Tag Archives: Michael Ripper

LEADING LADIES: SUZAN FARMER

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Welcome back to LEADING LADIES, that column where we look at lead actresses in the movies, especially horror movies.

Up today is an actress mostly known to horror fans for one major horror movie. The actress is Suzan Farmer, and the movie is DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966), Hammer Films’ second Dracula movie starring Christopher Lee, and the direct sequel to their mega-hit HORROR OF DRACULA (1958).

In DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS, the undead count is resurrected when his servant murders an unsuspecting guest at the castle and uses the man’s blood to rescuscitate his vampire master. Suzan Farmer plays one of the guests, Diana, who’s married to the brother of the slain sacrificial victim. It’s a memorable performance in a movie that has continued to age well over the years, and is held in much higher regard today than it was upon its initial release back in 1966, when it was widely viewed as an inferior sequel to HORROR OF DRACULA.

Here is a partial look at Suzan Farmer’s career:

THE SUPREME SECRET (1958) – Tess – Farmer’s movie debut in 1958 at the age of 15.

THE CRIMSON BLADE (1963) – Constance Beverley – High seas adventure which takes place in 1648 and also stars Lionel Jeffries, Oliver Reed, June Thorburn, and Hammer regulars Michael Ripper and Duncan Lamont.

THE DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES (1964) – Angela – Hammer pirate adventure written by Jimmy Sangster and directed by Don Sharp. Starring Christopher Lee, Andrew Keir, Duncan Lamont, and Michael Ripper.

DIE, MONSTER, DIE! (1965) – Susan Whitley – Farmer plays the daughter of a wheelchair-bound Boris Karloff. She’s stuck in the castle while Karloff conducts bizarre experiments, all the while her boyfriend Stephen (Nick Adams) tries to convince her to leave daddy and get the heck out of there! Based on H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Colour Out of Space.” Also starring Freda Jackson and Patrick Magee.

DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966) – Diana- My favorite Suzan Farmer role and performance. A big reason for this is she’s in some of the best scenes in the movie, certainly the best Dracula scenes. The scene where Dracula (Christopher Lee) attacks her from an open window, and later when he slits open his chest and invites her to drink his blood, are two of the more memorable sequences in the film. Farmer also enjoys playful chemistry with Francis Matthews, who plays her husband Charles. Their dialogue together resonates throughout the movie, and they really do seem like a young married couple very much in love. Farmer also dubbed the high-pitched screams for co-star Barbara Shelley.

RASPUTIN: THE MAD MONK (1966) – Vanessa – Shot simultaneously with DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS, using many of the same sets and cast, including Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Francis Matthews, and Farmer.

PERSECUTION (1974) – Janie Masters – Farmer’s last movie credit is in this thriller starring Lana Turner as an evil mom tormenting her adult son played by Ralph Bates and his family. Also starring Trevor Howard, Patrick Allen, and Ronald Howard.

LEAP IN THE DARK (1980) – Grace- Farmer’s final screen credit was in an episode of this horror anthology TV series.

Indeed, after 1966, the majority of Farmer’s screen appearances were on the small screen on various TV shows.

Suzan Farmer passed away on September 17, 2017 at the age of 75 from cancer.

I hope you enjoyed this brief partial look at the career of Suzan Farmer. She made a lasting impression with only a few appearances in horror films in the 1960s, especially in the Hammer Film DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS. Speaking of DRACULA: PRINCE OF DARKNESS, with the recent passing of Barbara Shelley, and six months earlier of Philip Latham who played Dracula’s loyal servant Klove, all the major cast members from that classic Dracula movie are now gone, sadly.

Here’s a toast to them, a wonderful cast in a classic Dracula movie.

Please join me again next time for the next LEADING LADIES column, where we’ll look at the career of another leading actress in the movies, especially horror movies.

As always, thanks for reading!

—Michael

IN THE SPOOKLIGHT: NIGHT CREATURES (1962)

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NIGHT CREATURES (1962) (also known as CAPTAIN CLEGG) is one of my all time favorite Peter Cushing movies.

Technically not a horror movie, NIGHT CREATURES is instead an energetic and atmospheric pirate adventure, filled with mystery and intrigue, and since it was made by Hammer Films, the horror elements are certainly highlighted, including the eerie Marsh Phantoms.

In NIGHT CREATURES, Peter Cushing plays Dr. Blyss, the local reverend in the small village of Dymchurch, but all is not as it seems, as Blyss is secretly the infamous pirate Captain Clegg, who years after escaping his own execution (Hmm, sounds like something Cushing’s Baron Frankenstein once did…) settles into Dymchurch and decides to turn over a new leaf, to do good for a change. Up to a point. See, Blyss is also the leader of a secret smuggling operation which smuggles illegal goods in and out of Dymchurch and uses the mysterious Marsh Phantoms as cover.

When Captain Collier (Patrick Allen) arrives with a troop of a soldiers, he sets out to expose and thwart the covert smuggling operation. Collier is also the man who spent his life chasing down Captain Clegg. Hmm. Interesting.

And this one is much more than interesting. This rousing adventure set in 18th century England is so full of atmosphere you’ll feel like you’re riding the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney! It’s also a helluva entertaining story.

The cast is first-rate.

At the top is Peter Cushing, channelling the same energy he used to portray Baron Frankenstein here as Dr. Blyss/Captain Clegg, and he’s at it again playing the heroic villain. We should not like Clegg very much, but in Cushing’s hands, we root for him. The script by John Elder provides Cushing with many memorable moments, from his admonishing of the weasel Mr. Rash (Martin Benson)… “Mr. Rash!” to his verbal spars with Captain Collier. At one point, Blyss is doing everything in his power to make sure Collier and his men have nowhere to stay the night in Dymchurch, but Collier declares his men are definitely staying, to which Blyss utters under his breath, “Really? I wonder where?”

Another fine moment comes when Collier believes a man his men shot in the arm is Blyss, and when he grabs Blyss by the wrist, he flinches, but there’s no bullet wound. Collier asks him why he flinched when he grabbed his arm, to which Blyss answers, “It wasn’t my arm, Captain. You trod on my foot!”

Veteran character actor and Hammer favorite Michael Ripper delivers one of his all time best movie performances as Jeremiah Mipps, the coffin maker, Blyss’ loyal right hand man. He too has numerous memorable lines of dialogue and key moments in the film, like one where he is seen sleeping in one of his coffins. One of his better lines comes when an angered Captain Collier at discovering one of his key witnesses has been found dead, demands of Mipps to know why the man was out on the Marshes. Mipps replies, “I couldn’t well ask him, seeing that he’s dead.”

A young Oliver Reed, fresh after his performance as the werewolf in THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961) makes for a dashing young Harry Cobtree, who is also part of Blyss’ operation and is in love with Blyss’ daughter Imogene (Yvonne Romain).

And Patrick Allen is excellent as Captain Collier, the man who matches wits with Blyss throughout the movie. Allen also starred with both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in the science fiction thriller ISLAND OF THE BURNING DAMNED (1967), and his voice was also dubbed in for the character Rex Van Ryn in the Christopher Lee Hammer classic THE DEVIL’S BRIDE (1968).

NIGHT CREATURES also features a rousing music score by Don Banks, who also scored Hammer’s third Frankenstein movie, THE EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN (1964).

Director Peter Graham Scott fills this one with lots of memorable scenes. There’s an exciting fight scene between Blyss and the hulking Mulatto who is out for revenge against Captain Clegg, and the climax to this one is also action-packed. The special effects on the Marsh Phantoms are first-rate. All in all, this is one Hammer Film you do not want to miss. It’s topnotch entertainment from beginning to end, without a slow moment in sight.

Incidentally, Hammer had to change the name of Cushing’s character from Dr. Syn to Dr. Blyss, since Disney owned the rights to the character, which is based on Russell Thorndike’s Doctor Syn stories. Disney made DR. SYN, ALIAS THE SCARECROW (1963) starring Patrick McGoohan in the lead role, which was later aired in three parts on TV on THE MAGICAL WORLD OF DISNEY.

If you are looking to bust yourself out of the winter blues this January, look no further than the thrilling pirate adventure NIGHT CREATURES, which features a talented cast touting out their A-game, with Peter Cushing leading the way with yet another of his phenomenal movie performances, this time as the heroic Dr. Blyss, doing his best to move on from his villainous past as the notorious pirate Captain Clegg, but only when it suits him, as he is more than comfortable running his secret smuggling operation. And when the relentless Captain Collier arrives, the stakes are raised, and Blyss’ cover and entire operation are suddenly in jeopardy.

NIGHT CREATURES is an underrated gem, one of Hammer’s best, and a must-see for all Peter Cushing fans. But be on your guard! Captain Collier and the King’s men are on the prowl! But don’t fret. Just look to the scarecrow across the way for his signal, and if his hand moves, then it’s time to run!

—END—

IN THE SPOOKLIGHT: LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF (1975)

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Legend-of-the-Werewolf-werewolf

One of my favorite werewolf movies has always been Hammer’s THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961). Directed by Hammer’s A-List director Terence Fisher, THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF features both memorable scenes of fright, a strong performance by Oliver Reed as the werewolf, and superior make-up by Roy Ashton.

However, I can’t deny that this movie does suffer from some very slow pacing and some weak story elements, so much so, that over the years, its reputation has diminished, while Universal’s THE WOLF MAN (1941) keeps getting stronger.

Now, there is another werewolf movie out there, the seldom seen LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF (1975), produced by Britain’s Tyburn Films, a company that tried and failed to compete with Hammer and Amicus, that has something that neither of the aforementioned werewolf movies have, and that something is a someone: Peter Cushing.

legend of the werewolf - peter cushing

Peter Cushing didn’t really make a lot of werewolf movies. He appeared in THE BEAST MUST DIE (1974), and he fares much better here in LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF, a movie that has always been dismissed as an inferior cousin to Hammer’s superior THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF.

But in the here and now, one can almost make the argument—almost-— that it’s LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF that’s the superior movie.

I say “almost” because seriously, LEGEND is hindered by some weaknesses that can’t be ignored. However, it has enough strengths where it can seriously be involved in the conversation of classic werewolf movies of yesteryear.

LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF tells the story of young Etoile (David Rintoul) who like Mowgli in THE JUNGLE BOOK was raised by wolves. While still a boy, he’s discovered by the owner of a travelling circus and joins the show as “wolf boy.” As an adult, he runs off to Paris where he finds work at the local zoo, specifically handling the wolves there. But it’s at this time that he discovers he’s a werewolf, but he’s also a particularly selective werewolf, because as a human, he has a crush on a local prostitute, and as a werewolf, he’s able to kill only her clients.

Hmm. Perhaps this one should have been called LEGEND OF THE JEALOUS WEREWOLF.

The subplot in LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF involves medical examiner and coroner Professor Paul (Peter Cushing) who while he’s not rolling his eyes at the local authorities, likes to play amateur sleuth. And when the werewolf murders start to happen, and the police are clueless, Professor Paul decides to solve the case himself, and it’s here where Peter Cushing enjoys the best scenes in the movie.

For Peter Cushing fans, LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF is a must-see film, as it provides Cushing with nonstop memorable scenes, both full of humor as he belittles the authorities, and poignancy, as he’s the one man who actually understands the werewolf. The scene at the end of the film where he confronts the werewolf in the Paris sewers is one of the best scenes in any werewolf movie period. Really!

So, you can list Peter Cushing as the number one reason LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF is a classic horror tale.

The second reason is the make-up. Borrowing heavily from Roy Ashton’s classic werewolf make-up in THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, the make-up team of Jimmy Evans and Graham Freeborn gives us the screen’s second blonde werewolf. The werewolf make-up here is very good. That being said, it’s not quite as good as Ashton’s, and it’s also not original, since it looks exactly like the make-up on Oliver Reed in CURSE.

Probably the biggest knock against the film is its cheap production values. LEGEND simply doesn’t compare to the opulent sets and costumes found in THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF.

THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF was directed by Terence Fisher, one of the best horror movie directors of all time. LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF was also directed by a veteran of the genre, Freddie Francis. Francis’ reputation is more as a cinematographer and did his best work on movies as a cinematographer rather than as a director. But his horror films in general are pretty good. Probably my favorite Freddie Francis directed horror movie is DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968), Christopher Lee’s third Dracula movie. LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF is probably my second favorite Freddie Francis-directed horror movie.

He includes some nice touches, like close-ups of the werewolf’s bloody teeth, shots that are particularly effective.

Also working against LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF is it arrived on the horror scene late in the game. In 1975, JAWS took the world by storm, and modern werewolf classics like AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON (1981) and THE HOWLING (1981) were just a few years away. Audiences in 1975 weren’t all that interested in a werewolf movie that seemed more at home a decade or so earlier.

THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF also featured Oliver Reed in the lead role. LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF features David Rintoul. And while Rintoul is just okay here, I don’t think you need Laurence Olivier playing a werewolf. For what he was supposed to do, Rintoul is just fine, but he never received the praise which Reed did for his werewolf portrayal a decade earlier.

What LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF does have is a veteran cast. In addition to Peter Cushing, the film also stars Ron Moody as the cantankerous zookeeper.  Moody won the Best Actor Oscar in 1968 for his portrayal of Fagin in the musical OLIVER!, incidentally, directed by Oliver Reed’s uncle Carol Reed, who also won Best Director that year, and OLIVER! won Best Picture as well. Moody is excellent here in LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF, and the scenes he shares with Peter Cushing are well worth watching.

Hammer’s favorite character actor Michael Ripper is also in the cast. Ripper also appeared in Hammer’s THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, and not only that, but his characters have the dubious distinction of being murdered by the werewolves in both movies!

The screenplay by John Elder (aka Anthony Hinds) is also not a strength. While the story told in the movie is decent enough, and the Peter Cushing storyline a very good one, the dialogue throughout most of the movie is sub par.

Long considered a tepid entry in the werewolf movie canon, LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF is trending upward. It’s getting better with age, and in spite of some obvious weaknesses which still need to be considered, it does feature two acting greats, Peter Cushing and Ron Moody, who add a lot to this otherwise standard werewolf picture.

Is it really better than THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF? No, I wouldn’t say that. But the gap between these two movies is no longer as wide as once thought. Watch out CURSE. The LEGEND is growing!

—END—

THE QUOTABLE CUSHING: NIGHT CREATURES (1962)

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Peter Cushing as Dr. Blyss/aka Captain Clegg in NIGHT CREATURES (1962)

Peter Cushing as Dr. Blyss/aka Captain Clegg in NIGHT CREATURES (1962)

THE QUOTABLE CUSHING:  NIGHT CREATURES (1962)

By

Michael Arruda

 

Welcome to another edition of THE QUOTABLE CUSHING, that column where we look at and celebrate Peter Cushing’s best lines in the movies.  Today we look at one of my favorite Peter Cushing movies, the hardly heard of and extremely underrated Hammer Film NIGHT CREATURES (1962).

 

NIGHT CREATURES was one of Hammer’s forays into the pirate movie genre, and yes, they made several movies about pirates.  At the time, NIGHT CREATURES was most notable for its competition with a Walt Disney production of the same story.  As you would expect, the Disney version, DR. SYN, ALIAS THE SCARECROW (1963), starring Patrick McGoohan in the lead role, dominated at the time and was a hit back in the early 1960s when it aired in three installments on the Disney TV program Wonderful World of Color in 1964.  It was later was re-edited into a feature length film.

 

What this meant for HAMMER, was that for years NIGHT CREATURES was lost in the shuffle and remained largely an unwatched film, which is too bad, because it’s one of Hammer’s best.  It was never released on VHS in the United States. It is available now on DVD.

 

In NIGHT CREATURES, Peter Cushing plays Dr. Blyss, aka Captain Clegg, a reformed pirate who is now posing as a parson, while still involved in illegal rum smuggling in the town of Dymchurch.  But he is very much reformed, as he prohibits his men from using violence, and like Robin Hood, he uses the money earned from the rum smuggling to help the poor and hungry. 

 

Things grow complicated when Captain Collier (Patrick Allen), the man who had chased Captain Clegg over the high seas, arrives in Dymchurch with a company of soldiers to investigate reports of drug smuggling.

 

In the Disney version, the main character Dr. Syn disguised himself as a scarecrow, hence Disney’s title.  In NIGHT CREATURES, it’s Dr. Blyss’ young associate Harry Crabtree (Oliver Reed) who dons the guise of a scarecrow to serve as a lookout.

 

Here’s a look at some fun quotes from NIGHT CREATURES, screenplay by Anthony Hinds and Barbara S. Harper, based on the novel Dr. Syn by Russell Thorndike: 

 

 

When Captain Collier (Patrick Allen) first meets Dr. Blyss (Peter Cushing) he doesn’t recognize him as Captain Clegg, since he’s dressed as a parson and it’s likely the captain never set eyes on the pirate while chasing him.  Plus, Captain Clegg is reportedly dead.

 

Collier is looking for a place for his men to stay the night, but Blyss has no intention of helping out.  He wants Collier to march his men back to their ship for the night so he can deliver the rum shipment without impediment.  The dialogue throughout the film between Blyss and Collier is some of the most lively and most memorable in the film.  Let’s listen:

 

DR. BLYSS:  Ah, Captain, admiring our little church?  And you’ve removed your hat I see.  Are you no longer in the service of the king?

 

CAPTAIN:  I came to find the Squire.  But I’m also looking for quarters for my men, Parson. 

 

DR. BLYSS (looking at the interior of his church):  Not in here, I hope.

 

CAPTAIN (smiling): No.  But you’ll know the most suitable places.

 

DR. BLYSS:  Ah, yes.  Have you tried the inn?

 

CAPTAIN:  Oh come now, Parson, there’s only one room in the inn.

 

DR. BLYSS:  And you’ve taken that I expect.  Well, it’s hardly big enough for all of you, is it?  Let me see now.  There’s Mrs. Wagstaft, but no, she’s just had another, hasn’t she?  Her thirteenth I think it is.  That would be a little crowded, wouldn’t it?  And a little noisy too I expect!  (laughs) Would you mind just holding that?  (hands Captain his prayer booke so he can put on his gloves.) Dr. Pepper has a spare room.  But he’s been attending some rather nasty cases of the plague recently so I couldn’t really recommend there. 

 

No.  No, I’m afraid the inn is about all we can offer.  Thank you.  (takes back book)  Really I think the best thing you can do is to march your men back to the ship just for tonight and then march them back again here tomorrow.

 

CAPTAIN:  We’re staying the night in Dymchurch.

 

DR. BLYSS:  Are you?  (with a curious grin) I wonder where?

 

 

 

Earlier Dr. Blyss has to deal with one of his most unreliable men, Mr. Rash (Martin Benson).  Hammer favorite Michael Ripper also appears in this scene, as he enjoys one of his best roles in this one, as Dr. Blyss’ right hand man, the coffin maker, Mr. Mipps.  In this scene, Rash panics over the presence of Captain Collier and his men, and he orders his fellow smugglers to destroy the rum, but Dr. Blyss arrives and is none too happy with Rash’s behavior here.

 

RASH (ordering the disposal of the rum):  Get rid of it!

 

DR. BLYSS:  Mr. Rash!  Since when have you given orders?

 

RASH: Well, I thought with all them fellas snooping ar—.

 

DR. BLYSS:  There’s no need for you to think.  I think for all of you.  Is that clearly understood? 

 

RASH:  As you say.

 

DR. BLYSS:  Exactly.  As I say.  The goods will be delivered tonight in the usual way, at midnight. 

 

MAN:  What about the revenue men?

 

DR. BLYSS:  There’s a chance they’ll be gone by then.

 

RASH:  Well suppose they’re not gone?  I don’t like it! 

 

DR. BLYSS:  I am not interested in whether you like it or not, Mr. Rash!  Just as long as you do as I tell you.  You’ve been in this trade long enough to know we all have to take risks. 

 

RASH (to Mipps):  It’s been all right for him.  He’s done very nicely out of it all these years.

 

MIPPS:  Yes, very nicely.  He’s taken all of his fair share and squandered it on food for those who were hungry and clothes for them that didn’t have any.

 

DR. BLYSS:  All right, Mr. Mipps.  Now listen.  I want the word spread that the king’s men are not to be offered accommodation in the village.  There is to be no room for them anywhere.

 

GROUP:  Aye.

 

DR. BLYSS:  And remember:  there’s to be no violence, either.  Mr. Rash! 

 

RASH:  I heard you.

 

DR. BLYSS:  Then say so!  Midnight then.

 

 

Captain Collier arrives in Dymchurch upon the tip of a man named Tom Ketch.  The film opens with Ketch’s death, a victim of “the Marsh Phantoms.”  In this scene, Captain Collier asks Mr. Mipps to take him to Ketch.  The Captain doesn’t know Ketch is dead, and Mipps for his own amusement leads the Captain to believe that the man is still alive.

 

This scene is a great showcase for Michael Ripper’s acting abilities, as he gets to enjoy some great lines as Mr. Mipps here:

 

MIPPS:  But Captain, you came here to see Tom Ketch, didn’t you?  (calls) Tom?

 

(They walk across the room  and in a dramatic revelation, Mipps shows the Captain Tom Ketch’s dead body.)

 

MIPPS:  Came in this morning.  I haven’t had time to touch him up yet.

 

CAPTAIN COLLIER:  He was alive last night.  How did he die?

 

MIPPS:  He was found floating in one of the ponds on the marshes.  The Squire found him this morning when he was out riding, the Squire—.

 

CAPTAIN (angrily): How did he die, man?

 

MIPPS:  Dr. Pepper signed the certificate, natural causes, but I should have thought from the look of the poor fellow that he died of fright.  Now, that’s more like unnatural causes.

 

CAPTAIN:  Frightened to death? What by?

 

MIPPS:  Well, he didn’t tell us of course, being dead, but I think it was the Marsh Phantoms.

 

CAPTAIN:  The what?

 

MIPPS:  The Marsh Phantoms.  People around here don’t believe in them, say they don’t exist, but that’s during the day time of course.  At night if you ask them to go for a walk across the marshes you’ll find that they have something very much more important to do like bolting the door and going to bed.

 

CAPTAIN:  Old wives’ tales.  You said the Squire discovered the body?

 

MIPPS:  Yes. 

 

CAPTAIN:  Where do I find him?

 

MIPPS:  He’ll probably be at the church saying his prayers.  Shall I take you to him?

 

CAPTAIN:  No, I’ll find it.

 

MIPPS:  As you wish.

 

(Exits)

 

MIPPS (To Ketch’s corpse):  Thanks, matey!

 

 

 

 

I’d also like to give a shout out to Patrick Allen who is absolutely spot-on as Captain Collier.  He’s right up there with Peter Cushing and Michael Ripper in this one, in terms of acting.

 

In this scene, Collier thinks he has found his scarecrow, and he thinks it’s Dr. Blyss. The night before, his men shot at a scarecrow that moved, wounding it in the arm, but when they reached the spot where the scarecrow had been, the figure was gone.  They did find blood, however.

 

The next morning, in Dr. Blyss’ home, Collier discovers muddy boots, and he thinks he has found his man.  He intends to prove it:

 

CAPTAIN:  Did you sleep well last night?

 

DR. BLYSS:  Why, exceptionally well.  And you?  Oh, no, you were out looking for the phantoms, weren’t you?  Of course!  Don’t tell me you’ve only just returned?

 

CAPTAIN:  Yes.

 

DR. BLYSS:  Dear me, you must have walked a long way.  Did you have any luck?

 

CAPTAIN:  Yes, and no.

 

DR. BLYSS:  That’s comprehensive, anyway.  (pouring coffee)  Cream?  What did you find?

 

(Captain shows him boots he just found in hall)

 

CAPTAIN:  A scarecrow that bled.  (grabs Blyss’ arm.  Blyss flinches.  Rolls up Blyss’ sleeve but does not see the expected bullet wound)  Why did you flinch when I touched your arm?

 

DR. BLYSS:  It wasn’t my arm, Captain.  You trod on my foot.

 

 

Great line. 

 

If you’ve never seen NIGHT CREATURES, you’re missing quite a treat.  It’s one of Hammer’s best movies.

 

Thanks for joining me today on THE QUOTABLE CUSHING.  I’ll see you next time on another edition of THE QUOTABLE CUSHING when we look at more fun quotes from another memorable Peter Cushing movie.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

—Michael

 

In The Shadows: MICHAEL RIPPER

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Michael Ripper as coffin maker Jeremiah Mipps in NIGHT CREATURES (1962).

Michael Ripper as coffin maker Jeremiah Mipps in NIGHT CREATURES (1962).

In The Shadows:  MICHAEL RIPPER

 

By Michael Arruda

 

 

Character actors add so much to the movies they’re in, it’s hard to imagine these movies without them.  Never receiving the praise heaped upon the major actors and stars of the genre, these folks nonetheless are often every bit as effective as the big name leads.

 

One of my favorite character actors from Hammer Films is Michael Ripper.  Ripper appeared in many Hammer Films over the years, so much so that if you watch enough of these movies, he becomes a very familiar face.

 

I was fortunate enough to meet Michael Ripper in 1998 at a convention, two years before he died, and I remember the look of joy and wonder on his face as he was greeted by so many adoring fans.  It was almost as if he couldn’t believe the outpouring of affection he was receiving.

 

My favorite Michael Ripper role was Max the tavern owner in DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968).  His Max is a happy-go-lucky guy you could easily see yourself having a drink with, and he helps to lighten the mood in this third Christopher Lee Dracula movie.  It’s one of Ripper’s largest roles.

 

A close second is his portrayal of the former pirate/smuggler turned coffin maker Jeremiah Mipps in the Peter Cushing movie NIGHT CREATURES (1962).  In this film, he’s the loyal right hand man to Cushing’s Captain Clegg.  It’s one of Ripper’s more dramatic performances.

 

Here’s a partial list of Ripper’s amazing 220 movie credits, focusing mainly on his Hammer Film appearances:

 

X-THE UNKNOWN (1956) – Sgt. Harry Grimsdyke

 

QUATERMASS II:  ENEMY FROM SPACE (1957) – Ernie

 

THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1958) – with Peter Cushing-  Kurt, the grave robber

 

THE MUMMY (1959)- with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee –  Poacher

 

THE BRIDES OF DRACULA (1960) – with Peter Cushing-  Coach Driver

 

THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF (1961) – with Oliver Reed –  Village Drunk

 

NIGHT CREATURES (1962) – with Peter Cushing and Oliver Reed-   Jeremiah Mipps

 

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1962) – with Herbert Lom-   Cabbie

 

THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1964) – Achmed

 

THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES (1966) – Sgt. Jack Swift

 

THE REPTILE (1966) – Tom Bailey

 

THE MUMMY’S SHROUD (1967) – Longbarrow

 

TORTURE GARDEN (1967) – with Peter Cushing, Jack Palance, and Burgess Meredith-   Gordon Roberts

 

THE LOST CONTINENT (1968) – Sea Lawyer

 

DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE (1968) – with Christopher Lee-  Max

 

TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA (1969) – with Christopher Lee-   Inspector  Cobb

 

SCARS OF DRACULA (1970) – with Christopher Lee-   Landlord

 

THE CREEPING FLESH (1973) – with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee-   Carter

 

LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF (1975) – with Peter Cushing-   Sewer man

 

 

Michael Ripper provided many memorable movie moments in a career that spanned seven decades, from the 1930s through the 1990s.  I will always remember him from his roles in the Hammer Films of the 1950s-70s, although he appeared in many more movies than just the horror movie credits listed here.

 

Michael Ripper: January 27, 1913 – June 28, 2000.

 

Thanks for reading everyone!

 

—Michael