Happy Birthday to Three Horror Icons!
Today we celebrate the birthdays of three actors whose contributions to classic horror and suspense film history are hard to overestimate. For many monster kids these three gents need no introduction. Their imprint on the mid-century cinematic chillers of the period is considerable and represents an unofficial second wave of horror stars following the 1930 and 1940s and the age of Lugosi, Karloff, Lorre, Chaney, and others.
In a fitting and perhaps serendipitous coincidence, Peter Cushing was born on May 26th and both Christopher Lee and Vincent Price we were born on May 27th. May was a busy month for monster film icons!
This is not meant to be a deep dive into these actors’ biographies and filmographies—that would take entirely too long. Besides, we will have many opportunities to talk about these legends in future posts. Consider this an appetizer of a post, an intro to three heavyweights who will resurface on this site many times over. So, without further ado, I give you Cushing, Lee, and Price.
Peter Cushing was born on May 26, 1913 in Kenley, England. He began his acting career on the British stage, then traveled to Hollywood where he landed his first film roles, including his debut in a small part in the James Whale-directed film The Man in the Iron Mask (1939). He would return to England as World War II heated up to perform in plays for British soldiers and work in both film and television productions for the BBC. Then came the role that would set Cushing on his genre film trajectory: Baron Victor Frankenstein in 1957’s The Curse of Frankenstein (1957). This is an early entry in a series of gothic horror and science fiction genre films that would become most famously associated with U.K.-based Hammer Studios. Over the next decades Cushing would play mad (and sometimes not) scientists, vile villains, heroes, Dr. Who, Sherlock Holmes, and, on several occasions, the legendary vampire hunter Van Helsing. He also played Imperial Commander Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), where he dared dress down Darth Vader—much respect.
By nearly all accounts Cushing was a kind, classy, and gentle man, who could play some truly despicable characters (as he did in 1969’s Frankenstein Must be Destroyed). While he, like Christopher Lee, may have been frustrated by the typecasting he no doubt experienced, he never phoned in a performance.
Although this next list of favorite Cushing roles may change on any given day (he is just THAT prolific), it is—if nothing else—a great place to start for anyone looking to explore his discography:
The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) – Cushing kills it on this stellar follow up to the Curse of Frankenstein, giving an arguably better performance than in the preceding film.
The Brides of Dracula (1960) – Cushing’s second turn as Van Helsing is an absolute treat as he gives a dynamic performance in this lively and colorful vampire flick.
Cash on Demand (1961) – Cushing plays a fastidious and humorless bank manager confronted by a ruthless heist man on Christmas Eve; this is a spectacular and criminally (pun intended) underseen performance.
Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965) – His accent might be a little wonky at times but Cushing is excellent as the mysterious tarot card reader in this classic anthology.
Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (1974) - While this late Hammer/Shaw Brothers production is not highly regarded in some circles, I enjoy both the film and Cushing’s charming Van Helsing. I think he performed admirably in what I understand was a troubled production, even managing to whip up some good chemistry with the great Hong Kong martial arts star David Chiang
Sir Christopher Lee was born in London on May 27, 1922 to an Italian Contessa and a British army officer. His early adulthood was spent serving in various branches of the military, including intelligence, special forces, and the royal air force during World War II. After such an active and sometimes perilous early career in combat zones in North Africa and Sicily, Lee tried his hand in acting. Over the next decade or so he would land a series of supporting film roles until his breakout performance as Frankenstein’s creature in The Curse of Frankenstein (1957). Lee would play a variety of monsters (most famously Dracula), madmen, villains, and an occasional hero for Hammer and other European and U.S. studios. On quite a few occasions he starred against fellow British thespian and friend Peter Cushing. Lee went on play a Bond villain, Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels, and Saruman, everyone’s favorite wizard-gone-bad in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. Lee’s lean towering frame (he was 6’5”), resonant bass voice, intense countenance, and intimidating glare all but ensured his success as a big baddie. That said, we shouldn’t sell the man short (get it?) as he could also summon a more charming, even gentle side when a particular role called for it.
Some of my favorite Lee roles include:
The Horror of Dracula (1958) – Lee’s animalistic and mesmerizing Count Dracula is a force of nature who transitions from well-mannered and erudite to downright feral and terrifying.
The Mummy (1959) – Lee is incredibly intimidating as the towering mummy Kharis, who moves stiffly yet inexorably towards his victims. A powerful and very physical performance.
The Devil Rides Out (1968) – Lee plays the heroic occult expert Duc de Richleau, who leads the charge against a satanic cult that has recruited one of his friends as a member. This is a commanding and refreshing role that Lee cherished.
The Wickerman (1973) – Lee plays the charismatic, slippery, and super weird Lord Summerisle, steward of a hedonistic pagan cult community on an island off the coast of Scotland. This was a juicy role that Lee embraced wholeheartedly.
A couple excellent pairings of Cushing and Lee:
The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) – Cushing’s Sherlock Holmes is an absolute delight, with Lee playing a memorable Sir Henry Baskerville, the well-meaning yet unfortunate inheritor of a family curse.
The Gorgon (1964) - With the mythological gorgon Megaera lurking in the shadows, Cushing plays conflicted semi-villain Dr. Namaroff against Lee’s earnest and slightly eccentric professor Karl Meister.
Horror Express (1972) – Lee and Cushing play rival scientists who must team up to counter a mind-controlling monster on the Trans-Siberian Railroad. This international production was a wonderful pairing of Cushing and Lee, and a pretty damn good monster movie to boot.
Cushing and Lee had a handful of memrobale roles in horror anthology films from upstart studio and Hammer rival Amicus, including Tales from The Crypt (1972), The House that Dripped Blood (1971), and Asylum (1972), among others.
Vincent Price was born in St. Louis, Missouri on May 27, 1911. Following his graduation from Yale and a brief stint as a schoolteacher he began to pursue stage acting. After appearing in London and Broadway productions, he joined the stable of actors performing in Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater Productions. By the late 1930s he joined Hollywood and landed various roles including his first sci- fi/horror genre film The Invisible Man Returns (1940). Price would continue to work steadily in the coming years, but it would not be until he starred as the mad and macabre artist Professor Henry Jarrod in 1953’s 3-D sensation House of Wax that things really took off for him. Over the next few decades Price went on to specialize as villains, mad scientists, criminal masterminds, and assorted fiends and rogues—and the occasional “good guy.” In the early-to-mid 1960s Price also starred in series of loose Edgar Alan Poe adaptions for director/producer Roger Corman. In the 1970s Price leaned more heavily into horror-comedies with healthy doses of camp.
Some Price favorites:
House of Wax (1953)- Price kills it in this colorful masterpiece; one of several films I watch every Halloween season
The House on Haunted Hill (1959)- Price is his most charming, mischievous, and sardonic self in this William Castle-directed and produced film. This is yet another perennial spooky season watch for me. Castle and Price also created some magic with The Tingler, which was released the same year.
The Raven (1963)- Price is delightful in this endearingly silly horror-comedy romp, playing off fellow titans of horror Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre. This is one of the aforementioned Corman Poe adaptations.
The Abomniable Dr. Phibes (1971) – Price stars as the diabolical, vengeful, and widowed Dr. Phibes, showcasing a wonderfully strange performance in a very weird film. A few years later and from a similar mold Price would also star in Theatre of Blood (1973), quite possibly his hammiest performance as the embittered Shakespearean actor with a serious bone to pick with his critics. It is also great fun provided you are in the right mood.
Price could be frightening, suave, creepy, sly, self-deprecating, and droll, and he was known to camp it up with the best of them. He strikes me as someone whose dinner party would be a blast to attend (considering his gourmet cooking skills, charm, and good wit).
Although we are on the cusp of a season associated with sunny days and hot weather, I can’t help but sense that slight gothic chill and rolling fog as we evoke these horror icons. For the uninitiated, I highly recommend checking out their many, many works. Believe or not I have mentioned a mere slice of their output. We lost Vincent Price on October 25, 1993, Peter Cushing on August 11, 1994, and Christopher Lee more recently on June 7, 2015. While we monster kids mourned their loss at the time of their respective passing we are also grateful for the cinematic gift they have left for generations.
And while we are on birthdays, I want to wish my lovely wife an early Happy Birthday—she is part of this Gemini club! I love you! P.S. as you can read in her bio, she is a HUGE Vincent Price fan.
P.P.S. Happy Birthday to fellow monster kid Matt Kowalski, who happens to share the day with Sir Christopher Lee and Vincent Price—what great company.
