of his career in 1948.
I first encountered Christopher Lee in 1962 when I was 10 years old.
I didn’t know who he was, having not yet seen any of the classic Hammer horror pictures. I had gone to see Boris Karloff in a movie called Corridors of Blood which was set in 19th century England. Karloff’s NBC mystery/horror series Thriller was in full swing and had captured my young imagination and I was hoping to see more of him.
Lee had a small but very effective part as a grave robber named “Resurrection Joe”. Karloff throws a beaker of acid in his face at the end. That was considered quite shocking in 1962. The movie theater I saw it in, the old Paris Theatre in Greenville S.C., had seen better days. In fact, just like Asheville’s own Fine Arts Theatre, adult movies were just around the corner. Sadly there was no John Cram in Greenville to save it and it was demolished in the 1970s.
For no particular reason, I had managed to miss the Hammer films on TV and the next time I saw Lee it was 1968 and the movie was Dracula Has Risen From The Grave. I had gone to see it with my best friend from high school. Although Lee had little dialogue (usually the case with the Dracula films), his unmistakable voice was his greatest asset for it was instantly recognizable.
There has been and will continue to be many tributes to the man throughout the year, for he was truly remarkable. Born in 1922, he first entered movies in 1948 after having served in World War II. He can be glimpsed in Olivier’s Hamlet and had a bigger part in Scott of the Antarctic with John Mills. He labored for 10 years in a variety of movies before hitting it big with Dracula in 1958. He would essay the part nine more times.
Ian Fleming was a cousin and Lee was Fleming’s choice to play Dr No in the first James Bond film but he didn’t get the role. It’s just as well as several years later he played the title character in The Man With the Golden Gun. Among his many assorted skills, he was an accomplished fencer and played the part of Cardinal Richelieu’s right hand man Rochefort in The Three (and Four) Musketeers where he excelled alongside the other members of the all-star cast. Many years later would come The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars: Parts 1 & 2.
Those are a few of his high profile films but it was the little films, the drive-in films I’ll call them, like Theatre of Death, Horror Hotel, The Crimson Cult, and most notably The Wicker Man (see my DVD pick) for which I most remember him. By going to see anything that he was in, I exposed myself to many other movies that I normally would not have gone to see.
Like many British thespians, Lee would appear in just about anything, including such bizarre offerings as The Rainbow Thief and Hercules in the Haunted World. To paraphrase Michael Caine “Work is work. It pays the bills, you get to travel to exotic places, and you might pick up something that you can use in something better.”
His longevity is also remarkable. To still be able to act (in any capacity) while in your 90s is simply incredible. Only Lillian Gish did it longer (she made her last appearance in The Whales of August in 1987 when she was 94). Lee’s last appearance will be in Angels in Notting Hill which is set for release later this year.
By 2015 Christopher Lee had appeared in over 250 movies (you can check out the complete list on imdb.com) and lent his distinctive voice to many more. He can also be heard on everything from a complete version of Igor Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale where he plays all three principal parts to a heavy metal album entitled Charlemagne: By the Sword & the Cross.
It seemed as if he would go on forever but, of course, that could not be. He was the last of the great classic horror stars to survive. Now he can be reunited with his good friends Boris Karloff, Peter Cushing, and Vincent Price with whom he shared a birthday (May 27).
I shall miss him, for it is truly the end of an era. Sadly Christopher Lee’s brand of horror film died long before he did, but then he was so much more than just a horror star. In addition to his acting and fencing skills, he could speak seven languages as well as sing opera. Few performers in any field were that versatile.
His passing also reminds me of my own advancing years. To think that I first saw him up on a movie screen 53 years ago is almost impossible to believe yet I can still recall it as if it were yesterday. For that cinematic memory alone, not to mention so many more, I will always be in his debt. Thank you Sir Christopher. Rest in Peace.