Forget Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee! There was one actor who truly epitomised classic Hammer horror, and that was the irreplaceable Michael Ripper. With a whopping 23 films to his name, he was to Hammer what Desmond Llewellyn was to James Bond.
Michael Ripper was born in Portsmouth on 27 January 1913. His father Harold was a civil servant who ran a local amateur dramatic company and taught elocution and speech therapy, his mother Edith worked as a teacher. Ripper had a very unhappy Victorian childhood; his dominant father was very much a stern disciplinarian.
A pupil of Portsmouth Grammar School, which he hated, Ripper was more or less pushed into acting by his father, who entered him in various poetry competitions. A close family friend and regular visitor to their Southsea home was the brilliant comic actor Alastair Sim.
Though he initially Ripper never wanted to be an actor, Ripper was eventually...
Michael Ripper was born in Portsmouth on 27 January 1913. His father Harold was a civil servant who ran a local amateur dramatic company and taught elocution and speech therapy, his mother Edith worked as a teacher. Ripper had a very unhappy Victorian childhood; his dominant father was very much a stern disciplinarian.
A pupil of Portsmouth Grammar School, which he hated, Ripper was more or less pushed into acting by his father, who entered him in various poetry competitions. A close family friend and regular visitor to their Southsea home was the brilliant comic actor Alastair Sim.
Though he initially Ripper never wanted to be an actor, Ripper was eventually...
- 2/2/2011
- Shadowlocked
I don’t know how I missed this outlandishly cool trailer, dear readers, but I did, and I wholeheartedly apologize. Cult director Jim Groom (“The Revenge of Billy the Kid”, “Room 36″) is back in the proverbial saddle with “Zombie God Squad”, a supposed zombie/comedy about a group of undead Salvation Army members who return from the grave to get revenge on the unscrupulous producer who had them murdered. The premise itself has sold me on the project, as I’m a sucker for any motion picture that involves zombies, religion, and/or sleazy producers who are dedicated to corrupting today’s youth. I’m a classy guy like that. The trailer embedded below arrives courtesy of Latemag, which posted the tantalizing clip a few months back. Again, my bad. Check out the official “Zombie God Squad” website by clicking here.
- 9/2/2010
- by Todd Rigney
- Beyond Hollywood
Wow, where did this come from? Jim Groom, who did Revenge of Billy the Kid said in an interview with FutureMovies this probably wouldn't be the next film, but then a teaser just popped up a couple of days ago.
This is what he had to say to FutureMovies:
"It was written for Troma almost straight after we had completed Billy The Kid. When it finally gets made you’ll see in the film our homage to Troma in a variety of ways. Our inspiration for Zombie God Squad came from the film Psychomania in which a motorcycle gang discover that they can achieve immortality by the act of suicide just so long as they firmly believe it. In our film, members of the Salvation Army become victims of a murderous motorcycle gang and it is they who achieve immortality and go on a holy clean up mission for God,...
This is what he had to say to FutureMovies:
"It was written for Troma almost straight after we had completed Billy The Kid. When it finally gets made you’ll see in the film our homage to Troma in a variety of ways. Our inspiration for Zombie God Squad came from the film Psychomania in which a motorcycle gang discover that they can achieve immortality by the act of suicide just so long as they firmly believe it. In our film, members of the Salvation Army become victims of a murderous motorcycle gang and it is they who achieve immortality and go on a holy clean up mission for God,...
- 4/12/2010
- QuietEarth.us
What must be a couple of years back now, Jim Groom (Revenge Of Billy The Kid, Room 36) mentioned he had a project in the works called Zombie God Squad. At the time he was finally bringing cult noir comedy Room 36 to the big screen after a serious of unfortunate events and disasters saw it languish for more than a decade. Since then Room 36 was released on DVD and then out of the blue this little teaser pops up.
www.ivorytowerent.com
Leigh...
www.ivorytowerent.com
Leigh...
- 4/11/2010
- by Leigh
- Latemag.com/film
When writer-director Jim Groom conceived the idea for an unrelated follow-up project to his underrated 1992 comedy-horror, Revenge of Billy the Kid, little could he have predicted the series of unfortunate events that would set the project back a testing 11 years. But persistence and unfaltering willpower paid off as, with several years now elapsed since Room 36's inception and 2005 theatrical release, this labour of love has finally seen the light of its DVD release day.
In addition to the smart Brit comedy/noir thriller feature that pitches a chain of unsavoury events in a suitably seedy setting, the DVD comes fully equipped with bonus features that will delight wannabe-filmmakers and those with an interest in the machinations of the industry. On top of trailers and deleted scenes, you'll find a 9-minute featurette on the gross-out, bestiality comedy film extraordinaire, Revenge of Billy the Kid and a feature-length documentary, 11 Years in the Making,...
In addition to the smart Brit comedy/noir thriller feature that pitches a chain of unsavoury events in a suitably seedy setting, the DVD comes fully equipped with bonus features that will delight wannabe-filmmakers and those with an interest in the machinations of the industry. On top of trailers and deleted scenes, you'll find a 9-minute featurette on the gross-out, bestiality comedy film extraordinaire, Revenge of Billy the Kid and a feature-length documentary, 11 Years in the Making,...
- 1/29/2010
- by Fiona
- Latemag.com/film
Legendary UK TV film critic Barry Norman looks at the making of two early 90's Low budget UK horror movies. Jim Grooms 1992 cult horror-comedy Revenge of Billy the Kid and Cult director Richard Stanley's horror / sci-fi Hardware.
This segment is taken from the BBC's long running film show Film '90 (now obviously Film 2008). Barry Norman presented the show for 25 years starting in 1972 up until he left and in 1999 and was replaced by current host Jonathan Ross.
Though Hardware was slated as a Terminator rip off by some at the time it made a profit and Richard Stanley went on to make another film with a cult following the Namibian serial killer movie Dust Devil in 1993. DVD label put out a remasterd directors cut of Dust Devil in 2006 which you can still pick up from Amazon. However his career stalled when he was thrown off the set of the 1996 production of The Island of Dr.
This segment is taken from the BBC's long running film show Film '90 (now obviously Film 2008). Barry Norman presented the show for 25 years starting in 1972 up until he left and in 1999 and was replaced by current host Jonathan Ross.
Though Hardware was slated as a Terminator rip off by some at the time it made a profit and Richard Stanley went on to make another film with a cult following the Namibian serial killer movie Dust Devil in 1993. DVD label put out a remasterd directors cut of Dust Devil in 2006 which you can still pick up from Amazon. However his career stalled when he was thrown off the set of the 1996 production of The Island of Dr.
- 10/22/2008
- by Leigh
- Latemag.com/film
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