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Post by filthysteve on Oct 22, 2014 15:18:34 GMT
Quick hello to anyone who remembers me, Steve G (erstwhile Vault-haunter, Filthmonger and uncommon name in the Black Book). I still recognised a few names who'd been in recently. I hope you're all doing okay all things considered. Just watched this 1974 documentary presented by Daniel Farson and thought, if anyone here hasn't seen it already, that there's a fair bit that may interest Vault types. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p027vs31/tuesday-documentary-the-dracula-businessI particularly enjoyed the visit to Lorrimer Press, and loved the Rumanian nun banging the plank of wood with a hammer (has anyone ever sampled that?) but there's lots of good stuff. Anyway, hope this helps. Steve |
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Post by franklinmarsh on Oct 22, 2014 21:04:09 GMT
Good to know you're out there, Steve.
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Post by pulphack on Oct 23, 2014 5:31:55 GMT
Thanks for the link. Echo FM's sentiments. Pop back a bit more if you can. Much missed and all that...
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Post by dem bones on Oct 23, 2014 7:54:34 GMT
Lovely to hear from you, mr. filthy. I hope you got to see the recent response to your review of The Fungus ... Bearing in mind the subject matter of Mr. Farson's Transplant, am wary of watching that documentary for fear of Drac Soc/ 'the creep' participation. |
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Post by franklinmarsh on Oct 23, 2014 8:16:14 GMT
Here, in 50 minutes as a gem of a programme that illustrated why anyone of a certain age and temperament would become a genre fan.
I first became aware of Daniel Farson via my horror loving pal at school, who leant me a slim paperback by Dan entitled Jack The Ripper, a retelling of the events of 1888, with a photo of a man in a top hat on the cover. Terrifying. His being related to Bram Stoker meant he’d usually be on the periphery of horror at least, and I was delighted when I found out he was part of the legendary Jeffrey Bernard/Francis Bacon Soho booze crew.
Plummy voiced Dan (indeed most people in this doc have plummy voices, apart from the proletarian Cockernee caretaker of Highgate Cemetery, railing against the H***g*te "Vampire"-inspired ghouls who were digging up graves, breaking into crypts, staking bodies etc – he had to call the Old Bill when 100 of ‘em turned up once) journeys to Castle Bran (which my Mrs visited on a school trip –huh! The best I got was Cheddar Gorge – and I even missed that ‘cos I was ill), and also Vlad Tsepes’ stamping ground.
He interviews two plummy voiced vicars involved in exorcisms (no mention of the Friedkin film which must have been having a big influence at this time, or was about to),some plummy-voiced members of the Dracula Society, visits an Occult/Sci-Fi bookshop (surely this is/was Dark They Were And Golden-Eyed? – where I went to get Cinefantastique – and National Lampoon) where he encounters an odd woman, apparently purchasing a copy of In Seach Of Dracula to deflect her violent thoughts directed at her husband – who’s just left her. Fantasy’s better than reality – she can’t really kill him because she’d end up in prison – God bless the British public – where are these people now?. Then off to Lorrimer Publishing where they’re putting together a vampire film orientated tome – no doubt The Seal Of Dracula – was one of those two moustachioed bores poring over a poster of Blacula none other than Barrie Pattison?
There’s a quick exterior shot of a cinema showing a double bill of The Satanic Rites Of Dracula and Blacula, some behind the scenes footage of Vampyres with Jose Larraz on the job as it were, and Anulka and Marianne Morris in all their undraped glory – how did the Beeb get away with this? I’d have imagined their switchboard would have blown up with calls from the entire membership of the NVALA.
Farson even drops in on Michael Carreras who waves the Sir Chris/Dracula LP cover at him “This is our latest, Dan!” and sombrely relates how real-life horror is taking over from Hammer’s world – I was urging him on to mention Straw Dogs, but Dan got in first with “Belfast?” to which Michael nodded sagely.
The whole thing was priceless. Gregory Pendennis loved it.
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Post by Dr Terror on Oct 23, 2014 11:03:37 GMT
Hey Steve,
Good to see you! Ditto what Pulps said.
Charlie
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Post by dem bones on Oct 23, 2014 16:37:23 GMT
The whole thing was priceless. Gregory Pendennis loved it. During the H******* Cem sequence, I half expected him to step out from behind a tombstone and bellow "To Hell With The Devil!" As it was, we were spoilt for star performers. The chain-smoking pathologist of Stoke-on-Trent, Mr. Law the cemetery superintendent ("vampires and all this bloody nonsense"), Britain's busiest exorcist the Rev. Neil-Smith, the Elizabeth Bathory wannabe in the bookshop and, of course, dapper Dan Farson himself ("You don't think they just had an extremely exciting sexual night somewhere?") who would recycle much of this material over The Hamlyn Book Of Horror, The Man Who Was Dracula, Transplant & Co.  The man who wrote Transplant (AKA the grandson of the man who wrote Dracula) The coroner enjoys a crafty drag Dark They Were And Golden Eyed ..... .... Dan approaches the sadistic divorcee The veteran cemetery superintendent, ever on his guard versus nude witches, "vampire"-hunters, body-snatchers and other publicity seekers  A typically enthralling Drac Soc get-together circa 1974 |
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Post by killercrab on Oct 26, 2014 2:36:31 GMT
Best thing I saw last week to do with the Gothic season. Loved visiting Lorrimer's offices and Dark They Were And Golden Eyed. It looked just like it did on my one and only visit. Got a bit bored with the exorcists bit which sort of took over the prog.
KC
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Post by sadako on Dec 24, 2023 16:45:24 GMT
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