By Chris Summerfield
I just wanted to write a little tribute to one of Britain’s greatest horror icons and an outstanding actor in my eyes. The man has acted in over 200 movies, played alongside many of the greatest actors… yes this is my little tribute to Sir Christopher Lee.
Christopher was born in London, 1922, and served for his country during the second world war and after the war, went on to chase his dream yet again as an actor, in which had been sidelined due to family commitments and after ten years of struggling to find work, only ever having various roles and being told he was too tall and foreign looking to make it major in the movies. Mr. Lee’s break came with a little company named “Hammer Productions,” which were becoming ambitious, reinventing the Hollywood monster movies, making them in techno colour and not afraid to splash the blood around. So therefore Mr. Lee was hired to play most of the monsters, and of course was well known for playing Dracula, being one of the first to wear fangs, and not afraid to dig them in to women’s necks on countless occasions, turning Dracula in to a charming, sexual predator. He also played the part as Dr. Frankenstein’s monster in “The curse of Frankenstein,” as well as playing, “The Mummy” in another Hammer remake.
However, Mr. Lee was more than just Dracula or another monster. Yes, he performed in many movies and genres though staying with horror/thriller genre he was in, “The two faces of Dr Jekyll,” as Paul Allen, a true ladies man and gambler, and in a gripping thriller “Taste of Fear, he played Doctor Pierre Gerard. And in the movie, “The Gorgon” starred as Professor Meister. The Duc de Richleau in, “The Devil Rides Out…”
These are just a few to mention in which he acted in with Hammer Productions, though he made many other movies for various other companies such as, Amicus Productions, In one particular movie “The Skull” he was the wealthy collector of rarities, Mathew Philips, playing opposite his friend Peter Cushing in which he had played opposite in many movies especially some of the ones mentioned. He also starred as James, whom runs a mental institution in the outstanding movie titled, “The Creeping Flesh,” dealing with madness and also starring his close friend, Peter Cushing. And there are many other movies he has acted in, far too many to mention, though here is just a few more… “The Wicker Man” “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith,” and let’s not forget he played, Saruman in the “Lord of the Rings.” Christopher Lee quoting, “He is the only living actor from the movie trilogy, Lord of the Rings to have actually met, JRR Tolkien in person.”
So from this Christopher, to the great, Sir Christopher, Scared Stiff Reviews acknowledges you as one of the greats in horror, long live Sir Christopher Lee.
