Whilst
Peter Cushing is probably best remembered for his
performances in Hammer films as Van Helsing and Baron
Frankenstein, he also made his mark repeatedly as the
epitomy of English amateur detective work, Sherlock
Holmes.
Tony Earnshaw has written the first book to
concentrate solely on the actor's performances as the
great detective.
REVIEW
- IN DEPTH
presentation
They say that we make up our opinions of a book based
on its appearance, and cetainly recent volumes of
film criticism and history have either been bought or
ignored on the basis of their look. Tony's book then,
might let down the expectations of a certain portion
of the market. The book is more of a critical book
than a film fan book, and published by Scarecrow in
their Filmmakers series (a very good series
which has featured quite a few volumes on Hammer
films amongst its titles).
As such, its low on illustrations, high on text.
There are 16 pages in the middle of the book, of
black and white photograph reproductions. The
contrast of the ink is actually very good, much
better than most books in fact.
The text is of a fair appearance, and well presented.
The book is in a slim hardback with high quality
paper. The cover illustration can be seen on this
page (though the purple is much darker on the actual
dust jacket).
Appearances are fair, the real quality lies in the
writing and content.
text
The author tells us in his introduction that
this is only a small portion of the massive work he
hopes to develop, a biography of Peter Cushing. With
so many books written on the subject in recent years,
one begins to wonder how much more can be said. With
the very recent Peter Cushing Companion from Reynolds
and Hearn, the gap has been filled admirably for a
couple of years. And yet, An Actor and a
Rare One, by laying its emphasis firmly on the
one role, makes for a very intteresting and enjoyable
read.
Tony's
credentials as a capable writer are assured before
one opens the book, when one is aware of his work
with the Bradford Film Festival, Starburst, Hammer
Horror, BBC and more.
The
book is divided into three sections, the first gives
a comprehensive look at each of Peter's performances
as Sherlock Holmes. Through the comments and
recollections of Peter's collegues, Peter's own
writings, and Tony's incisive criticism, we begin to
appreciate much more than the importance that the
role held for Peter, but also the methods by which
Peter went about his work. How he lived the
performance.
Whilst never a method actor, there was method to his
acting. That Holmes was a character much loved by
Peter surely holds more importance than has
previously been stressed. Constantly we see Peter
making special efforts with the role, defying critics
and expectations to bring a performance lively and
vibrant, even in the eighties.
All
the performances are listed. The story behind Hammer's
Hound
of the Baskervilles, through the BBC tv series of
the sixties (and the problems it faced), and the
return at the age of 71 for Tyburn's production of The Masks of
Death.
Each
production has its history chronicled. Is synopsised,
and criticised (on a number of levels). Throughout
comments by others liven up the narrative. The
writing is hard to fault. For anyone not totally
familiar with Cushing's work with the character, it
is hard to put it down. Lightweight, and written in a
manner, which although arguably high-brow, is also
incredibly readable by the casual admirer.
Tony
proves that film criticism is not for academics. For
that reason alone, this book should be bought and
perused.
