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| The celluloid legend of film and TV great Peter Cushing lives on.... |
A LIFE IN FILM - PETER CUSHING
Written and compiled by David Miller
Published by TITAN BOOKS
Reviewed by Scott Weller
One of Britain, and the worlds, greatest screen icons in portraying villainy and heroism, the late, great actor Peter Cushing finally gets the definitive film and TV biography celebration to be savoured, in David Miller's fully revised, nicely compiled release from TITAN BOOKS: A Life in Film - Peter Cushing.
Richly comprehensive (some of his lesser known films very well researched by the author), layered in an easy prose style, accompanied by a veritable wealth of fascinating behind the scenes material (featuring anecdotes from many of the actor's friends in front of and behind the camera, as well as previously unpublished correspondence from Cushing himself), rare colour and B/W photographs, poster art, magazine covers and behind the scenes material from far and wide, this fine, talented man, so loved by audiences, never got the true recognition and appreciation by the industry which I've always felt he deserved, though this book goes a long way in compensation-specially released to coincide with the centenary of his birth.
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| Cushing as Van Helsing, bringing light to the darkness of DRACULA. Image: HAMMER. |
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| As the eccentric scientist Doctor Who in DOCTOR WHO AND THE DALEKS. Image: STUDIOCANAL. |
Over thirty very special years from the fifties to the seventies, so many of us had gotten used to him playing ambitious, devious, sinister and sometimes cruel people in many of his star roles in age defying classics from the HAMMER and AMICUS horror stables, and for his thoroughly nasty and uncompromising role, brief but so effective, as STAR WARS world destroying Grand Moff Tarkin, but, in actuality, the real-life individual that was Peter Cushing was one of the nicest, friendliest, most thoughtful and charming of people you could ever meet, respecting of his co-stars and the behind the scenes teams around him. At home in the studio or the theatre, loving and enjoying of his craft. Indeed, beyond the villains, let's not forget the many kind and sympathetic heroes he played on screen, too, including highly successful film and TV turns as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's great detective Sherlock Holmes, the definitve version of vampire Count Dracula's very human, often quick thinking nemesis, Doctor Van Helsing, and as the warm and eccentric grandfatherly interpretation of a more Earthbound DOCTOR WHO, for two very popular and colourful big screen adaptations of mid-sixties Dalekmania, now a firm fixture of our summer holiday weekend TV reruns for families of all ages to enjoy.
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| On television as Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles. Image: BBC. |
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| As the cruel Grand Moff Tarkin in STAR WARS. Image: LUCASFILM LIMITED. |
Everything you could ever want to know about Cushing is here, especially a fine section on his early career as an actor (and the many incredible rising stars he would be working with), his well-received stage work, entering the production mill of the British film industry at its peak, whilst alternating TV work, including many fine BBC dramas (especially Nigel Neale's and Rudolph Cartier's prestigious and chilling adaptation of George Orwell's terrifying vision of Earth's future: 1984), and his arrival into the gothic masterpieces of sex and violence, very strong for their day, that were the HAMMER HORROR films, followed by the more sublime but no less intriuging AMICUS films, many of which were anthology tales and saw Cushing playing an even more diverse range of roles. Into the mid-seventies and up to his death, he'd also enter the worlds of science fiction and fantasy, what with his aforementioned role in the world box office busting sci-fi/fantasy fable that was STAR WARS, and joining Doug McClure in an incredible journey fighting the underground monsters and villains that lay AT THE EARTH'S CORE. Busy right up to his sad passing in 1994, Cushing's work, never out of vogue and always finding new audiences and admirers, was the subject of many documentaries and interviews, whilst he himself continued being a true humanitarian, bringing his talents to numerous worthwhile efforts within his home grounds of Whitstable, Kent.
In between this fine and memorable body of work, we discover a lot more about Cushing beyond his acting, especially his devotion for his late wife, Helen, whose death in 1971 he never really recovered from. There are some very touching moments recalled here- theirs is one of the truest and most genuinely heart-breaking love stories you will ever find, adding further to our appreciation of the man-his mystique and his all-round genuine human decency.
Featuring an affectionate foreword from Cushing's HAMMER co-star Veronica Carlson, A Life in Film is a very worthy book that all fans of the actor will thoroughly enjoy, especially horror fans, who'll have plenty to get their teeth sunk into here.
KOOL TV RATING: 4.5 out of 5
Get hold of the book here: Peter Cushing: A Life in Film: Amazon.co.uk: David Miller: Books
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