Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be jumping for joy to his big broadcast of a classic British werewolf-mystery masterpiece with several horror legends.
Original 1974 Cinerama Releasing Corporation/Amicus Productions theatrical release trailer for Paul Annett’s production of “The Beast Must Die,” with Calvin Lockhart and Peter Cushing.
The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based horror film host will present his big broadcast of “The Beast Must Die” (1974), this Sat.; Aug. 28 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.
“The Beast Must Die” (1974) was directed by Paul Annett, a veteran director who specialized in numerous British film & television productions throughout his career The aforementioned 1974 classic mammoth werewolf-creature-mystery-horror masterpiece marked Annett’s first feature theatrical film production in his directorial career, according to the American Film Institute’s online film database. Some of his best known productions include the BBC television drama adaptation of Winston Graham’s “Poldark” featuring Robin Ellis (Annett directed seven episodes of BBC’s “Poldark” series from 1975-76), the BBC television wartime drama series “Secret Army” (Annett directed seven episodes of BBC’s from 1977-78) the London Weekend Television (LWT) thriller anthology series, “Saturday Night Thriller” (Annett directed two episodes of LWT’s “Saturday Night Thriller” series in 1982), Roald Dahl’s supernatural/sci-fi/fantasy series, “Tales of the Unexpected” (for the 1987-88 edition of the Dahl series, Annett directed three episodes) and numerous episodes of the long-running BBC television soap drama series, “EastEnders,” the aforementioned BBC soap series featured Wendy Richard of BBC television’s “Are You Being Served?” comedy fame (Annett directed 87 episodes of the long-running BBC “EastEnders” series from 1998-2009).
“The Beast Must Die” (1974) was produced by veteran producers John Dark, Robert H. Greenberg, Max Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky. John Dark previously worked on the classic mammoth Ray Harryhausen–Don Chaffey–Charles H. Schneer–Columbia Pictures Dynamation adventure-fantasy stop-motion masterpiece, “Jason and the Argonauts” (1963). The same year that he co-produced Annett’s “The Beast Must Die,” Robert H. Greenberg and Max Rosenberg produced Kevin Connor’s production for Samuel Z. Arkoff’s American-International Pictures of the classic mammoth fantasy-adventure masterpiece adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “The Land That Time Forgot” (1974) with Doug McClure, John McEnery and Susan Penhaligon. Max Rosenberg also previously produced the classic Universal Studios retrospective compilation feature of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello’s classic mammoth Universal feature film comedy masterpiece moments, “The World of Abbott and Costello” (1965) and the two classic Amicus-Peter Cushing “Doctor Who” sci-fi masterpiece film adaptations, “Dr. Who and the Daleks” (1965) and “Daleks’ Invasion Earth: 2150, A.D.” (1966). The two aforementioned Amicus “Doctor Who” features had no involvement with the BBC. Milton Subotsky also produced the classic mammoth Freddie Francis-Amicus/Metromedia horror-thriller feature film production masterpiece adaptation of William M. Gaines’ classic mammoth EC Comics horror-thriller comic book series, “Tales From the Crypt” (1972, with Joan Collins, Peter Cushing, Ian Hendry and Sir Ralph Richardson as the “Crypt Keeper.”
The screenplay for “The Beast Must Die” (1974) was written by veteran screenwriters Michael Winder and Scot Finch, Paul Annett also contributed to Winder and Finch’s screenplay. Winder, Finch and Annett’s screenplay was adapted from an original short story idea by James Blish.
This will mark Svengoolie’s second big broadcast of “The Beast Must Die” (1974) on Me-TV. He previously showcased Peter Anett’s classic 1974 mammoth werewolf-mystery-horror masterpiece production as a big broadcast premiere back in March 2021.
Who was in Peter Annett’s classic mammoth werewolf-mystery-horror masterpiece production of “The Beast Must Die” (1974)?
The players who appeared in Paul Annett’s Amicus production of “The Beast Must Die” (1974) were Calvin Lockhart (as Tom Newcliffe, the legendary stage and screen actor was known for his leading stage appearances during his time as a resident actor for Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, England; according to a 1980 Playbill synopsis on Lockhart for his Broadway stage role in “Reggae” for the character of Ras Joseph, the legendary actor’s best-known feature film appearances alongside his appearance in “The Beast Must Die” include his role of Rev. Deke O’Malley in Ossie Davis & Samuel Goldwyn Jr.‘s classic mammoth United Artists action-drama-comedy masterpiece with Godfrey Cambridge, Judy Pace, Redd Foxx and Raymond St. Jacques, 1970’s “Cotton Comes to Harlem;” Lockhart later appeared in the role of Col. Izzi in Eddie Murphy & John Landis’ classic mammoth Paramount Pictures comedy masterpiece with Murphy, Shari Headley, James Earl Jones and Arsenio Hall; 1988’s “Coming to America;” Lockhart later appeared in the role of the Electrician in David Lynch’s classic mammoth feature-length supernatural drama masterpiece, 1991’s “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me” (1991), which was a prequel to the e1990-91 ABC television supernatural drama series, “Twin Peaks”), Peter Cushing (as Dr. Christopher Lundgren, the legendary horror/monster film actor Peter Cushing reprised his Hammer Films role of Prof. Lawrence Van Helsing for Cheh Chang, Sir Run Run Shaw & Roy Ward Baker’s Hammer Films classic mammoth “Dracula” vampire monster masterpiece installment with David Chiang, Julie Ege, John Forbes-Robertson and Robin Stewart, “The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires,” Cushing’s other 1974 film appearances include his reprisal of Baron Frankenstein in the classic Terence Fisher-Hammer-Paramount “Frankenstein” monster/horror masterpiece production with David Prowse of “Star Wars” fame, Madeline Smith and a post-“Doctor Who” Patrick Troughton, “Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell,” Cushing reunited with Sir Run Run Shaw’s production company and Hammer for one of his final Hammer feature film appearances in the role of Paul Rattwood in the classic Michael Carreras–Monte Hellman Hammer classic action-drama masterpiece production with Stuart Whitman, “Shatter;” released through Avco Embassy Pictures), Marlene Clark (as Caroline Newcliffe, Clark previously appeared in the role of a secretary in Raymond Chow & Robert Clouse’s classic Golden Harvest–Warner Bros. mammoth action-crime drama masterpiece with Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon, 1973’s “Enter the Dragon”), Anton Diffring (as Pavel), Charles Gray (as Bennington, one year after “The Beast Must Die,” Gray appeared in the role of the Criminologist – an Expert in Jim Sharman & Lou Adler’s cult classic mammoth 1975 Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) musical feature film adaptation masterpiece production of Richard O’Brien’s “The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Tim Curry), Tom Chadbon (as Paul Foote), Michael Gambon (as Jan, Gambon later appeared in the role of Prof. Albus Dumbledore in the remaining Warner Bros. screen adaptations of the “Harry Potter” magic/fantasy/adventure novels with Daniel Radcliffe, beginning with 2004’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and concluding with 2011’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.” Gambon took over the role of Dumbledore after the death of actor Richard Harris in 2002; Harris previously played the role of Dumbledore in the first two Warners’ “Harry Potter” feature film adaptations in 2001 and 2002), Sam Mansary (as a Butler), Andrew Lodge (as a Pilot), Carl Bohen (as a hunter), Eric Carte (as a hunter), Ciaran Madden (as Davina, 18 years after “The Beast Must Die,” Madden appeared in the role of Mme. Maigret for four episodes of the 1992-93 Granada Television (ITV) mammoth detective-mystery masterpiece series adaptation of “Maigret” Madden reunited with her co-star Michael Gambon; who played the title role of Inspector Jules Maigret from 1992-93 in the aforementioned Granada-ITV “Maigret” series), the vocal stylings of Annie Ross (in an uncredited role for the dubbing of Marlene Clark’s dialogue) and the vocal stylings of Valentine Dyall (in an uncredited role as the narrator for the “werewolf break” sequence).