#but yes. i wish there were more surviving interviews of cushing discussing his relationship to ‘old frankenstein’ as he called him.

[afieldinengland]

thinking about peter cushing’s obviously deep, meticulous, and enthusiastic interest in the character of victor frankenstein as a doctor

#it’s everything. i don’t think there’s ever been another actor as meticulous as peter cushing…. i don’t think there could be now #the job of actor itself has changed. but every interview where he discusses playing the baron— every move and handling of an instrument was #studied. he joked his gp used to love it when he rang because he knew he wasn’t ill he just wanted to know how to take a brain out #he said something about if there happened to be a doctor in the audience he didn’t want them to spot him handling his scalpel etc #incorrectly— and i mean rightly so the baron is meant to be a surgeon above all surgeons after all— but that level of study and seriousness #is unparalleled i think. his approach to van helsing and sherlock holmes was very similiar— i imagine it was the same to all characters #honestly. he used to learn everyone’s lines not just his #but it brings something so unique and fascinating to hammer’s depiction of victor frankenstein. as someone who’ll probably always be a #little obsessed with the man. adding things like the janus-faced nature of the ‘bedside manner’ and the reputation of ‘the good doctor’ #where they never featured in shelley’s original novel— i’m saying nothing new here but hammer’s victor has always #struck me as an extrapolation of what would happen if victor was stripped of his human limiting factors. #remorse. love. a family. mortality. and my points here are probably linked most to #the revenge of frankenstein (1958) but i think it applies in general. #but yes. i wish there were more surviving interviews of cushing discussing his relationship to ‘old frankenstein’ as he called him. #especially since surgery etc was coming on leaps and bounds at the time the films were being made— 50s > 70s is a long time in medicine #and he spoke about things like organ transplants with such fascination…. there’s a brain transplant in so many of the films of course #it does make you wonder. some things now would’ve fascinated him i think. #perhaps this is an odd thing to say but i wonder what he’d have made of transgender surgeries? i like to think he’d be deeply interested