but never looked in my direction. Shame. Paul Jones was a fun guy. Rita Tushingham was a real sweetheart and we became greats pals. But you know what they say about distance? I haven't spoken to her in 20 years. Maddie Smith was adorable. Nicest person I met at Hammer. As was the lovely Virginia Wetherell, married to my best pal at the time, the late Ralphie Bates.

You probably were born to play Dorian Gray. Did you have a special affinity for The Picture of Dorian Gray, especially since you must have been very familiar with the works of Oscar Wilde from your time in Dublin. (Incidentally, do you regularly return back to Ireland?) What was it like working with Dan Curtis?

The Dorian script was splendid, if at times not the same as Wilde’s book. I had an absolute ball. The director Glenn Jordan (multi-award winner) is still my favourite director. Nigel Davenport was a wickedly marvelous friend to have there. ALL the cast went on to do great things and all, barring me, made millions of dollars. Over the years I’ve been back to Ireland, but not as often as I would have liked. I made a TV Movie of the Week called ‘The Flame is Love’ for CBS. Tim Dalton was the baddie and, for once, I was not brain-damaged. Linda Purl (daughter of Lucille Ball) was the ingenue. Appalling movie, but we had the best fun. Tim took one look at my hotel room when he arrived in Dublin and, thining it was bigger than his, had it moved into his suite. It was the same size, it goes without saying, but he was a much bigger star!

Hawk the Slayer and Lady Chatterley’s Lover are both productions that may also be of interest for readers of this blog. Any comments about those two films?

It was a real blast to play Palance’s son! Dream come true to play the cruel son of the cruelest character around in films? On the first day we broke for lunch and I casually enquired if Jack if he was going to the executive restaurant for lunch. He replied; “Why, do you want me to buy you lunch?” I didn’t know what to say, but thinking he might be lonely I replied: ‘Do you have any friends here at Pinewood?’ He drilled me with another look and replied: “Why….do you want to meet my friends?” At heart, needless to say, he was a softee. I miss the guy. I also once had the privilege of working with Newman. He was the most generous actor I ever worked with. When he died I cried buckets. The only time I felt this way when an actor passed awy. He was the best.

Thank you very much, Shane, for answering all those questions. I definitely wish you all the greatest success with your Worst Nightmares. It’s been an equally fun and disturbing read that managed to keep me up for half the night.

Whooppee! That was my aim!!!!!!!

Demons of the Mind

Today's the day that Shane Briant's new novel WORST NIGHTMARES is officially going to be released. I have been on a little Briant trip over the last couple of days and amongst others watched Demons of the Mind. My good buddy Ade Salmon at one stage had written a review on one of the discussion groups we frequent and kindly allowed me publish it on my Hammer Glamour pages. Here's what he had to say about this movie:

Demons of the Mind casts a heady brew of incest and murder across an evocitive gothic landscape. Two grown up children, Elizabeth (Gillian Hills) and Emil (Shane Briant), are effectively imprisoned in their mittle euro mansion by their raving father Baron Zorn - played enthusiastically (much slicing of much HAM) - by Robert Hardy. The Creeping Flesh’s escaped madman (Kenneth J Warren) plays his bald pated manservent Karl.

Demons of the Mind is a hard film to truly love - it's meandering storyline demands concentration from the viewer - though it's intention to bring something *new* to the Hammer pot was appreciated. Christopher Wicking's idea of fusing the birth of psychoanalysis within the framework of essentially a psycho costume drama produces variable results. Visually it's a feast - Emil flaunts about like Jim Morrison in acid orange shirt (and bares a vague similarity to Emil from Vampire Circus). The naturalistic forest footage transports you momentarily to the Circus of Nights ambience - but that's pretty much where the similarities end.

60's Popstar Paul Jones (Manfred Mann) makes an appearance as *the hero* - but he's bland at best, whilst Michael Hordern wanders the forest as the comedy relief manic priest. It's all decidedly odd. Patrick Magee's mesmerist psychiatrist Falkberg rounds off the cast - bringing much needed gravitas to the story - his mesmeric twirling *device* reportedly based on real apparatus.

Like any respectable 1970's offering from the house that originally dripped blood - we get some fleeting full frontal nudity from Virginia Wetherall (albeit through a mirror image) and much bloodletting - the suicide of Zorn's wife a throat gushing extreme example - that sets us up nicely for the giant burning cross staking that film culminates on! BLOOD forms the subtext of the film (original title – Blood Will Have Blood) , though its intended lychanthropic storyline got vetoed early on - for the more serious study of a cursed hereditory bloodline associated with madness rather than furry fiends. If the film falls short anywhere it's in the fact it reverts to the Hammer *default* towards the end - where regulation torch wielding villagers chase Zorn through the deep woods - whilst Hordern struggles along with the burning crucifix.