Having been in this business for a little over thirty years (yes, you heard me and YES I did start as a child), I was allowed a lot of things that a lot of kids didn't get to do. I got to see films and plays being made at a very tender age (probably that singular privilege warped me). But my dad was a fan of horror and adventure movies.... His favorite? Vincent Price. I remember staying up late on Saturday (or was it Friday?) to watch Sammy Terry on WTTV4 to watch some great old classics and some really interesting newer films.
I was a fan of Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee particularly. My son's middle name is Christopher and he is named for the screen's first really colorful Dracula. The other day, I was at the local library and found a great double feature of Vincent Price movies, one of whom I can relate to very well (not in a murderous sort of way, but in the fact that it takes place in the world of the theatre)
Theater of Blood is great!! I had only seen it once before, but it made a lasting impression on me. Kind of like Price's "The Mad Magician." Is it any wonder that I have such an attraction to theatre and magic? Anyway, the basic storyline is this, Price is a ham actor who "comes back from the grave" to seek revenge on a group of critics who not only savaged his performances but also drove him to attempt suicide. He kills them off one by one by using famous murders from Shakespeare's plays. Quite fun. Price always looked like he was having a good time when he made these films. This was the film where Price met Coral Browne, his love of his life. She played one of his victims. And the exquisite Diana Rigg played his daughter. Check it out if you can. A bit of trivia: Apparently there is a play version of this movie which recently starred Jim Broadbent (from Moulin Rouge) in the Price role. The actress playing Diana Rigg's part? Rachel Stirling, the daughter of Diana Rigg!
The other film was Madhouse which also starred Peter Cushing, possibly the classiest man in horror next to Vincent. Very interesting revenge story there too. There was one actress that was in it that I was genuinely upset that her character died (Natasha Pyne, a beautiful young blond whom I've found very little information on)
Anyway, I love my horror!!
I was a fan of Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee particularly. My son's middle name is Christopher and he is named for the screen's first really colorful Dracula. The other day, I was at the local library and found a great double feature of Vincent Price movies, one of whom I can relate to very well (not in a murderous sort of way, but in the fact that it takes place in the world of the theatre)
Theater of Blood is great!! I had only seen it once before, but it made a lasting impression on me. Kind of like Price's "The Mad Magician." Is it any wonder that I have such an attraction to theatre and magic? Anyway, the basic storyline is this, Price is a ham actor who "comes back from the grave" to seek revenge on a group of critics who not only savaged his performances but also drove him to attempt suicide. He kills them off one by one by using famous murders from Shakespeare's plays. Quite fun. Price always looked like he was having a good time when he made these films. This was the film where Price met Coral Browne, his love of his life. She played one of his victims. And the exquisite Diana Rigg played his daughter. Check it out if you can. A bit of trivia: Apparently there is a play version of this movie which recently starred Jim Broadbent (from Moulin Rouge) in the Price role. The actress playing Diana Rigg's part? Rachel Stirling, the daughter of Diana Rigg!
The other film was Madhouse which also starred Peter Cushing, possibly the classiest man in horror next to Vincent. Very interesting revenge story there too. There was one actress that was in it that I was genuinely upset that her character died (Natasha Pyne, a beautiful young blond whom I've found very little information on)
Anyway, I love my horror!!
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