calliopes_pen | Entries tagged with frankenstein

William Hurt passed away yesterday, at the age of 71, as a result of complications from prostate cancer, which had already metastasized to his bones in 2018. May he rest in peace.

I mostly think of his role in Mr. Brooks (2007) when I think of him, since that’s the first thing I ever watched with him in it. It’s currently on Tubi. Thanks to Tubi, I’ve also recently seen him in Winter’s Tale (2014).

I would recommend the two part miniseries Frankenstein (2004), which starred Alec Newman as Victor Frankenstein; Hurt was wonderful as Professor Waldman. In the same movie, you can also find Dan Stevens, two years away from being Arthur in Dracula (2006). For fans of Mary Shelley's novel, this is one of the more faithful versions. At the time of this writing, you can find a few uploads of it on Youtube. Just know that in its entirety, it’s 3 hours, and 24 minutes long. (When it aired on Comet last year, it then became a six hour event.)

Looking through Hurt’s filmography, I see a few films that I need to track down: Body Heat (1981), Jane Eyre (1996), and The Countess (2009).

Veronica Carlson has passed away at the age of 77. May she rest in peace.

I was just looking up some of her work yesterday, and was actually planning to watch The Ghoul (1975) tomorrow, for the first time. So I believe I will also be doing a rewatch of a few other films of hers in the not too distant future: Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), and The Horror of Frankenstein (1970).

Shane Briant passed away on May 27th, at the age of 74, following a long illness. May he rest in peace. I was trying to wait a few days to see if other horror themed sites (like Bloody Disgusting or Dread Central; something other than what I’ve linked to, which wasn’t The Mirror) would pick up the news about his death, but it seems they really haven’t. At least, not as of this writing.

I remember him best as the title character in The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), which Dan Curtis produced. I rewatched the film last night on Tubi, if anyone’s curious about giving it a view.

He was also in Captain Kronos--Vampire Hunter (1974), which I’ve watched before (you can watch it here, on Youtube, for free; Hammer uploaded it). I have yet to see Straight On Till Morning (1972), so I obviously need to track that one down, along with Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell (1974).

Helen McCrory has passed away, at the age of 52, following a battle with cancer. May she rest in peace.

I thought I only knew her from season 2 of Penny Dreadful, where she was fantastic as Evelyn Poole/Madame Kali. However, after consulting IMDB, I see that I had forgotten she was also in Doctor Who’s The Vampires of Venice, as Rosanna. She was wonderful there.

She was also in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking (2004), which I watched once about a decade ago.

At some point, I might need to see about tracking down Frankenstein (2007), where she apparently plays Dr. Victoria Frankenstein, with the story transplanted into a modern day setting.

Cloris Leachman has passed away at the age of 94. May she rest in peace.

I think the first thing I ever saw her in might have been (possibly before I watched Mary Tyler Moore reruns on Nick At Nite) The Giant of Thunder Mountain (1990). I liked her in Young Frankenstein. Thanks to Comet, I recently caught the episode of Night Gallery with her in it.

Looking through her extensive filmography, I see that I need to track down The Demon Murder Case (1983) and Kiss Me Deadly (1955). I didn’t remember that she was in My Boyfriend’s Back (1993).

While I don’t have a Young Frankenstein icon, have one from Frankenstein (1931).

Sir Ian Holm has passed away, at the age of 88, due to complications from Parkinson’s. May he rest in peace. He might be best remembered for his portrayal of Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Lord of the Rings.

I vaguely recalled he was in a version of Frankenstein, and checked on that. After sifting through IMDB, I see that I was remembering two separate things. He played Victor Frankenstein’s father in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994), as well as having portrayed the creature in the Mystery And Imagination version of Frankenstein in 1968 (which I must rewatch). In regard to Mystery And Imagination, it seems that he was also in their episode of The Body Snatcher in 1966, which is, sadly, lost.

I evidently need to watch From Hell (2001), given how his appearance apparently factors into the Ripper murders in there. I also need to watch Greystoke:The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984).

(I don’t have any icons of any of his characters, so have one from Frankenstein ‘31.)

Bob Cobert passed away on February 19th, at the age of 95, as a result of pneumonia. May he rest in peace. I heard about this earlier via Shadowgram, but have yet to find a news article that mentions it; if I do, shall edit one in.

For fans of the original Dark Shadows, he was a composer of the music (including Quentin's Theme and Shadows Of The Night). Along with the original series, he composed the scores for House of Dark Shadows (1970), Night of Dark Shadows (1971), and the short-lived 90’s revival series.

As a result of his association with Dan Curtis, his work popped up in many places, including (but not limited to) these: The Strange Case of Dr. Jeykll & Mr. Hyde (1968, the Jack Palance version), Dead of Night: A Darkness at Blaisedon (1969), The Night Stalker (1972), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), The Norliss Tapes (1973), Frankenstein (1973, Bo Svenson version), Dracula (1974, the Jack Palance version) The Turn of the Screw (1974), Trilogy of Terror (1975), and Burnt Offerings (1976).

I suspect I'll be rewatching the Palance Dracula or The Turn of the Screw later, as I have that on a DVD set. I know I've got House of Dark Shadows somewhere on the external hard drive, too.

1, Brian Aldiss passed away in his sleep, after celebrating his 92nd birthday. May he rest in peace. He wrote “more than 80 books and was editor of 40 anthologies.”

Unfortunately, I have never read anything of his. I have always meant to read Frankenstein Unbound, since I enjoyed the 1990 adaptation. So I’ll have to try to do that sometime soon. He also wrote Dracula Unbound, which I was never certain about reading, having not heard the best reviews--but it’s on my list, too, now.

2. Today is Fanfic Writers’ Appreciation Day.

wyld_dandelyon is doing a tarot card reading, and the first card is free.

4. Whedonesque is shutting down after 15 years. I think I’ve followed that site via feed (first on LJ, and then here on Dreamwidth via

whedonesque_feed; I’ll unsubscribe to it shortly) for at least a decade, if not longer.

Were it not for the Buffyverse, I never would have ventured into writing, in both fanfic and RPG's (I think Willow was the first character I wrote for in any RPG).

Crossposts: http://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/1017807.html

Hywel Bennett has passed away at the age of 73. May he rest in peace. He was Rynian, the Aridian in the First Doctor era story The Death of Time. I haven’t seen that one, but I have seen Neverwhere (1996); he played Mr. Croup in that. I tracked it down at one point, since Peter Capaldi was in it as Islington.

Robert Hardy has passed away at the age of 91. May he rest in peace. I remember him as Professor Krempe in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994). And as Charles Augustus Milverton in (in the Jeremy Brett version of Sherlock Holmes) The Master Blackmailer.

Looking through his filmography on IMDB, I see that he was in an episode of Mystery And Imagination: the episode was The Phantom Lover, in 1966. That isn’t one of the surviving episodes.

(Surprisingly, I don't have any Frankenstein related icons. So have one from the Jeremy Brett version of Sherlock Holmes.)

Crossposts: http://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/1015203.html

Peter Sallis has passed away at the age of 96. May he rest in peace. While he was loved for being the voice of Wallace in Wallace & Gromit, I’ve barely heard of that in passing. However, after checking IMDB, I do remember him in the role of Samuel Paxton in Taste The Blood of Dracula (1970). I haven’t seen the film since I was probably 12. So at some point, I really need to rewatch that one. I recently watched The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) (he played a character named Don Enrique) for the first time, courtesy of Svengoolie airing it.

It appears Sallis was also in an episode of Mystery And Imagination in 1970, for an adaptation of Sweeney Todd, as Brogden/Mundel/Hopkins; from what I can determine, this might be one of the few episodes to have survived (along with Dracula 1968), although I haven’t been fortunate enough to locate it.

For Doctor Who fans, he played Penley in the Second Doctor era story The Ice Warriors in 1967. He was also in Frankenstein: The True Story (1973) as a priest; Tom Baker and Agnes Moorehead appear in it, too, so I need to locate and watch it. Even if is 3 hours long.

Crossposts: http://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/1008343.html

Elena Verdugo has passed away at the age of 92. May she rest in peace. She played Ilonka in House of Frankenstein (1944). I recall liking her in the role the last time I watched it, many years ago. When I have the time, I might have to give it another viewing.

Crossposts: http://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/1007842.html

Bernie Wrightson has passed away at the age of 68, following a battle with brain cancer. May he rest in peace. His work looked familiar to me; I eventually realized that he did the illustration/concept design for the original Ghostbusters (1984). It was featured in the book Making Ghostbusters.

And if anyone out there desires to get a look at Making Ghostbusters, and can’t locate a physical copy, (it tends to be rare, or ridiculously expensive) you can download a pdf copy over at Spook Central. It’s the third book featured on the page—right click and download the full book pdf.

After a quick perusal of his Wikipedia page, I see that I’ve also seen his work in Batman: The Cult, Batman/Aliens, and Heroes For Hope: Starring The X-Men #1 (he worked on three pages). I never knew about his comic book adaptation of Frankenstein until now.

Crossposts: http://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/997384.html

Sir John Hurt has passed away, at the age of 77, following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. May he rest in peace; he died five days after his birthday. I mostly recognized him from his role as The War Doctor on Doctor Who, but apparently he was also the voice of the dragon on Merlin (which I watched for a couple seasons, and then jumped ship).

He is perhaps most famous for his role as Gilbert Kane in Alien (1979). His death scene is one that I unfortunately watched first at the age of 5, when it was suddenly shown in the middle of Terror In The Aisles (suspense films, stuff from the 40’s in black and white, sudden unexpected--well, to me--chestburster scene followed as the show talked about bloodier horror; I think that is how that went, and then gory then on out). I didn’t know that was him when I watched Spaceballs many years later.

He was The Horned King in The Black Cauldron (1985), and Aragorn in Lord of the Rings (the Ralph Bakshi version from 1978).

And when it comes to horror films, I remember him from Frankenstein Unbound (1990), and The Skeleton Key (2005). I haven’t seen The Ghoul (1975), so I need to watch that at some point, along with Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (it also stars the late Alan Rickman) and Whistle And I’ll Come To You (2010).

(I don't have an icon of The War Doctor, so here's one of the Brigadier.)

Crossposts: http://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/992583.html

Carrie Fisher has passed away this morning, at the age of 60, following going into full cardiac arrest on a plane on Friday. May she rest in peace; best wishes go out to her family. While I’m not a fan of the Star Wars films, I did love her in Soapdish (1991). For the nostalgia, she was Thumbelina in Faerie Tale Theatre. And, apparently, she had a quick cameo as “woman kissing on bridge” in Hook, according to IMDB.

That was on BBC America just yesterday.

Until I checked her IMDB page, I was not aware that she was in Frankenstein (1984) as Elizabeth. David Warner played The Creature, so I really must track it down.

Crossposts: http://calliopes-pen.livejournal.com/985827.html

This is such a rotten week for celebrities. David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Richard Libertini, Angus Scrimm, and David Margulies all died. I thought I posted about David Bowie, but apparently I didn’t (just Angus Scrimm). So in alphabetical order at this point:

David Bowie passed away on January 10th, age the age of 69, following an 18 month battle with liver cancer. May he rest in peace. I had never even heard of him until around 2006 due to having no interest in music. I heard of him for the first time as a result of seeing him in The Prestige as Nikola Tesla. I loved the certain scenes in the first and last episodes of Life On Mars (British version, not the American remake) that made a lovely use of his music at pivotal moments. I have no nostalgic feelings for Labyrinth, but I did find it enjoyably weird and fun when I saw it for the first time (and Encore played it a lot) about 3 years ago. I avoided it until then, due to a general dislike of muppets and a loathing for musicals. I’ll probably rewatch it soon. I liked his role in The Hunger (1983). I need to watch The Man Who Fell To Earth (1976), as I have never seen that.

Shock Till You Drop has An Appreciation of David Bowie’s Performance In 1983’s The Hunger. Birth Movies Death has Labyrinth: Long Live The Goblin King.

As a sidenote: the weird upside down staircase in Labyrinth almost made it into my Crimson Peak Yuletide story as an homage, as another way of Lucille screwing with Edith’s mind. (Which would have been right after a deleted scene with a tombstone and gargoyle in a room) I scrapped it before anything was written of it, because seriously—it was long enough by that point. I almost wish I had done it now.

Richard Libertini has passed away, at the age of 82, after a two year battle with cancer. I knew him from House of Frankenstein (1997). I may have been one of the few that liked that film.

David Margulies has passed away at the age of 78, after a long illness. He will be best known to Ghostbusters fans as Mayor Lenny.

Alan Rickman has passed away at the age of 69, after a battle with cancer. May he rest in peace. I loved him whenever I spotted him in a film. Or, in the case of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (2005), heard his voice. I loved him as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, even if I didn’t care for the rest of the film. I always meant to watch Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)—maybe now I will. I have never seen Die Hard or the Harry Potter films, because I’m not interested in action movies or Harry Potter.