Duffle Coats, Double Features and Dracula invades South Wales

Duffle Coat Manor doesn't have that much of a ring to it and yet that was the locally used name for the manor house that Hammer films turned into Bray Studios.

The house had been used immediately following the war to store duffle coats -  but the roof leaked and the coats took in so much water, swelled to blob like propotions, that the weight caused the entire inside of the building to collapse, and when Anthony Hinds visited the building it was little more than a shell.  The film company  took over residence of the manor house in 1951 - Initially the building was rented for studio space but a year later it was purchased and became world famous as the home of Hammer Films. The colourful nickname of Duffle Coat Manor has now been largely forgotten, a footnote in the history of this remarkable studio.

When I was growing up - I was ten years old in 1975 and during this period the movies were regularly shown on late night television, usually as a double bill - my parents took their parental responsibility seriously and I was never allowed to stay up to watch the movies. Maybe they considered the movies too scary, too graphic for my young mind. Though I think the real reason was that they didn't want me staying up after they had retired and munching  all the chocolate biscuits. The reason matteres not but it resulted in the movies taking on the status of forbidden fruit. And we all know that forbidden fruit taste better than any other kind.

BBC2 was the channel and  usually on a Saturday night they would start a horror movie double bill - the channel regularly ran a double bill horror season from 1975 until 1981. The show would start somewhere around 11pm and go on until 1am - then we would get the test card as the station closed down for the night - I shit you, not. TV used to close down in those days. The days of 24 hour TV were still some years away. Often it would be a double bill of the old black and white Universal horrors, and I loved those too, but on times they would select films from studios such as Hammer and Amicus. These two British studios produced films where the blood dripped impossible red and the heaving breasts were bared. I reckon I saw my first pair of tits in a Hammer movie and believe me that leaves a lasting impression - thank you Ingrid Pitt.

'Critical opinion doesn't really concern us at Hammer. We judge our films at the box office. We're a perfectly commercial company. We turn out films we think are fairy tales.' Michael Carreras, Hammer Films.


Hammer movies were my faves - the company had started out during the Thirties, and produced a spooky thriller, The Mystery of the Mary Celeste in 1935 which starred Bela Lugosi - in a sense this was the studio's first brush with Dracula given that Lugosi was Hollywood's best known Count Dracula.During the war Hammer were largely inactive. The company was reformed in 1947 as the production arm of Exclusive Pictures. There's an interesting story there, of how Hammer transfomed from a low budget studio, producing cheap comedies and thrillers to a name that became synonymous around the world with horror movies.

That's a post for another day,though - for now let's go back to those double features.


This LINK will take you to a You Tube video from 1977 of Kenny Rogers talking about the Horror Double Bills.

Now I vividly remember sneaking downstairs one Saturday night after everyone else had gone to bed, and switching on the TV. I kept the volume low and didn't dare turn on the lights and this was my first experience of Christopher Lee as Dracula. Checking back in BBC listings I think this must have been the 14th September 1976, I was two months aways from my 12th birthday, and I think the movie was Dracula: Prince of Darkness. This was the first Hammer movie I'd ever seen and I was transfixed to the screen, which often ran blood red. The reason this sticks so clearly in my mind is because that night I had the most vivid nightmares and my father had to run in when I woke up screaming, pointing, yelling - 'He's behind the door.'  True story that, not a word of a lie and I'm sure my father remembers it. After all he went bat shit crazy the following day when he discovered the dent I'd made in the packet of chocolate biscuits.


Of course today the films have dated, but there's a certain something to a Hammer film that makes them so watchable. Horror films today are far more graphic, the special effects more realistic but give me a Hammer movie over the adventures of Jason or Freddy any day of the week.

Duffle Coat Manor and Dracula in South Wales

Duffle Coat Manor doesn't have that much of a ring to it and yet that was the locally used name for the manor house that Hammer films turned into Bray Studios.

The house had been used immediately following the war to store duffle coats -  but the roof leaked and the coats took in so much water, swelled to blob like propotions, that the weight caused the entire inside of the building to collapse, and when Anthony Hinds visited the building it was little more than a shell.  The film company  took over residence of the manor house in 1951 - Initially the building was rented for studio space but a year later it was purchased and became world famous as the home of Hammer Films.The colourful nickname of Duffle Coat Manor has now been largely forgotten, a footnote in the history of this remarkable studio.

When I was growing up - I was ten years old in 1975 and during this period the movies were regularly shown on late night television, usually as a double bill - my parents took their parental responsibility seriously and I was never allowed to stay up to watch the movies. Either they considered the movies too scary, too graphic for my young mind or they didn't want me staying up after they had retired and munching on  all the chocolate biscuits. I don't know what the reason was but this resulted in the movies taking on the status of forbidden fruit. And we all know that forbidden fruit tastes better than any other kind.

BBC2 was the channel on usually on a Saturday night they would start a horror movie double bill - the channel regularly ran a double bill horror season from 1975 until 1981. The show would start somewhere around 11pm and go on until 1am - then we would get the test card as the station closed down for the night - I shit you, not. TV used to close down in those days. The days of 24 hour TV were still some years away. Often it would be a double bill of the old black and white Universal horrors, and I loved those too, but on times they would select films from studios such as Hammer and Amicus. These two studios produced the films where the blood dripped impossible read and the heaving breasts were bared. I reckon I saw my first pair of tits in a Hammer movie and believe me that leaves a lasting impression - thank you Ingrid Pitt.

Now I vividly remember sneaking downstairs one Saturday night after everyone else had gone to bed, and switching on the TV. I kept the volume low and didn't dare turn on the lights and this was my first experience of Christopher Lee as Dracula. Checking back in BBC listings I think this must have been the 14th September 1976, I was two months aways from my 12th birthday, and I think the movie was Dracula: Prince of Darkness. This was the first Hammer movie I'd ever seen and I was transfixed to the screen, which often ran blood red. The reason this sticks so clearly in my mind is because that night I had the most vivid nightmares and my father had to run in when I woke up screaming, pointing, yelling - 'He's behind the door.'  True story that, not a word of a lie and I'm sure my father remembers it. After all he went bat shit crazy the following day when he discovered the dent I'd made in the packet of chocolate biscuits.


Of course today the films have dated, but there's a certain something to a Hammer film that makes them so watchable. Horror films today are far more graphic, the special effects more realistic but give me a Hammer movie over the adventures of Jason or Freddy any day of the week.

Christopher Lee Has Risen From the Grave

At 93 years of age it could be said that he had a good innings, but nevertheless the loss of legendary actor, Christopher Lee is a shock. He seemed immortal, had been around forever and was one of those who would always be around. His work spans the decades, crossing genres, taking in everything from schlock horror to Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and beyond. He's resided both in Baker Street and Baskerville Hall and even recorded both opera and heavy metal music. The actor celebrated his 93rd birthday only a few weeks ago, and the as soon as I heard the news of his passing all I could think was, 'Wow, he's going to look freaky in his coffin!'



'I've seen many men die right in front of me. I've seen the worst that human beings can do to one another. the results of torture, mutilation and seeing someone blown to pieces by a bomb.' Christopher Lee talking about his experiences during the second world war.

Lee appeared in over 200 movies, many of then genuine classics - The Man with the Golden Gun, The Whicker Man, Lord of the Rings, but it is perhaps for his work with the Hammer studios where he became something of a double act with another much missed British horror icon, Peter Cushing that he will be best remembered.

'I was attached to the SAS from time to time but we are forbidden – former, present, or future – to discuss any specific operations. Let's just say I was in Special Forces and leave it at that.' Christopher Lee


Following a highly colorful and distinguished war record, Lee's entry into film started in 1946, . He

was initially turned down by several studios, being told he was too tall to be an actor but he was signed as a contract player to The Rank Organization and made his screen debut in future James Bond director, Terence Young's Corridor of Mirrors (1947). Lee had only one line in the movie - a satirical shaft meant to qualify the lead's bravura." - nevertheless he made an impact on the director who would later recommend him to friend, Terence Fisher for Hammer's 1957, The Curse of Frankenstein. The film was a huge success and then a year later Lee portrayed Count Dracula in Hammer's Dracula (AKA, The Horror of Dracula) and was arguably the screen's greatest ever Dracula, in the minds of many, including my own,  Lee eclipsed Bela Lugosi's portrayal of the character and remains the definitive screen vampire. During his time with Hammer Lee played many iconic roles, Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, The Mummy, Rasputin and even Henry Baskerville alongside Peter Cushing as Sherlock Holmes. Lee himself would play Sherlock Holmes in 1962's,  Sherlock Holmes and The Deadly Necklace. But Lee's association with Holmes doesn't end there and he also played, Mycroft Holmes (Sherlock's brother) in Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970).

Lee's work with Hammer is enough to guarantee him screen immortality but there was so much more to the actor - 1973's The Whicker Man is an all time classic and the actor also worked in Spainish films but left after discovering he had unknowingly narrated a soft porn movie. That film was Jess Franco's Eugenie (1970)

' I had no idea that was what it was when I agreed to the role. I was told it was about the Marquis de Sade. I flew out to Spain for one day's work playing the part of a narrator. I had to wear a crimson dinner jacket. There were lots of people behind me. They all had their clothes on. There didn't seem to be anything peculiar or strange. A friend said: 'Do you know you are in a film in Old Compton Street?' In those days that was where the mackintosh brigade watched their films. 'Very funny,' I said. So I crept along there heavily disguised in dark glasses and scarf, and found the cinema and there was my name. I was furious! There was a huge row. When I had left Spain that day everyone behind me had taken their clothes off!' Christopher Lee



In 1973 Lee played alongside Roger Moore in the James Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun and perhaps provided his best screen villain since Dracula, The movie may not be one of the best in the Bond franchise but Lee is mesmerizing on screen.

" In Fleming's novel he's just a West Indian thug, but in the film he's charming, elegant, amusing, lethal.^'   Christopher Lee

That same year Lee appeared on the cover of Paul McCartney's Band on the Run album cover and then in 1977, tired of only being offered roles in horror movies Lee relocated to America. His first role was in Airport 77 and later Steven Spielberg would cast him in 1941. In more recent years Lee turned up in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings as well as The Hobbit. He also put his stamp on another classic movie franchise when he appeared in the Star War prequels. In 2010 Lee took the unlikely move of recording an heavy metal album but nevertheless, Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross, was both a critical and commercial success.

Lee's last role was in the video game,  Deus Ex Machina 2  in which Lee narrated the piece in the role of the programmer.


Christopher Lee died in hospital after a short illness but people like Christopher Lee are never truly gone, because they will live on forever through their work. He will continue to thrill movie fans for as long as there are movie fans and as I look at my considerable DVD collection of his work I am reminded that, Christopher Lee has truly risen from the grave.

BBC stage new version of Dracula

The BBC audio drama department are world famous for the quality of their productions and a new series of The Gothic Nightmare will be of interest to readers of this blog. The series promises new versions of both Dracula and Frankenstein  – Dracula started this week and episode  one can be listened to HERE. 

It's an incredibly creepy adaptation with some truly chilling sound effects.

Credits

Author

Bram Stoker

Count Dracula

Nicky Henson

Dr Seward

Charles Edwards

Renfield

Don Gilet

Jonathan Harker

Michael Shelford

Mina Murray

Ellie Kendrick

Lucy Westenra

Scarlett Brookes

Dr Van Helsing

John Dougall

Arthur

Joe Sims

Landlord's Wife

Christine Absalom

Driver

Robert Blythe

Simmons

Patrick Brennan

Vampiress

Sarah Thom

Vampiress

Ellie Crook

Vampiress

Stephanie Racine

Child

Harper Bone

Singer

Adriana Festeu

Director

Jessica Dromgoole

Writer

Rebecca Lenkiewicz

Dracula: Vamping it up

Back in the day, before Twlight that is, the vampire was a figure of pure terror. There was nothing nice and cuddly about the vampire and they weren’t portrayed on screen by gangly teenagers either. Right from the silent age when  Max Schreck camped it up in (the German Bram Stoker rip- off )Nosferatu. the bloodsucking fiends have been a favorite of horror cinema and if there is one vampire that stands out amongst them all, it is Dracula – created in the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker the character has become world famous and there have been film versions, both official and unofficial, from virtually every country with a film industry – we’ve had Mexican Draculas, Swedish Draculas and Draculas of all other nationalities, the character’s popped up on television, on stage, in comics, books, video games and cartoons. The character has been used to sell everything from motor cars to ice lollies, as well as everything else or so it would seem.
Dracula is truly ubiquitous -  to Western audiences the most famous movie versions of the character are Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee, but many other actors have made their stamp on the role over the years. Gary Oldman, John Carradine, George Hamilton and Jack Palance are just a few of the names from a list that would fill several blog posts such as this.
Here at Scary Motherfucker we have seen a lot of Dracula movies over the years and we have our own favorites – Christopher Lee is, to my mind, the best ever screen Dracula but there are many people who think that Lugosi was the definitive version – it matters not which actor you prefer in the role and there are people who prefer one or other of the actors who have taken the role – even Louis Jourdan has his fans.  For Dracula is one of those books that everyone knows, even those who have never read the book and I must confess to not being able to get through the whole book myself, finding it snail paced and filled with too much needless detail – I read a lot of classic novels from the same period but I don’t find Dracula that engagingly written. I’ve read it to an extent but tend to skip large sections, though I’ve always got the basic meat of the story and nothing can take away the fact that Bram Stoker created not only an iconic character but one that has defined the entire vampire genre.
Here are some of the actors who have played Dracula
Max Schreck, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, Christopher Lee, Denholm Elliott, Jack Palance, Udo Kier, Jonathan Massey, Frank Langella, Louis Jourdan, Klaus Kinski, Duncan Regehr, Stefan Lindahl, Gary Oldman, Leslie Nielsen, Gerard Butler, Patrick Bergin, Dominic Purcell, Richard Roxburgh, Marc Warren and Keith-Lee Castle.
22 actors have played dracula. They are Max Schreck, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, Christopher Lee, Denholm Elliott, Jack Palance, Udo Kier, Jonathan Massey, Frank Langella, Louis Jourdan, Klaus Kinski, Duncan Regehr, Stefan Lindahl, Gary Oldman, Leslie Nielsen, Gerard Butler, Patrick Bergin, Dominic Purcell, Richard Roxburgh, Marc Warren ,Keith-Lee Castle,Rutger Hauer ,David Niven and John Forbes Robertson

The cape, the blazing eyes, the slicked back hair is more often than not the blueprint for any visual representation of the character, as are the impeccable manners and suave appearance. Stoker’s Dracula was a gentleman of his time, one that could operate with ease on any level of society and during the period that the novel was written the class system was very clearly defined.
Yep if any horror character deserves iconic status then it is Dracula
Recommended Dracula movies
Dracula – the original 1931 classic directed by Todd Browning with Lugosi is the title role.
The Horror of Dracula – Hammer’s 1958 classic saw Christopher Lee take his first and best stab at the role.
Dracula: Prince of Darkness – Christopher Lee returned to the role in the 1960′s for this Hammer sequel and although not as effective as his first Dracula movie it is still fangtastic.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula – this lavish production is far better than its reputation suggests.

Dracula 1958

Vampires are very much in vogue at the moment, particularly with younger readers and film-goers, but the hordes of Twilight fans could do themselves a favour and discover British studio, Hammer's back list of classic horror films.

In the US the film is known by the title, The Horror of Dracula and was directed by the late great Terence Fisher. The title role was played by Christopher Lee and the actor did what was thought impossible - he improved on Bela Lugosi's version of the bloodsucker. Lee is superb in every scene - he doesn't so much walk as glide and his stature makes him look magnificent when brooding about the gothic sets.

Upon original release it had fans lining up around the block to see this new kind of visceral horror movie - the scene where Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) drives a stake with ghoulish zeal into the heart of the undead Lucy is as effective as ever. And Dracula's eventual demise is thrilling.

What is remarkable is how good the film looks today - and not a pixel of CGI anywhere to be seen. The gothic sets are excellent. And the performances, theatrical in style, are brilliant. The film is available as a great DVD print, though devoid of extra features. Well worth seeing - this is the best movie version of Bram Stoker;'s Dracula and Christopher Lee is the best celluloid Dracula there has ever been. Indeed is ever likely to be.

Dracula Lives

DRACULA is, according to the film archive, the second most filmed fictional character in the world. The vampire comes out just behind Sherlock Holmes. Bram Stoker didn't known how correct he was when he said Dracula was immortal. Out of all the actors who have played the bloodsucking Count perhaps the best known are Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee.

The character though is bigger than them all and has in one way or another appeared in most mediums - film, television, comic books, novels, computer games. The image has been used on clothing, toys and just about anything else at one time or another. The character has been used to sell toothpaste as well as ice lollies.

The original novel was first published in 1897 - the Victorians loved Gothic melodrama and the book was an immediate sensation - it's never been out of print and today the book is in the public domain and can be downloaded as an Ebook from Project Gutenberg. The book, although ponderous in places, still reads rather well today. It's made up mostly of a series of journal entries and newspaper cuttings and although the language can be over formal to the modern eye it does captivate. I read it on my Elonex and I enjoyed it. It's one of those classics I've always meant to read but never gotten around to it until I got an Ereader. The easy and free availability of these public domain classics has given me the push I needed to start exploring the wonderful worlds of literature past. The novel recently got an official sequel with Dracula The Undead which was written from Stoker's own notes by Dacre Stoker, who is a descendant of Stoker himself.

It's influence is never ending and vampires, all much in the Dracula mould, are big business - The Twilight series, although on the face of it a million miles away from the Gothic melodrama, owes much to the old pain in the neck.

Dracula Lives...he does indeed.

DRACULA GETS A SEQUEL

Expect a review of this book on the Archive soon but for now here's some news courtesy of Entertainment Daily


Dracula: The Un-Dead" (Dutton, 424 pages, $26.95 - UK £ 7.99 Harper) by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt: Long before Edward Cullen of the "Twilight" series and Bill Compton of HBO's "True Blood," there was the original vampire, Bram Stoker's Prince Dracula, in the gothic horror novel "Dracula."

Now, more than 100 years later, Dacre Stoker, the great-grandnephew of the famed Irish novelist, and Ian Holt, have written a sequel, "Dracula: The Un-Dead."

The sequel begins in 1912, 24 years later, and it revisits original characters Mina and Jonathan Harker, Dr. Jack Seward, Arthur Holmwood and famed vampire hunter Dr. Abraham Van Helsing.

The Harkers' marriage has been strained since Mina was seduced by the Dark Prince. Her youthful appearance and insatiable sexual appetite — conditions of the blood exchange — serve as a constant reminder of her betrayal. Concern mounts for the Harkers' son, Quincey, as he pursues a career in the theater against his father's wishes. He is mentored by a mysterious Romanian actor.

Seward, now a morphine addict, and Holmwood, who is stranded in a marriage of convenience, still pine for their lost love, Lucy Westenra. The sequel offers an alternate explanation for Lucy's death, casting doubt on Dracula's involvement.

Actual events and historical figures are woven into this work of fiction, which puts a new spin on the Jack the Ripper murders and incorporates Elizabeth Bathory, the 16th-century Hungarian countess accused of killing hundreds of women. It was said that Bathory bathed in the blood of virgins to retain her youth.

Dacre pays homage to Bram by casting him as a character in the sequel and making the original novel a focal point of the story. When Quincey reads "Dracula," he discovers it has details about his family that are too specific to be coincidence. The book is the impetus for Quincey's discovery of his parents' perilous dealings and his mother's disloyalty.

One may wonder whether Bram would have approved of the contemporary Dracula, who has been reinvented as a romantic hero. The sequel stands on its own, without the original novel, and opens the possibility of a third book by Dacre.