Time for another list on my blog, a collection of my favorite performances of the two British greats who became well-known for their iconic horror films, Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee. With both sinister smiles and sophistication they brought many of fiction's as well as history's greatest characters to life with great attention to detail, and enlivened any production they were in.
MY FAVORITE PETER CUSHING PERFORMANCES
1) Dr. Van Helsing in Horror Of Dracula (1958)
Cushing played Van Helsing (and his descendants) numerous times, but I thought he was never better than his debut in the role, determinedly searching for Lee's feral undead count, and bringing a vigor and fearlessness to his performance that has yet to be matched by any other actor. This was probably one of the few times where Van Helsing's portrayal was the equal of Dracula's.
2) Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954)
This television adaptation of George Orwell's classic novel of a bleak future where "Big Brother" is always watching you was a landmark production, thanks in large part to Cushing's sensitive performance. He's supported by a wonderful cast, including Andre Morell, Yvonne Mitchell, and Donald Pleasance, and it's one of the rare opportunities on film we got to see a Cushing character fall in love and embrace a noble cause, and then be stripped absolutely bare emotionally as punishment for defying the regime.
3) Dr. Van Helsing in The Brides Of Dracula (1960)
Cushing landed the rare opportunity for a cinematic Van Helsing of facing a vampire that wasn't Count Dracula in this sequel to Horror Of Dracula for which Christopher Lee did not return. David Peel could never have the impact Lee did, putting more on Cushing to carry the film, and he does. Still a man of action, he leaps through the air to tackle his nemesis, and battles him with all the tricks of the prepared vampire hunter.
4) Victor Frankenstein in The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)
In Hammer Film's debut Frankenstein film, and the first in color, Cushing set a standard for the sequels to follow by dominating the picture with his cruel and determined Baron Frankenstein, making the man more important than the monster. It's a masterful performance and cemented Cushing's place in horror films for decades to come.
5) Dr. Rollason in The Abominable Snowman (1957)
Nigel Kneale's excellent screenplay adapted from his own serial made for a compelling and different look at the legendary Yeti, and Cushing was front and center on the trail of the beasts as a cultured and intelligent scientist, contrasting with Forrest Tucker and his more single-minded team of hunters. When the fantastic happens on their journey, it's largely due to Cushing proving his character possesses the reasoned mind we trust he has, that we find it believable.
6) Emmanuel Hildern in The Creeping Flesh (1973)
Cushing plays another scientist, this time an older, grayer man who has brought back a prized skeleton from New Guinea, but his experiments on it lead to unspeakable tragedy. Housed in an insane asylum, he tries to tell his unbelievable story as lucidly as possible, in one facet of a remarkable performance. We feel his anguish throughout the tale as things go wrong.
7) Sherlock Holmes in The Hound Of The Baskervilles (1959)
Hammer adapts Conan Doyle, but still weaves more of the supernatural into this adventure than the author probably ever intended to capitalize on the success of their Frankenstein and Dracula films. Cushing played Holmes numerous times but this was the first time on film, and he captures more of the detective's idiosyncracies than most actors, and has a number of witty comments and insults. He's a joy to watch, and has a fine Dr. Watson in Andre Morell.
8) John Banning in The Mummy (1959)
Although this film was one of Lee's best showcases as the monster of the title, Cushing has moments to shine as well, none better than his conversation with George Pastell's vengeful high priest in which Banning subtly eggs him on into exposing the truth. Never one to fear a monster, the actor again dynamically attacks Lee's wrapped menace more memorably than any other Mummy battler.
9) Dr. Brian Stanley in Island Of Terror (1966)
Teamed with Edward Judd as scientists investigating terrible deaths on a remote island, Cushing doesn't have as much to do as in his other starring ventures, but has a number of enjoyable asides, and offers more steely determination in battling the bone-sucking creatures of the island.
10) Victor Frankenstein in The Revenge Of Frankenstein (1958)
The sinister but brilliant Victor Frankenstein escapes the guillotine and returns in the first sequel to The Curse Of Frankenstein. Making no bones about amputating the parts he needs from the poor in the clinic he runs, he successfully creates a new monster without visible scars, but one with a dangerous mental condition. Cushing was never better in facing down the area's medical council, brusquely dismissing them as inferiors.
MY FAVORITE CHRISTOPHER LEE PERFORMANCES
1) Count Dracula in Horror Of Dracula (1958)
Lee's animalistic Count Dracula is shocking even today, with his blood-smeared face and forceful strength in dealing with his adversaries, bursting across the screen. The sexual figure he conveys when coming to claim his female victims is another winning element of his performance in the first of his many performances as Bram Stoker's undead Count. Some of the actor's power in the role comes from facing a worthy nemesis in Cushing's Van Helsing, but the rest is all Lee.
2) Gregori Rasputin in Rasputin: The Mad Monk! (1965)
Hammer couldn't let Lee play Russian history's memorable villain without giving him supernatural abilities, but that adds a bit more charge to the film and particularly the pulsing climax. It's one of Lee's strongest characterizations for Hammer, ideally suited to his dominating height and intense stares, and co-stars Richard Pasco and Barbara Shelley give him ideal springboards to launch his evil plans.
3) Kharis, The Mummy in The Mummy (1959)
One of Lee's greatest performances comes wrapped in bandages, as the actor through his exposed eyes and body movements, creates one of the most empathetic screen Mummies, and through his swift paced steps, one of the deadliest. Hammer made a few more Mummy films, but without Lee, none of the creatures compared with this performance.
4) Count Dracula in Dracula: Prince Of Darkness (1966)
Lee finally came back to play a resurrected Dracula after being absent from The Brides Of Dracula in this film, in which the Count never speaks, but he certainly snarls and bares his fangs menacingly, and shows his charisma and magnetism are still potent in stalking Barbara Shelley and her companions. Cushing is missed, but Andrew Keir and Francis Matthews are probably his most able replacements in Hammer's Dracula series.
5) The Monster in The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957)
Following in legendary steps is never easy, but Lee wisely steers clear of Karloff in his role as Baron Frankenstein's creation, aided by a unique makeup that makes a frightening splash in color. Cushing is the showcased player here, but the menace of the monster remains throughout the film, thanks to the impact of Lee's performance.
6) Duc de Richleau in The Devil Rides Out (1968)
Lee brings another dynamic personality to the screen, with no special abilities, but a confident knowledge of the powers of evil that makes him the hero in this creepy thriller, adapted from the works of Dennis Wheatley. He's wonderfully matched by Charles Gray's sinister Mocata, although they have few scenes together, and one can't imagine any of the characters surviving the climax without Lee's forceful will.
7) Alan Driscoll in The City Of The Dead (1960)
Lee has a smaller role in this eerie chiller, the first production of the men who would form Amicus, rival studio to Hammer, and one of Lee's and Cushing's future employers. Yet his portrayal is hard to forget, as he venomously spews contempt to his students for those who burned a supposed witch to death centuries ago while secretly serving as the still living witch's acolyte.
8) Franklyn Marsh in Dr. Terror's House Of Horrors (1965)
Lee is a hoot as a prissy art critic in one of the many anthology films he performed in, as enjoyable in the framing sequences as he is in his own tale. When he has to face a disembodied hand stalking him in his tale, we witness one of the few times he was called upon to show genuine terror on his face, which he does expertly.
9) Professor Karl Meister in The Gorgon (1964)
Another of Lee's rare heroic roles comes in another teaming with Cushing, this time playing a professor armed with knowledge of the title's villain, and a brash and amusing persona. He's far from a major player in the story, but it's a grand departure from his other roles, and it's Lee who must face the deadly creature in the climax.
10) John Preston in Alias John Preston (1955)
More of a straight drama, but with dark overtones, we witness Lee here in a challenging part, as an outsider who joins a small community and struggles to fit in due to the force of his personality and the haunting dreams he suffers from. It's not as dynamic or memorable a performance as the others on this list, but it's rewarding to see the actor working his craft in the years before his stardom.
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