Editing Peter Cushing (section)

===Other Hammer roles===
Although most well known for his roles in the ''Frankenstein'' and ''Dracula'' films, Cushing appeared in a wide variety of other Hammer productions during this time. Both he and his wife feared that he would become [[Typecasting (acting)|typecast]] into horror roles, but he continued to take them because they guaranteed regular work.<ref name="Wogan" /><ref>Cushing, p. 114</ref> He appeared in the horror film ''[[The Abominable Snowman (film)|The Abominable Snowman]]'' (1957), a Hammer adaptation of a BBC Nigel Kneale television play ''The Creature'' (1955) which Cushing had also starred in. He portrayed an English botanist searching the [[Himalayas]] for the legendary [[Yeti]].<ref name="Meikle46" /> The director [[Val Guest]] said he was particularly impressed with Cushing's preparation and ability to plan which props to best use to enhance his performance, so much so that Cushing started to become known as "Props Peter".<ref>[[Val Guest|Guest, Val]] (actor). (5 October 2004). ''[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0199528/usercomments Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119082856/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0199528/usercomments |date=19 November 2010}}''. <nowiki>[</nowiki>Documentary<nowiki>]</nowiki>. [[Chatsworth, Los Angeles|Chatsworth]], Los Angeles, California: [[Image Entertainment]]. Retrieved 18 February 2018.</ref> Cushing and Lee appeared together in the Hammer horror ''[[The Mummy (1959 film)|The Mummy]]'' (1959), with Cushing as the archaeologist John Banning and Lee as the antagonist [[Kharis]].<ref name="SWI56" /> Cushing saw a promotional poster for ''The Mummy'' that showed Lee's character with a large hole in his chest, allowing a beam of light to pass through his body. There was no reference to such an injury in the film script, and when he asked the publicity department why it was on the poster, they said it was simply meant to serve as a shocking promotional image. During filming, he asked the director Terence Fisher for permission to drive a harpoon through the mummy's body during a fight scene to explain the poster image. Fisher agreed, and the scene was used in the film.<ref name="CushDoc">''[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0199528/usercomments Flesh and Blood: The Hammer Heritage of Horror] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119082856/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0199528/usercomments |date=19 November 2010}}''. Cushing, Peter (actor). (5 October 2004).<nowiki>[</nowiki>Documentary<nowiki>]</nowiki>. [[Chatsworth, Los Angeles|Chatsworth]], Los Angeles, California: [[Image Entertainment]]. Retrieved 14 February 2018.</ref>

Around the same time, he portrayed the detective [[Sherlock Holmes]] in the Hammer production of ''[[The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959 film)|The Hound of the Baskervilles]]'' (also 1959), an adaptation of [[Arthur Conan Doyle|Sir Arthur Conan Doyle']]<nowiki/>s [[The Hound of the Baskervilles|novel of the same name]].<ref name="Monush" /> He again co-starred opposite Lee, who portrayed the aristocratic Sir Henry Baskerville.<ref name="Monush419" /> A fan of Sherlock Holmes, Cushing was highly anxious to play the character,<ref name="Earnshaw1">Earnshaw, p. 1</ref> and reread the novels in anticipation of the role.<ref>''[[Wogan]]'' (19 December 1987). Cushing, Peter. [[White City, London|White City]], London: [[BBC One]].</ref> Hammer decided to heighten the source novel's horror elements, which upset the estate of Conan Doyle, but Cushing himself voiced no objection to the creative licence because he felt the character of Holmes himself remained intact. However, when the producer [[Anthony Hinds]] proposed removing the character's [[deerstalker]], Cushing insisted they should remain because audiences associated Holmes with his headgear and pipes.<ref name="Earnshaw10">Earnshaw, p. 10</ref> He prepared extensively for the role, studying the novel and taking notes in his script. He scrutinised the costumes and screenwriter Peter Bryan's script, often altering words or phrases.<ref>Earnshaw, p. 11—12</ref> Lee later claimed to be awestruck by Cushing's ability to incorporate many different props and actions into his performance simultaneously, whether reading, smoking a pipe, drinking whiskey, filing through papers, or other things while portraying Holmes.<ref name="LeeNotebook">[[Christopher Lee|Lee, Christopher]] (actor). (2002). ''Actor's Notebook: Christopher Lee''. [Documentary, from ''[[The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959 film)|The Hound of the Baskervilles]]'' DVD]. Greg Carson: [[MGM Home Entertainment]]. Retrieved 19 September 2010.</ref> In later years, Cushing considered his Holmes performance one of the finest accomplishments of his career.<ref name="Earnshaw1" /> He drew generally mixed reviews: ''[[Film Daily]]'' called it a "tantalising performance" and ''[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]]''{{'s}} David Pirie called it "one of his very best performances",<ref>Earnshaw, p. 23</ref> while the ''[[Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' called him "tiresomely mannered and too lightweight" and [[BBC Television]]'s Barry Norman said he "didn't quite capture the air of know-all arrogance that was the great detective's hallmark".<ref>Earnshaw, p. 24</ref> ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' was originally conceived as the first in a series of Sherlock Holmes films, but no sequels were made.<ref name="CushDoc" />

[[File:Cash on Demand (1961) trailer - Peter Cushing 2.png|thumb|Cushing in ''[[Cash on Demand|Cash On Demand]]'' (1961)]]
Immediately upon completion of ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'', Cushing was offered the lead role in the Hammer film ''[[The Man Who Could Cheat Death]]'' (1959), a remake of ''[[The Man in Half Moon Street]]'' (1945). He turned it down, in part because he did not like the script by Jimmy Sangster, and the lead role was taken instead by [[Anton Diffring]]. Cushing next appeared for Hammer when he played the [[Sheriff of Nottingham]] in the adventure film ''[[Sword of Sherwood Forest]]'' (1960), which starred [[Richard Greene]] as the outlaw [[Robin Hood]].<ref name="Monush" /> It was filmed on location in [[County Wicklow]] in the [[Republic of Ireland]].<ref>Cushing, p. 120</ref> The next year, Cushing starred as an [[Ebenezer Scrooge]]-like manager of a bank being robbed in the Hammer [[Thriller (genre)|thriller film]] ''[[Cash on Demand]]'' (1961). He considered this among the favourites of his films,<ref name="Monush" /> and some critics believed it to be among his best performances, although it was one of the least-seen films from his career.<ref name="SWI56" /> He appeared in the Hammer film ''[[Captain Clegg (film)|Captain Clegg]]'' (1962), known in the United States as ''Night Creatures''. Cushing starred as Parson Blyss, the local reverend of an 18th-century English coastal town believed to be hiding his smuggling activities with reports of ghosts.<ref name="Monush" /> The film was roughly based on the [[Doctor Syn]] novels by [[Russell Thorndike]]. Cushing read Thorndike to prepare for the role and made suggestions to the makeup artist [[Roy Ashton]] about Blyss' costume and hairstyle.<ref name="Meikle126">Meikle, p. 126</ref> He and the director [[Peter Graham Scott]] did not get along well during filming and at one point, when the two were having a disagreement on set, Cushing turned to a cameraman named Len Harris and said, "Take no notice, Len. We've done enough of these now to know what we're doing."<ref name="Meikle126" />

Cushing and Lee appeared together in the horror film ''[[The Gorgon]]'' (1964) about the female snake-haired [[Gorgon]] character from [[Greek mythology]] and in ''[[She (1965 film)|She]]'' (1965), about a lost realm ruled by the immortal queen Ayesha, played by [[Ursula Andress]]. Cushing later appeared in ''[[The Vampire Lovers]]'' (1970), an erotic Hammer horror film about a lesbian vampire, adapted in part from the [[Sheridan Le Fanu]] novella ''[[Carmilla]]''.<ref name="SWI56" /> The next year he was set to star in a sequel, ''[[Lust for a Vampire]]'' (1971), but had to drop out because his wife was ill and [[Ralph Bates]] substituted.<ref name="CushDoc" /> However, Cushing was able to star in ''[[Twins of Evil]]'' (also 1971), a prequel of sorts to ''The Vampire Lovers'', as Gustav Weil, the leader of a group of religious [[puritan]]s trying to stamp out [[witchcraft]] and [[satanism]].<ref>Chibnall, p. 2</ref> Among his final Hammer roles was ''[[Fear in the Night (1972 film)|Fear in the Night]]'' (1972), where he played a one-armed school headmaster apparently terrorising the protagonist, played by [[Judy Geeson]].<ref>Chibnall, p. 76</ref>