Christopher Lee Remembered

Fuck

This is what everyone had to wake up to; a living legend no longer among the living.  Yet my own personal feelings of sadness override the thought that Sir Christopher Lee will always be with us through his various works.  It’s strange to be connected with an actor in such a way, through the medium of his films that we feel like we are personally involved with his life, despite never even meeting him.  Many fans never got to meet Lee but that doesn’t do much to stop the sadness.  If there is any kind of solace to be had it’s in the fact that we never really knew the real Christopher Lee.  That privilege was granted to a select few; his wife, his daughter, friends, family, and numerous work colleagues.  The Lee we all know and love is immortalized in the films we’ve watched countless times.  Whether it be a crude monster created in a laboratory, or a vampire deadset on killing Peter Cushing, these films are timeless and harken back to a time where an actor’s success wasn’t dictated by their youth or physical appearance, but on their experience, imagination, and instincts.  Lee knew exactly what he was.  Having openly admitted that acting school can only teach you so much, his mannerisms and acting style was entirely his own.  In a sort of steadfast confidence, Lee absolutely stole the show in every film he was ever in.  Stillness.  That was a trademark of the Lee brand.  “Never move unless absolutely necessary”.  Peter Cushing would have a slightly different philosophy.

It’s scary every time

I sort of took Lee for granted, honestly.  I grew up with his films and figured as long as he kept making them, he’d live forever.  I remember the first time I became aware of him as an actor.  My mom had taken me to see the film Sleepy Hollow and at some point later she told me, “you know the actor who played the burgomaster?  That’s Christopher Lee, the guy who played Dracula in all those old Hammer films.”

I didn’t believe her.

Back then I had no IMDB to check the facts but sure enough, Horror of Dracula came on one Saturday morning after a stellar Mystery Science Theater 3000.  His name shown bright red on the credits, not to mention his colossal silhouette at the top of the staircase in the count’s Technicolor debut.  Though he had only about 9 lines of dialog throughout his debut as King of the Undead (and zero in the follow-up), Lee cemented himself, next to Lugosi, as the archetype for Dracula; something that would be used as template, but never quite recaptured, in the countless revisions of the famous vampire tale.

Halloween costume goals

I’d like to briefly identify three specific films Lee made while with Hammer Film Productions.  Of course, many associate the actors longevity with the company with playing the Dracula character but these films, I find, better illustrate Lee’s acting talents and overall charisma.

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

Made a year after his debut as the Count, The Hound of the Baskervilles was a Sherlock Holmes tale that was given a healthy dose of gothic, fermented in melodrama, and left dripping with mood.  Opposite good friend Peter Cushing who played Holmes, Lee, while not necessarily playing a bad guy, still manages to get under the audiences skin.  Lee had a disdain for playing the hero as he found it rather boring.  His character in this film, Sir Henry Baskerville, was weak, rude, and arrogant, something Lee pulled off effortlessly.  We are first introduced to his character when Holmes and Watson (played by Andre Morell) meet Sir Henry at his hotel in London.  He immediately mistakes them for the managers of the hotel and demand to know where his missing boot is (talk about getting off on the wrong foot).  After making his round of apologizes, Sir Henry falls in love with a poor farm girl who lives close to his newly acquired residence at Baskerville Hall.  But the jokes on him when he finds out she’s his cousin!  Oh, and also she wants to kill him.  Overall, a healthy amount of dialogue and screen time feel refreshing when compared to his time as the Count.  I think I’ve watched this film over 200 times as it was on every day on Showtime during my senior year.  The routine never got old: come home for lunch, watch The Hound, go back to school, come home, watch it again.  You really can’t get sick of this movie.

You handsome bastard

The Gorgon (1964)

Want to see Lee play the lead role which was most likely written for Cushing?  Then watch this fairytale-like horror film where Hammer borrows from Greek mythology to try and create their own monster.  Up until this time, Hammer relied on retellings of the Universal monsters, with much success, but had failed to come up with their own signature creature.  While there were notable attempts (the Reptile, maybe even Rasputin), I’ve found The Gorgon to be the most original.  The story isn’t too crazy: little off-the-beaten-path village has people turning to stone and no one wants to talk about why cause the villagers all live in fear of a snake headed lady spirit.  You know…that old chestnut.  Lee plays Professor Meinster, a somewhat dashing college professor who decides to help out his TA by going to Vandorf to solve the mystery of these murders.  Cushing plays the villain and seems to have adopted Lee’s trademark stillness in the process.  Lee, while now a good guy, still manages to inject a bit of intolerance into the character.  While being a lesser known film, it still stands as one of Hammers best and a film lovers treat as we watch Lee and Cushing trying to out act each other.

“Give me your lunch money, Peter”

The Devil Rides Out (1968)

Also known as the Devil’s Bride, because American’s might have thought it was a Western, The Devil Rides Out is widely thought of as one of the last classics Hammer ever put out.  Lee plays the Duc de Richleau (Nicholas) and with friend Rex Van Ryn (Leon Greene) they try to pull their friend Simon from the clutches of Mocata (Charles Gray), whom has tempted Simon into the dangerous world of black magic.  Lee is confident as hell in this one.  He knows exactly what he’s doing and has a no-nonsense approach to combating the forces of evil.  The film itself, which I enjoy thoroughly, has its ups and downs.  One moment the special effects could really wow you, while others seem simply mundane and ill thought out.  The same can be said about the pace of the film.  One thing I really do like about it, which deviates from others in the Hammer canon, is the film jumps into the action almost as soon as the opening credits are run through.  The music, per Hammer regular Bernard Robinson, is superbly sinister.  If the extremely religious undertones of the film don’t put you off, this film is a great break from the monsters and vampires we are used to seeing with Hammer, and sends us down a darker sort of path.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

So what are you waiting for?  Grab your favorite red wine, get your favorite horror buffs together, and spend a quality night with Mr. Lee.  And while reciting every line and recounting fun facts for all your friends, try to imagine Lee and Cushing reenacting these films in heaven.  Okay, that was lame…just keep watching the films, dammit, and never stop.  If we do, the Count can never truly die.  RIP big guy.