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We continue where we left off in episode 27 with our exploration of the 1976 British anthology series "Beasts," written by the legendary Nigel Kneale (who now has his own dedicated page on our website!), tonight we watch the first of two episodes "The Dummy." Directed by Don Leaver (not Cleaver), a veteran of many shows from our youth and boasts credits on two episodes of "Hammer House of Horror": "Witching Time" and "The Mark of Satan"
Bernard Horsfal as Clyde Boydl: He appeared in classic TV series like the very first episode of "The Avengers" and a four "Doctor Who" serials: "The Mind Robber," "The War Games," "The Planet of the Daleks," and "The Deadly Assassin."
Glyn Houston as Sidney Stewart: another "Doctor Who" alumnus, having featured in "The Hand of Fear" and "The Awakening."
The fantastically named Thorley Walters as Sir Ramsey: bringing a wealth of genre experience to the table, playing the Burgermeister in "Vampire Circus, "Dr. Hertz in "Frankenstein Created Woman" and Inspector Frisch in "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed,". Notably,
Michael Sheard as the Sergeant, who gained fame for his portrayal of the tyrannical schoolteacher Mr. Bronson in Grange Hill during the mid-1980s. He also developed a niche for playing Adolf Hitler, appearing in four films: "Rogue Male," "The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," an uncredited role in "Hitler of the Andes." and in the TV series "The Tomorrow People." Sheard also made appearances in Doctor Who: "The Ark," "Mind of Evil," "Pyramid of Mars," "The Invisible Enemy," "Castrovalva," and "Remembrance of the Daleks.
We also see Lillias Walker as Joan Eastgate - her obligatory Doctor Who appearance being "Terror of the Zygons", was married to Peter Vaughan, who starred in "Warning to the Curious." (episode 21)
Patricia Haines as Sheila Boy - She also starred in "Virgin Witch" with first-time actor Vicky Michelle. Haines was married to Michael Caine with whom she had a daughter; sadly, this was her final screen role.
And finally, of course, one of our most featured actors, Clive Swift (or as the Apple Podcasts AI transcript generator calls him, Kloof Swift). We've covered his career several times now, and I highly recommend Andrew Screens ‘Book of Beasts’ blog for a fantastic, exhaustive biography.
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28 Days Later is a 2002 British post-apocalyptic horror film, our first film from the 21st Century.
Ewan McGregor was the original choice to play the protagonist, ‘Jim’, but he and director Danny Boyle had a falling-out at the time over The Beach, in which McGregor was to play the lead but was replaced by Leonardo DiCaprio (McGregor and Boyle have since reconciled). After McGregor, the role was offered to Ryan Gosling, who passed, having a scheduling conflict, leading to the film being offered to the relatively unknown Cillian Murphy.
Danny Boyle films include: Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, A Life Less Ordinary, The Beach, Sunshine and 127 Hours. He was the artistic director for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, which he was offered a knighthood but declined.
In 2011 he directed Frankenstein on stage for the National Theatre, with dual Holmes’s: Cumberbatch and Miller, (that James was lucky enough to see live).
Regular collaborator with Boyle, writer and director Alex Garland (who wrote this film) has a filmography that includes: Never Let Me Go, Dredd, Ex Machina, (for which he received an Oscar nomination), Annihilation and the fantastically bonkers ‘Men’.
Garland has said he took inspiration for 28 days later from George A. Romero's Living Dead film series and John Wyndham's 1951 novel The Day of the Triffids.
The crew filmed during early mornings and temporarily closed streets to capture recognisable and typically busy areas when they were deserted. For the scene in which Jim walks by the overturned double-decker bus, the crew placed the bus on its side and removed it when the shot was finished, all within 20 minutes. They had asked permission to place the bus outside Downing Street, but Westminster City Council refused. When they arrived at 4am and nobody from the council was present, they placed it there anyway.
One of the first mainstream films to be shot entirely digitally, it was a financial success., grossing more than $82.7 million worldwide on its modest budget of $8 million, it became one of the most profitable horror films of 2002.
Producer Andrew Macdonald had access to funding from the National Lottery, and pitched it to Universal Pictures, who declined to support it. Budget constraints proved to be an issue, with Christopher Eccleston having to take an emergency pay cut during filming. Macdonald announced to the crew that the production had run out of money, and filming ceased without a closing sequence being shot. After pitching several endings, the original, which featured Jim's death, tested badly with audiences, the studio granted more funding to film the ending scene that was eventually used. The crew organised for a real jet to fly overhead for them to film, as this was cheaper than approximately £70,000 for a computer-generated one.
Despite Boyle not considering it a zombie film, 28 Days Later is credited with reinvigorating the zombie genre and influencing a revival in the decade after its release, with its fast-running monsters and character-driven drama.
The film was followed by the 2007 sequel 28 Weeks Later and Boyle and Garland have been reportedly working on a 3rd part entitled “28 Years Later” (which may or may not be being released in 3 parts - depending on what rumours you read).
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Nothing but the Night is a 1973 British horror film directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. It is based on the 1968 novel of the same name by John Blackburn.
A commercial failure, the film was the only production of Charlemagne Films, cofounded by Christopher Lee and Anthony Nelson Keys (producer of may Hammer films, this was his last listing on IMDB). #BigChrisLee and Charlemagne Films optioned two other books by John Blackburn, "Portrait of Barbara" and "Bury Him Darkly", which were envisioned as sequels to this movie, with Lee re-creating the role of Colonel Bingham, but it didn't work out. They also optioned some of Dennis Wheatley's books, but only "To the Devil a Daughter" was ultimately made by "Hammer."
Peter Sasdy Also directed Taste the Blood of Dracula, Countess Dracula, Hands of Ripper, The Stone Tape AND both series of Adrian Mole.
Screenwriter Brian Hayles Wrote six stories for "Doctor Who" and created the Celestial Toymaker (Recently brought back in the 60th anniversary episodes), the Ice Warriors, introduced in 1967, and the feudal planet Peladon (setting for 'The Curse of Peladon' and its sequel 'The Monster of Peladon').
Along with Lee and Cushing the film also features:
Diana Dors as Anna Harb
Dors (real name Diana Mary Fluck) came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, was promoted by her first husband, Dennis Hamilton, mostly in sex film-comedies and risqué modelling. After it was revealed that Hamilton had been defrauding her, she continued to play up to her established image, and she made tabloid headlines with revelations of the celebrity sex parties reportedly held at her house (with then boyfriend Bob Monkhouse).
Georgia Brown as Joan Foster
Who's breakthrough role was Nancy in Oliver!, a role she created in the original 1960 London production. But is most memorable to your hosts as Helena Rozhenko, Worf's adoptive mother in Star Trek: The Next Generation ("New Ground" and "Family".
Keith Barron as Dr. Haynes
Famous for playing David Pearce in the ITV sitcom Duty Free also featured in the Doctor Who story Enlightenment, replacing Peter Sallis who was unavailable
Gwyneth (Cassandra Trotter) Strong as Mary Valley
Also appeared in the "Observation" segment about detective Samantha Smith made for the 1990 series of The Krypton Factor,
Fulton (Poridge) Mackay as Cameron
John (Quatermas)Robinson as Lord Fawnlee
Morris Perry as Dr. Yeats
Michael (Dumbledoor) Gambon as Inspector Grant
Duncan Lamont as Dr. Knight
Shelagh (Aunt Beru ) Fraser as Mrs. Alison
Kathleen Byron as Dr. Rose
Andrew McCulloch as Malcolm
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The Treasure of Abbot Thomas is a supernatural drama produced by the BBC as part of the A Ghost Story for Christmas series. Once again, directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, the screenplay was written by John Bowen (Writer of the Series’The Guardians’ In a declining England of the 1980s, the UK has broken up and England is ruled by a fascist military force), with an atmospheric musical score by Geoffrey Burgon (Who also created the music for the BBC Narnia series and Monty Python’s the Life of Brian). It is based on the 1904 short story "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas" by M.R. James, the drama was originally broadcast on December 23, 1974.
The drama starred Podcast Hero, Michael Bryant as Rev. Justin Somerton. As listeners will remember, Bryant was one of the stars of the classic BBC television play The Stone Tape (made only two years previous to his appearance in this film), in which he played the leader of a team of scientists who investigate ghost sightings in a brooding Gothic mansion.
The film also features:
Paul Lavers as Peter, Lord Dattering, who appeared in the Fourth Doctor adventure "The Androids of Tara."
Frank Mills as Mr. Tyson, known for being considered for the role of one of the security guards in the film "Lifeforce."
John Herrington as Abbot Thomas, who had small roles in the television versions of "Quatermass 2" and "Quatermass and the Pit," as well as two Doctor Who television stories: as Rhynmal in "The Daleks' Master Plan" and Jim Holden in "Colony in Space."
Sheila Dunn as Mrs. Tyson and Virginia Balfour as Lady Dattering also appear in the film.
Although James's original story was set in Germany, for budgetary reasons, the television version was relocated to England. Clark used the grounds of Wells Cathedral in Somerset for the entrance to the well where Abbot Thomas hid his treasure. Wells Cathedral Chapter House and its adjoining steps were also used in various scenes.
Regarding "The Treasure of Abbot Thomas," Clark recalls John Bowen's script "took some liberties with the story—which made it for the better, I think...It's really quite a funny story until it gets nasty, although the threat is always there. James has a mordant sense of humour, and it's good to translate that into cinematic terms when you can. I'd always wanted to do a medium scene, and John came up with a beauty."
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The Stalls of Barchester was first broadcast on BBC 1 at 11:00 pm on December 24, 1971. It is based on the story "The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral" from the 1911 collection More Ghost Stories by M. R. James, it was adapted, produced, and directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, who directed every BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas between 1971 and 1977. Can you name them all, Jon?
The Stalls of Barchester (1971)A Warning to the Curious (1972)Lost Hearts (1973)The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974)The Ash Tree (1975)The Signalman (1976)Stigma (1977)The cast of The Stalls of Barchester includes several actors now better known for their roles in situation comedies or lighter dramas:
Clive (Richard Bucket) Swift as Dr. Black (a character who does not appear in the original story). As we have mentioned before, he has had two appearances in Doctor Who of which he was not particularly pleased, so we will only mention them again. Of his appearance in the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas special, Swift declared, "It wasn't until we'd been filming for two weeks that I realized that Mr. Copper is an alien!" And having been asked about his appearance in Revelation of the Daleks (1985), he said, "It was the most bizarre entertainment I have ever been part of."
Will Leighton as the cathedral librarian. He also appeared in the previously discussed film, An American Werewolf in London, as one of the Tramps that get killed by David.
Robert Hardy as Dr. Haynes. Hardy's birth name was Timothy Sidney Robert Hardy, his nickname being 'Tim'. He has played British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in six separate films, and has also twice played Winston Churchill's World War II ally and friend, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Thelma Barlow as Letitia Haynes. Famous for her part of Mavis Riley in Coronation Street, her first episode was transmitted in 1971, but her character only appeared regularly from 1973, when she joined the staff of "The Kabin". She remained in the series for 26 years, appearing in nearly 2,000 episodes.
Harold Bennett as Archdeacon Pulteney. Not Pountney as Ross kept hearing. Best known as the lecherous, octogenarian 'Young Mr. Grace' in the long-running comedy series Are You Being Served?, Bennett had a career as an architect and only became an actor when he retired.
Erik Chitty as the priest. Seen in Doctor Who: The Deadly Assassin as Engin the Time Lord Coordinator of the Matrix
David Pugh as John and Ambrose Coghill as museum curator
The adaptation was filmed on location at Norwich Cathedral and the surrounding cathedral close. Unusual for a BBC television drama of the 1970s, both interior and exteriors in The Stalls of Barchester were originated on 16 mm film, as opposed to the standard studio videotape for interiors.
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"Dracula the Damned" is a 1960 British supernatural horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions starring ‘Big’ Christopher Lee…
Scratch that…
Rather, the original sequel to the first Hammer Dracula film was cancelled without explanation, although Christopher Lee's decision not to return due to fear of typecasting probably led to The Brides of Dracula taking its place.
#BigChrisLee did return five years later, however, when he starred in Dracula, Prince of Darkness.
The Brides of Dracula is a 1960 British supernatural horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions. Directed by Terence Fisher, the film stars Peter Cushing, David Peel (who wore lifts in his shoes to make him the same height as actor Peter Cushing in the film. Peel, according to his bio at the time, was 5 foot 10. Cushing was six feet tall. To make his vampire look distinguishable from Christopher Lee's, Peel wore a full blonde hairpiece), Yvonne Monlaur, Andrée Melly, Miles Malleson (the hearse driver in the Ealing chiller compendium Dead of Night), Martita Hunt (known for her rich cluster of queens, dowagers, shrews, and evildoers—but it was her brilliant performance as the mad, reclusive Miss Havisham in the classic Great Expectations that earned her international recognition), and Freda Jackson (also an alumna of Great Expectations). Although, the character of Count Dracula does not appear in the film, and is instead mentioned only twice.
After the success of Dracula, Hammer commissioned Jimmy Sangster to write a sequel titled Disciple of Dracula, about an acolyte of the vampire, with Count Dracula himself only making a cameo appearance. Sangster's script was rewritten by Peter Bryan to remove references to Dracula, while adding the character of Van Helsing. The screenplay was then further revised by Edward Percy. Filming began on January 16, 1960, at Bray Studios, and the film premiered at the Odeon Marble Arch on July 6. It was distributed theatrically on a double bill with The Leech Woman.
The ending was originally planned to have the vampires destroyed by a swarm of bats, but this proved too expensive to stage and shoot, and was also vetoed by Peter Cushing, who did not think his character would perform the black magic required to summon the bats. However, the idea was recycled three years later for the climax of Hammer's The Kiss of the Vampire. The prop department put a lot of effort into making a realistic model bat, but it was lost and had to be replaced on short notice. This explains the unconvincing model bat in the movie.
The front doors of Oakely Court served as the main entrance to Meinster Castle. Oakley Court has been featured in a number of classic horror films, including The Curse of Frankenstein, The Horror of Dracula, The Evil of Frankenstein, Die, Monster, Die, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
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Lifeforce (aka Space Vampires) is a 1985 science fiction horror film directed by Tobe Hooper, adapted by Dan O'Bannon (writer of Alien!) and Don Jakoby, and starring Steve Railsback, Peter Firth, Frank Finlay, Mathilda May, and Patrick Stewart. It also features John Forbes-Robertson as ‘The Minister’ The film is based on Colin Wilson's 1976 novel, The Space Vampires. It portrays the events that unfold after a trio of humanoids in a state of suspended animation are brought to Earth after being discovered in the hold of an alien spaceship. This was the first film of Hooper's three-picture deal with Cannon Films, the other two films are the remake of Invaders from Mars and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2. Prior to Lifeforce, Hooper was originally offered the script for E.T. but turned it down. Spielberg then suggested Hooper direct Poltergeist, a project he had written himself and had planned on directing. he took the job and Spielberg went on directed E.T. (and most people also believe Poltergeist as well) Before Hooper, Michael Winner was offered the Lifeforce director's gig, but it didn't work out. And Billy Idol said he had been offered a lead role as a vampire by Hooper, who had directed the video for "Dancing with Myself", but turned it down due to touring commitments. It has been suggested that this is a remake of Hammer Film Productions' Quatermass and the Pit. In an interview, director Tobe Hooper discussed how Cannon Films gave him $25 million, free rein, and Colin Wilson's book The Space Vampires. Hooper then shares how giddy he was: "I thought I'd go back to my roots and make a 70mm Hammer film." Hooper came up with the idea of using Halley's Comet in the screenplay, rather than the asteroid belt as originally used in the novel, as the comet was going to pass by Earth one year following the film's release. Colin Wilson, the author of the source material, was unhappy with the way the film turned out. He wrote of it, "John Fowles had once told me that the film of The Magus was the worst movie ever made. After seeing Lifeforce I sent him a postcard telling him that I had got one better." According to interviews with Bill Malin, who plays one of the male vampires, the film went over schedule during production. Because of this, some important scenes were never shot, and the film was shut down at one time because the studio had simply run out of money. The film marked the fourth project to feature special effects produced by Academy Award winner John Dykstra. Dykstra who has worked on 38 films including: Star Wars, Star Trek the Motion Picture, Batman Forever and Batman and Robin, Spider-Man 1 and 2, and the last three Tarantino films. His last IMDB credit is a fan man Spiderman film that is getting some heat because of racist slurs used by some of the cast whilst promoting the film. The umbrella-like alien spaceship was modelled after an artichoke, while the miniature London destroyed in the film was actually the remains of Tucktonia, a model village near Christchurch, United Kingdom, that had closed not long before the shooting of the film. The initial Director's cut was 128 minutes long. This is 12 minutes longer than the final version, which had several scenes cut, most of them taking place on the Space Shuttle Churchill. According to an interview he gave on the UK talk show Wogan in 1985, most of Nicholas Ball's performance ended up on the cutting room floor Mathilda May had to learn her lines phonetically, for her audition as Space Girl, because she didn't know any English at the time. She then went on to learn the language during the six months she spent in England on this movie. Patrick Stewart has said several times that Tobe Hooper was his favourite director to work with (which is rather unkind to Jonathan Frakes I thought).
Music and SFX provided by https://slip.stream and Audio jungle
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Tonight, we complete the Hammer Quatermass trilogy (albeit out of order) with The Quatermass Xperiment (a.k.a. The Creeping Unknown in the US) is a 1955 British science fiction horror film from Hammer Film Productions, based on the 1953 BBC Television serial written by Nigel Kneale. Produced by Anthony Hinds, one of the of 37 films he made for Hammer. Hinds wrote a number of films under the pseudonym 'John Elder' which he adopted after Her couldn't afford a screenwriter for The Curse of the Werewolf). It is directed by Val Guest, writer and director of the Cannon and Ball vehicle, Boys in Blue and Confessions of a Window Cleaner. (and of course director of Quatermass 2) The film stars Oscar Nominee, Brian Donlevy in his fist of 2 portrayals as the eponymous Professor Bernard Quatermass.
Richard Wordsworth, Who feature as a sinister taxidermist with James Stewart in Alfred Hitchcock's second version of The Man Who Knew Too Much, as well as appearing in British TV dramas such as Huntingtower and The Tripods, and notablble in other Hammer films - The Revenge of Frankenstein and The Curse of the Werewolf, plays the tormented astronaut Carroon.
Jack Warner plays Inspector Lomax (insanely famous in his time as the titular Dixon of Dock Green appearing in 432 episodes on tv from 1955 to 1976)
Margia Dean plays Judith Carroon. Dean only passed away, sadly, this June.
We also briefly see Thora Hird in one scene as 'Rosie'. Thora lived so long and did achieved so much, she was the subject of 'This is your Life' Twice. The Quatermass Experiment was originally a six-part TV serial broadcast by BBC Television in 1953. It was an enormous success with critics and audiences alike, later described by film historian Robert Simpson as "event television, emptying the streets and pubs".
Among its viewers was the forementioned Hammer Films producer, Anthony Hinds, who was immediately keen to buy the rights for a film version. Nigel Kneale also saw the potential for a film adaptation and, at his urging, the BBC touted the scripts around a number of producers. Kneale met with Sidney Gilliat to discuss the scripts but Gilliat was reluctant to buy the rights as he felt any film adaptation would inevitably receive an 'X' Certificate from the British Board of Film Censors. Hammer's offer met some resistance within the BBC, with one executive expressing reservations that The Quatermass Experiment was not suitable material for the company, but the rights were nevertheless sold for an advance of £500.
Kneale was a BBC employee at the time, which meant that his scripts were owned entirely by the BBC. He received no extra payment for the sale of the film rights. This became a matter of some resentment on Kneale's part, and when his BBC contract came up for renewal he demanded and secured control over any future film rights for his work. Kneale remained bitter over the affair until the BBC made an ex-gratia payment of £3,000 to him in 1967, in recognition of his creation of Quatermass.
We also include the concept Album 'Victor Caroon', available on Soundcloud here:
https://soundcloud.com/victor-caroon
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Murder by Decree is a 1979 mystery thriller directed by Bob Clark (Director of ‘Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things’ and ’Dead of Night’ (not the brilliant black and white British film from 1945 - featured in episode 13, but the 1974 American film ), he also directed ‘Black Christmas’, ‘Porkys’ and ‘Porkys 2’
Murder by Decree was written by playwright John Hopkins, who scripted the Bond film Thunderball, and the Alec Guinness TV version of Smileys People. Hopkins referenced Conan Doyle's work, particularly Holmes' deduction and science skills but downplayed other aspects of the characters, such as Holmes' drug use, in favour of making them more likeable and human.
Peter O'Toole was originally cast as Sherlock Holmes, and Sir Laurence Olivier was cast as Dr. Watson. But the two actors had not worked well together in the past, and were unable to overcome their differences for this movie. Rather, Holmes is played by Christopher (Captain Georg von Trapp) Plummer and Dr. Watson is played by James Mason.
Plummer, described by IMDB as“ perhaps Canada's greatest thespian”, turned down the role of Gandalf in Sir Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and admits to regretting that decision.
Question for James and Jon? Christopher Plummer had two roles in common with Peter Cushing, can you name them?
James Mason reportedly, he once saved the life of Max Bygraves' son at a party at Judy Garland's house. The boy fell into the pool and Max did not notice. James Mason did and, fully clothed, he jumped into the water and pulled him out. He was scheduled to play James Bond in a 1958 television adaptation of "From Russia with Love", which was ultimately never produced. Later, despite being in his 50s, Mason was a contender to play Bond in Dr. No before Sean Connery was cast. He later turned down the role of Hugo Drax in the James Bond film Moonraker, which went to Michael Lonsdale.
In his autobiography, "In Spite of Myself", Plummer noted that Mason was the best Watson he had seen, and that his death halted a proposed furthering of their on-screen partnership.
The film also features:
David Hemmings (Blow Up, Deep Red, Brabarella, Gladiator, Magnum Pi and Airwolf) as Inspector Foxborough, Anthony Quayle (Lawrence of Arbia, The Guns of Navarone) as Sir Charles Warren, Frank Finlay (Lifeforce, The Three Musketeers) as Inspector Lestrade, Geneviève Bujold as Annie Crook, Susan Clark as Mary Kelly, John Gielgud as Prime Minister Lord Salisbury, Donald Sutherland as Robert Lees and the Mighty June Brown as Anne Chapman
The film's premise of the plot behind the murders is influenced by the book Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution, by Stephen Knight, who presumed that the killings were part of a Masonic plot. The original script contained the names of the historical suspects, Sir William Gull and John Netley. In the actual film, they are represented by fictional analogues: Thomas Spivy (Gull) and William Slade (Netley). This theory on the perpetrators of the killings is featured in a number of other Jack the Ripper-themed fictions, including the graphic novel ‘From Hell’.
The replica nineteenth century dockland set took two months and fifty men to construct at Shepperton Studio's largest soundstage. The set also included a replica muddy Thames River, Alien was shooting concurrently in the same studios.
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Tonight we are discussing the 1989 British horror drama television film directed by Herbert Wise (most famous for I, Cladius, who worked solidly from 1957 to 2001 on everything from The Bill to 9 episodes of Tales of the Unexpected - including ‘The Landlady’ which may well be the episode that Jon talked about remembering in episode 29)
It stars
Adrian Rawlins (Harry Potters Dead Dad in the movies and Mr Pike in one episode of Neighbours),
Bernard Hepton (I, Claudius, Get Carter Tinker Tailor, Soldier Spy and Colditz), David Daker (93 episodes of Boon, 84 episodes of Z cars, Time Bandits and 2 Doctor Who stories: Irongron in The Time Warrior and Captain Rigg in Nightmare of Eden)
and Pauline Moran ( who was Miss Lemon in many episodes of Poirot and was bass player in the all female band ‘The She Trinity’ who had a top 40 hit a cover of "He fought the law" in 1966.).
Hill’s The Woman in Black had already been adapted into a beloved stage-play that went to become the West End’s second longest running, non-musical after The Moustrap. More recently, the story was filmed by Hammer in 2012, staring Daniel Radcliff and going on to be the highest grossing British horror movie of all time.
This teleplay is adapted from the 1983 novel of the same name by Susan Hill. It focuses on a young solicitor who is sent to a coastal English village to settle the estate of a reclusive widow, and finds the town haunted.
The programme was produced by Central Independent Television for ITV, it was filmed at Stanlake Park in Berkshire, using the causeway to Osea Island, near Goldhanger in Essex, and the local salt marshes, whilst scenes to represent Crythin Gifford were filmed at the National Trust village of Lacock, near Chippenham, Wiltshire.
and premiered on Christmas Eve 1989. It was an unexpected success, though author Susan Hill reportedly disagreed with some of the slight changes made in the adaptation By General Witchfinder’s favourite Nigel Kneale, who you will all most like be aware of as the writer of the eerie and downright terrifying with his Quatermass tetralogy and, the classic ‘The Stone tape’, The Road and Beasts, a six horror stories based around animals, for ITV. (Go and check out episodes 5, 17, 27, and 34 for more Kneal goodness)
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After his involvement in the reboot of the Tomb Raider movie franchise was scuppered by the Pandemic, Ben Wheatley, director of Kill List, Sightseers, A Field in England and High-Rise, announced in September 2020,that he had written and directed a horror film over the course of 15 days in August. This became In the Earth, a science fiction horror film staring Joel Fry, Reece Shearsmith, Hayley Squires, Ellora Torchia, John Hollingworth and Mark Monero.
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film a score of 4/5 stars, writing that it "brings us back to Wheatley’s classic world of occult loopy weirdness and cult Britmovie seediness, with a new topical dimension of pandemic paranoia".
The research station is called ATU327A. This is derived from the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index (ATU index), a catalogue of folktale types used in folklore. Index # ATU 327a is called "the children and the witch", which the story of Hansel and Gretel is classified as. The ATU listing reads: "The parents abandon their children in the wood. The gingerbread house. The boy fattened; the witch thrown into the oven. The children acquire her treasure."
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Clips from the best bits from episodes four to six
4 - James Herbert - The Rats
https://podfollow.com/general-witchfinders/episode/fcc6efe904b6f9160ab7a0656bc46dd0f5901e93/view
5 - Nigel Kneale’s - The Stone Tape
https://podfollow.com/general-witchfinders/episode/ff8003920d88e2462eaa2353dc2a007a102c2789/view
6 - The Satanic Rites of Dracula
https://podfollow.com/general-witchfinders/episode/75233646bd312312a10f794fb49b2ffed51b2a72/view
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The Shout is a 1978 British horror film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski (who is also an Actor was in Mars Attacks and played a General in Marvels The Avengers).
It was based on a short story by Robert Graves (author of I, Claudius and great friend of Spike Milligan, with whom, from the 1960s until his death, he frequently exchanged letters, Many of which are collected in the book ‘Dear Robert, Dear Spike’)
Grave's short story was adapted for the screen by Skolimowski and Michael Austin screenwriter of Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes.
The film was the first to be produced by Jeremy Thomas under his ‘Recorded Picture Company’ banner. Thomas went on to produce and exec-produce 70 more films (to date) including Naked Lunch, The last Emperor, Crash, The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, Sexy Beast and High-rise.
Interiors were shot at Pinewood Studios, the film's sets were designed by the art director Simon Holland (Quadrophenia, Buster, Nuns on the Run and King Ralph).
The North Devon coastline, specifically Saunton Sands and Braunton Burrows, were used for the bulk of the location shooting. The church of St Peter in Westleigh was used for the church scenes.
The soundtrack is by Michael Rutherford and Tony Banks of the rock band Genesis (After the original first choice of David Bowie turned it down). When heard in theatres in Dolby Stereo, it was aurally separating and distorting. Reportedly, forty different music tracks were used for the sound, when it was usual for films of this era to use just 4.
The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival and received the Grand Prize of the Jury, in a tie with Bye Bye Monkey (A film staring Gérard Depardieu about a man who finds the corpse of King Kong and Kong's orphaned son, and takes it to a friend who lives in the city, and they decide to raise it.)
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Quatermass and the Pit (or as it’s known in the US ‘Five Million Years to Earth’) is a 1967 British science fiction horror film from Hammer Film Productions, a sequel to the earlier Hammer films The Quatermass Xperiment and Quatermass 2 (see General Witchfinders episode 17 for more details). Like its predecessors it is based on a BBC Television serial, of the same name, written by Podcast hero Nigel Kneale.
It was directed by Roy Ward Baker (who is responsible for such highs as A Night to Remember And such lows and The scars of Dracula and The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires - see episodes 28 and 31 respectively) And this incarnation stars Andrew Keir (featured in Cleopatra, Dracula: Prince of Darkness and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.) in the title role as Professor Bernard Quatermass, replacing Brian Donlevy, who played the role in the two earlier films. James Donald, Barbara Shelley (also in Dracula: Prince of Darkness and The Gorgon) and Julian Glover (whos been in some little known films called Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Empire strikes back, Games of thrones, several Doctor Who stories and load of other stuff including being the voice of a giant spider in Harry Potter) they appear in co-starring roles.
Nigel Kneale wrote the first draft of the screenplay in 1961, but difficulties in attracting interest from American co-financiers meant the film did not go into production until 1967. The director, Roy Ward Baker, was chosen because of his experience with technically demanding productions such as A Night to Remember; this was the first of six films that he directed for Hammer. Andrew Keir, playing Quatermass, found making the film an unhappy experience, believing Baker had wanted Kenneth More to play the role. Owing to a lack of space, the film was shot at the MGM-British Studios in Elstree, Borehamwood, rather than Hammer's usual home at the time, which was the Associated British Studios, also in Elstree.
The plot of the film verison was condensed to fit the shorter running time, the main casualty being the removal of a subplot involving a journalist named James Fullalove, and the climax was altered slightly to make it more cinematic. The setting for the pit was changed from a building site to the London Underground. The closing scene of the television version, in which Quatermass pleads with humanity to prevent Earth becoming the "second dead planet", was also dropped, in favour of a shot of Quatermass and Judd sitting alone amid the devastation wrought by the Martian spacecraft.
The script was sent to John Trevelyan of the British Board of Film Censors in December 1966. Trevelyan replied that the film would require an X certificate and complained about the sound of the vibrations from the alien ship, the scenes of the Martian massacre, scenes of destruction and panic as the Martian influence takes hold and the image of the Devil.
It has been suggested that Tobe Hooper's 1985 Lifeforce is largely a remake of Hammer's Quatermass and the Pit. In an interview, director Tobe Hooper discussed how Cannon Films gave him $25 million, free rein, and Colin Wilson's book The Space Vampires. Hooper then shares how giddy he was: "I thought I'd go back to my roots and make a 70mm Hammer film.
Three decades on, Andrew Keir reprised the role of the Professor in "The Quatermass Memoirs", a five-part docudrama scripted by Nigel Kneale and transmitted on BBC Radio 3 in March 1996.
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Ghost Adventures is an American paranormal and reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2008, on the Travel Channel before moving to Discovery+ in 2021. An independent film of the same name originally aired on the Sci-Fi Channel on July 25, 2007. The program follows ghost hunters Zak Bagans, Nick Groff (season 1–10), Aaron Goodwin, Billy Tolley, and Jay Wasley as they investigate locations that are reported to be haunted.
The crew also claims to have recorded spirit possessions on video. Bagans believes that he was possessed at the Preston School of Industry and at Poveglia Island in Italy. Groff claims that he was overtaken by a "dark energy" at the Moon River Brewing Company. Goodwin claims he was "under the influence of a dark spirit" at Bobby Mackey's Music World and Winchester Mystery House.
There have been a number of Ghost Adventures Spins offs:
Ghost Adventures: AftershocksGhost Adventures: Where Are They Now?Ghost Adventures: Serial Killer SpiritsGhost Adventures: Screaming Room!Ghost Adventures: QuarantineGhost Adventures: Top 10Ghost Adventures: House CallsParanormal ChallengeDeadly Possessions aka Ghost Adventures: ArtifactsDemon HouseThe Haunted MuseumBagans was born in Washington, D.C. on April 5, 1977 and raised in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
One of Bagans' more notable claims from the show is his alleged communication with deceased actor David Strickland of NBC's Suddenly Susan. Strickland committed suicide at the Oasis Motel in Las Vegas in 1999. Bagans claims to have recorded Strickland's voice nearly a decade following his death, and included this recording in a track on the album NecroFusion. No known scientific analysis has been attempted on the raw recording, including any comparison of the voice heard on the Electronic Voice Phenomena recording to that of the famous actor.
He has a tattoo of the number 11, symbolizing his apologizes to a female spirit he mocked while investigation on room n. 11 of Silver Queen Hotel, Virginia City, back in 2004.
In 2009 the team travelled to the UK to investigate The Ancient Ram Inn, a Grade II listed building and a former pub located in Wotton-under-Edge. Renowned as one of the most haunted buildings in England.
Something Horrific:
Men - Alex Garland
Uncanny Live with Mark Gatiss
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001gjsg
The Night House - David Bruckner
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"Whistle and I'll Come to You" is a 1968 BBC television drama adaptation of the 1904 ghost story "'Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad'" by M. R. James. It tells of an eccentric and distracted professor who happens upon a strange whistle while exploring a Knights Templar cemetery on the East Anglian coast. When blown, the whistle unleashes a frightening supernatural force.
The production starred Michael Hordern and was adapted and directed by Jonathan Miller. It was broadcast as part of the BBC arts strand Omnibus and inspired a new yearly strand of M.R. James television adaptations known as A Ghost Story for Christmas.
Jonathan Miller adapted his 1968 version as part of the BBC arts strand Omnibus, which consisted mainly of arts documentaries so the dramatic adaptation was an unusual move; This probably explains Miller's documentary-like introduction to the film. The adaptation itself changes a number of aspects of James' story, turning the academic, described as "young, neat and precise of speech" into a bumbling, awkward, middle-aged eccentric. This adaptation was filmed on the Norfolk coast, at Waxham and nearby.
The performance of Michael Hordern is especially acclaimed, with his hushed mutterings and repetition of other characters' words, coupled with a discernible lack of social skills, turning the professor from an academic caricature into a more rounded character, described by horror aficionado David Kerekes as "especially daring for its day". The stage journal Plays and Players suggests that Hordern's performance hints that the professor suffers from a neurological condition called the "idea of a presence". Much of the script was improvised on location with the actors.
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Stigma is an episode of the BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas series, made in 1977. It was the first of only two stories set in the actual year of its making, and the last which mainstay Lawrence Gordon Clark would direct. It was first shown on BBC One on 29 December 1977 (postponed from its original scheduled broadcast date of 28 December), and was repeated on 29 May 1978. Scripted by Clive Exton, the thirty-minute piece stars Kate Binchy, Peter Bowles and Maxine Gordon.
The production was filmed at Avebury, Wiltshire, which had also been the location used for the ITV series Children of the Stones (screened earlier the same year). The production is unlike the previous films in the Ghost Story For Christmas strand in several ways; it is the first to be an original story and the first to be set in the then-present day. Critical opinion is decidedly mixed, with the decision to move away from adaptations of classic ghost stories the main concern.
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The martial arts horror film The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires was released in 1974.
It stars.
Peter Cushing as Professor Van Helsing
Christopher Lee… oh hang on… John Forbes-Robertson as Count Dracula (Not the son of Johnston Forbes-Robertson, but did play Mr Badger in 2 episodes of Jonny Briggs)
Robin Stewart as Leyland Van Helsing (29 episodes of Sons and Daughters)
Julie Ege (pronounced eg-gay", not "edge") as Vanessa Buren (1962 Miss Norway and competed in Miss Universe pageant Awarded the title "The New Sex Symbol of the 70s" by the head of Hammer Film Studios, Sir James
Carreras. Hammer featured her as a not-so-glamorous prehistoric woman in its ‘Creatures the World Forgot’ (1971). The film was a flop, but Julie went on a round-the-world publicity tour and became a leading pin-up model.
She lived for six years in the 1970s with Tony Bramwell, former assistant to The Beatles and later a successful record and film music promoter. Their next door neighbor was Brian May of the rock group Queen. To date, she is the only Norwegian James Bond girl (in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969))
Shen Chan as Kah, David Chiang as Hsi Ching and Szu Shih as Mei Kwei all stars of innumerable asian movies.
The film began development due to Don Houghton's father-in-law knowing Hong Kong film producer Run Run Shaw. Houghton flew to Hong Kong to discuss a project with Run Run and his brother Runme who agreed to finance 50% of the film. It was shot between October 22 and December 11, 1973, at Shaw Brothers Studios in Hong Kong.
The Shaw Brothers were not happy with how Roy Ward Baker (Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde, Scars of Dracula, The Vampire Lovers, and A Night to Remember) was directing the film and had martial arts sequences choreographed by one of their studios directors Cheh Chang (uncredited), these additional scenes that led to the Eastern version of the film to run at 110 minutes (20 mins longer that the UK version).
Renee Glynee who was the continuity supervisor for the film stated that working with the Shaw Brothers Studios was "a big experience" due to language differences and that director Roy Ward Baker was constantly screaming at the Chinese actors to stop spitting on set. In an interview in the late 1990’sBaker described the shooting of this film as "a nightmare". He discovered that Hong Kong films were made silent and looped in post-production due to the constant noise of traffic and aircraft. He lamented that Peter Cushing was practically catatonic on set, having recently been widowed but still wanting to do the film to give him something to do.
On its release in the United States, the film was truncated further by 20 minutes, re-titled The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula and loops several remaining scenes to fill the running time.
In all territories, the film was a financial failure.
This is the only Hammer "Dracula" film not to feature Count Dracula's name in the title.
Forbes-Robertson, long time stand in for Big Chris Lee (was considered to fill the cape in Scars of Dracula before Lee was persuaded to return) was furious when he discovered that he had been dubbed by David de Keyser.
Lee tried to talk Peter Cushing into not doing the project, as he considered it below an actor of Cushing's calibre. Lee told Cushing that Ralph Bates was willing to step in and do the film if Cushing wanted to back out, but Cushing replied that he thought the change of scenery might help his ongoing grief induced depression.
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NOT The 1980 James C. Wasson film in which an anthropologist and his students attempt to track down a Bigfoot responsible for a rash of violent murders…
OR the 1988 Kevin Tenney film, Night of the Demons’ where Ten teenagers party at an abandoned funeral parlor on Halloween, awakening demonic spirits…
Rather, we all, hopefully, watched the 1957 British horror film, produced by Hal E. Chester and Frank Bevis directed by Jacques (Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie) Tourneur (or ‘Jack Turner’ as the French Director was referred to in the UK). starring Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins and Niall (Zeus from Jason and the Argonauts) MacGinnis.
Adapted from the M (‘Montague’) R. James story "Casting the Runes" first published in 1911 as the fourth story in More Ghost Stories, which was James' second collection of ghost stories.
Screenwriter Charles Bennett owned the rights to the story and wrote a screenplay loosely based on it, using the title ‘The Haunted’. Bennett later regretted selling the script to Chester, as he was later approached by RKO, to direct the film himself.
Chester decided the Bennett screenplay was “too tame” and "too British" so hired Cy Endfield who had been blacklisted by the House of Un-American Activities Committee as a Communist and forced to move to the UK. Despite his contribution, which was said to be "significant", he was ultimately uncredited. Cy Enfield incidentally was the writer and director of Zulu.
Director Tourneur and Producer Chester had serious disagreements during filming. One argument was about the wind scene; Tourneur tried to convince Chester to replace two electric fans with two aeroplane engines. When Chester hesitated, star Dana Andrews threatened to leave the picture if Chester did not let "the director direct the picture"
Chester also decided to show the demon at the beginning and end of the film, despite Tourneurs protests, he added the scenes in post production:
Cue James’ French accent…
"The scenes where you see the demon were shot without me...the audience should never have been completely certain of having seen the demon".
Original screenwriter, Bennett, was also so angry at the script changes, he said "If [Chester] walked up my driveway right now, I'd shoot him dead".
Ray Harryhausen was asked to create the demon for the production, but he was already committed to The 7th Voyages of Sinbad.
To accelerate the pace and make the film more commercial, the 96-minute original feature was trimmed down to 82 minutes prior to its release in the United States. This shortened version was retitled Curse of the Demon, playing in June 1958 as the second half of a double feature with either ‘The True Story of Lynn Stuart’ or ‘The Revenge of Frankenstein’
Kate Bush has said this is one of her favorite films, and it has influenced her on at least two occasions: the song Hounds of Love begins with a quote from a line spoken in the film by Maurice Denham, and somewhat more obliquely, the film ‘The Line The Cross And The Curve’ borrows the idea that the possession of a small slip of paper with mystic symbols can confer great power, as well as borrowing several images and set pieces…
Night of the Demon was also mentioned in the opening song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show ("Science Fiction Double Feature"): "Dana Andrews said prunes gave him the runes, but passing them used lots of skills".
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Tales of the Unexpected was a British television series that aired between 1979 and 1988.
Each episode told a story, often with sinister and wryly comedic undertones, with an unexpected twist ending.
Every episode of series one, and a number of episodes in subsequent series were based on short stories by Roald Dahl, collected in the books Tales of the Unexpected, Kiss Kiss, and Someone Like You.
Made by Anglia Television for ITV with interior scenes recorded at their Norwich studios, whilst location filming mainly occurred across East Anglia. The iconic theme music for the series was written by composer Ron ( Doctor Who, The Prisoner, Steptoe and Son) Grainer.
Later episodes were set in different locations outside the United Kingdom, with many being made in the United States.
On Saturday night April 16, 1983, Just after TJ Hooker, on ITV, the episode we watched tonight was aired.
"The Memory Man"Directed by Peter Duffell based on a story by prolific writer by Henry Slesar (By whom the term "coffee break" was coined) and Dramatised by Denis Cannan
The episode featured
Colin Blakely (The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, A Man for All Seasons)
Judy Geeson (To Sir, with Love, 10 Rillington Place, a couple of Star Trek Voyager episodes and still working today) John Biggerstaff (not known for much)
John Judd (Scum , A Bridge Too Far and The Prince and the Pauper (1996). Incedendly He has been married to Helen Shapiro since 1988)
And, the reason we are doing this episode, the late great, Bernard Cribbins
Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records "The Hole in the Ground" and "Right Said Fred" and for his appearances in comedy films including Two-Way Stretch and the Carry On series. His other screen roles include the astronaut Vincent Mountjoy in The Mouse on the Moon , Albert Perks in The Railway Children, the barman Felix Forsythe in Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy (featured previously on General Witchfinders) and the pretentious hotel guest Mr Hutchinson in the Fawlty Towers episode "The Hotel Inspectors".
On television, he was a regular and prolific reader for the BBC series Jackanory, clocking up 114 appearances between 1966 and 1991, he narrated the children's programme The Wombles and he played the title role in the CBeebies series Old Jack's Boat.
In the 1966 film Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D., Cribbins portrayed Tom Campbell, a companion to Dr. Who.
41 years later, he began appearing in the revival series of Doctor Who as Wilfred Mott, the grandfather of regular companion Donna Noble and a temporary companion to the Tenth Doctor.
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Possum is a 2018 British psychological horror film written and directed by Matthew (Garth Marenghi) Holness in his feature film debut, starring Sean Harris and Alun (Krull) Armstrong. It centres on a disgraced children's puppeteer who returns to his childhood home and is forced to confront the abuse and trauma he suffered there.
Possum is an adaption of Holness' short story of the same name, published in the horror anthology The New Uncanny: Tales of Unease, and partially inspired by the theories on the uncanny by Sigmund Freud. Holness soon forgot about the idea of adapting the story until he had begun working on developing a possible horror film. As a fan of the horror genre, Holness stated he much preferred horror films that resonate with the audience and force them to reflect on the experience afterward. Possum's visual style was inspired by public information films Holness saw in his youth. Other inspirations include Dead of Night (covered by us in the mothership show), George Romero's Martin, and German Expressionist films. Filming began in Norfolk, with additional filming taking place in Great Yarmouth and Suffolk. The film's score was composed by sound effects and experimental electronic music studio The legendary Radiophonic Workshop, and featured unreleased material by the studio's original member Delia Derbyshire. This marked their first soundtrack purposely constructed for a feature film.
In addition to garnering multiple awards and nominations, it was generally praised by critics for Harris' performance, the film's atmosphere, score, and unsettling imagery, though the story prompted several negative reviews.
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- Visa fler
