Saturday, September 22, 2007

Peter Cushing (1913-1994)


Trained at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Peter Cushing began his career in prewar Hollywood in The Man in the Iron Mask (US, d. James Whale, 1939) and made several films there before starting in Britain with Hamlet (1948), as a vividly exquisite Osric.

In the early 50s, he worked mainly in the theatre (he was in Laurence Olivier's 1951 St James Theatre season), had a TV triumph in Nineteen Eighty-Four (d. Rudolph Cartier, 1954), and was very moving as Deborah Kerr's cuckolded husband in The End of the Affair (d. Edward Dmytryk, 1954).

His film career took off when he played the eponymous over-reacher in Hammer's The Curse of Frankenstein (d. Terence Fisher, 1957), establishing him at once as a cult hero of the horror film aficionados, with Christopher Lee as the monster. These two names, along with director Terence Fisher, now evoke the output of this most successful British studio. As well as playing the Baron half a dozen times, he also memorably incarnated Dr Van Helsing in several reprises of the Dracula myth, including the wonderfully stylish The Brides of Dracula (d. Fisher, 1960).

His chiselled features, refined, even ascetic speech and bearing, his intense belief in the scientific mumbo-jumbo he was given to say, are now so firmly embedded in the public mind that it is an effort of will to remember that he played many other roles, including Sherlock Holmes. It is arguable, though, that his most incisive performance is as the thin-lipped bank manager under fearful strain in the excellent B thriller, Cash on Demand (d. Quentin Lawrence, 1961).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

funny finger man

Anonymous said...

When I think of Peter Cushing, I think of how aristocratic he always seemed, whether he was portraying Baron Frankenstein or Sherlock Holmes or any of the other wonderful characters he gave us.
It is THAT quality which you captured so brilliantly in your painting, Jim. He just looks so damned British!!
I am sure that it is no coincidence that you chose the color purple as one of your main colors - for purple is a "regal" or "kingly" color.
I especially love the shading of Peter's face and the way you did his chin.
Awesome!!!!!!!

Jean-Claude Mornard said...

It is an awesome portrait of Peter Cushing !!!
Bravo !!!
It is possible to reproduce this portrait on my site about Sherlock Holmes ?
With your name, of course, and a link to your blog.
Greetings.