1 00:00:02,181 --> 00:00:06,180 The following programme contains violent scenes, sexual references, 2 00:00:06,181 --> 00:00:08,741 and explores the theme of racism. 3 00:00:44,661 --> 00:00:48,460 Christopher Lee, tall, handsome, elegant. 4 00:00:48,461 --> 00:00:50,460 Very aristocratic. A little stiff. 5 00:00:50,461 --> 00:00:52,780 Slightly pompous. Imperious. 6 00:00:52,781 --> 00:00:54,780 Stilted, a little un-forthcoming. 7 00:00:54,781 --> 00:00:57,180 He was a powerful individual. 8 00:00:57,181 --> 00:00:59,620 Everyone will always remember him as Dracula 9 00:00:59,621 --> 00:01:01,620 because he was a powerful Dracula. 10 00:01:01,621 --> 00:01:05,740 Consistent aura around him, which was of a certain kind of dignity 11 00:01:05,741 --> 00:01:08,940 and a certain kind of scariness and a certain kind of... 12 00:01:08,941 --> 00:01:11,620 "Ooh, he must be scary to meet," kind of thing. 13 00:01:11,621 --> 00:01:15,380 People when they- sometimes they say, "You always play villains, 14 00:01:15,381 --> 00:01:17,420 you always play the bad guy," 15 00:01:17,421 --> 00:01:19,380 He said, "No, I play people. 16 00:01:19,381 --> 00:01:22,940 Good and evil is a state of mind. Depends on which side you are on." 17 00:01:22,941 --> 00:01:25,660 He was, I think, soft as putty. 18 00:01:25,661 --> 00:01:27,900 That's what's so interesting about monsters, 19 00:01:27,901 --> 00:01:30,220 that you gotta remember, people forget, 20 00:01:30,221 --> 00:01:32,981 but most monsters are victims. 21 00:01:35,261 --> 00:01:37,981 How do you do? I'm Christopher Lee. 22 00:01:40,541 --> 00:01:42,781 How do you do? I'm Christopher Lee. 23 00:01:43,421 --> 00:01:45,341 How do you do? I'm Christopher Lee. 24 00:01:45,821 --> 00:01:47,901 How do you do? I'm Christopher Lee. 25 00:01:49,181 --> 00:01:51,861 How do you do? I'm Christopher Lee. 26 00:01:52,741 --> 00:01:55,260 On the 7th of June in the year 2015, 27 00:01:55,261 --> 00:01:58,380 I passed away at the age of 93. 28 00:01:58,381 --> 00:02:01,540 To some, this might seem like a defining moment, 29 00:02:01,541 --> 00:02:03,820 but not me. Oh, no. 30 00:02:03,821 --> 00:02:07,061 By then I had become quite accustomed to dying. 31 00:02:07,861 --> 00:02:10,660 You might even have called it my stock-in-trade. 32 00:03:29,901 --> 00:03:33,700 'When I was born on the 27th of May, 1922, 33 00:03:33,701 --> 00:03:37,220 'I was a new chapter in the story of the Italian aristocratic 34 00:03:37,221 --> 00:03:39,180 'Carandini family.' 35 00:03:39,181 --> 00:03:43,660 'Records of the House of Carandini stretch back to the 12th century. 36 00:03:43,661 --> 00:03:47,300 'Here, you see our coat of arms awarded to us in the 15th century 37 00:03:47,301 --> 00:03:50,861 'by Frederick Barbarossa, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. 38 00:03:51,701 --> 00:03:55,340 'Our noble lineage could be traced directly back to Charlemagne. 39 00:03:55,341 --> 00:03:57,700 'But let's not dally with detail. 40 00:03:57,701 --> 00:04:00,340 'For as impressive a list of soldiers, governors, 41 00:04:00,341 --> 00:04:03,700 'senators, and clergymen the Carandini tree may offer up, 42 00:04:03,701 --> 00:04:07,381 'our time is short, and our subject is me. 43 00:04:08,541 --> 00:04:11,380 'Of this mighty family tree, at the time of my birth, 44 00:04:11,381 --> 00:04:15,060 'a sapling had been growing quite admirably in London, for some years. 45 00:04:15,061 --> 00:04:18,140 'My maternal grandfather was the Count Carandini 46 00:04:18,141 --> 00:04:20,220 'and my mother, his only child, 47 00:04:20,221 --> 00:04:23,741 'the Contessa Estelle Marie Carandini di Sarzano. 48 00:04:24,541 --> 00:04:26,420 'My mother was an Edwardian beauty 49 00:04:26,421 --> 00:04:29,340 'and in her youth, a muse to many. 50 00:04:29,341 --> 00:04:33,020 'She was painted, sketched, sculpted, and etched, 51 00:04:33,021 --> 00:04:35,621 'desired by many, but landed by one. 52 00:04:36,501 --> 00:04:39,940 'Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Lee of the King's Royal Rifle Corps, 53 00:04:39,941 --> 00:04:42,660 'a hero of the Boer War and the Great War, 54 00:04:42,661 --> 00:04:44,701 'survivor of the Somme.' 55 00:04:47,461 --> 00:04:50,140 Quite late on in life, I got a book called, "Il Carandini" 56 00:04:50,141 --> 00:04:53,540 and they looked like a lot of rogues... 57 00:04:53,541 --> 00:04:56,620 ...sort of the Mafia of their day. 58 00:04:56,621 --> 00:05:00,140 But you know, to get- the cynical view is that 59 00:05:00,141 --> 00:05:02,340 to keep a title for 700 years or something, 60 00:05:02,341 --> 00:05:05,300 you've got to have killed a lot of people. 61 00:05:05,301 --> 00:05:08,460 'I grew up in the shadow of achievement and nobility. 62 00:05:08,461 --> 00:05:11,620 'And as a child, wondered if I would be able to live up 63 00:05:11,621 --> 00:05:14,820 'to the remarkable lives of those who had preceded me. 64 00:05:14,821 --> 00:05:17,620 'I was, at heart, a wanderer. 65 00:05:17,621 --> 00:05:20,460 'As was my Papa who wandered away from us 66 00:05:20,461 --> 00:05:23,221 'when I was just four-years-old, never to return.' 67 00:05:24,541 --> 00:05:28,940 His mother was very strict, and he had a very uptight upbringing. 68 00:05:28,941 --> 00:05:34,300 You know? So, he was a bit naive in certain- in certain ways. 69 00:05:34,301 --> 00:05:38,140 There I am. I look like quite a normal boy, don't I? 70 00:05:38,141 --> 00:05:40,140 And in many ways I was. 71 00:05:40,141 --> 00:05:44,100 Equally anxious and arrogant, but my childhood was unique. 72 00:05:44,101 --> 00:05:48,260 We were sprung once more into high society when my mother remarried. 73 00:05:48,261 --> 00:05:52,300 My stepfather was a small but exceedingly strong man 74 00:05:52,301 --> 00:05:56,300 known as Ingle. He was a banker and bon viveur. 75 00:05:56,301 --> 00:06:00,140 'To celebrate their union, I was swiftly dispatched to boarding school 76 00:06:00,141 --> 00:06:03,980 'in the hope that they might whip me into shape to be accepted into Eton. 77 00:06:03,981 --> 00:06:06,940 'One could hardly describe me as a star student, 78 00:06:06,941 --> 00:06:09,941 'but the desire to please consumed and overwhelmed me. 79 00:06:10,941 --> 00:06:15,061 'So, it is perhaps no surprise that I was to end up on the school stage. 80 00:06:16,421 --> 00:06:19,860 'Mother, Ingle, and my sister Xandra made the journey 81 00:06:19,861 --> 00:06:23,061 'for the first night of the school production of Henry V. 82 00:06:23,901 --> 00:06:27,100 'And they all excitedly agreed that a bright future in acting 83 00:06:27,101 --> 00:06:30,341 'awaited the proud young boy playing the eponymous lead. 84 00:06:31,381 --> 00:06:34,180 'Sadly, that boy was not me. 85 00:06:34,181 --> 00:06:38,700 'But I loved the stage and I was an obstinate little so-and-so.' 86 00:06:38,701 --> 00:06:42,220 Perhaps my time would've been better spent on the study of mathematics, 87 00:06:42,221 --> 00:06:45,700 for it was that, along with a downturn in Ingle's finances 88 00:06:45,701 --> 00:06:48,340 which would lead me away from the path to Eton. 89 00:06:48,341 --> 00:06:52,141 Instead, at 14, I was enrolled in Wellington College. 90 00:06:53,221 --> 00:06:55,580 Wellington was a military establishment, 91 00:06:55,581 --> 00:06:59,300 and, I suppose much like the rest of the public schools of the day, 92 00:06:59,301 --> 00:07:01,740 but with the addition of endless polishing. 93 00:07:01,741 --> 00:07:04,941 The smell of Brasso haunts my nostrils still. 94 00:07:05,941 --> 00:07:09,140 If you've got some sensitivity and you've got a sort of, 95 00:07:09,141 --> 00:07:12,500 for want of a better word, an artistic soul, 96 00:07:12,501 --> 00:07:15,380 and you're pushed through the British public school system 97 00:07:15,381 --> 00:07:17,421 as a male... 98 00:07:18,221 --> 00:07:20,660 ...it can absolutely kill that. 99 00:07:20,661 --> 00:07:23,500 There's such a strong ethic in that schooling that, 100 00:07:23,501 --> 00:07:26,060 about what it is or is not to be a man. 101 00:07:26,061 --> 00:07:29,700 And I think right down in his heart, this is my intuition, 102 00:07:29,701 --> 00:07:32,180 there's absolutely nothing to bear this up, it's just... 103 00:07:32,181 --> 00:07:35,021 it's just sense. He was very feminine. 104 00:07:36,141 --> 00:07:38,900 And... very sensitive. 105 00:07:38,901 --> 00:07:42,900 And I feel that he didn't quite know how to express that side of him. 106 00:07:42,901 --> 00:07:45,500 'What awaited me as I aged out of Wellington, 107 00:07:45,501 --> 00:07:47,660 'was likely an Oxbridge education 108 00:07:47,661 --> 00:07:50,140 'followed by a career in international diplomacy. 109 00:07:50,141 --> 00:07:52,180 'I was practically bred for it. 110 00:07:52,181 --> 00:07:56,340 'By this stage, my French, German and Russian were already rather good. 111 00:07:56,341 --> 00:07:58,260 'But something happened. 112 00:07:58,261 --> 00:08:01,981 'Ingle went bust, bankrupt, to the sum of £25,000. 113 00:08:03,141 --> 00:08:05,820 'He left my mother and faded into the distance.' 114 00:08:05,821 --> 00:08:09,220 I never knew his father, my grandfather, 115 00:08:09,221 --> 00:08:11,660 and I never knew his step-father. 116 00:08:11,661 --> 00:08:15,140 Both those father figures had sort of disappeared out of his life, 117 00:08:15,141 --> 00:08:18,420 and that explains quite a lot about him as well, 118 00:08:18,421 --> 00:08:20,820 because he didn't have a father around. 119 00:08:20,821 --> 00:08:23,460 It was his mother's influence that he took away 120 00:08:23,461 --> 00:08:25,340 into the world much more. 121 00:08:25,341 --> 00:08:28,100 'At 19-years-old, unsure of my future, 122 00:08:28,101 --> 00:08:30,740 'I found myself in Paris. 123 00:08:30,741 --> 00:08:33,860 'Early one morning a friend dragged me to Versailles. 124 00:08:33,861 --> 00:08:36,340 'There was something he wanted me to see. 125 00:08:36,341 --> 00:08:39,701 'We arrived to an open square, steadily filling with people. 126 00:08:41,061 --> 00:08:42,900 'Dawn broke over the scene 127 00:08:42,901 --> 00:08:45,700 'and I realised that the focus of the amassed crowd 128 00:08:45,701 --> 00:08:47,741 'was Madame Guillotine. 129 00:08:48,741 --> 00:08:51,020 'In that instant, a man was marched out, 130 00:08:51,021 --> 00:08:53,100 'Eugen Weidmann. 131 00:08:53,101 --> 00:08:55,660 'He had murdered six people in cold blood. 132 00:08:55,661 --> 00:08:57,700 'Within 30 seconds 133 00:08:57,701 --> 00:09:00,980 'he had been whisked off his feet, bound, punched in the gut, 134 00:09:00,981 --> 00:09:04,660 'placed on the monstrous contraption and adjusted into position. 135 00:09:04,661 --> 00:09:07,381 'The blade fell and I failed to look away. 136 00:09:08,461 --> 00:09:10,741 'I was sickened to my soul. 137 00:09:11,581 --> 00:09:14,540 'I watched the gleeful crowd clamour to dip their handkerchiefs 138 00:09:14,541 --> 00:09:17,181 'into his warm blood as a grizzly souvenir.' 139 00:09:18,141 --> 00:09:21,420 He had witnessed the last execution 140 00:09:21,421 --> 00:09:23,660 in France with a guillotine. 141 00:09:23,661 --> 00:09:25,701 So, he was obsessed with executions. 142 00:09:26,701 --> 00:09:30,501 And he kept execution memorabilia. 143 00:09:31,461 --> 00:09:34,420 "This is the rope that was used to hang, I don't know who." 144 00:09:34,421 --> 00:09:36,380 "Who gave you that?" 145 00:09:36,381 --> 00:09:38,420 "That was Pierpoint, gave it to me. 146 00:09:38,421 --> 00:09:41,020 I'm gonna leave it in my will to Roger Moore." 147 00:09:41,021 --> 00:09:43,220 I remember that he wrote, 148 00:09:43,221 --> 00:09:46,180 "I am leaving you the rope that was used to hang... 149 00:09:46,181 --> 00:09:50,620 King I-Don't-Know-What that my friend Pierpoint passed over to me. 150 00:09:50,621 --> 00:09:52,661 I would like you to have it." 151 00:09:53,541 --> 00:09:55,420 I don't think Roger Moore got it. 152 00:09:55,421 --> 00:09:59,140 I now suspected my friend was trying to dispel my naivete 153 00:09:59,141 --> 00:10:02,020 and ready me for the brutalities of war. 154 00:10:02,021 --> 00:10:05,060 Because within weeks the party was over 155 00:10:05,061 --> 00:10:08,101 and all of a sudden, the Germans were coming. 156 00:10:09,101 --> 00:10:11,060 I returned to London. 157 00:10:11,061 --> 00:10:14,501 'On the 3rd of September, Chamberlain declared we were at war. 158 00:10:15,621 --> 00:10:17,900 'Keen to reveal myself a hero, 159 00:10:17,901 --> 00:10:19,940 'I immediately reported to the war office, 160 00:10:19,941 --> 00:10:22,420 'who had no apparent need for me.' 161 00:10:22,421 --> 00:10:24,740 So, I took a job in the city 162 00:10:24,741 --> 00:10:27,420 and grew accustomed to the noises of the war at home. 163 00:10:29,421 --> 00:10:31,661 And then, I heard something even worse. 164 00:10:32,461 --> 00:10:36,940 I heard that my wayward Papa was in hospital with a terminal diagnosis. 165 00:10:36,941 --> 00:10:38,900 He was barely 60. 166 00:10:38,901 --> 00:10:40,940 It was, I suppose, to honour him 167 00:10:40,941 --> 00:10:43,500 that I swiftly decided again to enlist 168 00:10:43,501 --> 00:10:45,380 and join the war abroad. 169 00:10:47,541 --> 00:10:50,701 'I couldn't face the army, so I took to the skies.' 170 00:10:54,421 --> 00:10:57,260 'Six weeks by sea and one by train brought us 171 00:10:57,261 --> 00:11:00,661 'to flight training in Rhodesia, far from enemy fire. 172 00:11:01,661 --> 00:11:04,020 'South Africa was paradise. 173 00:11:04,021 --> 00:11:08,181 'Behind the controls of an open cockpit Tiger Moth, I felt alive! 174 00:11:09,221 --> 00:11:11,860 'In the shimmering heat haze of a dusty afternoon, 175 00:11:11,861 --> 00:11:14,500 'we would stall, spin, and loop our paths 176 00:11:14,501 --> 00:11:16,541 'to becoming fully-fledged pilots. 177 00:11:17,421 --> 00:11:19,540 'During my final accompanied flight, 178 00:11:19,541 --> 00:11:22,621 'my head filled with fire and I went blind in my left eye. 179 00:11:23,701 --> 00:11:26,540 'I was diagnosed with an unreliable optic nerve. 180 00:11:26,541 --> 00:11:28,941 'My dreams of flight were put paid to. 181 00:11:29,781 --> 00:11:34,540 Following this, I rather expected my war to be a dull clerical affair 182 00:11:34,541 --> 00:11:37,860 but then I found myself in an operational squadron, 183 00:11:37,861 --> 00:11:41,061 and my role was that of... spy. 184 00:11:41,901 --> 00:11:44,140 'Five missions a day was our average 185 00:11:44,141 --> 00:11:46,860 'and with our robust fighter bombers, the P-40s, 186 00:11:46,861 --> 00:11:50,181 'we outclassed the German Luftwaffe every time. 187 00:11:51,101 --> 00:11:53,101 'Well, except once. 188 00:11:53,981 --> 00:11:55,620 'We were in Tunisia, 189 00:11:55,621 --> 00:11:59,260 'and I was standing on the airstrip assessing the skies first-hand. 190 00:11:59,261 --> 00:12:03,580 'As I turned around, I was faced with a sheer wall of flame. 191 00:12:03,581 --> 00:12:08,140 'Above it, four German ME-109s heading directly for me. 192 00:12:08,141 --> 00:12:10,660 'I sprinted, completely exposed, 193 00:12:10,661 --> 00:12:12,900 'looking for somewhere to dive for cover. 194 00:12:12,901 --> 00:12:15,740 'The bombs couldn't have been more than 150 yards away. 195 00:12:15,741 --> 00:12:18,380 'I could feel the heat singe my neck hair. 196 00:12:18,381 --> 00:12:21,260 'The final bomb landed within range, 197 00:12:21,261 --> 00:12:23,541 'and the blast rent asunder the ground behind me. 198 00:12:24,581 --> 00:12:27,660 'The debris created was as if fired by shotgun, 199 00:12:27,661 --> 00:12:30,860 'targeted almost entirely to my buttocks. 200 00:12:30,861 --> 00:12:32,620 'Within 10 minutes, 201 00:12:32,621 --> 00:12:35,300 'I was being debriefed in both senses of the word. 202 00:12:35,301 --> 00:12:38,460 'I could not sit down for two days. 203 00:12:38,461 --> 00:12:42,501 'And had I been able, I suspect I would not have been permitted to. 204 00:12:43,461 --> 00:12:45,660 'This raid was my failing. 205 00:12:45,661 --> 00:12:47,701 'I would not fail again.' 206 00:12:49,061 --> 00:12:51,980 As the war ended, there was still important work to be done. 207 00:12:51,981 --> 00:12:55,140 My next posting was to serve with the Central Registry 208 00:12:55,141 --> 00:12:57,860 of War Crimes and Security Suspects. 209 00:12:57,861 --> 00:13:00,540 A position which sounds almost clerical 210 00:13:00,541 --> 00:13:04,141 but became known somewhat more grandly as Nazi Hunter. 211 00:13:05,181 --> 00:13:09,060 The adventures I had during this period remain highly classified. 212 00:13:09,061 --> 00:13:11,460 I could relate to you a story or two, 213 00:13:11,461 --> 00:13:14,180 but sadly I would have to kill you. 214 00:13:14,181 --> 00:13:16,660 And we don't want that, do we? 215 00:13:16,661 --> 00:13:19,900 There is some mystery attached to his work 216 00:13:19,901 --> 00:13:22,140 during the war and immediately after it. 217 00:13:22,141 --> 00:13:25,100 A lot of that I think, has to do with the Official Secrets Act 218 00:13:25,101 --> 00:13:27,780 and the fact that Lee himself was, you know, 219 00:13:27,781 --> 00:13:31,020 not willing to open up about it to any great degree. 220 00:13:31,021 --> 00:13:33,820 And I think it has actually created a great deal of confusion. 221 00:13:33,821 --> 00:13:36,260 I know a bit. 222 00:13:36,261 --> 00:13:39,860 Because he spoke perfect German, perfect French, 223 00:13:39,861 --> 00:13:43,740 and perfect Italian, he was involved with a lot of sabotage 224 00:13:43,741 --> 00:13:46,900 and working with partisans behind the enemy lines 225 00:13:46,901 --> 00:13:49,461 and also in targeted assassinations. 226 00:13:50,501 --> 00:13:52,900 Which, of course, the British government 227 00:13:52,901 --> 00:13:54,860 doesn't know anything about. 228 00:13:54,861 --> 00:13:57,021 He was very intense. 229 00:13:58,021 --> 00:14:01,700 There were some things he just- he didn't want to get into, 230 00:14:01,701 --> 00:14:04,221 but it marked him, the experiences. 231 00:14:05,221 --> 00:14:07,860 But I gave him shit. I mean, I always wanted to know. 232 00:14:07,861 --> 00:14:10,621 "Tell me about the war." "John, I can't." 233 00:14:11,501 --> 00:14:14,540 "Come on!" You know? "Tell me about the war. Come on, Chris!" 234 00:14:14,541 --> 00:14:17,060 You know? And I always gave him a hard time. 235 00:14:17,061 --> 00:14:19,381 And one day we were at... 236 00:14:20,821 --> 00:14:23,100 ...a restaurant in Sloane Square 237 00:14:23,101 --> 00:14:26,940 and he had had several glasses of wine 238 00:14:26,941 --> 00:14:29,540 and he wasn't tipsy, 239 00:14:29,541 --> 00:14:31,420 but he was a little loose. 240 00:14:31,421 --> 00:14:33,620 And I said, "Chris... 241 00:14:33,621 --> 00:14:35,820 this is the perfect moment. 242 00:14:35,821 --> 00:14:38,861 Tell me about your war experiences." 243 00:14:39,821 --> 00:14:42,660 He said, "You know I can't." And I said, "Come on. 244 00:14:42,661 --> 00:14:45,900 Who am I gonna tell, Chris?" And I kept giving him shit. 245 00:14:45,901 --> 00:14:49,660 And then finally he said, "John," and he leaned forward. 246 00:14:49,661 --> 00:14:53,020 To be suddenly imposing, he leaned forward and he said, 247 00:14:53,021 --> 00:14:55,181 "Can you keep a secret?" 248 00:14:56,261 --> 00:14:59,140 So of course, I lean forward and go, "Yes." 249 00:14:59,141 --> 00:15:01,100 And he said... 250 00:15:01,101 --> 00:15:03,381 "So can I." 251 00:15:10,341 --> 00:15:12,460 'I arrived back in London, 252 00:15:12,461 --> 00:15:15,100 'like so many of my generation, to find that civilian life 253 00:15:15,101 --> 00:15:18,060 'had far less use for me than the military had. 254 00:15:18,061 --> 00:15:19,980 'With a new blue suit 255 00:15:19,981 --> 00:15:23,220 and half a pound of shrapnel forever embedded in my buttocks, 256 00:15:23,221 --> 00:15:25,020 'I slowly explored my options 257 00:15:25,021 --> 00:15:27,981 'and ravenously accepted all invitations to lunch. 258 00:15:29,021 --> 00:15:32,620 'One such invitation came from my mother's cousin, Nicolo, 259 00:15:32,621 --> 00:15:35,020 'the Italian Ambassador to Great Britain. 260 00:15:35,021 --> 00:15:37,820 'Amidst my drunken tales and impersonations, 261 00:15:37,821 --> 00:15:41,780 'Nicolo said simply, "Why don't you become an actor, Christopher?" 262 00:15:41,781 --> 00:15:44,260 'So, that was that. 263 00:15:44,261 --> 00:15:47,300 'It was immediately apparent to me that he was right. 264 00:15:47,301 --> 00:15:49,900 'Before I even had a chance to fail, 265 00:15:49,901 --> 00:15:52,580 'Nicolo arranged a meeting for me with his friend 266 00:15:52,581 --> 00:15:54,980 'who worked with The Rank Organisation.' 267 00:15:54,981 --> 00:15:57,220 I suppose if you were being uncharitable, 268 00:15:57,221 --> 00:16:00,260 you could say that there was a touch of almost nepotism 269 00:16:00,261 --> 00:16:03,460 involved in Lee's entry into the film industry. 270 00:16:03,461 --> 00:16:05,660 So, it was all very easy. But I think... 271 00:16:05,661 --> 00:16:09,340 in the immediate post-war years, it didn't last very long, 272 00:16:09,341 --> 00:16:12,420 but the British film industry was at its zenith. 273 00:16:12,421 --> 00:16:14,580 And I think there was a great hunger, 274 00:16:14,581 --> 00:16:17,501 particularly after the war, to create new stars. 275 00:16:18,341 --> 00:16:22,060 And so, as a result, Lee was packed off to the... 276 00:16:22,061 --> 00:16:25,621 to The Rank Charm School, as it became known. 277 00:16:26,661 --> 00:16:28,940 Which had an expressed... 278 00:16:28,941 --> 00:16:31,700 wish to create British, 279 00:16:31,701 --> 00:16:35,580 and hopefully later, as they put it, international stars. 280 00:16:35,581 --> 00:16:39,620 'To Worthing we were sent to fill out the lower half of the cast lists 281 00:16:39,621 --> 00:16:41,700 'of a provincial repertory theatre. 282 00:16:41,701 --> 00:16:44,460 'And admittedly, many lessons were learned 283 00:16:44,461 --> 00:16:47,100 'which would shape me as an actor. 284 00:16:47,101 --> 00:16:50,140 'The first time I trod the boards was as Roberto the Butler, 285 00:16:50,141 --> 00:16:52,220 'in The Constant Nymph. 286 00:16:52,221 --> 00:16:55,940 'I gave it my all. I buttled relentlessly. 287 00:16:55,941 --> 00:16:58,500 'More than this, I acted. 288 00:16:58,501 --> 00:17:00,780 'I acted my young heart out. 289 00:17:00,781 --> 00:17:04,380 'When one of the principal characters cried, I shed a tear with them. 290 00:17:04,381 --> 00:17:07,861 'When one laughed, I laughed too as if my sides were splitting. 291 00:17:08,821 --> 00:17:12,260 'I responded to every word of that script as I felt right. 292 00:17:12,261 --> 00:17:16,060 'From my place in the background, I projected outrage, 293 00:17:16,061 --> 00:17:18,301 'good humour, surprise, and bonhomie. 294 00:17:19,421 --> 00:17:22,660 'The curtain fell for the interval and the director took me aside. 295 00:17:22,661 --> 00:17:25,020 'I couldn't tell whether he was laughing or crying, 296 00:17:25,021 --> 00:17:28,461 'but either way, he left me in no doubt as to my transgression. 297 00:17:29,301 --> 00:17:32,580 'I had upstaged the entire production. 298 00:17:32,581 --> 00:17:34,860 'My feelings were terribly hurt, 299 00:17:34,861 --> 00:17:36,900 'and I was greatly embarrassed. 300 00:17:36,901 --> 00:17:39,900 'I was, however, vindicated when the reviews came in. 301 00:17:39,901 --> 00:17:43,781 'The critics singled me out as having provided welcome light relief. 302 00:17:45,301 --> 00:17:47,220 'By day in Highbury, 303 00:17:47,221 --> 00:17:50,140 'we learned Stanislavsky's method of physical action. 304 00:17:50,141 --> 00:17:52,780 'We fenced, we pranced, we raged, 305 00:17:52,781 --> 00:17:56,580 'and we paraded the old church hall with books upon our heads. 306 00:17:56,581 --> 00:17:59,980 'Of course, no directors had the slightest interest in using us 307 00:17:59,981 --> 00:18:02,980 'for more than background and stand-ins for the talent. 308 00:18:02,981 --> 00:18:06,661 'But this in itself was film set experience and therefore useful. 309 00:18:08,381 --> 00:18:11,420 'I was 24 when I gave my first performance on film, 310 00:18:11,421 --> 00:18:14,780 'a kindness extended to me by director Terence Young, 311 00:18:14,781 --> 00:18:17,500 'who overcame the standard reason for my rejection, 312 00:18:17,501 --> 00:18:20,780 'the issue of my height, by keeping me seated. 313 00:18:20,781 --> 00:18:23,100 'The film was Corridor of Mirrors. 314 00:18:23,101 --> 00:18:26,381 'I had one line and it was a withering barb against the lead.' 315 00:18:27,261 --> 00:18:30,541 Take a look. Standing in the entrance, Lord Byron. 316 00:18:33,021 --> 00:18:36,540 'To some degree, in that moment, my die was cast. 317 00:18:36,541 --> 00:18:39,220 'The nucleus of my celluloid id, 318 00:18:39,221 --> 00:18:42,461 'upper class, educated, loquacious, and disdainful. 319 00:18:43,581 --> 00:18:47,220 'Soon after, Rank decided to give its company of youth 320 00:18:47,221 --> 00:18:49,180 'an accelerant boost. 321 00:18:49,181 --> 00:18:52,820 'Rather than scattering us in small roles across its bigger releases, 322 00:18:52,821 --> 00:18:56,660 'it would give us all big roles in our own tiny release. 323 00:18:56,661 --> 00:18:59,100 'It was ,of course, a horrible idea. 324 00:18:59,101 --> 00:19:02,700 'None of us were nearly ready enough to carry an entire feature 325 00:19:02,701 --> 00:19:05,700 'and, had it not been compulsory to attend the premiere 326 00:19:05,701 --> 00:19:07,700 'on the Tottenham Court Road, 327 00:19:07,701 --> 00:19:10,300 'I'm sure all of us would have preferred to be elsewhere. 328 00:19:10,301 --> 00:19:14,180 'It was, however, my first time in the role of chief antagonist, 329 00:19:14,181 --> 00:19:16,380 'the bad guy. 330 00:19:16,381 --> 00:19:20,020 'Sadly, the only thing more diabolical than my character's intent 331 00:19:20,021 --> 00:19:22,781 'was the performance of the actor inhabiting it. 332 00:19:30,661 --> 00:19:33,300 'Such was the British film industry in those days 333 00:19:33,301 --> 00:19:36,140 'that even this early on I was at least working, 334 00:19:36,141 --> 00:19:38,541 'and my star was arguably rising. 335 00:19:39,501 --> 00:19:42,820 'Scott of the Antarctic was a generously-budgeted 336 00:19:42,821 --> 00:19:44,380 'Ealing production. 337 00:19:44,381 --> 00:19:47,860 'It starred John Mills as the legendary explorer, 338 00:19:47,861 --> 00:19:50,620 'and I was one of his ill-fated team. 339 00:19:50,621 --> 00:19:53,100 'Not unlike the explorer I portrayed, 340 00:19:53,101 --> 00:19:55,980 'I would also shortly be out in the cold.' 341 00:19:55,981 --> 00:19:57,580 I'm afraid that's it, Sir. 342 00:19:57,581 --> 00:20:00,580 'I was told by my benefactors at Rank that I was too tall 343 00:20:00,581 --> 00:20:03,100 'and too foreign-looking to be a film star, 344 00:20:03,101 --> 00:20:05,580 'and I was out on my ear. 345 00:20:05,581 --> 00:20:09,220 'My 1950s would be a mixed bag of quite small roles 346 00:20:09,221 --> 00:20:11,300 'in quite big films. 347 00:20:11,301 --> 00:20:14,581 'But then there were also the small roles in small films. 348 00:20:15,541 --> 00:20:18,580 'And then there were the uncredited roles.' 349 00:20:18,581 --> 00:20:21,140 These years were not without their high points. 350 00:20:21,141 --> 00:20:23,100 'I parried with Errol Flynn.' 351 00:20:23,101 --> 00:20:24,740 He was quite a good fencer. 352 00:20:24,741 --> 00:20:27,980 Although how many people have told you when Chris would go like this, 353 00:20:27,981 --> 00:20:31,140 he'd say, and he'd point at his damaged finger 354 00:20:31,141 --> 00:20:33,581 and he'd say, "Errol Flynn did that to me." 355 00:20:34,541 --> 00:20:37,460 Which he did in a duel in some movie. 356 00:20:37,461 --> 00:20:41,380 Errol Flynn, you know... was not an excellent fencer. 357 00:20:41,381 --> 00:20:43,980 But these were not roles that I could... 358 00:20:43,981 --> 00:20:46,021 get my teeth into. 359 00:20:46,981 --> 00:20:49,220 It was a living, and it was work. 360 00:20:49,221 --> 00:20:52,820 The notion of film acting, especially in Britain at that time, 361 00:20:52,821 --> 00:20:56,780 as being in any way glamorous or indicative of a luxurious lifestyle, 362 00:20:56,781 --> 00:20:58,860 is entirely false. 363 00:20:58,861 --> 00:21:01,100 Back then, maybe still today, I don't know, 364 00:21:01,101 --> 00:21:04,140 there's a slight whiff of disreputability, if that's a word, 365 00:21:04,141 --> 00:21:06,020 clung to the acting thing. 366 00:21:06,021 --> 00:21:08,740 I think there was a bit of him saying, "I suppose you think 367 00:21:08,741 --> 00:21:11,500 I'm not worthwhile because I'm just an actor." You know? 368 00:21:11,501 --> 00:21:14,740 Which of course that's reversed much now, where you know, 369 00:21:14,741 --> 00:21:16,780 you get a lot of people go, "Oh gosh, actors." 370 00:21:16,781 --> 00:21:19,460 "They're really exciting people." 371 00:21:19,461 --> 00:21:23,740 But in my father's day, there was a bit of snootiness about actors. 372 00:21:23,741 --> 00:21:27,700 Of course, he always told the story that when he went to his mother 373 00:21:27,701 --> 00:21:30,780 and announced his intention to become an actor, and she literally, 374 00:21:30,781 --> 00:21:34,420 in a very actressy way, she struck a melodramatic pose 375 00:21:34,421 --> 00:21:37,260 and possibly, you know, the back of the hand to the forehead, 376 00:21:37,261 --> 00:21:39,300 and said, "An actor. 377 00:21:39,301 --> 00:21:43,580 Oh, Christopher, just think of all the appalling people you'll meet!" 378 00:21:43,581 --> 00:21:45,620 'It was work. 379 00:21:45,621 --> 00:21:47,820 'It was work, which I generally enjoyed 380 00:21:47,821 --> 00:21:50,820 'and work in which I became increasingly proficient. 381 00:21:50,821 --> 00:21:53,220 'But it was 9:00am to 6:20pm. 382 00:21:53,221 --> 00:21:56,340 'with a 15-minute tea break and one hour for lunch. 383 00:21:56,341 --> 00:21:58,540 'It was a job. 384 00:21:58,541 --> 00:22:00,860 'And seven years on a job without notable progression 385 00:22:00,861 --> 00:22:03,060 'would be frustrating to anybody. 386 00:22:03,061 --> 00:22:06,580 'But it was not just my lack of progress which frustrated me.' 387 00:22:06,581 --> 00:22:08,621 I really wanted to sing. 388 00:22:31,781 --> 00:22:33,940 My love for opera had blossomed. 389 00:22:33,941 --> 00:22:36,100 And with my film career barely advanced 390 00:22:36,101 --> 00:22:38,060 in the best part of a decade, 391 00:22:38,061 --> 00:22:41,460 I petitioned a professor at the Royal College of Music for help. 392 00:22:41,461 --> 00:22:45,061 Too tall, too foreign-looking, and now, too old. 393 00:22:46,021 --> 00:22:48,980 My dream was dead, 394 00:22:48,981 --> 00:22:51,021 dead, dead. 395 00:22:51,901 --> 00:22:54,020 But that was, I suppose, alright, 396 00:22:54,021 --> 00:22:56,740 death was calling me to another destiny. 397 00:22:56,741 --> 00:23:00,941 It was almost time for me to be death's emissary in modern cinema. 398 00:23:01,901 --> 00:23:04,740 Now, to understand the story of my Dracula, 399 00:23:04,741 --> 00:23:08,381 you have to understand the story of Hammer. 400 00:23:09,221 --> 00:23:12,500 'Hammer was a film production company which, by the mid-50s', 401 00:23:12,501 --> 00:23:14,820 'had been around some two decades. 402 00:23:14,821 --> 00:23:17,740 'It had been established by the comedian William Hines 403 00:23:17,741 --> 00:23:21,380 'in the early '30s, a name for his stage persona Will Hammer.' 404 00:23:21,381 --> 00:23:24,140 Post-war, Hammer Film Productions 405 00:23:24,141 --> 00:23:26,420 were devoted to second features. 406 00:23:26,421 --> 00:23:29,300 Yes, what would previously have been called Quota Quickies. 407 00:23:29,301 --> 00:23:32,380 They began, really, with very forward thinking. 408 00:23:32,381 --> 00:23:36,541 They began by adapting already popular BBC radio subjects. 409 00:23:37,901 --> 00:23:40,180 But in among all that, they also got together 410 00:23:40,181 --> 00:23:42,500 with an American producer called Robert Lippert, 411 00:23:42,501 --> 00:23:44,460 and they started making second features 412 00:23:44,461 --> 00:23:47,300 that were aimed, quite specifically, at the American market. 413 00:23:47,301 --> 00:23:50,140 Robert Lippert would send over fading American actors, 414 00:23:50,141 --> 00:23:52,140 and they would be leads in the pictures, 415 00:23:52,141 --> 00:23:54,220 which would allow a sale in America. 416 00:23:54,221 --> 00:23:57,180 And so, there was a whole series of pictures that Hammer had done, 417 00:23:57,181 --> 00:24:00,420 which are, you know, not bad pictures but not exemplary. 418 00:24:00,421 --> 00:24:02,620 But they didn't make much of a splash. 419 00:24:02,621 --> 00:24:04,620 Curious little films, 420 00:24:04,621 --> 00:24:07,220 which nowadays are very often identified as Neo-noirs. 421 00:24:07,221 --> 00:24:09,300 To some degree they were certainly were that. 422 00:24:09,301 --> 00:24:11,020 But of course, the question mark was, 423 00:24:11,021 --> 00:24:13,060 how long could you continue in that vein? 424 00:24:13,061 --> 00:24:16,140 They needed a kind of new hook, a new formula. 425 00:24:16,141 --> 00:24:18,981 And well, it came along in the mid-'50s. 426 00:24:19,781 --> 00:24:23,300 'Hammer was always in search of that golden goose, 427 00:24:23,301 --> 00:24:24,940 'which they eventually found 428 00:24:24,941 --> 00:24:26,980 'when they turned their hand to the macabre. 429 00:24:26,981 --> 00:24:29,980 'Having adapted the BBC's Quatermass Xperiment 430 00:24:29,981 --> 00:24:32,860 'to film in 1955, it became very evident 431 00:24:32,861 --> 00:24:35,421 'that scary films might be where their fortune lay.' 432 00:24:39,181 --> 00:24:41,260 'What better subject matter to begin with 433 00:24:41,261 --> 00:24:44,101 'than that of Baron Frankenstein and his creature? 434 00:24:45,981 --> 00:24:49,140 'Peter Cushing was cast in the lead role as Frankenstein, 435 00:24:49,141 --> 00:24:51,260 'but who was to play his creature? 436 00:24:51,261 --> 00:24:54,420 'Where might they find a tall, odd-looking soul 437 00:24:54,421 --> 00:24:57,181 'with the chops to pull off such a role? 438 00:24:58,301 --> 00:25:00,420 'Oh, yes!' 439 00:25:00,421 --> 00:25:04,260 In the case of Lee, they had a man for The Curse of Frankenstein, 440 00:25:04,261 --> 00:25:07,260 who fulfilled the basic casting brief, 441 00:25:07,261 --> 00:25:10,140 which was a very tall man with a knowledge of 442 00:25:10,141 --> 00:25:12,901 and skill in movement and mime. 443 00:25:14,221 --> 00:25:17,740 And, uh... And that was Lee to a T, if you like. 444 00:25:17,741 --> 00:25:20,900 'Now, I did not go into this lightly. 445 00:25:20,901 --> 00:25:24,260 'I was aware of the greatest risk of becoming a monster player. 446 00:25:24,261 --> 00:25:26,500 'That of typecasting. 447 00:25:26,501 --> 00:25:28,460 'My dear friend, Boris Karloff, 448 00:25:28,461 --> 00:25:32,060 'argued that to be a type was to always be in employment. 449 00:25:32,061 --> 00:25:35,380 'And considering his quarter century in the wilderness as an actor, 450 00:25:35,381 --> 00:25:38,140 'he really was qualified to talk on the matter. 451 00:25:38,141 --> 00:25:42,100 'He had acted in over 80 films before his performance as the monster 452 00:25:42,101 --> 00:25:45,660 'for Universal Pictures launched him into the stratosphere. 453 00:25:45,661 --> 00:25:48,740 'Crucially, he was also tall and foreign-looking. 454 00:25:48,741 --> 00:25:50,900 'So, I took the role. 455 00:25:50,901 --> 00:25:53,700 'I wouldn't say it did the same for me as it did for Boris, 456 00:25:53,701 --> 00:25:55,940 'but it was a satisfying experience 457 00:25:55,941 --> 00:25:58,860 'and the film performed remarkably well.' 458 00:25:58,861 --> 00:26:00,860 Hammer didn't really have an identity 459 00:26:00,861 --> 00:26:02,660 until The Curse of Frankenstein, 460 00:26:02,661 --> 00:26:04,940 where it said, "A Hammer Film Production." 461 00:26:04,941 --> 00:26:08,780 And we remembered that and that became... a calling card. 462 00:26:08,781 --> 00:26:13,020 What's interesting is that it's a very well made movie. 463 00:26:13,021 --> 00:26:16,660 He played it like somebody with a... with a damaged brain. 464 00:26:16,661 --> 00:26:18,740 It was described in the British press 465 00:26:18,741 --> 00:26:21,940 as looking like a road accident, which is not entirely untrue. 466 00:26:21,941 --> 00:26:25,060 It's a strange effect that he had as the creature 467 00:26:25,061 --> 00:26:28,060 because he looked so hideous and yet there was a sort of- 468 00:26:28,061 --> 00:26:30,740 there was a kind of forlorn quality about him. 469 00:26:30,741 --> 00:26:32,460 In part because of that, 470 00:26:32,461 --> 00:26:35,941 but also because he was just such a remarkable physical actor. 471 00:26:37,421 --> 00:26:40,660 He was very sympathetic, although he was really terrifying 472 00:26:40,661 --> 00:26:42,940 and I had nightmares for a long time. 473 00:26:42,941 --> 00:26:46,460 'Yes, it courted controversy with its violence and gore, 474 00:26:46,461 --> 00:26:49,460 'but this was tempered by a favourable critical response.' 475 00:26:49,461 --> 00:26:53,100 And it really put Hammer Films on the map internationally 476 00:26:53,101 --> 00:26:56,620 because it was a huge hit, even though it didn't cost a great deal. 477 00:26:56,621 --> 00:26:59,980 But it looked good and the acting was obviously top-notch 478 00:26:59,981 --> 00:27:03,220 because they had British players and nobody made fun of it, 479 00:27:03,221 --> 00:27:04,980 nobody sent it up. 480 00:27:04,981 --> 00:27:07,260 It was all done completely straight 481 00:27:07,261 --> 00:27:09,900 and that made it even more compelling. 482 00:27:09,901 --> 00:27:13,580 His unwilling collaborator was Paul Krempe. 483 00:27:13,581 --> 00:27:15,621 I can't prove you murdered him. 484 00:27:16,421 --> 00:27:18,260 But I can stop you using his brain. 485 00:27:18,261 --> 00:27:20,140 Why? He has no further use for it. 486 00:27:20,141 --> 00:27:22,660 Don't be a fool! Be careful! 487 00:27:22,661 --> 00:27:24,660 You'll damage it! 488 00:27:24,661 --> 00:27:27,340 Only two women ever entered this house of evil. 489 00:27:27,341 --> 00:27:29,860 Elizabeth! Come back! 490 00:27:34,021 --> 00:27:36,340 'Did this lead to my most iconic casting? 491 00:27:36,341 --> 00:27:39,061 'Actually, no. At least, not directly.' 492 00:27:48,181 --> 00:27:51,300 'Following Frankenstein, I scored a plum role 493 00:27:51,301 --> 00:27:53,861 'in a lavish remake of A Tale of Two Cities. 494 00:27:55,621 --> 00:27:57,580 'This was a big movie.' 495 00:27:57,581 --> 00:27:59,980 Betty Box and Ralph Thomas, 496 00:27:59,981 --> 00:28:02,300 whose names have been associated with the very best 497 00:28:02,301 --> 00:28:04,420 in film entertainment for almost a decade, 498 00:28:04,421 --> 00:28:06,380 have turned to the ever-popular works 499 00:28:06,381 --> 00:28:09,740 of Charles Dickens for their latest, greatest film. 500 00:28:09,741 --> 00:28:13,780 'I was to share the screen with the likes of Dirk Bogarde 501 00:28:13,781 --> 00:28:17,461 'and several legends whose fame has sadly dimmed through the years. 502 00:28:20,701 --> 00:28:22,700 'My role was that of villain, 503 00:28:22,701 --> 00:28:24,820 'the Marquis St. Evremonde, 504 00:28:24,821 --> 00:28:27,980 'a nasty piece of work, a cruel, sneering aristocrat.' 505 00:28:33,181 --> 00:28:35,460 'This film was also well-received 506 00:28:35,461 --> 00:28:38,420 'and finally broke the reticence on the part of the studios 507 00:28:38,421 --> 00:28:41,460 'to trust me with more significant roles. 508 00:28:41,461 --> 00:28:45,620 'With my monstrous and aristocratic credentials so well-established, 509 00:28:45,621 --> 00:28:47,780 'I was finally an obvious candidate 510 00:28:47,781 --> 00:28:50,341 'for that delicious title role to come my way. 511 00:28:52,421 --> 00:28:54,740 'Eight minutes. 512 00:28:54,741 --> 00:28:58,781 'Just eight minutes, and my life was changed forever. 513 00:29:00,181 --> 00:29:03,260 'My total screen time in the whole of that first Dracula movie 514 00:29:03,261 --> 00:29:06,301 'was just eight minutes.' 515 00:29:08,221 --> 00:29:10,300 This is the story of Dracula. 516 00:29:10,301 --> 00:29:13,020 A creature who destroys all whom he touches. 517 00:29:15,781 --> 00:29:17,820 Dracula, the terrifying, the feared, 518 00:29:17,821 --> 00:29:20,900 who sleeps in the tombs of the dead by day 519 00:29:20,901 --> 00:29:24,380 and arises at night to inflict his terror 520 00:29:24,381 --> 00:29:27,221 upon the innocent and the unsuspecting. 521 00:29:34,541 --> 00:29:37,100 It was really the Dracula movie that I think... 522 00:29:37,101 --> 00:29:38,820 made him a household word. 523 00:29:38,821 --> 00:29:41,220 Even though he's not in it that much, 524 00:29:41,221 --> 00:29:43,900 he hung over it like a shroud and... 525 00:29:43,901 --> 00:29:45,700 made an incredible impression. 526 00:29:45,701 --> 00:29:47,860 I love his entrance 527 00:29:47,861 --> 00:29:51,420 'cause you just cut to the stairs and he comes down the stairs. 528 00:29:51,421 --> 00:29:54,900 He says, "I am Dracula. I welcome you to my house." 529 00:29:54,901 --> 00:29:56,980 And it's so great! 530 00:29:56,981 --> 00:29:59,860 Wonderful! I mean, he's just, wow. 531 00:29:59,861 --> 00:30:02,420 It's, you know- Do you ever hear him talk about it? 532 00:30:02,421 --> 00:30:04,340 "You have to bring the fire." 533 00:30:04,341 --> 00:30:06,980 'I was recognised everywhere I went, 534 00:30:06,981 --> 00:30:08,980 'and it was a certain type of fame. 535 00:30:08,981 --> 00:30:11,580 'I don't say this out of pride or vanity, 536 00:30:11,581 --> 00:30:14,660 'but I had become somewhat iconic. 537 00:30:14,661 --> 00:30:16,860 'Meaning that, to some degree, 538 00:30:16,861 --> 00:30:19,660 'it wouldn't matter what I now went on to do with my life. 539 00:30:19,661 --> 00:30:23,180 'Indeed, had I retired from acting in that very moment, 540 00:30:23,181 --> 00:30:25,260 'I would still, for the rest of my life, 541 00:30:25,261 --> 00:30:27,620 'have been recognised on a daily basis as...' 542 00:30:27,621 --> 00:30:31,180 Dracula! Bedevilled master of all that is evil. 543 00:30:41,981 --> 00:30:44,580 When that film came out in the summer of 1958, you know, 544 00:30:44,581 --> 00:30:46,260 the impact was enormous. 545 00:30:46,261 --> 00:30:48,620 He's suddenly appearing in the fan magazines. 546 00:30:48,621 --> 00:30:51,180 You know, there are lots and lots of questions about him. 547 00:30:51,181 --> 00:30:54,180 Picturegoer actually heads a piece about him and calls it, 548 00:30:54,181 --> 00:30:57,100 "Scream Boy? No! Dream Boy." Because of course, 549 00:30:57,101 --> 00:31:01,220 so many young women were fascinated by his Dracula, you know? 550 00:31:01,221 --> 00:31:03,900 Because he was an irredeemable monster, 551 00:31:03,901 --> 00:31:06,660 one of the most evil Dracula's ever put on film. 552 00:31:06,661 --> 00:31:09,540 But at the same time, of course, he was extremely sexy. 553 00:31:09,541 --> 00:31:11,580 How do you destroy a fiend 554 00:31:11,581 --> 00:31:14,460 who has so far proven himself indestructible? 555 00:31:14,461 --> 00:31:17,060 Those who come to end his reign of terror 556 00:31:17,061 --> 00:31:19,380 stay to become his victims. 557 00:31:19,381 --> 00:31:22,460 Hammer suddenly became a... 558 00:31:22,461 --> 00:31:25,500 a place for people to go to see a certain kind of movie. 559 00:31:25,501 --> 00:31:27,740 And that's not to belittle the fact that 560 00:31:27,741 --> 00:31:30,660 they were actually making other kinds of movies at the same time, 561 00:31:30,661 --> 00:31:34,020 but these particular Gothic movies were especially popular. 562 00:31:34,021 --> 00:31:36,220 'The American premiere took place in New York 563 00:31:36,221 --> 00:31:39,540 'where Universal threw their full might behind its release. 564 00:31:39,541 --> 00:31:42,780 'It was my first trip to America, and I was quite overwhelmed. 565 00:31:42,781 --> 00:31:45,541 'Not just by the city, but by the clamour of the fans. 566 00:31:46,541 --> 00:31:49,180 'Dear Peter and I damn near destroyed our wrists 567 00:31:49,181 --> 00:31:51,620 'with all of the autograph signing. 568 00:31:51,621 --> 00:31:54,740 'By that point, Mr Cushing and I had become good friends. 569 00:31:54,741 --> 00:31:57,420 'I think the public often made the mistake of assuming 570 00:31:57,421 --> 00:32:00,820 'that we were rather gloomy people, 'humourless and severe. 571 00:32:00,821 --> 00:32:03,540 'But nothing could have been further from the truth. 572 00:32:03,541 --> 00:32:06,260 'From the day we met, Peter and I, 573 00:32:06,261 --> 00:32:08,940 'more than anything else, laughed.' 574 00:32:08,941 --> 00:32:12,380 But we also did a lot of this kind of thing... 575 00:33:10,821 --> 00:33:14,260 He and Chris became a kind of... 576 00:33:14,261 --> 00:33:16,940 a kind of a couple in the sense that they would 577 00:33:16,941 --> 00:33:19,300 often end up in the same picture together. 578 00:33:19,301 --> 00:33:22,940 I think, I can't remember, 17, how many pictures they did together. 579 00:33:22,941 --> 00:33:25,900 But they were like Laurel and Hardy, you know? 580 00:33:25,901 --> 00:33:29,060 They were just- You would seldom see one without the other. 581 00:33:29,061 --> 00:33:31,060 They were like chalk and cheese. 582 00:33:31,061 --> 00:33:34,540 Very different, different styles of acting, different ways of acting, 583 00:33:34,541 --> 00:33:37,660 and obviously totally different characters, 584 00:33:37,661 --> 00:33:39,860 but it just gelled, you know? 585 00:33:39,861 --> 00:33:41,700 The whole thing with them gelled 586 00:33:41,701 --> 00:33:43,700 and they had huge respect for each other. 587 00:33:43,701 --> 00:33:46,900 They always brought total conviction 588 00:33:46,901 --> 00:33:49,820 to whatever crap they were in. 589 00:33:49,821 --> 00:33:53,181 So, if they're in a terrible movie, they're still good. 590 00:33:54,101 --> 00:33:56,700 You know? They're still good. 591 00:33:56,701 --> 00:33:58,540 Do you know what they used to do? 592 00:33:58,541 --> 00:34:00,621 They loved Looney Tunes cartoons. 593 00:34:02,021 --> 00:34:04,820 Peter and Chris, and they'd get together and watch, you know, 594 00:34:04,821 --> 00:34:07,780 Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and all the classic Looney Tunes, 595 00:34:07,781 --> 00:34:10,420 and they really knew them. You could- 596 00:34:10,421 --> 00:34:12,660 I was on a phone call with the two of them 597 00:34:12,661 --> 00:34:15,540 and they did like the whole thing of "What's Opera, Doc?" 598 00:34:15,541 --> 00:34:17,020 It was amazing. 599 00:34:17,021 --> 00:34:20,300 'In some ways, Hammer became a family to me, 600 00:34:20,301 --> 00:34:23,260 'replete with all the eccentricities, bickering, 601 00:34:23,261 --> 00:34:25,260 'resentments and frustration, 602 00:34:25,261 --> 00:34:28,141 'but also a warm, encouraging, and friendly bunch.' 603 00:34:29,101 --> 00:34:32,220 They tended to have the same crews, you know? 604 00:34:32,221 --> 00:34:35,100 They tended to have the same DPs and the same... 605 00:34:35,101 --> 00:34:37,460 makeup and hairdressers, 606 00:34:37,461 --> 00:34:40,300 and so it was a nice kind of continuity to it. 607 00:34:40,301 --> 00:34:43,780 And all the crews knew each other so they worked so well together. 608 00:34:43,781 --> 00:34:46,380 And Hammer made a lot of- not a lot, 609 00:34:46,381 --> 00:34:49,340 but Hammer made a number of good films. 610 00:34:49,341 --> 00:34:52,100 And they had tremendous success with a lot of stuff. 611 00:34:52,101 --> 00:34:55,500 'I worked for other studios during this period also. 612 00:34:55,501 --> 00:34:59,340 'I was in some demand, but my path was laid out for me now. 613 00:34:59,341 --> 00:35:03,300 'I would be successful, but I would be... sleazy. 614 00:35:03,301 --> 00:35:07,940 'Any notion of romantic leads or matinee heroes was behind me now. 615 00:35:07,941 --> 00:35:10,860 'I had given the public and the studios what they wanted, 616 00:35:10,861 --> 00:35:13,860 'and that would be all they required from me. 617 00:35:13,861 --> 00:35:16,940 'Which is not to say there was no room for manoeuvre, 618 00:35:16,941 --> 00:35:21,141 'for, as I discovered, there are so many types of sleazebag. 619 00:35:22,781 --> 00:35:26,820 'Considering the limitation placed on me that I always be wicked, 620 00:35:26,821 --> 00:35:29,701 'I was rather pleased with my range and breadth. 621 00:35:30,741 --> 00:35:34,220 'Later on in the '60s, I befriended Vincent Price. 622 00:35:34,221 --> 00:35:37,220 'Vincent had established himself as a gentleman of horror 623 00:35:37,221 --> 00:35:39,180 'long before I came along. 624 00:35:39,181 --> 00:35:41,460 'And when I did come along, along with me, 625 00:35:41,461 --> 00:35:45,101 'came for him the daily indignity of being recognised as me. 626 00:35:46,141 --> 00:35:48,780 'People would stop him in the street and say, 627 00:35:48,781 --> 00:35:50,820 "Mr Lee, might I have your autograph?" 628 00:35:50,821 --> 00:35:53,780 'But Vincent was so much more than a horror star. 629 00:35:53,781 --> 00:35:57,020 'He gave lectures on painting, sculpture, and cookery. 630 00:35:57,021 --> 00:35:58,900 'At the height of his success, 631 00:35:58,901 --> 00:36:01,900 'he had a job on the side as an art buyer for Sears Roebuck. 632 00:36:01,901 --> 00:36:05,581 'Vincent knew how to enjoy his work and enjoy his life. 633 00:36:06,541 --> 00:36:09,740 'He enjoyed his public image and played up to it deliciously, 634 00:36:09,741 --> 00:36:12,500 'but he also took relish in switching it off. 635 00:36:12,501 --> 00:36:14,741 'I never heard him complain. 636 00:36:15,661 --> 00:36:18,620 'Perhaps the one thing that I envied him and Peter 637 00:36:18,621 --> 00:36:20,740 'was their ability to be so comfortable 638 00:36:20,741 --> 00:36:22,700 'with the public's perception of them.' 639 00:36:22,701 --> 00:36:25,101 I never quite was. 640 00:36:26,221 --> 00:36:29,060 I think for a long time, horror fans, 641 00:36:29,061 --> 00:36:32,380 particularly horror fans, liked Christopher Lee the least. 642 00:36:32,381 --> 00:36:34,460 Not because of his performances, 643 00:36:34,461 --> 00:36:38,460 but because of his attitude to his own performances and to the genre. 644 00:36:38,461 --> 00:36:40,941 He sort of kidded himself as a result. 645 00:36:41,941 --> 00:36:45,740 In some interviews he actually said, you know, in the late '60s, 646 00:36:45,741 --> 00:36:48,580 as late as that, he was suggesting that The Curse of Frankenstein 647 00:36:48,581 --> 00:36:51,140 was the only REAL horror film he'd been in. 648 00:36:51,141 --> 00:36:54,540 And I think as a result, fans found him rather ungracious, 649 00:36:54,541 --> 00:36:57,220 which is a bit of an irony 650 00:36:57,221 --> 00:36:59,820 because ungracious is the one thing 651 00:36:59,821 --> 00:37:02,901 Christopher Lee would never want to be thought to be. 652 00:37:03,781 --> 00:37:06,181 'And then... there was Gitte.' 653 00:37:16,821 --> 00:37:19,260 'She was a painter and a photographer. 654 00:37:19,261 --> 00:37:21,860 'She modelled for Balenciaga and Dior, 655 00:37:21,861 --> 00:37:25,380 'and her father was a director for the Tuborg Brewery in Copenhagen. 656 00:37:25,381 --> 00:37:27,420 'After a couple of missed opportunities, 657 00:37:27,421 --> 00:37:30,820 'our paths finally crossed, and entwined they would happily stay 658 00:37:30,821 --> 00:37:33,021 'until the end of my life. 659 00:37:43,941 --> 00:37:46,820 'My fame at this point was undoubtedly becoming global 660 00:37:46,821 --> 00:37:49,420 'and when international filmmakers became aware 661 00:37:49,421 --> 00:37:51,980 'of my ability to speak in several other languages, 662 00:37:51,981 --> 00:37:54,140 'I found myself in demand.' 663 00:37:54,141 --> 00:37:57,020 This was fortunate, as I unexpectedly found myself 664 00:37:57,021 --> 00:37:59,060 under attack from a monster 665 00:37:59,061 --> 00:38:02,420 the likes of which Hammer could never have envisioned. 666 00:38:02,421 --> 00:38:05,300 He left England for Switzerland 667 00:38:05,301 --> 00:38:07,740 as a tax refugee. 668 00:38:07,741 --> 00:38:10,340 He came out with quite a lot of standard, you know? 669 00:38:10,341 --> 00:38:13,780 Conservative stuff that it was... 670 00:38:13,781 --> 00:38:15,820 the politics of envy 671 00:38:15,821 --> 00:38:18,540 and this level of taxation couldn't... 672 00:38:18,541 --> 00:38:21,661 you know, couldn't be maintained for any longer. 673 00:38:22,981 --> 00:38:26,340 'With appropriate irony, the first role I was contracted to play 674 00:38:26,341 --> 00:38:30,540 'as a non-domicile was one of the great fictional Englishman. 675 00:38:30,541 --> 00:38:33,340 'It was my turn to don the deerstalker 676 00:38:33,341 --> 00:38:35,620 'and interpret Sherlock Holmes... 677 00:38:35,621 --> 00:38:37,701 'into German.' 678 00:38:41,541 --> 00:38:44,860 'Despite my perfectly adequate German delivery, 679 00:38:44,861 --> 00:38:46,980 'they decided to dub my voice.' 680 00:39:02,981 --> 00:39:05,421 'From Germany to Italy.' 681 00:39:28,181 --> 00:39:31,180 'The Crypt of the Vampire was shot in Avezzano 682 00:39:31,181 --> 00:39:33,221 'at the Castello de Balsorano. 683 00:39:34,061 --> 00:39:37,461 'The film was good, but the location, divine. 684 00:39:39,741 --> 00:39:42,700 'I would come to know the castles of Europe rather well 685 00:39:42,701 --> 00:39:46,260 'as it transpired that many of the filmmakers who wanted to work with me 686 00:39:46,261 --> 00:39:48,740 'may not have wanted me to play Dracula, 687 00:39:48,741 --> 00:39:51,341 'but certainly a derivative thereof.' 688 00:39:54,301 --> 00:39:58,020 Going to Europe in 1962 was a very good idea because, you know, 689 00:39:58,021 --> 00:40:01,140 the early Hammer horror films and the other British horror films 690 00:40:01,141 --> 00:40:04,820 that grew up around Hammer were enormously venerated in France 691 00:40:04,821 --> 00:40:08,380 and also had made a huge impact in Italy. 692 00:40:08,381 --> 00:40:12,580 He's in all these German and French and Spanish movies, Italian movies, 693 00:40:12,581 --> 00:40:15,180 where they're not movies we even know about 694 00:40:15,181 --> 00:40:17,860 because they were never dubbed into English 695 00:40:17,861 --> 00:40:21,460 and he's speaking French or Italian or German or Spanish. 696 00:40:21,461 --> 00:40:24,900 They are quite interesting because they're all fractured versions 697 00:40:24,901 --> 00:40:29,340 of the persona that he first showed in the Hammer films. 698 00:40:29,341 --> 00:40:32,340 Italy, of course, was an industry that would always go for what was 699 00:40:32,341 --> 00:40:35,580 the now thing and how can we produce our own version of it. 700 00:40:35,581 --> 00:40:38,540 Well, one very good way to produce it was to get Christopher Lee in. 701 00:40:38,541 --> 00:40:41,620 So, you know, there he was by the shores of Lake Geneva 702 00:40:41,621 --> 00:40:45,300 during his Swiss exile, and he was constantly popping down to Italy. 703 00:40:45,301 --> 00:40:47,540 Italy was a perfect place. 704 00:40:47,541 --> 00:40:50,380 There were wonderful locations, et cetera. 705 00:40:50,381 --> 00:40:53,580 And who was the number one star in horror pictures? 706 00:40:53,581 --> 00:40:55,860 Christopher Lee. 707 00:40:55,861 --> 00:40:58,780 So, I reached out for Christopher 708 00:40:58,781 --> 00:41:02,020 and when I met him, we just became fast friends. 709 00:41:02,021 --> 00:41:05,500 And I... raised some money 710 00:41:05,501 --> 00:41:08,740 and put together the first budget 711 00:41:08,741 --> 00:41:12,020 for Castle of the Living Dead. 712 00:41:12,021 --> 00:41:14,941 And that's how it happened. 713 00:41:16,141 --> 00:41:18,381 The Castle of the Living Dead. 714 00:41:19,381 --> 00:41:21,420 In an atmosphere of horror, 715 00:41:21,421 --> 00:41:25,421 the story of a man who violates the forbidden frontiers of science... 716 00:41:27,021 --> 00:41:30,140 ...to arrive at a frightful but lucid madness 717 00:41:30,141 --> 00:41:32,980 and atrocious inhuman crime. 718 00:41:32,981 --> 00:41:35,861 Starring the unforgettable creator of Dracula. 719 00:41:37,101 --> 00:41:40,380 'The great joys of my experience in Europe, were my partnerships 720 00:41:40,381 --> 00:41:44,221 with the Italian director Mario Bava and the Spanish Jess Franco. 721 00:41:46,221 --> 00:41:48,860 He made quite a few pictures with Jess Franco, 722 00:41:48,861 --> 00:41:51,861 who obviously he must have respected and liked on some level. 723 00:41:52,861 --> 00:41:56,860 Very few of them are at the top of the heap of the movies 724 00:41:56,861 --> 00:41:59,420 that he would wanna be remembered for. 725 00:41:59,421 --> 00:42:01,620 But interestingly, 726 00:42:01,621 --> 00:42:04,020 he changed his mind about doing a Dracula picture 727 00:42:04,021 --> 00:42:06,021 because he did one for Jess. 728 00:42:07,901 --> 00:42:10,221 And, action! 729 00:42:21,821 --> 00:42:25,100 The idea was that this was going to be 'the' Dracula picture, 730 00:42:25,101 --> 00:42:28,020 based on the book, which was always a bugaboo of his, 731 00:42:28,021 --> 00:42:30,980 is how few things from the book ended up in these movies. 732 00:42:30,981 --> 00:42:33,860 And it was another thread-bearer kind of a movie. 733 00:42:33,861 --> 00:42:37,540 Although Pere Portobella made a really interesting documentary 734 00:42:37,541 --> 00:42:40,020 about the making of that movie, 735 00:42:40,021 --> 00:42:43,101 which is actually much more interesting than the movie itself. 736 00:43:11,901 --> 00:43:13,860 'To the continental filmmakers, 737 00:43:13,861 --> 00:43:16,380 'sex and death went hand-in-hand 738 00:43:16,381 --> 00:43:18,580 'along with pain and pleasure. 739 00:43:18,581 --> 00:43:22,300 'Accusations of downright perversity were levelled at some of these films, 740 00:43:22,301 --> 00:43:24,340 'but it was merely the European way. 741 00:43:24,341 --> 00:43:27,420 'Their art and literature have been infused with sex 742 00:43:27,421 --> 00:43:29,860 'as far back as can be remembered. 743 00:43:29,861 --> 00:43:33,181 'My films from this time have a distinctly different feel. 744 00:43:37,141 --> 00:43:40,700 'Sometimes dreamy, delirious, or demented, 745 00:43:40,701 --> 00:43:43,181 'it was a heady and creative time for me.' 746 00:43:44,861 --> 00:43:47,500 A film of mystery! A film of thrill! 747 00:43:47,501 --> 00:43:49,741 A film of terror! 748 00:43:54,181 --> 00:43:56,300 He made some amazing films, 749 00:43:56,301 --> 00:43:59,820 and he was delighted to be working in particular with Mario Bava. 750 00:43:59,821 --> 00:44:03,301 But I think he was very aware that this was really just... 751 00:44:04,381 --> 00:44:07,900 ...a continuation, if you like, of what he called his graveyard period, 752 00:44:07,901 --> 00:44:11,421 because he was very much looked upon as a Gothic personage. 753 00:44:18,381 --> 00:44:20,980 'On the 22nd of November 1963, 754 00:44:20,981 --> 00:44:24,141 'Gitte gave birth to our wonderful daughter, Christina. 755 00:44:25,261 --> 00:44:27,340 'We were now a family. 756 00:44:27,341 --> 00:44:30,860 'The idea of leaving them, for even a small amount of time, 757 00:44:30,861 --> 00:44:32,900 'filled me with anxiety. 758 00:44:32,901 --> 00:44:35,980 'Death started to mean something different to me. 759 00:44:35,981 --> 00:44:38,381 'For the first time, I truly feared it. 760 00:44:39,381 --> 00:44:42,900 'For the idea of not living to see Christina bloom and conquer 761 00:44:42,901 --> 00:44:44,941 'was unimaginably painful.' 762 00:44:46,101 --> 00:44:48,740 The charms of Switzerland had worn off by now 763 00:44:48,741 --> 00:44:51,660 and taxman be damned, we just wanted to be home. 764 00:44:51,661 --> 00:44:54,300 So, we returned to London and took a flat 765 00:44:54,301 --> 00:44:56,260 a stone's throw from Mr Karloff. 766 00:44:56,261 --> 00:44:58,540 My career had gone international, 767 00:44:58,541 --> 00:45:01,500 yet I didn't seem to have moved a step. 768 00:45:01,501 --> 00:45:04,260 The allowance of days that I was given as a tax exile 769 00:45:04,261 --> 00:45:07,420 by the government to work in the UK had all gone to Hammer 770 00:45:07,421 --> 00:45:11,820 and my return made me feel as if perhaps, I had never even left. 771 00:45:11,821 --> 00:45:14,300 But then a new character beckoned me. 772 00:45:14,301 --> 00:45:17,340 And although he certainly was of the shadows, 773 00:45:17,341 --> 00:45:21,221 it was as far from typecasting as I could reasonably hope. 774 00:45:22,101 --> 00:45:25,261 'I was not the first to bring the evil Dr Fu Manchu to screen. 775 00:45:26,741 --> 00:45:29,300 'Seven screen Fus had preceded me, 776 00:45:29,301 --> 00:45:32,061 'including a memorable turn by Boris. 777 00:45:33,661 --> 00:45:37,460 'It is perhaps unimaginable that such a film be made today, 778 00:45:37,461 --> 00:45:39,660 'not just the racial characterisations, 779 00:45:39,661 --> 00:45:42,660 'but the very fact that the main role, a Chinese man, 780 00:45:42,661 --> 00:45:45,341 'be played by a Caucasian Englishman. 781 00:45:46,221 --> 00:45:49,180 'I can only say that I have never played Fu Manchu 782 00:45:49,181 --> 00:45:51,460 'in any way that the Chinese could find offensive. 783 00:45:51,461 --> 00:45:54,580 'However, I can understand their objection to the character 784 00:45:54,581 --> 00:45:57,541 'being referred to as 'the Yellow Peril'. 785 00:45:58,821 --> 00:46:01,780 'I played Fu over the course of five films 786 00:46:01,781 --> 00:46:04,460 'and very much following the pattern of my involvement 787 00:46:04,461 --> 00:46:06,060 'with the Hammer Dracula series, 788 00:46:06,061 --> 00:46:08,741 'it was a case of steadily diminishing returns. 789 00:46:09,661 --> 00:46:13,340 'In fact, these two franchises, in the modern parlance, 790 00:46:13,341 --> 00:46:16,820 'overlapped throughout my 1960s and '70s.' 791 00:46:56,661 --> 00:47:00,340 Hammer, which was not exactly in the business of making art, 792 00:47:00,341 --> 00:47:03,020 decided that this was a vein that they wanted to mine. 793 00:47:03,021 --> 00:47:05,100 And so, they ended up... 794 00:47:05,101 --> 00:47:08,940 essentially remaking those pictures like seven, eight times, 795 00:47:08,941 --> 00:47:12,260 and they ended up doing kind of the same thing that Universal did, 796 00:47:12,261 --> 00:47:14,900 which is sort of running it into the ground after a while. 797 00:47:14,901 --> 00:47:17,460 There was always less of Dracula in every one of the movies 798 00:47:17,461 --> 00:47:20,740 until you get to Taste the Blood of Dracula, which is not a bad movie, 799 00:47:20,741 --> 00:47:23,060 it looks like it was conceived without Dracula. 800 00:47:23,061 --> 00:47:25,940 And indeed, it had been. "No, we're not gonna have to." 801 00:47:25,941 --> 00:47:28,620 But Warner Brothers, the distributor said, "We can't distribute 802 00:47:28,621 --> 00:47:31,500 this picture without Christopher Lee. It's a Dracula movie!" 803 00:47:31,501 --> 00:47:34,340 There's a couple of real shit Hammers that he's in 804 00:47:34,341 --> 00:47:37,220 that he gives you this long story about. 805 00:47:37,221 --> 00:47:39,700 Someone calls him and says... 806 00:47:39,701 --> 00:47:42,300 "Chris, you have to come, you have to be Dracula 807 00:47:42,301 --> 00:47:45,420 because the movie's cast, we've committed the money. 808 00:47:45,421 --> 00:47:48,180 Everyone, the carpenters, you know, 809 00:47:48,181 --> 00:47:50,420 all the group, the family, you know, 810 00:47:50,421 --> 00:47:52,580 it'll fall apart if you don't do it." 811 00:47:52,581 --> 00:47:54,660 You know they used to guilt him into these things. 812 00:47:54,661 --> 00:47:56,500 He never gave less than his all. 813 00:47:56,501 --> 00:47:58,820 I mean, he was always good in the movies. 814 00:47:58,821 --> 00:48:00,700 He did the best job he could. 815 00:48:00,701 --> 00:48:03,300 But I think that he felt after a while he was just wasting his time 816 00:48:03,301 --> 00:48:06,980 and that he was sort of sullying whatever... 817 00:48:06,981 --> 00:48:09,140 name value he may have. 818 00:48:09,141 --> 00:48:11,620 He had that ambivalence towards the role of Dracula. 819 00:48:11,621 --> 00:48:14,620 It had got him where he was, it had got him recognition, 820 00:48:14,621 --> 00:48:17,980 but it also was the sort of thing that he could never leave behind 821 00:48:17,981 --> 00:48:20,740 and that so many people thought was all he could do. 822 00:48:20,741 --> 00:48:23,980 You know, I got him to sign a poster for me once. 823 00:48:23,981 --> 00:48:26,020 I only got him to sign one poster 824 00:48:26,021 --> 00:48:28,420 and it was a poster for Taste the Blood of Dracula. 825 00:48:28,421 --> 00:48:30,700 He grumbled a bit when I asked him to sign it 826 00:48:30,701 --> 00:48:33,460 and the message he wrote on it was, 827 00:48:33,461 --> 00:48:37,460 "Dear Peter, this is from another life." 828 00:48:37,461 --> 00:48:41,740 You know? He regarded that as being something that was... 829 00:48:41,741 --> 00:48:44,780 He did but he wanted to move on from that. 830 00:48:44,781 --> 00:48:46,980 And, you know, personally speaking, 831 00:48:46,981 --> 00:48:49,660 I think the balance, he could've got the balance a bit better 832 00:48:49,661 --> 00:48:53,220 where he moved on, but not... 833 00:48:53,221 --> 00:48:55,900 not to the point that he somehow 834 00:48:55,901 --> 00:48:58,380 came across as being ashamed of those films. 835 00:48:58,381 --> 00:49:01,020 'Cause he had nothing whatsoever to be ashamed about. 836 00:49:01,021 --> 00:49:03,460 He was absolutely the king of his... 837 00:49:03,461 --> 00:49:07,141 of all he surveyed really, in that niche. 838 00:49:08,421 --> 00:49:10,500 But he wasn't satisfied with that. 839 00:49:10,501 --> 00:49:12,580 It's an interesting conundrum 840 00:49:12,581 --> 00:49:15,300 but I think it's a lot to do with, you know, 841 00:49:15,301 --> 00:49:18,500 his ancestry where great things were expected of him 842 00:49:18,501 --> 00:49:20,140 and here he was playing monsters. 843 00:49:20,141 --> 00:49:24,340 Both of us had the same degree of a certain lack of confidence, 844 00:49:24,341 --> 00:49:27,300 which did come from our family, I think, 845 00:49:27,301 --> 00:49:29,740 because my grandmother could be very withering. 846 00:49:29,741 --> 00:49:32,060 I don't know. Not withering about acting. 847 00:49:32,061 --> 00:49:34,740 In fact, acting was the one thing that we made our family 848 00:49:34,741 --> 00:49:37,540 proud about, funnily enough. It was everything else you were 849 00:49:37,541 --> 00:49:39,900 that felt a bit sort of, "I'm not quite up to scratch." 850 00:49:39,901 --> 00:49:41,700 And I can't define it 851 00:49:41,701 --> 00:49:43,980 and I'd love to have sat down and talked to him about it. 852 00:49:43,981 --> 00:49:47,861 But it's just a sort of... aura in the family of sort of... 853 00:49:50,381 --> 00:49:53,740 There's a threat of ridicule somewhere in the atmosphere. 854 00:49:53,741 --> 00:49:56,980 Here's the funny thing, he loved playing Dracula. 855 00:49:56,981 --> 00:49:59,180 When you're that good at playing a part, 856 00:49:59,181 --> 00:50:01,940 and when you have such command of the screen, 857 00:50:01,941 --> 00:50:04,860 and you can make such an impact in such a short time, 858 00:50:04,861 --> 00:50:08,060 of course you're going to love playing that part. 859 00:50:08,061 --> 00:50:10,060 'Hollywood finally came calling, 860 00:50:10,061 --> 00:50:12,980 'and although this time it would be upon British soil, 861 00:50:12,981 --> 00:50:15,660 'I would actually be working very closely 862 00:50:15,661 --> 00:50:18,981 'with a certified legendary Hollywood director. 863 00:50:20,301 --> 00:50:23,940 'Billy Wilder had decided to make a Sherlock Holmes film. 864 00:50:23,941 --> 00:50:26,820 'He, quite correctly, saw me as Mycroft, 865 00:50:26,821 --> 00:50:30,140 'Holmes' arguably more clever, older brother.' 866 00:50:30,141 --> 00:50:33,140 Am I going too fast with the best brain in England? 867 00:50:33,141 --> 00:50:35,220 Go on. 868 00:50:35,221 --> 00:50:37,540 They planted that on you quite neatly, I must admit, 869 00:50:37,541 --> 00:50:40,220 so that you could lead them to their objective, the air pump. 870 00:50:40,221 --> 00:50:43,740 Very much like using a hog to find truffles. 871 00:50:43,741 --> 00:50:47,100 'It had taken me 23 years and over 100 films 872 00:50:47,101 --> 00:50:50,980 'before I was to have such a thoroughly satisfying experience.' 873 00:50:50,981 --> 00:50:52,660 Oh, charming! 874 00:50:52,661 --> 00:50:55,500 Chris was very proud of Mycroft Holmes, 875 00:50:55,501 --> 00:50:57,500 but what he was proud of 876 00:50:57,501 --> 00:50:59,700 was, although he's wonderful in the movie, 877 00:50:59,701 --> 00:51:03,500 but he was proud of being employed by Billy Wilder. 878 00:51:03,501 --> 00:51:05,540 That's what was, you know? 879 00:51:05,541 --> 00:51:09,620 That's what was... "I'm being- I'm with one of the greats." 880 00:51:09,621 --> 00:51:12,380 The early to mid-70s' were to offer me two roles 881 00:51:12,381 --> 00:51:16,260 which could hold their own in the iconic stakes against old Dracula. 882 00:51:16,261 --> 00:51:21,220 Finally, I was to go up against Britain's finest secret agent. 883 00:51:21,221 --> 00:51:23,860 But before we go into that. 884 00:51:23,861 --> 00:51:27,261 It is time to keep your appointment with the Wicker Man. 885 00:51:36,541 --> 00:51:39,260 'Now, I've never been shy about proclaiming 886 00:51:39,261 --> 00:51:42,260 'this as my favourite of all the films I've appeared in. 887 00:51:42,261 --> 00:51:44,460 'There are many reasons for this. 888 00:51:44,461 --> 00:51:47,700 'Firstly, it's a brilliant story, expertly told.' 889 00:51:47,701 --> 00:51:51,501 You can't land here without written permission! 890 00:51:52,341 --> 00:51:55,220 I, as you can see, am a police officer. 891 00:51:55,221 --> 00:51:57,940 A complaint has been registered 892 00:51:57,941 --> 00:52:00,620 by a resident of this island of a missing child! 893 00:52:00,621 --> 00:52:02,740 Now that makes it a police matter, 894 00:52:02,741 --> 00:52:04,500 private property or not! 895 00:52:04,501 --> 00:52:07,020 Now, will you send a dingy, please? 896 00:52:07,021 --> 00:52:09,021 Need to tell his lordship. 897 00:52:10,381 --> 00:52:13,460 'The great playwright Anthony Shaffer found a novel 898 00:52:13,461 --> 00:52:16,740 'in which he saw a kernel of a story which intrigued him. 899 00:52:16,741 --> 00:52:19,261 'We bought the rights, and he made it his own.' 900 00:52:37,421 --> 00:52:39,421 Good afternoon, Sergeant Howie. 901 00:52:40,621 --> 00:52:43,420 I trust the sight of the young people refreshes you. 902 00:52:43,421 --> 00:52:45,140 No, Sir. 903 00:52:45,141 --> 00:52:47,220 It does not refresh me. 904 00:52:47,221 --> 00:52:49,180 Oh, I'm sorry. 905 00:52:49,181 --> 00:52:52,461 One should always be open to the regenerative influences. 906 00:52:53,981 --> 00:52:56,700 'He conceived of the role of Lord Summerisle for me. 907 00:52:56,701 --> 00:53:00,340 'I assure you that this is an extreme rarity in the business. 908 00:53:00,341 --> 00:53:02,500 'To have a part not just handed to you, 909 00:53:02,501 --> 00:53:05,340 'but inspired by you is a rare moment, 910 00:53:05,341 --> 00:53:08,020 'especially one this good!' 911 00:53:08,021 --> 00:53:09,860 In that case, you must go ahead. 912 00:53:09,861 --> 00:53:13,980 The Wicker Man really drew from a lot of his past 913 00:53:13,981 --> 00:53:15,861 as a horror icon... 914 00:53:16,981 --> 00:53:20,100 ...because The Wicker Man is unquestionably a horror film. 915 00:53:20,101 --> 00:53:22,100 And at the heart of it, of course, 916 00:53:22,101 --> 00:53:25,020 you've got Lee playing, you know, the laird 917 00:53:25,021 --> 00:53:27,500 who lives in the castle at the top of the hill, 918 00:53:27,501 --> 00:53:31,060 to whom the unsuspecting innocent person has to travel by coach. 919 00:53:31,061 --> 00:53:33,860 Is this reminding you of anybody? You know. 920 00:53:33,861 --> 00:53:37,501 It's a very clever manipulation of his image. 921 00:53:38,461 --> 00:53:40,900 And I think to a degree, Lee was aware of that, 922 00:53:40,901 --> 00:53:43,860 but he was aware that in manipulating his image like that 923 00:53:43,861 --> 00:53:47,300 Shaffer had given him some beautiful dialogue 924 00:53:47,301 --> 00:53:51,780 and a marvellously ambiguous character to play. 925 00:53:51,781 --> 00:53:54,500 What my grandfather had started out of expediency, 926 00:53:54,501 --> 00:53:57,421 my father continued out of... love. 927 00:53:58,781 --> 00:54:00,740 He brought me up the same way. 928 00:54:00,741 --> 00:54:03,260 To reverence the music and the drama 929 00:54:03,261 --> 00:54:05,261 and the rituals of the old gods. 930 00:54:06,301 --> 00:54:09,301 To love nature and to fear it. 931 00:54:10,741 --> 00:54:13,420 And to rely on it and to appease it when necessary. 932 00:54:13,421 --> 00:54:15,981 He brought me up- He brought you up to be a pagan! 933 00:54:18,301 --> 00:54:20,260 A heathen, conceivably, 934 00:54:20,261 --> 00:54:22,661 but not, I hope, an unenlightened one. 935 00:54:29,301 --> 00:54:32,100 'How different could two film shoots be? 936 00:54:32,101 --> 00:54:34,780 'From the grey wind-swept hills of coastal Scotland 937 00:54:34,781 --> 00:54:37,620 'to the sun-drenched beaches of Thailand? 938 00:54:37,621 --> 00:54:42,100 'Famously, the 007 films were lavish Pan Global productions, 939 00:54:42,101 --> 00:54:45,540 'which shot for months with a travelling team of hundreds. 940 00:54:45,541 --> 00:54:48,620 'The producers were Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, 941 00:54:48,621 --> 00:54:50,940 'by now millionaires many times over 942 00:54:50,941 --> 00:54:54,860 'thanks to their shrewd licencing of my cousin Ian Fleming's books. 943 00:54:54,861 --> 00:54:58,340 'Oh, yes, Ian and I were quite the pair. 944 00:54:58,341 --> 00:55:01,420 'I've heard talk that certain elements of the James Bond character 945 00:55:01,421 --> 00:55:05,700 'were in fact based upon me and my own wartime experiences. 946 00:55:05,701 --> 00:55:09,420 'But of course, I couldn't possibly comment on such matters. 947 00:55:09,421 --> 00:55:11,900 'Sadly, by now, Ian was dead 948 00:55:11,901 --> 00:55:14,780 'and never did get to see me play one of his characters. 949 00:55:14,781 --> 00:55:18,580 'But here I was now squaring off against Roger Moore, 950 00:55:18,581 --> 00:55:21,341 'and what a match we made.' 951 00:55:22,381 --> 00:55:24,500 You live well, Scaramanga. 952 00:55:24,501 --> 00:55:27,980 At a million dollars a contract, I can afford to Mr Bond. 953 00:55:27,981 --> 00:55:30,020 You work for peanuts. 954 00:55:30,021 --> 00:55:32,540 A hearty, "Well done" from Her Majesty the Queen 955 00:55:32,541 --> 00:55:34,220 and a pittance of a pension. 956 00:55:34,221 --> 00:55:36,261 Apart from that, we are the same. 957 00:55:37,421 --> 00:55:39,180 To us, Mr Bond. 958 00:55:39,181 --> 00:55:41,141 We are the best. 959 00:55:42,661 --> 00:55:46,981 He was kind of thrilled to be The Man with the Golden Gun... 960 00:55:48,021 --> 00:55:51,100 ...because it was a big Hollywood international production 961 00:55:51,101 --> 00:55:53,620 and Cubby Broccoli and, you know, 962 00:55:53,621 --> 00:55:56,780 it was the biggest thing going and he was delighted to be in that. 963 00:55:56,781 --> 00:55:58,860 And I would say, 964 00:55:58,861 --> 00:56:02,340 "Chris, it was the third nipple you're delighted by, isn't it?" 965 00:56:02,341 --> 00:56:04,900 "What are you talking about?" 966 00:56:04,901 --> 00:56:08,980 He was pretty easy to tease. 967 00:56:08,981 --> 00:56:11,740 'My performance has regularly been singled out 968 00:56:11,741 --> 00:56:13,820 'as one of the better Bond villains, 969 00:56:13,821 --> 00:56:16,580 'and that is a compliment I don't take lightly. 970 00:56:16,581 --> 00:56:19,541 'My star had risen. I had arrived.' 971 00:56:20,661 --> 00:56:24,820 I think the first time he ever got ever any kind of nice treatment 972 00:56:24,821 --> 00:56:28,820 by the critics in the UK was The Man with the Golden Gun. 973 00:56:28,821 --> 00:56:31,540 He was a very sensitive man and he'd been, really, 974 00:56:31,541 --> 00:56:34,820 cruelly treated by the critics and everything for years. 975 00:56:34,821 --> 00:56:37,820 There's a little, little touch of bad luck even here 976 00:56:37,821 --> 00:56:40,780 because finally Christopher is playing a Bond villain 977 00:56:40,781 --> 00:56:44,700 and he's being, to my mind, one of the very best Bond villains, 978 00:56:44,701 --> 00:56:47,820 but he's in a Bond film that is... 979 00:56:47,821 --> 00:56:50,220 ..a bit of a curate's egg. 980 00:56:50,221 --> 00:56:52,100 You know, I mean, look, 981 00:56:52,101 --> 00:56:54,660 by comparison to most of Christopher Lee's films, 982 00:56:54,661 --> 00:56:57,900 The Man with the Golden Gun made squillions of dollars. 983 00:56:57,901 --> 00:57:00,580 But by comparison to the other James Bond films up to that time, 984 00:57:00,581 --> 00:57:03,100 it was a little bit of a damp squib, even commercially. 985 00:57:03,101 --> 00:57:06,660 So, you know, there were these- these little touches of bad luck 986 00:57:06,661 --> 00:57:10,100 sort of drop through even at the moments of zenith. 987 00:57:10,101 --> 00:57:14,340 But maybe- maybe that's, you know, the actor's lot in many ways. 988 00:57:14,341 --> 00:57:17,100 On my return to Britain, all that awaited me 989 00:57:17,101 --> 00:57:19,900 were more dismal deaths in dank dungeons. 990 00:57:19,901 --> 00:57:22,300 And to be honest, not so many of those 991 00:57:22,301 --> 00:57:25,180 since Hammer was in steep decline. 992 00:57:25,181 --> 00:57:28,060 'In our mutual interest, I had picked up the rights 993 00:57:28,061 --> 00:57:30,740 'to some of Dennis Wheatley's literary properties 994 00:57:30,741 --> 00:57:34,740 'and hoped to motivate Hammer into action on a more modern type of film, 995 00:57:34,741 --> 00:57:38,380 'which might compete with the likes of The Exorcist.' 996 00:57:44,021 --> 00:57:47,460 'Well, they dragged their feet, but eventually got it made. 997 00:57:47,461 --> 00:57:50,941 'A tepid adaptation which angered Wheatley.' 998 00:58:18,101 --> 00:58:20,740 'It would be my last film for Hammer, 999 00:58:20,741 --> 00:58:22,981 the end of an era. 1000 00:58:24,821 --> 00:58:27,860 'They had managed to snare Richard Widmark as leading man, 1001 00:58:27,861 --> 00:58:30,180 and he joined the Transatlantic Chorus, 1002 00:58:30,181 --> 00:58:33,460 'started a decade ago by Billy Wilder and finally convinced me 1003 00:58:33,461 --> 00:58:36,901 'that it was time to up sticks and move, lock stock to America.' 1004 00:58:37,861 --> 00:58:41,460 America, where I was appreciated, respected, 1005 00:58:41,461 --> 00:58:44,101 and where Hollywood seemed ripe with promise. 1006 00:58:45,101 --> 00:58:47,180 He had a decent life here. 1007 00:58:47,181 --> 00:58:48,940 It wasn't... 1008 00:58:48,941 --> 00:58:52,141 a life of discotheques and things like that. 1009 00:58:53,621 --> 00:58:55,380 It was a life of work 1010 00:58:55,381 --> 00:58:57,820 because he did work quite a bit 1011 00:58:57,821 --> 00:58:59,500 when he came to Hollywood. 1012 00:58:59,501 --> 00:59:02,980 It was a very fruitful period for Christopher. 1013 00:59:02,981 --> 00:59:05,020 It really was. 1014 00:59:05,021 --> 00:59:09,020 He loved being in Hollywood and he was working. 1015 00:59:09,021 --> 00:59:11,940 He got to work with Jack Lemmon and Lee Grant, you know? 1016 00:59:11,941 --> 00:59:14,540 Real actors and real Hollywood stars, 1017 00:59:14,541 --> 00:59:16,780 and he really enjoyed it. 1018 00:59:16,781 --> 00:59:19,940 'My first film was a huge movie for Universal, 1019 00:59:19,941 --> 00:59:21,981 'Airport 77. 1020 00:59:22,941 --> 00:59:26,420 'The Airport films were the original and finest exponents 1021 00:59:26,421 --> 00:59:29,580 'of the very popular, new 'disaster movie' genre. 1022 00:59:29,581 --> 00:59:31,940 'The format was simple and effective. 1023 00:59:31,941 --> 00:59:34,860 'A large cast of popular celebrities, old and new, 1024 00:59:34,861 --> 00:59:37,700 'are thrust into a cataclysmic situation. 1025 00:59:37,701 --> 00:59:41,460 'The fun of these films was the absolute unpredictability 1026 00:59:41,461 --> 00:59:44,341 'as to who would survive and who would die. 1027 00:59:45,501 --> 00:59:48,900 'I would be sharing the screen and the first-class lounge 1028 00:59:48,901 --> 00:59:51,460 'with Jack Lemmon, Olivia de Haviland, 1029 00:59:51,461 --> 00:59:55,180 'Joseph Cotton, and Jimmy Stewart. 1030 00:59:55,181 --> 00:59:58,220 'To absolutely nobody in the world's surprise, 1031 00:59:58,221 --> 00:59:59,860 'I died. 1032 00:59:59,861 --> 01:00:01,860 'But it was a good death, 1033 01:00:01,861 --> 01:00:04,701 'a hero's death, a new death. 1034 01:00:05,621 --> 01:00:08,740 'I had to train for a week in a water tank to accomplish it. 1035 01:00:08,741 --> 01:00:11,020 'And upon completion, I received an award 1036 01:00:11,021 --> 01:00:12,981 'more meaningful to me than an Oscar. 1037 01:00:13,981 --> 01:00:16,820 'The hallowed Stunt Team belt buckle, 1038 01:00:16,821 --> 01:00:20,220 'a recognition that you were one of them. 1039 01:00:20,221 --> 01:00:22,420 This is a good start! I mean, 1040 01:00:22,421 --> 01:00:25,460 it's a slightly silly disaster film of the period, but nevertheless 1041 01:00:25,461 --> 01:00:28,860 it's a big thing. But because of Christopher's workaholic tendencies, 1042 01:00:28,861 --> 01:00:31,100 the next thing he does involves going to Canada 1043 01:00:31,101 --> 01:00:33,981 to appear in something called Starship Invasions. 1044 01:00:34,981 --> 01:00:36,981 Um... 1045 01:00:37,901 --> 01:00:41,780 And you know that film is an embarrassment on many levels. 1046 01:00:41,781 --> 01:00:46,660 However, there are some wonderful things happening for him in the USA. 1047 01:00:46,661 --> 01:00:49,620 He goes over to NYC to be guest host 1048 01:00:49,621 --> 01:00:52,500 on Saturday Night Live in March 1978. 1049 01:00:52,501 --> 01:00:56,300 'I had a wonderful time but was grateful to learn after the fact, 1050 01:00:56,301 --> 01:00:59,941 'that the audience viewing figures were as high as 35 million. 1051 01:01:00,941 --> 01:01:05,140 'By far my largest audience for anything I had ever previously done. 1052 01:01:05,141 --> 01:01:07,700 'Had I known such a figure before taking part, 1053 01:01:07,701 --> 01:01:09,860 'I'd have been a babbling fool. 1054 01:01:09,861 --> 01:01:13,500 'My appearance, seen by really everyone who was anyone, 1055 01:01:13,501 --> 01:01:17,580 'announced to the American film and TV industry that I was alive, 1056 01:01:17,581 --> 01:01:21,340 'that I was available, and that I was perhaps 1057 01:01:21,341 --> 01:01:24,420 'more versatile than they might have expected.' 1058 01:01:24,421 --> 01:01:26,820 Having shown America my capacity for humour, 1059 01:01:26,821 --> 01:01:28,700 the phone started ringing 1060 01:01:28,701 --> 01:01:31,461 and one of those calls was from Steven Spielberg. 1061 01:01:32,781 --> 01:01:35,140 'His next film was to be a comedy. 1062 01:01:35,141 --> 01:01:37,860 'Set around the confusion in the immediate aftermath 1063 01:01:37,861 --> 01:01:41,020 'of the bombing of Pearl Harbour. It would see me paired 1064 01:01:41,021 --> 01:01:44,420 'with the legendary Japanese actor, Toshiro Mifune. 1065 01:01:44,421 --> 01:01:46,460 'I played a German U-boat captain, 1066 01:01:46,461 --> 01:01:48,620 'speaking entirely in the German language. 1067 01:01:48,621 --> 01:01:50,860 'Mifune played my begrudging partner, 1068 01:01:50,861 --> 01:01:53,340 'a Japanese submarine commander 1069 01:01:53,341 --> 01:01:56,020 'who spoke entirely in, of course, Japanese. 1070 01:01:56,021 --> 01:01:59,180 'Now, the joke was that we railed against one another 1071 01:01:59,181 --> 01:02:02,941 'in our mother tongues but could understand each other perfectly. 1072 01:02:03,861 --> 01:02:05,660 'And therein lies the problem. 1073 01:02:05,661 --> 01:02:08,100 'It's not a particularly funny concept. 1074 01:02:08,101 --> 01:02:11,340 'True to its subject matter, the movie bombed. 1075 01:02:11,341 --> 01:02:14,300 'Serial was a very modern satire of life 1076 01:02:14,301 --> 01:02:17,820 'for the Baby Boomers in 1970s San Francisco. 1077 01:02:17,821 --> 01:02:20,860 'I played Luckman, a local businessman, 1078 01:02:20,861 --> 01:02:23,820 'respected and successful, who, on weekends, 1079 01:02:23,821 --> 01:02:26,580 'donned leathers and became Skull, 1080 01:02:26,581 --> 01:02:30,341 'fearsome leader of the local homosexual motorcycle gang.' 1081 01:02:33,901 --> 01:02:38,500 ♪ Might I say that I'm old-fashioned... ♪ 1082 01:02:43,061 --> 01:02:45,460 'My run of strange and wonderful pictures continued 1083 01:02:45,461 --> 01:02:49,500 'with a jaunt to Australia to film The Return of Captain Invincible. 1084 01:02:49,501 --> 01:02:53,340 'I was firmly back in mad fascistic villain territory, 1085 01:02:53,341 --> 01:02:55,940 'but the rest of the film was truly bizarre.' 1086 01:02:55,941 --> 01:02:58,580 I built a fish! Hit the dirt! 1087 01:02:58,581 --> 01:03:01,380 'Only Captain Invincible can stop me, 1088 01:03:01,381 --> 01:03:04,100 if he can kick his addiction to the booze.' 1089 01:03:04,101 --> 01:03:06,940 ♪ If you don't name your poison 1090 01:03:06,941 --> 01:03:09,780 ♪ I'll have to get the boys in 1091 01:03:09,781 --> 01:03:15,100 ♪ The spirit of adventure opens one's eyes 1092 01:03:15,101 --> 01:03:17,620 ♪ If you don't name your poison... 1093 01:03:17,621 --> 01:03:20,700 'To finally sing on film, 1094 01:03:20,701 --> 01:03:23,380 'do you think I might have been enjoying myself?' 1095 01:03:23,381 --> 01:03:27,661 ♪ Sunrise ♪ 1096 01:03:28,821 --> 01:03:31,860 There's no one that is in any doubt of how versatile he was 1097 01:03:31,861 --> 01:03:34,300 and the fact he was capable of other things. You know? 1098 01:03:34,301 --> 01:03:36,940 But I think a lot of the movies he made from the 1970s onwards 1099 01:03:36,941 --> 01:03:40,220 were really a reaction of getting as far away 1100 01:03:40,221 --> 01:03:42,780 from those horror movies 1101 01:03:42,781 --> 01:03:45,100 as he possibly could. 1102 01:03:45,101 --> 01:03:47,460 Christopher was very keen on playing, 1103 01:03:47,461 --> 01:03:49,580 as he called them, Short roles. 1104 01:03:49,581 --> 01:03:51,380 He didn't carry a film. 1105 01:03:51,381 --> 01:03:53,380 He punctuated a film 1106 01:03:53,381 --> 01:03:56,100 in an enormously exciting and brilliant way. 1107 01:03:56,101 --> 01:03:59,420 But he punctuated stories rather than carrying them. 1108 01:03:59,421 --> 01:04:02,060 Short roles enabled him to go 1109 01:04:02,061 --> 01:04:04,460 from film to film, to film, to film, 1110 01:04:04,461 --> 01:04:07,460 sometimes to make multiple films at the same time. 1111 01:04:07,461 --> 01:04:10,941 'My antagonistic services became very much in demand. 1112 01:04:11,981 --> 01:04:15,300 'Now, admittedly, not all of the roles I played were in 1113 01:04:15,301 --> 01:04:18,701 'what one might consider premium quality productions.' 1114 01:04:22,621 --> 01:04:25,780 I wouldn't hesitate to shoot this young lady, you know? 1115 01:04:25,781 --> 01:04:28,660 As you can hear, I don't have very much choice. 1116 01:04:31,301 --> 01:04:34,301 That's better. Easy does it. 1117 01:04:46,741 --> 01:04:49,260 I would say maybe half the movies that he made 1118 01:04:49,261 --> 01:04:51,820 are more or less forgettable. 1119 01:04:51,821 --> 01:04:54,460 And he once said to me that he pitied me 1120 01:04:54,461 --> 01:04:56,500 because I had seen so many of his movies. 1121 01:04:56,501 --> 01:04:58,780 I think he had such a hunger to... 1122 01:04:58,781 --> 01:05:00,820 to keep doing things, 1123 01:05:00,821 --> 01:05:02,860 such a curiosity about doing things. 1124 01:05:02,861 --> 01:05:06,180 He didn't always say, "Is there any artistic merit in this?" 1125 01:05:06,181 --> 01:05:08,141 He didn't wanna be left out. 1126 01:05:09,981 --> 01:05:13,260 He just... He just felt that, 1127 01:05:13,261 --> 01:05:15,740 "The next one is gonna be the... 1128 01:05:15,741 --> 01:05:17,860 a better one." 1129 01:05:17,861 --> 01:05:20,780 I think he just took the rough with the smooth 1130 01:05:20,781 --> 01:05:23,060 all the way through his career. 1131 01:05:23,061 --> 01:05:25,660 And things didn't quite work out how he always wanted them 1132 01:05:25,661 --> 01:05:28,100 to work out, you know? He put that in perspective 1133 01:05:28,101 --> 01:05:30,821 with his wartime experiences and so what? 1134 01:05:36,861 --> 01:05:39,500 We had spent almost a decade in America, 1135 01:05:39,501 --> 01:05:42,100 and I had somewhat stretched my wings there, 1136 01:05:42,101 --> 01:05:45,061 but life, as it will, conspired to bring me back home. 1137 01:05:48,501 --> 01:05:51,460 'I was in Las Vegas shooting the movie Jocks 1138 01:05:51,461 --> 01:05:53,501 'when I felt quite unwell. 1139 01:05:55,621 --> 01:05:59,300 'I was getting tired very easily and walking became quite exhausting.' 1140 01:06:10,341 --> 01:06:12,301 'I went to see a doctor. 1141 01:06:13,861 --> 01:06:16,580 'She told me that my mitral valve in my left ventricle 1142 01:06:16,581 --> 01:06:18,820 'wasn't closing correctly. 1143 01:06:18,821 --> 01:06:21,980 'In that moment, I realised that, quite literally, 1144 01:06:21,981 --> 01:06:24,501 'my heart was no longer in it. 1145 01:06:29,821 --> 01:06:32,500 'Our departure was swift. 1146 01:06:32,501 --> 01:06:35,340 'Back in London I took to Harley Street, 1147 01:06:35,341 --> 01:06:37,540 'province of the private clinician, 1148 01:06:37,541 --> 01:06:39,500 'where, at great expense, 1149 01:06:39,501 --> 01:06:42,580 'I was pricked and prodded and invaded and examined, 1150 01:06:42,581 --> 01:06:45,741 'and the decision was taken that surgery was essential. 1151 01:06:46,661 --> 01:06:49,900 'I campaigned against one of those new-fangled plastic valves 1152 01:06:49,901 --> 01:06:52,700 'as I had heard terrifying tales of recipients of such 1153 01:06:52,701 --> 01:06:55,020 'dropping dead mid-sentence. 1154 01:06:55,021 --> 01:06:59,460 'As an aspirational raconteur and a connoisseur of the act of death, 1155 01:06:59,461 --> 01:07:01,901 'I could think of no worse way to expire. 1156 01:07:02,941 --> 01:07:05,700 'So, they offered me the valve of a pig, 1157 01:07:05,701 --> 01:07:08,220 'which I gladly accepted. 1158 01:07:08,221 --> 01:07:11,981 'In the moment, however, they decided to mend rather than replace. 1159 01:07:13,621 --> 01:07:16,820 'So much of my life had been spent as a purveyor of fear, 1160 01:07:16,821 --> 01:07:18,980 'terror, darkness, and blood. 1161 01:07:18,981 --> 01:07:21,980 'Here I was now at their mercy. 1162 01:07:21,981 --> 01:07:24,021 'I was scared. 1163 01:07:24,941 --> 01:07:27,420 'I wrote letters to Gitte and Christina 1164 01:07:27,421 --> 01:07:31,420 'should the worst happen, and then as I waited for the hour to come, 1165 01:07:31,421 --> 01:07:35,301 'I took comfort in that which has always given me comfort. 1166 01:07:36,661 --> 01:07:39,660 'I first read The Lord of the Rings upon publication. 1167 01:07:39,661 --> 01:07:42,900 'All three volumes were released in quite quick succession 1168 01:07:42,901 --> 01:07:45,861 'within a year or so, and I absolutely devoured them. 1169 01:07:47,341 --> 01:07:50,780 'I was obsessed to the degree that I read the full trilogy 1170 01:07:50,781 --> 01:07:53,421 'every single year for the rest of my life. 1171 01:07:56,661 --> 01:07:59,461 'I met Tolkien in the '50s quite by chance. 1172 01:08:03,581 --> 01:08:05,380 'I was in Oxford with friends. 1173 01:08:05,381 --> 01:08:07,940 'We were drinking merrily in the Eagle and Child Pub 1174 01:08:07,941 --> 01:08:10,500 #when the door opened and in he walked. 1175 01:08:10,501 --> 01:08:14,580 'You see, I recognised him from his photograph on the dust jacket. 1176 01:08:14,581 --> 01:08:18,181 'In he came and somehow, he joined our group for a couple of ales. 1177 01:08:19,501 --> 01:08:22,220 'All I could say was, "How do you do?" 1178 01:08:22,221 --> 01:08:24,541 'That is it, all I could manage. 1179 01:08:25,541 --> 01:08:29,220 'I had so many questions for him I didn't know where to start 1180 01:08:29,221 --> 01:08:31,940 'and really didn't know how it might end up. 1181 01:08:31,941 --> 01:08:35,741 'So, I just smiled and nodded and enjoyed his presence. 1182 01:08:36,621 --> 01:08:39,861 'I enjoyed being in his presence and I have no regrets. 1183 01:08:41,061 --> 01:08:44,900 'I could well have scared him away or upset or annoyed him 1184 01:08:44,901 --> 01:08:47,900 'and that I would've regretted to this day. 1185 01:08:47,901 --> 01:08:50,941 'No, it was quite alright just to have been around him. 1186 01:08:51,741 --> 01:08:53,940 'It is a very good memory. 1187 01:08:53,941 --> 01:08:57,860 'So, before my operation and in my sick bed 1188 01:08:57,861 --> 01:09:00,220 'and during my recuperation, 1189 01:09:00,221 --> 01:09:03,100 'I mentally transported myself to Middle Earth. 1190 01:09:03,101 --> 01:09:06,580 'And The Fellowship with all of their goodness and decency, 1191 01:09:06,581 --> 01:09:09,861 'played a role in my recovery and recover I did. 1192 01:09:14,341 --> 01:09:17,661 'My return to London also marked a return to old friends. 1193 01:09:18,861 --> 01:09:21,100 'House of the Long Shadows, 1194 01:09:21,101 --> 01:09:23,500 'really more of a Gothic chamber piece 1195 01:09:23,501 --> 01:09:27,340 'with the occasional unfortunate demise and a risible ending. 1196 01:09:27,341 --> 01:09:30,100 'This project would see me reunited on screen, 1197 01:09:30,101 --> 01:09:32,940 'not just with Peter, but also Vincent. 1198 01:09:32,941 --> 01:09:36,180 'Who could say no to a family reunion? 1199 01:09:36,181 --> 01:09:39,940 They were such gentlemen. You know, so respectful 1200 01:09:39,941 --> 01:09:42,460 of each other's talent and... 1201 01:09:42,461 --> 01:09:44,620 and of all the crew. 1202 01:09:44,621 --> 01:09:48,180 And modest, all very modest, about their talent. 1203 01:09:48,181 --> 01:09:52,300 'Cause they are, yes, as we said, the Holy Trinity of Horror. 1204 01:09:52,301 --> 01:09:55,140 'I was the youngest of the trio by a decade. 1205 01:09:55,141 --> 01:09:57,300 'Vincent was the youngest in spirit. 1206 01:09:57,301 --> 01:10:00,340 'But it was clear that Peter was winding down. 1207 01:10:00,341 --> 01:10:03,580 'Peter, if we're truthful, had been winding down 1208 01:10:03,581 --> 01:10:06,900 'since the death of his beloved wife, Helen, a decade earlier. 1209 01:10:06,901 --> 01:10:10,740 'He never recovered. Had no desire to recover, you see. 1210 01:10:10,741 --> 01:10:12,620 'From the moment he lost her, 1211 01:10:12,621 --> 01:10:16,700 'he was just passing time until they could be reunited in death. 1212 01:10:16,701 --> 01:10:18,460 'He kept busy. 1213 01:10:18,461 --> 01:10:21,100 'He had a huge success appearing in Star Wars, 1214 01:10:21,101 --> 01:10:23,060 'but I don't think he cared. 1215 01:10:23,061 --> 01:10:26,420 'He cared about being professional and giving a great performance. 1216 01:10:26,421 --> 01:10:28,660 'He just didn't care about his standing 1217 01:10:28,661 --> 01:10:30,900 'or the acclaim or the money. 1218 01:10:30,901 --> 01:10:34,460 'He lived a quiet life in Whitstable, by the sea there. 1219 01:10:34,461 --> 01:10:37,581 'He painted his miniatures, and he passed the time. 1220 01:10:38,981 --> 01:10:42,460 'Ultimately, he waited 23 years 1221 01:10:42,461 --> 01:10:44,821 'until he could join his dear Helen. 1222 01:10:46,341 --> 01:10:49,020 'He was truly a special man, 1223 01:10:49,021 --> 01:10:51,341 'and he was my friend. 1224 01:10:53,341 --> 01:10:55,220 'His last job was to narrate a documentary 1225 01:10:55,221 --> 01:10:57,780 'about Hammer films with me.' 1226 01:10:57,781 --> 01:11:01,780 I was in Cannes for two days - recently. - Say that louder. 1227 01:11:01,781 --> 01:11:04,740 I was in Cannes for two days recently. 1228 01:11:04,741 --> 01:11:07,940 And everybody gave me a big welcome. What were you doing there? 1229 01:11:07,941 --> 01:11:10,100 Well, talking about you. That's it for you. 1230 01:11:10,101 --> 01:11:12,860 - As usual. - Yes. And somebody said to me, 1231 01:11:12,861 --> 01:11:15,100 "And how is Mr Cushing?" 1232 01:11:15,101 --> 01:11:17,581 I said, "I don't know." 1233 01:11:19,021 --> 01:11:21,300 This is happening all over the world. 1234 01:11:21,301 --> 01:11:23,620 People say to me, "How is Mr Cushing?" 1235 01:11:23,621 --> 01:11:26,060 Sometimes they say, "Good morning, Mr Cushing." 1236 01:11:28,221 --> 01:11:31,780 Sometimes they do that too. It's either that or Mr Price. 1237 01:11:31,781 --> 01:11:34,141 Always. Always. 1238 01:11:35,141 --> 01:11:36,980 'We had a wonderful day together. 1239 01:11:36,981 --> 01:11:39,740 'But as we said, goodbye, I had a premonition. 1240 01:11:39,741 --> 01:11:42,701 'I knew it would be the last time I would see him. 1241 01:11:43,981 --> 01:11:45,981 'And it was.' 1242 01:11:46,781 --> 01:11:49,220 I did not wind down. 1243 01:11:49,221 --> 01:11:51,260 He really loved doing movies. 1244 01:11:51,261 --> 01:11:54,540 Not just the movie itself, the whole process. 1245 01:11:54,541 --> 01:11:58,220 From reading the script to meeting the people at the set, 1246 01:11:58,221 --> 01:12:01,140 meeting other actors, exchanging ideas. 1247 01:12:01,141 --> 01:12:03,140 At home, he would be bored. 1248 01:12:03,141 --> 01:12:05,300 He would have nothing to do. He was restless. 1249 01:12:05,301 --> 01:12:08,580 He was in a situation in where 1250 01:12:08,581 --> 01:12:12,140 he was not getting any prominent movies. 1251 01:12:12,141 --> 01:12:14,660 In other words, he was getting... 1252 01:12:14,661 --> 01:12:16,500 meaningless parts. 1253 01:12:16,501 --> 01:12:19,140 The majority of people thought that he had passed away 1254 01:12:19,141 --> 01:12:22,060 'cause he had not been really in the mainstream. 1255 01:12:22,061 --> 01:12:24,860 At the time, I'm talking 1995. 1256 01:12:24,861 --> 01:12:28,540 From 1995 maybe to 1998, around that time. 1257 01:12:28,541 --> 01:12:30,820 He didn't wanna do any more horror movies 1258 01:12:30,821 --> 01:12:32,860 because he had done everything already. 1259 01:12:32,861 --> 01:12:34,740 There wasn't anything else to be done. 1260 01:12:34,741 --> 01:12:38,180 He thought that he had so much more to give than just that, 1261 01:12:38,181 --> 01:12:41,900 so, he wasn't getting the type of work that he wanted. 1262 01:12:41,901 --> 01:12:44,300 He came to see me playing at Stratford-on-Avon 1263 01:12:44,301 --> 01:12:46,980 in the Royal Shakespeare Company, and he came afterwards. 1264 01:12:46,981 --> 01:12:49,220 Afterwards, he said, "I'm so jealous of you... 1265 01:12:49,221 --> 01:12:51,740 because, you know, I'd love to have done 1266 01:12:51,741 --> 01:12:54,540 some of the great classical roles on the stage." 1267 01:12:54,541 --> 01:12:57,580 He was very, very keen to play Don Quixote. 1268 01:12:57,581 --> 01:13:00,980 I think that would've been a fantastic part for him, actually. 1269 01:13:00,981 --> 01:13:05,260 Can you just see him sitting astride that knackered old horse, you know? 1270 01:13:05,261 --> 01:13:08,861 In his Spanish armour, tilting at windmills. 1271 01:13:09,781 --> 01:13:12,660 The whole idea- I think in a way that role spoke to him. 1272 01:13:12,661 --> 01:13:15,460 'Cause the whole idea of tilting at windmills, i.e. 1273 01:13:15,461 --> 01:13:18,060 at conventional film stardom, 1274 01:13:18,061 --> 01:13:20,780 was something that he understood. 1275 01:13:20,781 --> 01:13:23,260 He did have a lot of rejection, 1276 01:13:23,261 --> 01:13:25,300 um, which people don't know about. 1277 01:13:25,301 --> 01:13:27,420 And so, you do, you know, 1278 01:13:27,421 --> 01:13:31,300 you could spend hours of your day being sad about where you didn't go. 1279 01:13:31,301 --> 01:13:33,780 And he did sometimes get into that place. 1280 01:13:33,781 --> 01:13:36,220 He was jealous. 1281 01:13:36,221 --> 01:13:38,620 He was jealous of certain actors. 1282 01:13:38,621 --> 01:13:40,861 He was jealous of Michael Caine. 1283 01:13:42,141 --> 01:13:45,500 I said, "Christopher, why are you jealous of Michael Caine? 1284 01:13:45,501 --> 01:13:48,781 Michael is a brilliant actor. You're a brilliant actor." 1285 01:13:49,581 --> 01:13:51,820 He would never give me the reasons. 1286 01:13:51,821 --> 01:13:55,341 He just thought that Michael Caine got more attention. 1287 01:13:56,221 --> 01:13:59,940 At this time, I actually turned largely to my great hobby of singing 1288 01:13:59,941 --> 01:14:02,900 and took a serious stab at making a go of it. 1289 01:14:02,901 --> 01:14:04,900 He did a narration for Rhapsody of Fire. 1290 01:14:04,901 --> 01:14:07,380 That was the first time that he worked 1291 01:14:07,381 --> 01:14:09,780 with a mainstream heavy metal band. 1292 01:14:09,781 --> 01:14:12,020 They were huge. And they're still huge. 1293 01:14:12,021 --> 01:14:15,380 They are pioneers of Symphonic and Power Metal. 1294 01:14:15,381 --> 01:14:17,860 He liked the music because... 1295 01:14:17,861 --> 01:14:20,580 it's very similar to the music that he liked. 1296 01:14:20,581 --> 01:14:23,260 He loved Wagner. And in his opinion, 1297 01:14:23,261 --> 01:14:26,580 Wagner and heavy metal are interconnected. 1298 01:14:26,581 --> 01:14:29,300 The music is very powerful, 1299 01:14:29,301 --> 01:14:31,700 big stories. So, you know, 1300 01:14:31,701 --> 01:14:34,980 that's how he knew about metal. 1301 01:14:34,981 --> 01:14:36,820 'I was hooked. 1302 01:14:36,821 --> 01:14:40,380 'A few years later, I formed The Charlemagne Project. 1303 01:14:40,381 --> 01:14:43,380 'What would become two full albums.' 1304 01:14:43,381 --> 01:14:46,580 Christopher had worked before in several albums, 1305 01:14:46,581 --> 01:14:49,540 several projects, he wanted to do some more. 1306 01:14:49,541 --> 01:14:52,460 So there is where we came in, huh? 1307 01:14:52,461 --> 01:14:54,740 The project started with 1308 01:14:54,741 --> 01:14:56,900 By the Sword and the Cross, 1309 01:14:56,901 --> 01:15:00,500 and then the second heavy metal album, which was more heavy, 1310 01:15:00,501 --> 01:15:02,580 if that's a phrase. 1311 01:15:02,581 --> 01:15:05,180 Now the first album was more symphonic metal. 1312 01:15:05,181 --> 01:15:09,780 ♪ Four thousand men all dead in one day 1313 01:15:09,781 --> 01:15:14,460 ♪ They would not renounce their heathen ways... ♪ 1314 01:15:14,461 --> 01:15:16,460 We first, we did the symphonic one, 1315 01:15:16,461 --> 01:15:18,740 and there are two generations of fans. 1316 01:15:18,741 --> 01:15:20,780 Some loved it because it was symphonic. 1317 01:15:20,781 --> 01:15:23,380 It's light, they like that. But the more extreme, 1318 01:15:23,381 --> 01:15:26,380 the more heavier fans, ah, they were disappointed. 1319 01:15:26,381 --> 01:15:29,180 "Oh, this is not metal! This is symphonic." 1320 01:15:29,181 --> 01:15:31,500 We had to do it heavier. 1321 01:15:31,501 --> 01:15:34,340 And also, Sir Christopher said, "This needs to be one. 1322 01:15:34,341 --> 01:15:36,260 This needs to be heavier. 1323 01:15:36,261 --> 01:15:40,420 Needs to be much, much heavier! The music is not powerful enough. 1324 01:15:40,421 --> 01:15:43,940 The orchestra, we need more power!" Remember he said, "More power?" 1325 01:15:43,941 --> 01:15:47,540 "You know, I can sing much louder than that," right? 1326 01:15:47,541 --> 01:15:49,700 ♪ I shed blood of the Saxon man 1327 01:15:49,701 --> 01:15:51,980 ♪ I shed the blood of the Saxon men 1328 01:15:51,981 --> 01:15:56,340 ♪ I shed the blood of the Saxon man ♪ 1329 01:15:56,341 --> 01:15:58,740 But in between the Charlemagne albums, 1330 01:15:58,741 --> 01:16:00,820 he sung heavy metal singles. 1331 01:16:00,821 --> 01:16:03,620 You know, we started with the Heavy Metal Christmas then 1332 01:16:03,621 --> 01:16:07,540 Heavy Metal Christmas Two, - with Jingle Hells. - Oh yeah. 1333 01:16:07,541 --> 01:16:11,740 ♪ Jingle hell, jingle hell, jingle all the way 1334 01:16:11,741 --> 01:16:16,540 ♪ Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh ♪ 1335 01:16:16,541 --> 01:16:20,620 He actually went number 18 on the- The American Billboard charts. 1336 01:16:20,621 --> 01:16:23,500 On the billboard single - charts in America. - Number 22, 1337 01:16:23,501 --> 01:16:27,820 and then number 22, and then from the PR of getting to number 22, 1338 01:16:27,821 --> 01:16:30,500 he went to number 18 in the Billboard charts. 1339 01:16:30,501 --> 01:16:34,660 It meant that Christopher became the oldest, now careful here, 1340 01:16:34,661 --> 01:16:39,300 recording artist, not somebody that wrote some music 1341 01:16:39,301 --> 01:16:42,180 and all of a sudden, you know, at 90 1342 01:16:42,181 --> 01:16:45,260 his music appears on the charts, he was 92- 1343 01:16:45,261 --> 01:16:48,140 91 and a half years old when he recorded, 1344 01:16:48,141 --> 01:16:51,300 and he became the oldest performing artist 1345 01:16:51,301 --> 01:16:53,660 to have ever charted. 1346 01:16:53,661 --> 01:16:57,301 ♪ In the name of Jesus Christo, our lord 1347 01:16:58,181 --> 01:17:02,381 ♪ On a day on Verden, no mercy given 1348 01:17:03,261 --> 01:17:07,180 ♪ Victory for the chosen people ♪ 1349 01:17:07,181 --> 01:17:10,581 Every single music magazine in the world... 1350 01:17:11,501 --> 01:17:15,460 ...started to refer to him as a heavy metal star. 1351 01:17:15,461 --> 01:17:18,340 Right? So, he started 1352 01:17:18,341 --> 01:17:21,141 as somebody who wanted to sing... 1353 01:17:22,261 --> 01:17:25,020 ...and at the end, he was respected 1354 01:17:25,021 --> 01:17:27,620 by every single heavy metal musician. 1355 01:17:27,621 --> 01:17:31,140 'One of the founding members of Black Sabbath, Tony Iommi 1356 01:17:31,141 --> 01:17:34,181 'presented me with the Metal Hammer Golden God award.' 1357 01:17:35,021 --> 01:17:38,020 I think it was probably the most memorable day 1358 01:17:38,021 --> 01:17:40,020 that I can remember in the whole of my life. 1359 01:17:40,021 --> 01:17:42,940 He was born again, he felt the energy of the place. 1360 01:17:42,941 --> 01:17:45,740 I remember that we were in the changing rooms with Tony Iommi 1361 01:17:45,741 --> 01:17:47,900 and Sir Christopher, they were talking. 1362 01:17:47,901 --> 01:17:50,900 They had a very long conversation in the changing room. 1363 01:17:50,901 --> 01:17:52,900 Sir Christopher said to him, 1364 01:17:52,901 --> 01:17:56,020 "You invented heavy metal, you are the father of metal." 1365 01:17:56,021 --> 01:17:59,380 He said. And Tony Iommi replied, 1366 01:17:59,381 --> 01:18:03,660 "No, you were the one that created heavy metal with your movies, 1367 01:18:03,661 --> 01:18:05,980 I was inspired by your movies." 1368 01:18:05,981 --> 01:18:09,180 Sir Christopher, "My movies? The good ones I hope!" 1369 01:18:09,181 --> 01:18:11,981 He always said this, "The good ones I hope!" 1370 01:18:12,941 --> 01:18:16,220 By 1998, I was 76-years-old 1371 01:18:16,221 --> 01:18:18,420 and it could well have been assumed 1372 01:18:18,421 --> 01:18:21,140 that my most fruitful years were behind me. 1373 01:18:21,141 --> 01:18:23,940 But then, something happened. 1374 01:18:23,941 --> 01:18:28,020 Something wonderful and quite unexpected happened. 1375 01:18:28,021 --> 01:18:30,380 I received an invitation to tea 1376 01:18:30,381 --> 01:18:32,700 at the Basil Street Hotel in Knightsbridge. 1377 01:18:32,701 --> 01:18:35,420 My hosts there were the head of Islamic studies 1378 01:18:35,421 --> 01:18:37,700 from Cambridge university, Akbar Ahmed 1379 01:18:37,701 --> 01:18:41,260 and his friend, the film director, Jamil Dehlavi. 1380 01:18:41,261 --> 01:18:43,260 They had a question for me. 1381 01:18:43,261 --> 01:18:45,301 "What do you know about Jinnah?" 1382 01:18:46,581 --> 01:18:48,260 '"Well," I replied. 1383 01:18:48,261 --> 01:18:51,340 '"I know that Mohammed Ali Jinnah was the Baba-e-Qaum, 1384 01:18:51,341 --> 01:18:53,820 'forefather of the nation of Pakistan, 1385 01:18:53,821 --> 01:18:55,820 'the state he founded in 1947 1386 01:18:55,821 --> 01:18:58,700 'and became the first Governor General of. 1387 01:18:58,701 --> 01:19:02,260 'It was his committed endeavour to create a separate state 1388 01:19:02,261 --> 01:19:04,140 'for Indian Muslims. 1389 01:19:04,141 --> 01:19:07,380 'I believe him to have been an extraordinary man 1390 01:19:07,381 --> 01:19:09,180 'of determination and brilliance. 1391 01:19:09,181 --> 01:19:11,980 '"We should like you to play Jinnah." They replied. 1392 01:19:11,981 --> 01:19:15,460 'Jinnah was by far the most important film I made 1393 01:19:15,461 --> 01:19:19,500 in terms of its subject and the great responsibility I had as an actor. 1394 01:19:19,501 --> 01:19:22,260 'I am immensely proud of this picture. 1395 01:19:22,261 --> 01:19:25,900 'I received, really, the best reviews I've ever had.' 1396 01:19:25,901 --> 01:19:28,740 He was reminding you that he could do these longer parts, 1397 01:19:28,741 --> 01:19:30,980 these more conventional dramatic roles 1398 01:19:30,981 --> 01:19:33,460 and he could bring nuance and... 1399 01:19:33,461 --> 01:19:35,420 subtlety and, you know, 1400 01:19:35,421 --> 01:19:38,380 statesmanship in that particular instance, playing Jinnah. 1401 01:19:38,381 --> 01:19:41,380 He could bring all that to a role in a more conventional vein. 1402 01:19:41,381 --> 01:19:43,060 But you see... 1403 01:19:43,061 --> 01:19:45,340 because he'd done so many short parts, 1404 01:19:45,341 --> 01:19:48,780 I don't think casting directors, very often, saw him that way. 1405 01:19:48,781 --> 01:19:51,140 'The film was a smash hit with the critics 1406 01:19:51,141 --> 01:19:53,900 'but barely saw the inside of a cinema. 1407 01:19:53,901 --> 01:19:57,260 'It seems many could not accept the notion of a white Englishman 1408 01:19:57,261 --> 01:19:59,860 'playing such an important Indian icon. 1409 01:19:59,861 --> 01:20:02,501 'It passed largely unseen.' 1410 01:20:03,421 --> 01:20:06,060 Had this been the coda to my career in film, 1411 01:20:06,061 --> 01:20:08,741 well, it would have been a most satisfactory one. 1412 01:20:09,581 --> 01:20:11,580 But Jinnah was not the end. 1413 01:20:11,581 --> 01:20:13,580 It was the beginning of the end. 1414 01:20:13,581 --> 01:20:15,621 And what an end it was to be. 1415 01:20:16,661 --> 01:20:21,580 Almost a decade earlier, Vincent had enjoyed a magical last act revival. 1416 01:20:21,581 --> 01:20:24,820 After a decade of films which were often beneath him, 1417 01:20:24,821 --> 01:20:27,580 his final film, his final role, 1418 01:20:27,581 --> 01:20:30,300 his final moment on the silver screen 1419 01:20:30,301 --> 01:20:33,140 was a work of great beauty. 1420 01:20:33,141 --> 01:20:35,780 'Edward Scissorhands was an early picture 1421 01:20:35,781 --> 01:20:37,900 'from two of cinemas great artists. 1422 01:20:37,901 --> 01:20:40,540 'Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. 1423 01:20:40,541 --> 01:20:43,460 'It would be my good fortune to not only work with them 1424 01:20:43,461 --> 01:20:45,980 'but to call them friends. 1425 01:20:45,981 --> 01:20:49,020 'Our first picture together was, Sleepy Hollow. 1426 01:20:49,021 --> 01:20:51,820 'Washington Irving's tale of Ichabod Crane 1427 01:20:51,821 --> 01:20:53,900 'and the headless horseman. 1428 01:20:53,901 --> 01:20:57,260 'Their creepy but tongue-in-cheek Gothic style was, of course, 1429 01:20:57,261 --> 01:21:00,860 'familiar and pleasing to me but, unlike the Hammer films, 1430 01:21:00,861 --> 01:21:03,981 'there were no corners cut and quality was paramount. 1431 01:21:05,541 --> 01:21:09,660 'I would go on to appear in four more Depp-Burton collaborations 1432 01:21:09,661 --> 01:21:12,460 'and very fine they were too.' 1433 01:21:12,461 --> 01:21:15,340 I also found myself cast in what would go on to be 1434 01:21:15,341 --> 01:21:18,860 the two biggest cinematic franchises in the entire world 1435 01:21:18,861 --> 01:21:21,220 for the first decade of the new millennium. 1436 01:21:21,221 --> 01:21:25,060 One of these was already the biggest franchise in film history. 1437 01:21:25,061 --> 01:21:27,620 I would be following my friend Peter, 1438 01:21:27,621 --> 01:21:31,100 to become a villainous antagonist in a new Star Wars film 1439 01:21:31,101 --> 01:21:35,060 under the creator himself, George Lucas. 1440 01:21:35,061 --> 01:21:37,860 'In the original Star Wars films in the 1970's, 1441 01:21:37,861 --> 01:21:41,340 'Lucas had redefined what could be achieved with special effects. 1442 01:21:41,341 --> 01:21:43,900 'But here, at the dawn of a new century, 1443 01:21:43,901 --> 01:21:46,380 'he was pioneering what could be achieved 1444 01:21:46,381 --> 01:21:48,741 'through digital manipulation of the image. 1445 01:21:49,941 --> 01:21:52,980 'To be working on the cutting edge of technology was a thrill 1446 01:21:52,981 --> 01:21:55,661 'but it was also unfamiliar and disorienting. 1447 01:21:57,661 --> 01:22:00,340 'Forget the absence of other actors, 1448 01:22:00,341 --> 01:22:03,060 'oftentimes there weren't even sets. 1449 01:22:03,061 --> 01:22:05,780 'When one acts in nothing, to nothing, 1450 01:22:05,781 --> 01:22:07,741 'well, it was a challenge. 1451 01:22:08,541 --> 01:22:10,741 'But to be challenged is no bad thing. 1452 01:22:11,581 --> 01:22:15,381 'My high-point in this trilogy was my duel with the iconic Yoda. 1453 01:22:16,381 --> 01:22:18,620 'A fight that didn't take place 1454 01:22:18,621 --> 01:22:20,501 'with a creature that didn't exist. 1455 01:22:42,261 --> 01:22:44,220 Fought well you have, 1456 01:22:44,221 --> 01:22:46,220 my old Padawan. 1457 01:22:46,221 --> 01:22:48,261 This is just the beginning. 1458 01:22:49,261 --> 01:22:51,780 The critics weren't always kind to these films, 1459 01:22:51,781 --> 01:22:55,661 but George Lucas gave me a gift for which I remain eternally grateful. 1460 01:22:56,461 --> 01:22:59,260 The generation of children who grew up on these movies 1461 01:22:59,261 --> 01:23:01,580 have never even heard of Hammer films. 1462 01:23:01,581 --> 01:23:04,060 He unshackled me from my past 1463 01:23:04,061 --> 01:23:07,821 and allowed me to be something completely new to a modern audience. 1464 01:23:08,821 --> 01:23:11,100 My resurrection was becoming a regeneration, 1465 01:23:11,101 --> 01:23:13,100 and it was far from over. 1466 01:23:13,101 --> 01:23:15,020 Suddenly I was in demand. 1467 01:23:15,021 --> 01:23:18,820 'Stephen Polliakoff wanted me for Glorious 39. 1468 01:23:18,821 --> 01:23:22,661 'Martin Scorsese hired me for his love letter to early cinema, Hugo.' 1469 01:23:23,701 --> 01:23:27,860 But the greatest gift was one which had come from New Zealand. 1470 01:23:27,861 --> 01:23:30,540 My whole career, I had dreamt 1471 01:23:30,541 --> 01:23:33,020 of appearing in just one film. 1472 01:23:33,021 --> 01:23:36,540 He knew that The Lord of the Rings was being produced 1473 01:23:36,541 --> 01:23:38,820 and he always wanted to play Gandalf. 1474 01:23:38,821 --> 01:23:42,500 He read the books every year. He was very excited about that. 1475 01:23:42,501 --> 01:23:44,820 So he said, "Juan, look, 1476 01:23:44,821 --> 01:23:47,660 find out on the internet, put the word out 1477 01:23:47,661 --> 01:23:49,740 that I would like to be in that movie." 1478 01:23:49,741 --> 01:23:52,940 Gandalf, Saruman, whatever, as long as he was in the movie. 1479 01:23:52,941 --> 01:23:55,980 Christopher was someone that we had in mind for Saruman. 1480 01:23:55,981 --> 01:23:58,020 Not just because of his background, 1481 01:23:58,021 --> 01:24:00,820 and because I had grown up loving Christopher Lee's movies. 1482 01:24:00,821 --> 01:24:02,700 You know, he was perfect for that role. 1483 01:24:02,701 --> 01:24:05,860 There's no doubt about it. You'd be hard-pressed to find another actor 1484 01:24:05,861 --> 01:24:08,180 that would be better at bringing Saruman to life. 1485 01:24:08,181 --> 01:24:11,620 What surprised us is that it wasn't just a conversation where 1486 01:24:11,621 --> 01:24:14,340 we are trying to persuade him to, you know, 1487 01:24:14,341 --> 01:24:17,100 to do the role that we wanted him for. 1488 01:24:17,101 --> 01:24:20,180 He was super enthusiastic 'cause he was a huge Tolkien fan. 1489 01:24:20,181 --> 01:24:23,620 And then he said, "Well, I'd be very happy to do Saruman, of course. 1490 01:24:23,621 --> 01:24:25,820 This is great." But he says, 1491 01:24:25,821 --> 01:24:28,300 "But did you ever consider me for Gandalf?" 1492 01:24:28,301 --> 01:24:30,420 Which we hadn't done, 1493 01:24:30,421 --> 01:24:33,060 and it put us on the spot a bit 'cause I said, "Oh, really?" 1494 01:24:33,061 --> 01:24:35,660 He said, "Yes. I would much prefer to play Gandalf, you know?" 1495 01:24:35,661 --> 01:24:39,500 And I understand why 'cause Gandalf was pushing him as an actor 1496 01:24:39,501 --> 01:24:41,940 whereas Saruman was something, you know, 1497 01:24:41,941 --> 01:24:45,260 we- everyone knows he could do Saruman. He's perfect for that. 1498 01:24:45,261 --> 01:24:48,220 So, he said, "I prepared a scene. Can you film me? 1499 01:24:48,221 --> 01:24:50,380 I'd like to do Gandalf. I'd like to show you." 1500 01:24:50,381 --> 01:24:52,780 He auditioned for us, which is the last thing we wanted 1501 01:24:52,781 --> 01:24:55,060 Christopher to do, audition for the role of Gandalf. 1502 01:24:55,061 --> 01:24:57,940 He was good as Gandalf, but... better as Saruman. 1503 01:24:57,941 --> 01:25:01,380 And what we actually ended up realising 1504 01:25:01,381 --> 01:25:03,940 is that we had other possibilities for Gandalf. 1505 01:25:03,941 --> 01:25:06,460 You know, there were other actors that in different ways 1506 01:25:06,461 --> 01:25:08,340 could do Gandalf and we were talking to Ian 1507 01:25:08,341 --> 01:25:10,620 and he would be certainly top of the list. 1508 01:25:10,621 --> 01:25:13,900 But there is no other actor we thought of that could do Saruman. 1509 01:25:13,901 --> 01:25:15,780 I mean, Christopher was our only choice. 1510 01:25:15,781 --> 01:25:19,540 When he found out that he was gonna be in the movie, 1511 01:25:19,541 --> 01:25:22,220 it was like a dream come true to him. 1512 01:25:22,221 --> 01:25:25,380 He was a geek. He was a Lord of the Rings geek. 1513 01:25:25,381 --> 01:25:27,900 So that was a dream come true. 1514 01:25:27,901 --> 01:25:30,340 'It was an incredibly demanding shoot, 1515 01:25:30,341 --> 01:25:33,180 'requiring four stints of shooting in New Zealand, 1516 01:25:33,181 --> 01:25:35,780 'early starts and long days. 1517 01:25:35,781 --> 01:25:38,380 I do remember his very first day of filming... 1518 01:25:38,381 --> 01:25:41,700 was interesting. It was a scene from Fellowship of the Ring 1519 01:25:41,701 --> 01:25:45,020 where Saruman and Gandalf are walking in the Isengard garden 1520 01:25:45,021 --> 01:25:47,700 just talking with each other. There's just the two of them. 1521 01:25:47,701 --> 01:25:50,940 So we were in a local park 1522 01:25:50,941 --> 01:25:53,380 in Wellington shooting that sequence. 1523 01:25:53,381 --> 01:25:55,820 I remember part way through that first day, 1524 01:25:55,821 --> 01:25:58,460 um, Ian came up to me 1525 01:25:58,461 --> 01:26:01,580 just in between setups and he said, 1526 01:26:01,581 --> 01:26:04,180 "Oh... you might- 1527 01:26:04,181 --> 01:26:06,340 you might need to have a word with Christopher." 1528 01:26:06,341 --> 01:26:09,780 And I said, "Really? What? Why?" I said, "He's going great." 1529 01:26:09,781 --> 01:26:13,020 And Ian said, "Christopher's convinced that he's gonna get fired 1530 01:26:13,021 --> 01:26:15,940 at the end of the day. He's convinced he's doing a terrible job. 1531 01:26:15,941 --> 01:26:18,740 He's convinced himself that you don't like it, 1532 01:26:18,741 --> 01:26:21,300 and he's absolutely sure that he's gonna get fired 1533 01:26:21,301 --> 01:26:24,300 when the day's finished." Which was a terrible thing to hear 1534 01:26:24,301 --> 01:26:26,580 when we're only halfway through a day, so. 1535 01:26:26,581 --> 01:26:30,100 I just started to really reassure Christopher he was doing great. 1536 01:26:30,101 --> 01:26:32,820 It was quite a surprising insecurity about him. 1537 01:26:32,821 --> 01:26:35,900 For somebody who'd done 200, 250 films, 1538 01:26:35,901 --> 01:26:39,140 however many he'd done at that point, over decades of work, 1539 01:26:39,141 --> 01:26:42,180 he was still a very nervous, insecure actor. 1540 01:26:42,181 --> 01:26:44,580 It was almost like it was his first day 1541 01:26:44,581 --> 01:26:46,700 on the set of any film ever. 1542 01:26:46,701 --> 01:26:49,181 That's the way that he sort of, he came across. 1543 01:26:50,061 --> 01:26:52,740 The first two had come out and Christopher was great as Saruman. 1544 01:26:52,741 --> 01:26:55,620 Everyone loved the character, and everyone was looking forward 1545 01:26:55,621 --> 01:26:58,060 to that third Lord of the Rings film. But we were struggling 1546 01:26:58,061 --> 01:27:00,860 with the edit of it to really make the best film we possibly could. 1547 01:27:00,861 --> 01:27:03,300 And it was very, very long. I mean... 1548 01:27:03,301 --> 01:27:06,460 our first cut of Return to the King was over four hours long, 1549 01:27:06,461 --> 01:27:08,820 and it was just too long. And so, something- 1550 01:27:08,821 --> 01:27:11,380 We had to sort of, had to condense it. 1551 01:27:11,381 --> 01:27:14,340 We had the sequences of him in The Return of the King, 1552 01:27:14,341 --> 01:27:17,260 and we had to take time out, we looked at them and thought, 1553 01:27:17,261 --> 01:27:20,260 "Well, this is really not advancing the storyline." 1554 01:27:20,261 --> 01:27:23,580 It's like clearing up a loose end from The Two Towers 1555 01:27:23,581 --> 01:27:25,940 is how it felt a little bit, looking at it brutally. 1556 01:27:25,941 --> 01:27:30,220 So, a really tough decision was made that we could delete his appearance 1557 01:27:30,221 --> 01:27:33,940 in Return of the King, despite the fact we'd already shot it. 1558 01:27:33,941 --> 01:27:36,220 Chris was terribly upset about it. 1559 01:27:36,221 --> 01:27:38,740 And I remember saying to him at the time, 1560 01:27:38,741 --> 01:27:42,700 "Hello! You're essential role in Lord of the Rings. 1561 01:27:42,701 --> 01:27:45,061 Now you're part of Star Wars! 1562 01:27:47,021 --> 01:27:49,540 Relax!" You know? 1563 01:27:49,541 --> 01:27:52,740 He was thrilled to be in all of the new popular movies 1564 01:27:52,741 --> 01:27:55,020 that were popular with, you know? 1565 01:27:55,021 --> 01:27:57,620 I mean, the movies, he was always in popular movies. 1566 01:27:57,621 --> 01:27:59,820 Even the Hammer films were popular pictures, 1567 01:27:59,821 --> 01:28:03,020 but they weren't mainstream popular, like blockbuster popular. 1568 01:28:03,021 --> 01:28:05,340 And when you get into working with George Lucas 1569 01:28:05,341 --> 01:28:08,180 and working with Peter Jackson, I mean, now you're talking about 1570 01:28:08,181 --> 01:28:11,380 these are huge budget movies that are seen by millions of people 1571 01:28:11,381 --> 01:28:13,900 in the world over, and it's the top of the heap. 1572 01:28:13,901 --> 01:28:16,140 You really can't get much higher than that. 1573 01:28:16,141 --> 01:28:19,220 And I think he was really thrilled at that point in his career 1574 01:28:19,221 --> 01:28:21,980 to say that, "OK, I did this. I went from here, 1575 01:28:21,981 --> 01:28:26,180 I went from... tiny parts in swashbuckler movies 1576 01:28:26,181 --> 01:28:29,020 in the early '50s to, you know, 1577 01:28:29,021 --> 01:28:32,780 the top of the heap in playing with the most respected directors, 1578 01:28:32,781 --> 01:28:35,661 Scorsese included, in the world." 1579 01:28:36,901 --> 01:28:40,020 He was very aware that these were big name directors, 1580 01:28:40,021 --> 01:28:43,180 but he seemed to forget that he was a big name actor or at any rate, 1581 01:28:43,181 --> 01:28:46,700 he had a huge heritage stretching back several decades, 1582 01:28:46,701 --> 01:28:49,100 which is why they wanted him. 1583 01:28:49,101 --> 01:28:51,861 But it did constitute an Indian summer. 1584 01:28:57,861 --> 01:29:00,660 The Lord of the Rings, quite rightly, 1585 01:29:00,661 --> 01:29:02,500 won many awards. 1586 01:29:02,501 --> 01:29:04,980 And then I started to as well. 1587 01:29:04,981 --> 01:29:08,260 'I realised that there comes a point at which they give you awards 1588 01:29:08,261 --> 01:29:10,380 'merely for still being alive. 1589 01:29:10,381 --> 01:29:13,300 'I was very moved and grateful for all of them. 1590 01:29:13,301 --> 01:29:16,180 'But there is a none-too-coded message attached 1591 01:29:16,181 --> 01:29:18,260 'to every Lifetime Achievement Award, 1592 01:29:18,261 --> 01:29:21,540 'which suggests that one might no longer be considered 1593 01:29:21,541 --> 01:29:25,741 'the promising newcomer, and that one's potential might now be spent. 1594 01:29:26,821 --> 01:29:28,821 'The Old Pipe and Slippers Award.' 1595 01:29:30,701 --> 01:29:33,060 The knighthood meant a lot to him. 1596 01:29:33,061 --> 01:29:35,980 He was a little disappointed that it wasn't the Queen. 1597 01:29:35,981 --> 01:29:38,220 I think Prince Charles knighted him, 1598 01:29:38,221 --> 01:29:40,700 but... still, it meant a lot. 1599 01:29:40,701 --> 01:29:43,060 It meant a lot. 1600 01:29:43,061 --> 01:29:45,700 To receive the honour of knighthood, 1601 01:29:45,701 --> 01:29:50,541 Sir Christopher Lee for services to drama and to charity. 1602 01:29:51,381 --> 01:29:54,380 So, what role would you like to be most remembered for? 1603 01:29:54,381 --> 01:29:56,060 Probably Jinnah. 1604 01:29:56,061 --> 01:29:58,500 I think that's the most challenging 1605 01:29:58,501 --> 01:30:01,220 and important part I've ever had. 1606 01:30:01,221 --> 01:30:04,020 There have been others, of course. The Man with the Golden Gun, 1607 01:30:04,021 --> 01:30:07,300 and of course in The Lord of the Rings, Saruman, 1608 01:30:07,301 --> 01:30:09,300 and Count Dooku. 1609 01:30:09,301 --> 01:30:12,780 What's important to me is that... 1610 01:30:12,781 --> 01:30:15,380 it seems that now I'm known 1611 01:30:15,381 --> 01:30:18,340 to every generation, and after all, 1612 01:30:18,341 --> 01:30:20,220 that's what it's all about. 1613 01:30:20,221 --> 01:30:21,820 Survival. 1614 01:30:21,821 --> 01:30:24,140 Thank you very much for speaking to us. 1615 01:30:24,141 --> 01:30:26,060 So there you have it. A knight of the realm 1616 01:30:26,061 --> 01:30:28,140 but still the King of Horror. 1617 01:30:28,141 --> 01:30:30,260 The King of what? 1618 01:30:30,261 --> 01:30:32,861 Horror! Don't say that, dear. I'm not. 1619 01:30:34,181 --> 01:30:37,260 But we remember you for- But I'm not the King of Horror. 1620 01:30:37,261 --> 01:30:41,140 I haven't done a horror film for 34 years. 1621 01:30:41,141 --> 01:30:43,140 Can I get you to say - this on camera for me? - Yes! 1622 01:30:43,141 --> 01:30:45,020 And then we can put it straight. 1623 01:30:45,021 --> 01:30:47,581 Please don't refer to me as the King of Horror. 1624 01:31:12,781 --> 01:31:16,180 The day before he passed away, we thought he was coming home. 1625 01:31:16,181 --> 01:31:19,500 He was being himself. I thought he looked good, right? 1626 01:31:19,501 --> 01:31:22,700 I thought he was going home. The doctor said, "He's fine. 1627 01:31:22,701 --> 01:31:25,660 He looks good. He looks well." And that night he said, "Oh! 1628 01:31:25,661 --> 01:31:27,820 The Lord of the Rings is on TV, right? 1629 01:31:27,821 --> 01:31:30,780 So, we'll watch The Lord of the Rings with the nurses, right? 1630 01:31:30,781 --> 01:31:34,300 I'll explain to you how the movie is." Because he loved the movie. 1631 01:31:34,301 --> 01:31:38,100 So, he watched that night The Lord of the Rings with the nurses, 1632 01:31:38,101 --> 01:31:41,140 and we went home and we were already thinking, 1633 01:31:41,141 --> 01:31:43,260 "OK, he's coming back." 1634 01:31:43,261 --> 01:31:45,060 Then that night, 1635 01:31:45,061 --> 01:31:47,380 all of a sudden, I was asleep 1636 01:31:47,381 --> 01:31:50,420 and I saw Christina stressed 1637 01:31:50,421 --> 01:31:53,180 and saying, "Daddy is gone." 1638 01:31:53,181 --> 01:31:55,620 And it was a very- 1639 01:31:55,621 --> 01:31:58,500 It actually, it hit us really hard 1640 01:31:58,501 --> 01:32:01,100 because we thought that he- 1641 01:32:01,101 --> 01:32:03,660 I actually thought that he was eternal. 1642 01:32:03,661 --> 01:32:06,620 I thought that he would... 1643 01:32:06,621 --> 01:32:09,660 he would go past 100. I really did think so. 1644 01:32:09,661 --> 01:32:12,340 So, it was a shock. It was more, 1645 01:32:12,341 --> 01:32:14,540 I thought, "Well, he's in hospital. 1646 01:32:14,541 --> 01:32:17,660 He's got some respiratory problems." But he's always had problems. 1647 01:32:17,661 --> 01:32:19,701 He always had things. 1648 01:32:20,541 --> 01:32:23,620 But he just passed away. That was it. 1649 01:32:23,621 --> 01:32:25,580 It was peaceful. 1650 01:32:25,581 --> 01:32:28,101 He didn't suffer. He just went to sleep. 1651 01:32:31,221 --> 01:32:33,260 I was coming off stage, 1652 01:32:33,261 --> 01:32:35,900 got a message from Gitte on my answering machine. 1653 01:32:35,901 --> 01:32:38,980 I had friends in my dressing room who'd come to have a drink, 1654 01:32:38,981 --> 01:32:43,061 and I suddenly burst into tears and told everyone to leave the room. 1655 01:32:44,741 --> 01:32:46,460 I go to London. 1656 01:32:46,461 --> 01:32:48,540 Now part of me always has in the back of my mind, 1657 01:32:48,541 --> 01:32:51,420 "I must give Christopher a call." You know? I'm still not quite- 1658 01:32:51,421 --> 01:32:54,580 'Cause London just, somehow when I'm in London, I get that thing, 1659 01:32:54,581 --> 01:32:56,660 "Give Christopher a call" gets triggered in me. 1660 01:32:56,661 --> 01:32:58,740 And so I still haven't got quite used to the idea 1661 01:32:58,741 --> 01:33:00,781 that he's not there anymore. 1662 01:33:03,741 --> 01:33:05,740 Knowing him was a... 1663 01:33:05,741 --> 01:33:09,500 one of the perks of being in the movie business. 1664 01:33:09,501 --> 01:33:11,541 I miss him greatly. 1665 01:33:12,621 --> 01:33:16,100 Christopher was certainly, certainly one of those people 1666 01:33:16,101 --> 01:33:18,221 that was very much a part of me. 1667 01:33:19,461 --> 01:33:22,140 Very deeply much a part of me. 1668 01:33:22,141 --> 01:33:24,020 I feel... 1669 01:33:24,021 --> 01:33:27,661 just gratified that he was so much part of my life. 1670 01:33:28,661 --> 01:33:30,381 And, uh... 1671 01:33:31,541 --> 01:33:34,101 ...he made my life that much better. 1672 01:33:35,741 --> 01:33:37,741 Last time I saw Christopher? 1673 01:33:38,661 --> 01:33:41,780 It was about four months before he died. 1674 01:33:41,781 --> 01:33:44,540 I went to visit him in his flat in Cadogan Square. 1675 01:33:44,541 --> 01:33:47,340 I just felt, I don't know, I got emotional 1676 01:33:47,341 --> 01:33:49,660 because he was talking about dying and I was saying, 1677 01:33:49,661 --> 01:33:51,780 "Will you stop it?" You know? 1678 01:33:51,781 --> 01:33:53,380 "Jesus, Chris! 1679 01:33:53,381 --> 01:33:56,220 I didn't come to see you to get depressed." You know? 1680 01:33:56,221 --> 01:33:59,260 Actually, he became pretty funny after that. 1681 01:33:59,261 --> 01:34:01,300 And that's the last time I saw him. 1682 01:34:01,301 --> 01:34:04,700 I really, I really loved him. 1683 01:34:04,701 --> 01:34:07,460 I was delighted and honoured to know him, 1684 01:34:07,461 --> 01:34:09,501 and I miss him terribly. 1685 01:34:12,661 --> 01:34:15,420 What really choked me up was the next day 1686 01:34:15,421 --> 01:34:18,020 I looked up something about him 1687 01:34:18,021 --> 01:34:21,380 and it said, "Christopher Lee WAS an actor..." 1688 01:34:21,381 --> 01:34:24,020 They changed the 'is' to 'was' in 24 hours 1689 01:34:24,021 --> 01:34:26,301 and that really broke my heart. 1690 01:34:32,661 --> 01:34:34,701 Well, there we go. 1691 01:34:35,621 --> 01:34:37,820 Our time draws to a close 1692 01:34:37,821 --> 01:34:40,620 and the grave beckons me once more. 1693 01:34:40,621 --> 01:34:43,980 I do hope you have enjoyed this exhumation 1694 01:34:43,981 --> 01:34:45,980 as much as I have. 1695 01:34:45,981 --> 01:34:48,021 Good evening. 1696 01:34:57,341 --> 01:35:03,181 Subtitles by Sky Access Services www.skyaccessibility.sky