Hello,

In my last post, I highlighted some of my favorite Hammer productions, and the more astute among you would already know about the link between this classic period in British horror films and Star Wars.

But just in case you needed a refresher (and I don't mean a toilet in a galaxy far, far away), here is a brief low down on the connections.

First up, it is no secret that Grand Moff Tarkin and Count Dooku were major players in the Hammer era.

Peter Cushing would play both sides of the coin, the good Professor Van Helsing and the morally challenged Baron Frankenstein. What Cushing brought to these roles was an energy and inner torture so vital to the 'fleshing out' of his characters. Van Helsing was allegedly on the side of good, but Cushing played him as a borderline fanatic, not above bending the laws to drive his point home (ahem). Similarly, Cushing's Frankenstein was equally driven, but more often than not, blinded by love or a twisted sense of 'the greater good'. he even uses his skills to revive a disfigured village girl who has been brutally hounded to death. of course, it all goes pear-shaped, but his heart was in the right place (not sure hers was though).

Christopher Lee was often employed for his brooding looks and towering presence, and it is no surprise that he ended up as the embodiment of Count Dracula and, to some extent, Frankenstein's creature and the mummy. Lee brought an intense, raw sexuality and danger to the role of the Count, a debonair ladies' man one moment, a ravenous beast the next.

For me, the only image I have of Van Helsing and Dracula is Cushing and Lee squaring off while a house burns down around them, Cushing has his crucifix and stake in hand, Lee is unkempt, his eyes bleeding, his fangs bared. Wonderful.

So who else makes an appearance?

Darth Vader himself, Dave Prowse, appears in a couple of Frankenstein sequels as the creature, once in The Horror of Frankenstein, and again in Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell. For my money, his sympathetic portrayal of the tormented creature in the second film is second to none.

General Veers, Julian Glover, makes an early appearance in one of my favorites, Quatermass and the Pit. If you haven't seen this one, go get it now - it's downright freaky deaky.

General Willard, Eddie Byrne, pops up in ancient Egypt in The Mummy, and probably wishes he had gone somewhere safer, like Sweden.

This one is a bit of a stretch, but the voice actor of Dark Jedi Jerec from Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, Christopher Neame, appears in another of my favorites, Dracula AD 1972.

Rounding off this brief list is Don Henderson who played General Tagge. He appears in a great movie called The Ghoul. However, this film isn't a Hammer production, rather it was made by Tyburn productions, but many folks make the mistake of calling it a Hammer film, so I will exploit this just because it's my blog.

Just to finish off - here's some shots of Darth Travi, my young apprentice, who came round on Friday asking me to make him up for the school Halloween dance. I gave him an arm (full of twizzlers to chew on, a trick I learned from Black Sheep) and dead dog that I made for our last film. I guess it was a bit inappropriate...
It was only when I had finished and sent him off did I find out that the school had stipulated no blood.

Ah well.

See you tomorrow for a new Dork Side, and ketal, I am working on Suns 11 so there will be a new chapter soon (I've been crazy busy).

Ta ta!