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The Monster Club
''The Monster Club'' is a 1981 British anthology horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Vincent Price and John Carradine. It is based on the works of the British horror author R. Chetwynd-Hayes. It was the final film from Milton Subotsky, who was best known for his work with Amicus Productions; Amicus were well known for their anthologies, but this was not an Amicus film. It was also the final feature film directed by Baker. Plot Prologue A fictionalised version of author R. Chetwynd-Hayes is approached on a city street by a strange man who turns out to be a starving vampire named Erasmus. Erasmus bites the writer, and in gratitude for the small "donation", takes his (basically unharmed but bewildered) victim to the titular club, which is a covert gathering place for a multitude of supernatural creatures. In between the club's unique music and dance performances, Erasmus introduces three stories about his fellow creatures of the night. The Shadmock A young, fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker (born Roy Horace Baker; 19 December 1916 – 5 October 2010) was an English film director. He was known professionally as Roy Baker until 1967, when he adopted Roy Ward Baker as his screen credit. Early life Baker was born in Hornsey, London, where his father was a Billingsgate Fish Market, Billingsgate wholesale fish merchant. He was educated at a Lycée in Rouen, France, and at the City of London School. Career Baker's first job, in 1933 aged 17, was in the mail room at the Columbia Graphophone Company, Columbia Gramophone Company. From 1934 to 1939, he worked for Gainsborough Pictures, a British film production company based in Islington, London. His first jobs were menial, and he progressed rapidly to location scouting and second-unit directing. In 1938 he was appointed assistant director on Alfred Hitchcock's ''The Lady Vanishes (1938 film), The Lady Vanishes'' (1938). He served in the British Army, Army during the Second World War, joining the Army K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbara Kellerman
Barbara Rose Kellerman (originally spelt Kellermann; born 30 December 1949) is an English actress, known for her film and television roles. Early life Kellerman was born in Manchester, Lancashire. Her Jewish father, Walter Kellermann (1915–2012), had fled Nazi Germany and settled in Leeds, where he became a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics at the University of Leeds. Her mother, Marcelle, was a member of the French Resistance during the Second World War who became a teacher of modern foreign languages. She trained at Rose Bruford College. Career Kellerman's film credits include: '' Satan's Slave'', '' The Monster Club'' and '' The Sea Wolves''. Her television appearances include: '' Space: 1999'', '' The Glittering Prizes'', ''1990'', '' The Mad Death'', '' Quatermass'' and ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' and the hard-hitting police drama '' The Professionals'' (1979), episode ''Runner,'' in which she played Sylvie the girlfriend of a former police officer who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amicus Films
Amicus Productions was a British film production company, based at Shepperton Studios, England, active between 1962 and 1977. It was founded by American producers and screenwriters Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg. Films Prior to establishing Amicus, its two producers collaborated on the successful horror film '' The City of the Dead'' (1960). Amicus's first two films were low-budget musicals for the teenage market, ''It's Trad, Dad!'' (1962) and '' Just for Fun'' (1963). Amicus is best remembered for making a series of portmanteau horror anthologies, inspired by the Ealing Studios film ''Dead of Night'' (1945). They also made some straight thriller films, often based on a gimmick. Amicus's horror and thriller films are sometimes mistaken for the output of the better-known Hammer Film Productions, due to the two companies' similar visual style and use of some of the same actors, including Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Unlike the period gothic Hammer films, Amicus p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Cushing
Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition for his leading performances in the Hammer Film Productions, Hammer Productions horror films from the 1950s to 1970s and as Grand Moff Tarkin in ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars'' (1977). Born in Kenley, Surrey, Cushing made his stage debut in 1935 and spent three years at a repertory theatre before moving to Hollywood to pursue a film career. After making his motion-picture debut in the film ''The Man in the Iron Mask (1939 film), The Man in the Iron Mask'' (1939), Cushing began to find modest success in American films before returning to England at the outbreak of the Second World War. Despite performing in a string of roles, including one as Characters in Hamlet#Osric, Osric in Laurence Olivier's film adaptation of ''Hamlet (1948 film), Ham ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horror and franchise films. Lee was knighted for services to drama and charity in 2009, received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011 and received the BFI Fellowship in 2013. Lee gained fame for portraying Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films. His other film roles include Francisco Scaramanga in the James Bond film '' The Man with the Golden Gun'' (1974), Count Dooku in two ''Star Wars'' films (2002–2008) and Saruman in both ''The Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy (2001–2003) and ''The Hobbit'' film trilogy (2012–2014). He frequently appeared opposite his friend Peter Cushing in horror films, and late in his career had roles in five Tim Burton films, including '' Sleepy Hollow'' (1999), '' Corpse Bride'' (2005), '' Charlie and the Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Warren Saire
''Lady Jane'' is a 1986 British costume-historical drama romance film, directed by Trevor Nunn, written by David Edgar, and starring Helena Bonham Carter as the title character. It tells the story of Lady Jane Grey, her marriage to Lord Guildford Dudley, and her reign as the "Nine Days' Queen" following the death of Edward VI of England. The story had previously been turned into a 1936 film, '' Tudor Rose'', and a 1923 silent film, ''Lady Jane Grey; Or, The Court of Intrigue''. Plot The death of Henry VIII of England throws his kingdom into chaos as his successor, Edward VI of England, is both under-age and in poor health. Anticipating the young king's imminent death from tuberculosis and anxious to keep England true to the Protestant Reformation by keeping the Catholic Princess Mary from the throne, John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, Lord President of the Council and second only to the king in power, hatches a plan to marry his second son, Lord Guildford, to Lady Jane ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neil McCarthy (actor)
Eugene Neil McCarthy (26 July 1932 – 5 February 1985) was an English actor known for his dramatic physical appearance caused by acromegaly. Early life Born in Lincoln, Lincolnshire, the son of Sleaford dentist Eugene Charles McCarthy (1899–1954) and Beatrice Annie (''née'' Corney, 1901–1978), McCarthy was educated at Stamford School (where his contemporaries included cricketer M. J. K. Smith and author Colin Dexter) before reading modern languages at Trinity College Dublin, and trained as a Latin and French teacher. He could also speak fluent Greek.''Who's Who on Television'', Independent Television Publications Ltd 1970 Career After his teacher training, McCarthy appeared in repertory theatre in Oxford, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and in the West End. McCarthy's film credits include memorable roles as Welsh soldier Private Thomas in '' Zulu'' (1964), as Sergeant Jock McPherson in ''Where Eagles Dare'' (1967), as Gates in '' The Ruffians'' (1973), as the villa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lesley Dunlop
Lesley Jane Dunlop (born 10 March 1956) is an English actress, known for her role as Brenda Walker in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' (2008-2025). Her other roles include Anna Kirkwall in '' Where the Heart Is'' and Zoë Angell in ''May to December''. Career Daughter of television writer Pat Dunlop, she began her career as a child actress in the 1970s featuring in a BBC version of the classic ''A Little Princess'' and as Lydia Holly in the ITV adaptation of '' South Riding''. She studied at the Arts Educational Schools(2 April 2000)Interview: Lesley Dunlop - My daughters are where my heart is ''Daily Mirror'', Retrieved 17 December 2010 Her transition to adult roles began by playing Lizzie Hexam in a BBC version of Charles Dickens' ''Our Mutual Friend'' in 1976 and featuring in the very first series of the long-running hospital drama ''Angels''. Dunlop was cast alongside Diana Rigg and Elizabeth Taylor in the film version of Stephen Sondheim's ''A Little Night Music'' (1977), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffrey Bayldon
Albert Geoffrey Bayldon (7 January 1924 – 10 May 2017) was an English actor. After playing roles in many stage productions, including the works of William Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series '' Catweazle'' (1969–70). Bayldon's other long-running parts include the Crowman in '' Worzel Gummidge'' (1979–81) and Magic Grandad in the BBC television series ''Watch'' (1995). Early life Bayldon was born 7 January 1924 in Leeds and attended Bridlington School and Hull College of Architecture. Following service in the Royal Air Force during World War II, he appeared in amateur theatricals and then trained at the Old Vic Theatre School. Career Bayldon enjoyed a substantial stage career, including work in the West End and for the RSC. He made several film appearances in the 1960s and 1970s, including '' King Rat'' (1965), '' To Sir, with Love'' (1967), '' Casino Royale'' (as Q) (1967), the Envy segment of '' The Magnificent Seven ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Laurenson
James Philip Laurenson (17 February 1940 – 18 April 2024) was a New Zealand stage and screen actor based in the UK. Early life Laurenson was born in Marton, New Zealand. He was a student at Canterbury University College in Christchurch (now University of Canterbury) and studied theatre. There he was directed by Dame Ngaio Marsh, notably in the title role in ''Macbeth'' at the Civic Theatre Christchurch in 1962. During the mid-1960s, he moved to the United Kingdom. He made his film debut in 1969 with a small part in '' Women in Love'', based on the D. H. Lawrence novel. He also had an uncredited part (as an Oxford rower, playing alongside Graham Chapman) in '' The Magic Christian''. Career Laurenson appeared in numerous British Shakespearean productions, notably '' Richard II'', and as Rosencrantz in ''Hamlet.'' He performed on radio in the marathon series, ''Vivat Rex''. He also appeared as Piers Gaveston in the 1970 production of Christopher Marlowe's '' Edward II'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Steel (actor)
Anthony Maitland Steel (21 May 1920 – 21 March 2001) was an English actor and singer who appeared in British war films of the 1950s such as ''The Wooden Horse'' (1950) and ''Where No Vultures Fly'' (1951). He was also known for his tumultuous marriage to Anita Ekberg. He was described as "a glorious throwback to the Golden Age of Empire... the perfect imperial actor, born out of his time, blue-eyed, square-jawed, clean-cut." As another writer put it, "whenever a chunky dependable hero was required to portray grace under pressure in wartime or the concerns of a game warden in a remote corner of the empire, Steel was sure to be called upon." Another said "Never as popular as Stewart Granger or as versatile as Kenneth More, he enjoyed a brief period of fashionability embodying the kind of idealised, true-blue Englishman who probably rowed for his university, played cricket on the village green and exuded calm under pressure as he bravely fought for king and country." Early life ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anthony Valentine
Anthony Valentine (17 August 1939 – 2 December 2015) was an English actor best known for his television roles: the ruthless Toby Meres in '' Callan'' (1967–72), the sadistic Major Horst Mohn in '' Colditz'' (1972–74), the suave titular gentleman thief in '' Raffles'' (1977), and the murderous Baron Gruner in the ''Sherlock Holmes'' episode " The Illustrious Client" (1991). Early life and education Valentine was born in Blackburn, Lancashire; he moved with his family to Chiswick, West London when he was 6 years old, going on to attend Acton County Grammar School. Career Aged 9, Valentine was spotted tap-dancing in a stage version of ''Robin Hood'' at Ealing Town Hall. He made his professional acting debut at the age of 10 in the Nettlefold Studios film '' No Way Back'' (1949), and at the age of 12 he played a boy sleuth in '' The Girl on the Pier'' (1953). He worked regularly as a child actor for the BBC, most notably as Harry Wharton in the 1950s adaptation of '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
