Post by petrolino on Oct 31, 2017 22:47:43 GMT
The creepy historical adventure 'Captain Clegg' opens in 1776. Bald sailor Mulatto (Milton Reid) is left mutilated and marooned on a deserted island having stood trial for allegedly assaulting the wife of a powerful pirate captain. In 1792, it's presumed that said pirate, Captain Nathaniel Clegg, has been officially charged by the Royal Navy and hanged until death. A band of merry sailors descend upon his eternal resting place, the coastal village Dymchurch which lies upon the Romney Marsh. The countryside cloaks the identity of the deadly "marsh phantoms", skeletal figures on horseback who terrify the night while hunting villagers caught outside their homes.
'Captain Clegg' is a fine outing for Hammer Studios that fashions its own seafaring mythology within the cosy environs of an 18th century fishing village. The secret behind the success of Dymchurch's small community is a smuggling operation that Captain Collier determines to smash wide open. Bernard Robinson's production design is top-notch and the make-up designs reinforce the more ghoulish aspects of the story. The performances are excellent with Peter Cushing in sly mode as local parson Reverend Doctor Blyss, Yvonne Romain striking all the right notes as attracting ingenue Imogene, Oliver Reed supplying beefcake bulk as Georgian hunk Harry Cobtree, Martin Benson losing his marbles as innkeeper Mr. Rash and Michael Ripper tearing down the scenery as scurrilous scoundrel Jeremiah Mipps.
'Captain Clegg', also known as 'Night Creatures', is one of Hammer's most popular productions of the 1960s. The rock 'n' roll burlesque band Captain Clegg And The Night Creatures, whose terror tracks include 'Headless Hipshakin' Honey', 'Honky Tonk Halloween' and the instrumental 'Creeps For Cushing', took their name from this Hammer classic. Check it out!
"It’s an odd coincidence that both Vincent Price and Christopher Lee were born on May 27. Peter Cushing lets down the Triumvirate of Terror, somewhat, by being born on May 26. “We always send each other cards. Vincent’s the daddy, I’m second and Christopher’s the baby.” He is the perfect English gent, getting to his feet when a lady (that’s me) comes into the room, helping her on and off with her coat, finding her a taxi at the end of the interview, and so on. He is dressed in muted early Doctor Who style (in fact, played the Doctor twice on film in the mid-1960s) with a discreetly floppy bow tie, checky sort of trousers and watch-chain. Besides being tagged as Baron Frankenstein and Van Helsing, he is also one of the screen’s best Sherlock Holmeses, and will shortly be donning the deerstalker again for The Abbot’s Cry, with John Mill as Dr Watson. It’s an original story, updating the character to 1920, when Holmes is in his sixties. “Even to try to make me look 64 is cheating it a bit,” says Cushing, who is 73. He expresses guarded admiration for Jeremy Brett’s portrayal of the detective in the recent TV adaptations. “He obviously went into tremendous detail, everything is dead right, but… you don’t like the man. You should like Holmes; whether he was nice or not doesn’t matter.” How does Cushing react to being described as a “living legend”? “To be living at all is quite remarkable, at 73. It’s a lovely thing to be called. Mind you, things about people becoming legends in their own lifetimes have been rather overdone, haven’t they? When I first started in this business in 1936, I never dreamed I’d end up sitting here in one of the nicest hotels in London with everyone interested in such a very old man’s memoirs, and having a rose named after my wife. It’s all absolutely wonderful. I’m not a writer, and I think I’ve proved it. But I’m so thrilled people should be interested enough to publish it.”
- Anne Billson, Time Out
- Anne Billson, Time Out
Insaniac : Peter Cushing Swings From The Rafters
'Captain Clegg' is a fine outing for Hammer Studios that fashions its own seafaring mythology within the cosy environs of an 18th century fishing village. The secret behind the success of Dymchurch's small community is a smuggling operation that Captain Collier determines to smash wide open. Bernard Robinson's production design is top-notch and the make-up designs reinforce the more ghoulish aspects of the story. The performances are excellent with Peter Cushing in sly mode as local parson Reverend Doctor Blyss, Yvonne Romain striking all the right notes as attracting ingenue Imogene, Oliver Reed supplying beefcake bulk as Georgian hunk Harry Cobtree, Martin Benson losing his marbles as innkeeper Mr. Rash and Michael Ripper tearing down the scenery as scurrilous scoundrel Jeremiah Mipps.
'Dry Bones' - The Delta Rhythm Boys
'Captain Clegg', also known as 'Night Creatures', is one of Hammer's most popular productions of the 1960s. The rock 'n' roll burlesque band Captain Clegg And The Night Creatures, whose terror tracks include 'Headless Hipshakin' Honey', 'Honky Tonk Halloween' and the instrumental 'Creeps For Cushing', took their name from this Hammer classic. Check it out!
