The Horror Guys Guide to the Horror Films of Peter Cushing

“Who wants to see me as Hamlet? Very few. But millions want to see me as Frankenstein so that's the one I do.” 

He’s Been Dr. Frankenstein, Grand Moff Tarkin, Van Helsing, Doctor Who, and Sherlock Holmes. He’s fought Dracula, werewolves, ghouls, gorgons, Nazi zombies, upstart rebels, ancient mummies, skulls, aliens, and even the abominable snowman. 

With a range from cold, calculating malevolence to kindly grandpa, Peter Cushing enthralled horror (and non-horror) fans for decades. With a humble start with Laurel and Hardy in Hollywood, to a low point where he couldn’t get anything but BBC Radio roles, Cushing always knew he was made for acting. Still, it wasn’t until Hammer Films decided to remake “Frankenstein” that Cushing’s star really began to rise. 

Starring in dozens of chilling films from Hammer and Amicus, he soon became one of the great icons of horror. Toward the end of his career, he took a role as Tarkin in “Star Wars,” which popularized him with an entirely new generation of fans that couldn’t get enough of his earlier work. We’re here to look at his horror films. *All* of them.  

This is not a Peter Cushing biography. What the book does do is go through each and every one of Cushing’s horror films, going through a *complete* synopsis, including spoilers and commentary. We’ll look at Cushing’s array of characters shift from the evilest incarnation of Dr. Frankenstein to lovable old benefactors. We’ll look at fifty horror films and eight important non-horror films that are significant in Cushing’s career. 

“People look at me as if I were some sort of monster, but I can't think why. In my macabre pictures, I have either been a monster-maker or a monster-destroyer, but never a monster. Actually, I'm a gentle fellow. Never harmed a fly. I love animals, and when I'm in the country I'm a keen bird-watcher.” – Peter Cushing, 1964