2018 - 10/2018 Meeting

Page Created: 08/29/18. Last Updated: 11/15/18.

PAUL LEGGETT

Books:

Terence Fisher: Horror, Myth & Religion

Good Versus Evil in the Films of Christopher Lee

MEETING DETAIL

Meeting Date: October 13, 2018.

Meeting Site: Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

Attendance: 26.

Meeting Program: Talk / Q & A with Author / Academic / Film Scholar.

Newsletter Account

The following account is reprinted from THE STARSHIP EXPRESS Copyright 2018 Philip J De Parto:

The October 13, 2018 General Meeting of the Science Fiction Association of Bergen County was held at the Bergen Highlands United Methodist Church in Upper Saddle River. Philip De Parto led the Writers' Space Saloon pre-meeting discussion of opening pages from stories by Paul Calhoun (The Fall of the Wizards, Book 1), Erin Roll (The Teardrop Necklace), and Jim Sullivan (Kenton Grove). Pamela Webber ran a lively pre-meeting discussion of genre movies, television , and more.

Paul Leggett was our evening's speaker. Our guest teaches Mythology and Literature at Montclair State University, is the pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Montclair, and has written two books, GOOD VS EVIL IN THE FILMS OF CHRISTOPHER LEE and TERENCE FISHER: HORROR, MYTH AND RELIGION.

Mr Leggett began his talk by describing the blandening of America in the 1950s caused by works like THE SEDUCTION OF THE INNOCENT. The comics code was formed. Edgy comics ceased publication. Works of horor ceased being filmed. books like FRANKENSTEIN and HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES went out of print. The Superman of the television show was reduced to rescuing cats and apple pies. Young people knew that less vanilla fare had once been available, but it was almost impossible to discover. But as the decade progressed, two forces began to change the landscape. One was television, where local stations began airing the old Universal horror flicks, and other more vital films. The other originated across the Atlantic.

Hammer studios was a small player in the U K market when they decided to remake FRANKENSTEIN. Although the critics hated it, the film became a box office smash in England. More horror followed (though Hammer also produced many other types of films). Eventually the movies made their way to America and developed a following.

Director Terence Fisher was one of the primary movers at the studio. Fisher's films conducted a dialogue between good and evil. His Dracula was not just a monster, but an anit-Christ who rose from the dead to promulgate evil, and THE HORROR OF DRACULA was a religious allegory. His FRANKENSTEIN was a faerie tale love story for adults.

If Fisher was first among equals of the Hammer directors, Christopher Lee was the first-without-equal of Hammer's actors (sorry, Peter Cushing fans). To be continued at the SFABC website at 2018 - `0/2018 Meeting.