The Skull Of The Marquis de Sade.

Had me another very enjoyable double hammy of the Robert Bloch book of short stories and the very enjoyable movie adapted from the short story in that collection. Watched one, read the other. As you do. Some great stories n that collection. Including another that Peter Cushing appeared in the movie adaption off; The Weird Tailor in the anthology movie Asylum. Actually there is another version of this story, a telly version from the sixties, one of the Boris Karloff presents stories. Its exceptionally well made. The scene where the mannequin comes to life is truly nightmarish. Its the disturbing body language of the dummy coming to life; watching a thing that is not supposed to move...move. I think you could probably find that version on Youtube. Well worth digging out for a sleepless night.
               The Peter Cushing movie version is amazing. Not just because of a fantastic performance from Peter Cushing. Lets face it, when he has ever delivered a stinker? Its mostly set in these darkened London posh streets and town houses, with a bunch of rich satanic British eccentrics, all totally selfish and laughably sleazy. Michael Gough is in there as is a cool Christopher Lee.But the real star turn is by a stunningly sleazy Patrick Wymark as the seller of arcane and mysterious objects,
like John Constantine's dirty old uncle. Hes great. He sleazes his way into rich swingers lives cause he knows they are even grubbier than him and he knows what pleases them. He exists in a night time world of deserted London streets and upper class decay and decadence, where eople wth mysterious lived in faces wander in sixties trench coats.
                In searching for a suitable picture to go with this boobie babble I came across a couple of reviews that referred to this movie as kitchy. I found nothing kitchy about the film or the novel. There is a bit of a knowing or even sneering quality about such a description. Hope I never start seeing things in this smug fashion. I think I would stop enjoying so many things if I thought of them like that.