British actor Kenneth Cope, a popular TV and film star in the 1960s and ’70s thanks to leading appearances in Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) and Coronation Street, has died. He was 93.
Cope’s former agent Sandra Chalmers, of The Artists Partnership, announced that he died at his home in the northern seaside town of Southport in Sefton, Liverpool, the area where he was born in 1931.
Renny Lister, Cope’s wife of 63 years, and family members, including actor daughter Martha Cope, were by his side. He is also survived by children Nick and Mark.
Chalmers said Cope was an “incredible icon of British TV & film.” Cope and Lister met in 1961 when they both joined the cast of long-running ITV soap Coronation Street. He played petty crook Jed Stone as a semi-regular through the early and mid-1960s. He later returned to the role after an absence of 42 years.
He honed his...
Cope’s former agent Sandra Chalmers, of The Artists Partnership, announced that he died at his home in the northern seaside town of Southport in Sefton, Liverpool, the area where he was born in 1931.
Renny Lister, Cope’s wife of 63 years, and family members, including actor daughter Martha Cope, were by his side. He is also survived by children Nick and Mark.
Chalmers said Cope was an “incredible icon of British TV & film.” Cope and Lister met in 1961 when they both joined the cast of long-running ITV soap Coronation Street. He played petty crook Jed Stone as a semi-regular through the early and mid-1960s. He later returned to the role after an absence of 42 years.
He honed his...
- 9/12/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film TV
ITV Studios America, New Republic Pictures and Cate Blanchett’s Dirty Films have teamed up to adapt The Champions, the 1960s British TV series from Dennis Spooner.
2x Oscar winner Blanchett will star alongside Primetime Emmy winner Ben Stiller, who is set to direct and produce the adaptation through his Red Hour Productions. The adaptation of The Champions is being set as a feature.
In The Champions, a plane carrying three Un agents crashes in the Himalayas. The agents aboard are rescued by an advanced civilization secretly living in Tibet who grant them enhanced intellectual and physical abilities. When the agents return to the outside world, they use their new superhuman powers to become Champions of Law, Order, and Justice.
The Champions was produced by Lew Grade’s Itc Entertainment and aired 30 episodes in the UK on ITV from 1968-69. NBC aired the series in the summer of 1968. Episodes were...
2x Oscar winner Blanchett will star alongside Primetime Emmy winner Ben Stiller, who is set to direct and produce the adaptation through his Red Hour Productions. The adaptation of The Champions is being set as a feature.
In The Champions, a plane carrying three Un agents crashes in the Himalayas. The agents aboard are rescued by an advanced civilization secretly living in Tibet who grant them enhanced intellectual and physical abilities. When the agents return to the outside world, they use their new superhuman powers to become Champions of Law, Order, and Justice.
The Champions was produced by Lew Grade’s Itc Entertainment and aired 30 episodes in the UK on ITV from 1968-69. NBC aired the series in the summer of 1968. Episodes were...
- 11/11/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film TV
The man with eyebrows that can kill! Not really, but that’s the impression given by the poster illustration. The Baker/Berman producing team gave their Hammer/Terence Fisher imitation a decent production — good color, autopsy-grade gore, female victims in low-cut gowns — but neither Jimmy Sangster’s script nor the flat direction bring it to life. Donald Wolfit is the resurrected mad doctor stealing transfusion blood and committing murders with the help of his deformed servant Victor Maddern but the highlight is the strong performance from favorite scream queen Barbara Shelley. Artus’ fancy special edition Blu is Region A friendly, although the DVD is Pal and all the extras are French-only.
Blood of the Vampire
Blu-ray DVD
Artus Films
1958 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 87 min. / Le Sang du Vampire / Street Date April 6, 2021 / Available from Amazon.fr / 29.99 €
Starring: Donald Wolfit, Vincent Ball, Barbara Shelley, Victor Maddern, William Devlin, Andrew Faulds, John Le Mesurier, Bryan Coleman,...
Blood of the Vampire
Blu-ray DVD
Artus Films
1958 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 87 min. / Le Sang du Vampire / Street Date April 6, 2021 / Available from Amazon.fr / 29.99 €
Starring: Donald Wolfit, Vincent Ball, Barbara Shelley, Victor Maddern, William Devlin, Andrew Faulds, John Le Mesurier, Bryan Coleman,...
- 5/25/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The Flesh and the Fiends
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1960 /95 min.
Starring Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence, George Rose, Billie Whitelaw
Cinematography by Monty Berman
Directed by John Gilling
The Flesh and the Fiends lives up to its name and then some. The setting is Scotland but the squalid streets and charnel houses suggest Dickens’ London at its bleakest. Everything is for sale here, the fleshy whores of the cathouses and the fiends who haunt them. On the other side of the tracks lives Robert Knox, a respected anatomist at Edinburgh University who pays for his flesh too – the bodies necessary for his livelihood are in scarce supply and grave robbers William Burke and William Hare are ready to deliver.
Venerated by his students while castigated by old guard medicos, the forward-thinking Knox is a formidable presence at the podium with only one thing to mar his handsome profile, a blind eye.
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1960 /95 min.
Starring Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence, George Rose, Billie Whitelaw
Cinematography by Monty Berman
Directed by John Gilling
The Flesh and the Fiends lives up to its name and then some. The setting is Scotland but the squalid streets and charnel houses suggest Dickens’ London at its bleakest. Everything is for sale here, the fleshy whores of the cathouses and the fiends who haunt them. On the other side of the tracks lives Robert Knox, a respected anatomist at Edinburgh University who pays for his flesh too – the bodies necessary for his livelihood are in scarce supply and grave robbers William Burke and William Hare are ready to deliver.
Venerated by his students while castigated by old guard medicos, the forward-thinking Knox is a formidable presence at the podium with only one thing to mar his handsome profile, a blind eye.
- 7/14/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Saucy Jack has long been meat for the horror mill; my first experience with him was Time after Time (1979), where he time traveled to the future and found he was just another serial killer. But in 1888 he was the first, logging around five prostitutes in the Whitechapel area of London; big numbers for the day and the fact that the case was never solved has turned the Ripper’s exploits into its own cottage industry. As for Jack’s indelible horror image, that starts proper with Jack the Ripper (1959), an effective and grisly independent British shocker brought back to life in a cracking new Blu-ray release from Severin Films.
Released in the U.K. in May of ’58 by Regal Films International, Jack the Ripper was picked up by producer Joseph E. Levine (Magic) and distributed by Paramount stateside in early ’59; some alterations were made for the U.S. release, including...
Released in the U.K. in May of ’58 by Regal Films International, Jack the Ripper was picked up by producer Joseph E. Levine (Magic) and distributed by Paramount stateside in early ’59; some alterations were made for the U.S. release, including...
- 2/6/2019
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Jack the Ripper
Blu ray
Severin Films
1959 / 1.33:1 – 1:66:1 / 84 Min. / Street Date – January 29, 2019
Starring Lee Patterson, Eddie Byrne
Cinematography by Robert Baker, Monty Berman
Directed by Robert Baker, Monty Berman
Jack the Ripper arrived in America with the kind of fanfare usually reserved for visiting royalty. Thanks to Joseph E. Levine’s million dollar promotional blitz the British shocker rode a wave of irresistible ballyhoo including a soundtrack LP and a typically salacious Monarch paperback that promised a walk on the wild side for adventurous ticket buyers.
Jack was the talk of the schoolyard but once the movie hit theaters it disappeared as quickly as its namesake. Since 1960 the elusive thriller has dipped in and out of sight like the Loch Ness monster until recently surfacing on a new Blu ray from Severin Films – viewers can be forgiven for thinking it should have stayed at the bottom of the lake.
Blu ray
Severin Films
1959 / 1.33:1 – 1:66:1 / 84 Min. / Street Date – January 29, 2019
Starring Lee Patterson, Eddie Byrne
Cinematography by Robert Baker, Monty Berman
Directed by Robert Baker, Monty Berman
Jack the Ripper arrived in America with the kind of fanfare usually reserved for visiting royalty. Thanks to Joseph E. Levine’s million dollar promotional blitz the British shocker rode a wave of irresistible ballyhoo including a soundtrack LP and a typically salacious Monarch paperback that promised a walk on the wild side for adventurous ticket buyers.
Jack was the talk of the schoolyard but once the movie hit theaters it disappeared as quickly as its namesake. Since 1960 the elusive thriller has dipped in and out of sight like the Loch Ness monster until recently surfacing on a new Blu ray from Severin Films – viewers can be forgiven for thinking it should have stayed at the bottom of the lake.
- 2/2/2019
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Cinematography festival to present retrospective on the innovative British film-making duo, attended by Oscar-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker.
Camerimage (Nov 15-22) is to host a special retrospective around the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
The film festival that celebrates cinematography, held in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, will be attended by Powell’s wife and three-time Oscar-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker as well as film scholars and Powell-Pressburger experts Erich Sargeant and Ian Christie.
Films of the due set to be screened at Camerimage include:
The Edge Of The World; 1937; cin. Monty Berman, Skeets Kelly, Ernest Palmer
One Of Our Aircraft Is Missing; 1942; cin. Ronald Neame
The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp; 1943; cin. Georges Périnal
A Canterbury Tale; 1944; cin. Erwin Hillier
‘I Know Where I’m Going!’; 1945; cin. Erwin Hillier
A Matter Of Life And Death; 1946; cin. Jack Cardiff
Black Narcissus; 1947; cin. Jack Cardiff
The Red Shoes; 1948; cin. Jack Cardiff
[link...
Camerimage (Nov 15-22) is to host a special retrospective around the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
The film festival that celebrates cinematography, held in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz, will be attended by Powell’s wife and three-time Oscar-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker as well as film scholars and Powell-Pressburger experts Erich Sargeant and Ian Christie.
Films of the due set to be screened at Camerimage include:
The Edge Of The World; 1937; cin. Monty Berman, Skeets Kelly, Ernest Palmer
One Of Our Aircraft Is Missing; 1942; cin. Ronald Neame
The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp; 1943; cin. Georges Périnal
A Canterbury Tale; 1944; cin. Erwin Hillier
‘I Know Where I’m Going!’; 1945; cin. Erwin Hillier
A Matter Of Life And Death; 1946; cin. Jack Cardiff
Black Narcissus; 1947; cin. Jack Cardiff
The Red Shoes; 1948; cin. Jack Cardiff
[link...
- 10/3/2014
- by [email protected] (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Screenwriter behind Hammer films such as Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein
In 1957, Hammer Films revived gothic horror – in abeyance in a decade that offered nuclear or cosmic horrors which made the classic monsters seem tame – with The Curse of Frankenstein, directed by Terence Fisher and starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. To hear him tell it, Jimmy Sangster, who has died aged 83, wrote the script because no one else would, and simply typed it out and turned it in.
Yet Sangster came up with a new story – owing as little to Mary Shelley's novel as to James Whale's earlier film – and a radical depiction of Frankenstein as a determined, charming yet corrupt dandy who could still chill in an era of nuclear proliferation. Sexually amoral (he uses his monster to murder the maid he has impregnated), rigidly dividing his life (making a bloody hash in the laboratory...
In 1957, Hammer Films revived gothic horror – in abeyance in a decade that offered nuclear or cosmic horrors which made the classic monsters seem tame – with The Curse of Frankenstein, directed by Terence Fisher and starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. To hear him tell it, Jimmy Sangster, who has died aged 83, wrote the script because no one else would, and simply typed it out and turned it in.
Yet Sangster came up with a new story – owing as little to Mary Shelley's novel as to James Whale's earlier film – and a radical depiction of Frankenstein as a determined, charming yet corrupt dandy who could still chill in an era of nuclear proliferation. Sexually amoral (he uses his monster to murder the maid he has impregnated), rigidly dividing his life (making a bloody hash in the laboratory...
- 8/21/2011
- by Kim Newman
- The Guardian - Film News
Writers Jane Espenson and Drew Z. Greenberg ("Buffy The Vampire Slayer") will write the Syfy/ITV Studios’ pilot-in-development "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)", adapting the 1960's Brit TV series for Us audiences.
Executive producer is Howard Braunstein ("The Memory Keeper's Daughter").
The original detective series, created by Dennis Spooner for producer Monty Berman, starred Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as 'Jeff Randall' and 'Marty Hopkirk'.
In the initial episode Hopkirk was killed in the line of duty, but returned as a ghost that only Randall was able to see or hear to help his former partner fight crime from beyond the grave.
Creator Spooner, inspired by the film "Topper", had a keen interest in the paranormal and ghostly phenomena which he believed would be an inspired idea for a television series, incorporating it with the characteristic crime, drama and action of other successful UK TV fare at the time,...
Executive producer is Howard Braunstein ("The Memory Keeper's Daughter").
The original detective series, created by Dennis Spooner for producer Monty Berman, starred Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as 'Jeff Randall' and 'Marty Hopkirk'.
In the initial episode Hopkirk was killed in the line of duty, but returned as a ghost that only Randall was able to see or hear to help his former partner fight crime from beyond the grave.
Creator Spooner, inspired by the film "Topper", had a keen interest in the paranormal and ghostly phenomena which he believed would be an inspired idea for a television series, incorporating it with the characteristic crime, drama and action of other successful UK TV fare at the time,...
- 1/14/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Syfy will develop an update of the 1960's UK 'ghost' TV series "Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)", with ITV Studios, ordering a pilot based on a teleplay by Josh Bycel ("Scrubs") and Jonathan Fener ("American Dad").
Executive producer is Jaffe/Braunstein Entertainment's Howard Braunstein ("The Memory Keeper's Daughter").
The original private detective series, starring actors Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as 'Jeff Randall' and 'Marty Hopkirk', was created by Dennis Spooner for producer Monty Berman.
In the initial episode Hopkirk was killed in the line of duty, but returned as a ghost that only Randall was able to see or hear to help his former partner fight crime from beyond the grave.
Creator Spooner, inspired by the film "Topper", had a keen interest in the paranormal and ghostly phenomena which he believed would be an inspired idea for a television series, incorporating it with the characteristic crime, drama and...
Executive producer is Jaffe/Braunstein Entertainment's Howard Braunstein ("The Memory Keeper's Daughter").
The original private detective series, starring actors Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as 'Jeff Randall' and 'Marty Hopkirk', was created by Dennis Spooner for producer Monty Berman.
In the initial episode Hopkirk was killed in the line of duty, but returned as a ghost that only Randall was able to see or hear to help his former partner fight crime from beyond the grave.
Creator Spooner, inspired by the film "Topper", had a keen interest in the paranormal and ghostly phenomena which he believed would be an inspired idea for a television series, incorporating it with the characteristic crime, drama and...
- 5/10/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Robert S. Baker and Roger Moore on the set of The Persuaders
On September 30, producer Robert S. Baker passed away at age 92. Baker had a long history of feature film production credits, mostly on B movies in his early years. However, he was a major force in British television in the 1960s. It was Baker who managed to bring both
The Saint and The Persuaders to the air. He became Roger Moore's producing partner and the two made the 1969 adventure film Crossplot together. He also served as executive producer on the short-lived, but excellent British series The Baron.
In an E mail to Cinema Retro, legendary Hammer horror writer and director Jimmy Sangster wrote:
"I first met Bob Baker when he and his partner , Monty Berman,asked me to write Blood of the Vampire. Later I went on to write four or five other scripts for them. He was an extremely good producer and director,...
On September 30, producer Robert S. Baker passed away at age 92. Baker had a long history of feature film production credits, mostly on B movies in his early years. However, he was a major force in British television in the 1960s. It was Baker who managed to bring both
The Saint and The Persuaders to the air. He became Roger Moore's producing partner and the two made the 1969 adventure film Crossplot together. He also served as executive producer on the short-lived, but excellent British series The Baron.
In an E mail to Cinema Retro, legendary Hammer horror writer and director Jimmy Sangster wrote:
"I first met Bob Baker when he and his partner , Monty Berman,asked me to write Blood of the Vampire. Later I went on to write four or five other scripts for them. He was an extremely good producer and director,...
- 11/9/2009
- by [email protected] (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
British film producer Robert S. Baker teamed with Monte Berman to produce, and occasionally direct, a handful of Gothic horror and science fiction films in the late 1950s. The duo produced the classic 1958 terror tale Blood of the Vampire (1958) starring Sir Donald Wolfit, and the cult sci-fi thriller The Crawling Eye (aka The Trollenberg Terror) (1958) starring Forrest Tucker. They produced and directed the 1959 gruesome recounting of Jack the Ripper (1959), and told the tale of the bodysnatching team of Burke and Hare in 1960’s The Flesh and the Fiends (aka Mania, The Fiendish Ghouls) starring Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence. They also produced the period thriller The Hellfire Club (1961) and the horror comedy No Place Like Homicide! (aka What a Carve Up!) (1961).
Baker was born in London on October 27, 1916. He served in the Royal Artillery in North Africa during World War II, before being transferred to the Army Film and Photographic Unit.
Baker was born in London on October 27, 1916. He served in the Royal Artillery in North Africa during World War II, before being transferred to the Army Film and Photographic Unit.
- 11/6/2009
- by Harris Lentz
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
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