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Top Ten Peter Cushing Films
It is hard to believe that horror icon Peter Cushing was a classically trained actor. His penetrating stare and dead monotone voice were perfectly suited for films of the macabre. With close to a hundred films and appearances to his credit, here are the top ten Peter Cushing films.
- The Curse of Frankenstein – The first Hammer film Cushing starred in. He played Baron Von Frankenstein who is awaiting trial for the murders committed by the Monster. The film is the basic Frankenstein creation story and in the end Cushing destroys the Monster.
- Horror of Dracula – Cushing starred opposite of Christopher Lee in this famous Hammer horror film. Cushing played Van Helsing and Lee played the charismatic blood sucker Dracula. The film closely follows Bram Stoker’s original novel.
- The Revenge of Frankenstein – Cushing again stars as the misguided genius Baron Von Frankenstein. It is sort of a sequel to The Curse of Frankenstein. In it, Von Frankenstein escapes the guillotine and sets up shop in another town where he continues his experiments.
- The Mummy – Another Hammer film but this time Cushing gets a change of scenery and a change in roles. He plays an archaeologist who unwittingly sets free an undead mummy. When the mummy tracks him down, the mummy is attracted to Cushing’s wife who looks like the long dead Egyptian princess.
- Tales from the Crypt – Based on the comics series by EC Comics, Tales features Cushing as a retired garbage man who entertained children in one of the film’s segments. A neighbor and his son do not like Cushing and try to get rid of him. After Cushing commits suicide, he comes back from the grave to get his revenge.
- The Brides of Dracula – Cushing returns in the role of vampire hunter Dr. Van Helsing. A young woman is invited to a castle where she frees a young man chained to a chair. That man turns out to be a vampire who goes around the village turning women into vampire brides.
- The Vampire Lovers – One of the first vampire flicks to portray lesbianism. A young female vampire preys on other girls. Peter Cushing plays a general tracking the vampire after she kills his daughter.
- Horror Express – Cushing and Christopher Lee join up again for this classic tale of horror while trapped on a train. Lee has found what he believes is man’s missing link frozen in ice. Cushing plays a fellow scientist who tries to stop the monster.
- Legend of the Werewolf – Cushing plays a police inspector in one of the better werewolf films from the early days of horror. A young boy who was raised by wolves grows up and becomes a zookeeper in love with a prostitute. When his jealousy causes him to change during a full moon, Cushing has to investigate the mysterious murders.
- Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed – By now Cushing had to have been comfortable playing the demented Baron Von Frankenstein. The mad scientist once again creates new life, this time with the help of a blackmailed couple. The Monster, horrified by his new appearance, lures the Baron into a house fire.
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 10th, 2009 at 12:35 pm and is filed under Best Horror Actors, Best Horror Directors, Best Horror Monsters. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.