During the 1950s, Peter Cushing had done a few American productions overseas, such as MAGIC FIRE, ALEXANDER THE GREAT, and JOHN PAUL JONES, but the first film he actually shot in the US since 1941s Hollywood finale THEY DARE NOT LOVE was SHOCK WAVES, shooting title DEATH CORPS, a low budget feature made on location in Miami and Key Biscayne, Florida. Completed in June-July 1975, nearly a year since his previous effort LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF, a clear sign that roles in British films were growing increasingly scarce. The cast was comprised of mostly unknown players (lovely Brooke Adams star was on the rise), except for the always welcome presence of the venerable John Carradine, no stranger to low budget horrors himself, like Cushing contracted to work four days, but long gone by the time Cushing arrived on the set. Carradines crusty old sea captain carries the picture in its earliest stages, his crew and passengers mystified by strange occurrences which even the experienced seaman himself can offer no proper explanation. Buried dormant beneath the water is the ship of a vessel sunk during the dying days of WW2, containing an army of Nazi soldiers, neither dead nor alive, capable of surviving underwater but not indestructible, being vulnerable to sunlight. After all these years, they have finally risen to the surface, their only instinct to kill, even their former SS Commander (Cushing) living on the nearby isle unable to stop them. Carradine exits the film 8 minutes before Cushing makes his entrance at the 32 minute mark, the lone occupant of a long dilapidated hotel, the only building on the tiny island, his quarters still adorned in Nazi paraphernalia, his face marked by a huge scar down his entire right cheek, courtesy of makeup artist and actor Alan Ormsby (CHILDREN SHOULDNT PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS). His character was even nicknamed Scar during production, but never referred to by name in the film, top billed only as SS Commander (eleven 1/2 minutes screen time). Utilizing the German accent taught to him by Helen, it is indeed his voice we first hear, advising his unwelcome guests to leave quickly, but when they dont he provides the background on the danger they all face, concerning the most vicious and bloodthirsty of all the SS divisions, designed for the water, to man submarines that would never have to surface. Having explained as much as his curt commander is willing to do, he promptly demands that if they fail to remove themselves from his environment, he will not hesitate to shoot them on sight. All of his attempts to communicate with the Death Corps by shouting out German commands fail completely; the coming onslaught cannot be prevented. With his tattered clothes and facial scar, its certainly a new look for Cushing, one of his last roles of any substance. The two long time veterans, Peter Cushing and John Carradine, each in their fifth decade on screen, provide much needed stature to a horror film that proved worthy of their efforts, although they never met during filming (they would meet on their next collaboration, 1982s HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS).
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 15:21:50 +0000