VERONICA CARLSON

Veronica Carlson made her first appearance at FANEX 4.   She is one of our very favorite people, someone we consider a dear friend.   With each appearance, Veronica has charmed the entire crowd. Her fans are legion.   The FANEX 4 questions and answer session was hosted by Bill Littman.

How did you get involved with Hammer Films?

I had a lot of small parts in varying films and I had a lot of publicity attendant with these parts.   One of the pictures that they showed of me was on the front page of a tabloid in Great Britain which was the best selling one at the time-- The Sunday Mirror .   Jimmy Carreras saw the picture--he told me this himself--he said, "I want that girl in my next film."

I suppose most people would like to know what it as like working with Mr. Christopher Lee?

My first impression of Christopher was not just meeting him.   I watched his films avidly, like we all have.   I sat in the audience in England and I just loved being horrified by these films.   So, I didn't expect a surprise.   I was expecting someone very tall and very aristocratic, but he has an enormous impact in person.   He's got a very strong presence that you don't expect in a small room.   This man is wonderful--highly intelligent--speaks seven languages.   He's a trained   opera singer.   He's endlessly interesting to listen to.   He loves to talk about his life and we love to listen.   He's got a lot to say.

I have you down here for a picture entitled Hammerhead (1968, Columbia) with Diana Dors and Vince Edwards.

That was another picture before I met Jimmy Carreras.   I was going to be a dancer but then they had too many dancers.   Well, I don't care to dance, so I said, "Well, I don't want to be a dancer anyway."   So they put me in a waitress costume and that was that.

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed --for those of us lucky enough to have met Peter Cushing--I'm sure the impression is instantly everlasting.

My favorite film.   That was my favorite film to work on.   I adored Peter.   Everybody adores Peter.   He's the nicest person in show business, I'm sure.   He was very kind and thoughtful.   The whole crew was just one big happy family.   I think that's the happiest film I've ever made.   I used to look forward to going to work every day.

I seem to remember one scene where you seemed to be drenched in water and mud.   What was it like that day on the set?

That was the coldest day of my whole life. The firemen were in attendance because they'd taken the head off a fire hydrant within the studio so someone had to be in attendance because the power of the water was incredible.   They convinced me that in order to keep me drenched they couldn't do it with warm water because I would react to the shock of the warm water and get very cold.   So they doused me with cold water, very cold water, in order to maintain that low body heat so I wouldn't go from one shock to another.   Well, after three hours of that I couldn't stop chattering.   I couldn't talk--my teeth wouldn't stop chattering to let me talk.   I was blue.   I couldn't stand still.   I was just a blurred outline in the studio.   So they got the last shot and they said, "Well, I suggest you go to Roger Moore's dressing room."   Which was lovely.   Roger was abroad filming something else.   I had the big tub he had.   This was a very old studio.   The tub was Victorian--very deep.   I filled it up with warm water and I couldn't stand it.   The heat was unbearable.   So I had to make the water almost cold and for three quarters of an hour I just kept topping it off and the water kept getting deeper and deeper until it was up to here [her chin] 'til my cheeks got pink again.   That was a day I won't forget.   We tried to do everything in the first take but they had lots of different takes to do anyway.   So I survived.

And you thought it was glamour.

It was not glamour!

I was going to ask you about working with Terence Fisher.   What kind of director was he?

He was a very sensitive director and a very gentle director.   He would discuss the scene that you were going to film with you.   Hear what you had to say about it.   See how you felt.   Tell you what he felt and then let you go that path that you discussed without guiding you to it.   What he was saying, virtually, "I've shown you the way to go, now do it all by yourself because I want to see what you put into what we've discussed."   It was a privilege working with that man.  

There was an actor in Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed [1969] who was known for his larger than life performances--but in this one he gives a subtle, a very moving performance.   That's Freddie Jones.

I learned an awful lot from Freddie in the few days I had to work with him when I had to kill him by stabbing him.   He's a brilliant actor.   I'd seen him on many television productions before and many films.   He helped me.   If I had a reaction to him he would come to me immediately after the director had said cut and he'd say, "That was wonderful.   I loved what you did.   That helps me so."   I wished I had more time to work with him.

How long did it take to film Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed ?

All the Hammer films were 6 weeks long, and The Ghoul [1975] was six weeks long.   So you did two rehearsals and you did the shot.   It was very rare to have more than four takes.

And everybody listened when Jimmy Carreras came on the set ?

Yes, Jimmy was loved by everyone.   He was a real daddy figure.   He was a lovely character.   Michael, I didn't get to know.   Michael didn't have the simpatico Jimmy had.   Jimmy had a lot of simpatico.   He seemed to know the mood people wanted.   Michael was different.   He was very eager to change it.

Tony Hinds?

I didn't have much to do with Tony Hinds.

Anthony Nelson-Keys?

I liked Anthony.   He was nice, always a doll to me.   We did a lot of Hammer functions for charity, representing them.   He was always kind and thoughtful.  

It must have been a fascinating place to work at, with Bernard Robinson making those wonderful sets.

Wonderful sets.   The atmosphere when you walked on the sets was there, he created it all.   Brilliant sets.

Tell us about Jimmy Sangster.

He was a total surprise, he was a very mischievous man.   He's got a terrific sense of humor and this took me a while to get used to.   I wasn't used to this brevity just prior to shooting.   Total discipline, total professional, but he had this outlet of irrepressible fun.   I remember once I was going to do this scene.   I was sleeping in bed and I said to the lighting man, I'm going to stay here in bed, it's so comfortable.   It would only take about 10 minutes to light.   And there [Jimmy] was in beside me, hopped in bed beside me.   But as soon as the camera was ready he was directing and he was good at directing.   I think that was the happiest and most amusing film I worked on [ The Horror of Frankenstein ].

The person who played the Frankenstein Monster in The Horror of Frankenstein [1970] went on to greater acclaim playing Darth Vader in Star Wars , that's David Prowse.   What was he like on the set?

He was overwhelming.   I'd never met a man so big in my life.   I stayed away from him.   He was more a man's man and I didn't have too much to say to him.   He was into body building.   He used to talk to us about that.   He was awesome.  

I saw a photograph of you once doing a portrait of Christopher Lee on Dracula Has Risen from the Grave [1975].   Are you an artist?

Yes.   I went to art school for four years--London Art School.   I got my masters degree in life painting and fabric design.   So, I am a professional.   My mother insisted on it.   I went to college when I was 16 and I left when I was 21.   She said now you can do what you want to do but you always have something to fall back on.   Which, of course, I've gone into in great depth now.

You moved over to Tyburn for The Ghoul ?

Yes.   Not good.

What were the sets of Tyburn like?

The sets were wonderful.   Freddie [director Freddie Francis] was wonderful. Freddie Francis was always wonderful.   I adored Freddie.   Kevin [producer Kevin Francis] and I did not get on.   I don't think he liked me very much.   He made it difficult for me.   He wouldn't say good morning.   Little things like that don't do very well.   I mean when you're working and you've got all your ego up there ready to work, you need your ego to be built and when the producer comes on and says good morning to everyone else and doesn't say good morning to you, you don't know why.   So, Kevin came on one day and sat on his stool being Kevin and lighting up another cigarette so that he could look through the smoke.   He used to lean back on the stool and, of course, the leg was off the edge of the podium in a heartbeat.   He went flat on the floor so that was my cue to exit stage right real quick so that I didn't laugh or I would lose my job there and then.   He used to come onto the set at odd times and just look around and disappear again.

I also show a title Vampira which is known in this country as Old Dracula (1975).

[Laughs]   David Niven.   He was wonderful.   The first meeting I had with David, I had to wear a big headdress.   So, David was brought over to be introduced to me or I was going to be introduced to David, whichever it was.   As he stepped forward to take my hand he stepped on my toe--very painful.   I bent down forgetting my headdress and poked him in the eye with it.   He recoiled in horror.   So, he had a red eye and I had a red toe.   We laughed about that.   We got on ever so well.   He was ever such a nice guy.

That was your last movie to date ?

I did an episode of a television series called Private Eye .   That was in 1974, the year I married and then I drifted to where my husband worked because he went abroad a lot.   I drifted out of it [acting] then.

VERONICA CARLSON

VIRGINIA WETHERELL

At FANEX 11, our second Hammer tribute, we were pleased to welcome back Veronica Carlson, as well as Virginia Wetherell.   Virginia had appeared in several films such as The Crimson Cult [1968],   Disciple of Death [1972], Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde [1971] and A Clockwork Orange [1971].   However, she was also happily married to Ralph Bates and now helps oversee a charity in her late husband's name. Mary Peach, who also sat in on this talk, had appeared in several films including The Projected Man [1967] and Scrooge [1970], is married to Jimmy Sangster.

Can you tell us something about Christopher Lee and was he a prankster?

Virginia Wetherell: Definitely not.   Not a prankster.   Certainly not with Christopher Lee.   I found him probably the most non-humorous person I have ever met in my life.    A joker, he wasn't.   Ralph Bates, my husband, was a joker, but Chris Lee, definitely not. Whereas, somebody like Boris Karloff was absolutely wonderful and a gentleman and courteous.   Well, maybe [Christopher Lee joked] with Peter Cushing.

Veronica Carlson: Yes, it was just between the two of them.

Virginia Wetherell: Definitely.

Veronica Carlson: They had a great camaraderie, and they were very secure in their ability to joke around with each other and keep it off the set. They were both very, very professional.   But I, unlike Virginia--maybe because I was so green and naïve, and this was my first movie--Chris did help me.   He was wonderful.   He would stand and give me a line.   He would say to Freddie [Francis], "I'll stand and give her a line," and he did, and he would give me the lines, and I found that to be immensely encouraging.   I think if I'd maybe had more experience, he would not.   I don't know.   This is what I'm feeling.

Virginia Wetherell: I think he fancied her and he didn't fancy me.

Can you tell us something about Jack Palance?

Virginia Wetherell: Well, when I worked with Jack Palance [in Dracula , TV, 1973], I was actually pregnant at the time, and he wasn't to know that.   And there was a scene where I have to walk into a room playing one of the brides [of Dracula], and he has to push me around a bit.   And on rehearsal--he's a very, very big man.   I mean, big this way and big this way, and I suppose, because I was pregnant, I was a little, sort of nervous and insecure.   And on rehearsal, he would insist on pushing, like from here across the room--so much so that I was actually sliding down the floor--and I think that's somewhat unnecessary on a rehearsal, and we did that three times.   He was just kind of showing how macho he was, but he didn't really have to convince anybody.   He's very macho.   But, aside from that, I'm sure he's really a very lovely guy.

Veronica Carlson: I can tell a very funny story about Jack Palance. I went to a film festival in Dublin and he was there... and you're right--exactly what you say--he's a very powerful man, and he's immensely strong.   And I was sitting there in a room.   I can't remember who else was there right now, but it will come back to me. He said, "Let's sing," so we all had to sing.   And this is this big, powerful man singing in a very beautiful voice. And I said, "I don't really want to sing." So he said, "All right, so I'll recite poetry."   So he was reciting poetry, and we had a wonderful time.   He was very nice.   I went back home, and the doorbell rings.   I open the door, and Jack Palance is at the front door of my parents' house, and I thought, "Oh, my God!"    And at that time I'd just gotten to know Sydney, my husband.   Sydney arrived, and Jack Palance is there, sitting, having a cup of tea in the lounge.   And he's never gotten over it.   Every time Jack Palance is on TV, he storms out.   "That bloody Jack Palance!   Don't know what you ever saw in him!   He's ugly!"   He keeps saying how ugly he is.

Can you tell us about Boris Karloff?

Virginia Wetherell:   Wonderful.   As I said earlier, a real gentleman.   Totally, not at all what he appears on the screen.   A very kind, gentle man.   I can remember the first day that I met him, he was already on the set [of The Crimson Cult ], and I walked in and sort of quickly went to the sofa--and as soon as I arrived, he stood up to shake my hand.   And this was a man who was indeed at the time very sick--and he was very happy to rehearse, and was comfortable.   He would make suggestions, and we discussed the script.   I mean, he was just completely brilliant.   Really, really lovely.   A real gent, kind of old school.   No mucking around, knew his lines, on cue, never fluffed.   Great.

Especially in that film, there was a scene where we had to be outside.   It was shot in November--and in England, November is pretty cold and damp.   He was very, very sick, and he had a rug over him, and when he spoke, he wheezed like that.   And if you listen--if you watch the film--you'll hear the music, he speaks, and then as he does that [wheezing sound], and the music is played up.   And he was a real pro.   He didn't have to do it.   They could have used a double for a lot of the scenes he was in, but no, he did it.

[Like Peter Cushing] exactly the same: The most wonderful, old school, just real gents and pros--like in the old days, when actors went to work, they wore a suit.   This would not be heard of now.

Can you tell us about Barbara Steele and Michael Gough on the set of The Crimson Cult ?

Virginia Wetherell: I didn't get to know Barbara at all, because we were never called at the same time , but Michael, I did, and I worked with him, did a couple of television shows with him later on, and he was a super guy.   I mean really great fun--just lovely, nice guy.

Tell us about Disciple of Death .

Virginia Wetherell: When I made the film, it was called Once Upon a Time There Was a Disciple of Death , with Mike Raven, who sadly passed away about a month, six weeks ago.   That was a film, one of these sort of low-budget, come down, it will all be over in three weeks and all the rest of it.   And I have to say I had a lot of fun doing that film.  

Ronnie Lacey... who was in the film, he played the guy who kind of dragged his leg... most people obviously aren't familiar with it, but he played a baddie.   And we shot it in Cornwall, which is a very quiet village, a place called Buscastle in Cornwall.   Very picturesque.   And I remember on the first day, they put the so-called stars in little cottages.   And, in those days, I was kind of used to living in London, in houses that were full of people, and rooms that were full of people--and suddenly there I was in the middle of nowhere in this really remote cottage, by myself.   I was petrified.   And all the crew and the extras were in the hotel.   Anyway, I kind of checked in and was told where to go, and had to go down a long pier--and I was wandering down this pier by myself, and I heard somebody behind me, and I could hear the sort of steps in the pebbles.   I walked a bit quicker, and this person followed and was walking quicker and quicker, and then I started running.   I thought, "My God, I'm going to be killed."   And recently there'd been a murder or rape or something--some lunatic who'd murdered his grandmother and family.   And I don't know, I was very aware of this.   Anyway, it turned out it     was Ronnie Lacey.   And I was beginning to scream--and that was the first time I'd met Ronnie.   Again, sadly he passed away about five years ago.   He was one of the nicest guys, and we became very good friends, and he and Ralph were great friends.   Super, super man.   Really terrific guy.

What do you remember about Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde ?

Virginia Wetherell: Obviously, Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde was a very significant film for me, because that's how I met Ralph.   And, in fact, the first day I met him, he stabbed me in the back.   Two years later, I married him.   Well, you know, you win some, you lose some.   But that was Ralph.   He was one of the best guys.

      He would have been very good [as Dorian Gray].   There were lots of things that he should have done, but sadly--up there--they got him first.

      I never met [Martine Beswicke], because, again, we were never called on the same day.   But I know that Ralph liked her very much, and they had a lot of fun together--before I moved in.

Veronica, what do you remember about Dracula Has Risen from the Grave ?

Veronica Carlson: I thought I was going to fall off [the coach].   The horses were just galloping on, and I had nothing to hold on to, except the edge of the seat... that was genuine fear.

How do you feel about being known for your horror films ?

Virginia Wetherell: A lot of fun.   Tremendous fun.

Veronica Carlson: I looked upon it as an honor to be involved.   I used to miss a few college classes to see the latest Hammer horror.   We were all fans--I went to an art school--and to our absolute horror one day, when we were all in the intermission, waiting for the big Hammer to come up, then the lights went up, our lecturer was sitting right in front.   And he stood up, and he counted all of us.

And he said, "You are all on detention and you will make up this work."   And he promptly sat down and watched the movie with us.

And my body would travel through my eyes into the screen, and I would be with them.   And it was my yearning to be a part of it.   It was a dream come true for me.   How was it for you, Virginia?

Virginia Wetherell: The same.   The same thing, and always great fun.   It was always lighthearted.   It wasn't kind of, heavy.   The only thing was, that they were always low-budget, and you did one take, and if it wasn't that good, well, that was tough.

Veronica Carlson: That's right.   We had no rehearsal at all.   We just walked through the line.   "Stop there."   And then, "Where's your mark?"   "Where's your key light?" [that] you had to stand in.

Virginia Wetherell: You found it.

Veronica Carlson: But we were treated with utmost respect.   We weren't treated like fools, and I enjoyed it.

Virginia Wetherell: Me, too.   Enormously.

Veronica Carlson: I'd do it all over again if I could.

What are your memories of Peter Cushing?

Veronica Carlson: When I was working on [ Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed , 1969], he invited me out to dinner, and he said, "Darling, I want you to wear the amethyst--the purple velvet"--he loved that gown.   It was his favorite, with the beautiful hat.   And he wanted to dress up as the Baron and take me out to dinner.

I did go to dinner, but I did not wear the gown.   But he came to my hotel room.   He was wearing white gloves.   He presented me with a corsage, and I had one of the sweetest evenings I have ever had.   It was just like stepping back into another era.   And part of the reason he wanted to take me out was, at that time, we had the rape scene suggested, but how were we going to do it?   Peter was tormented by this, as I was, and he kept saying, "Darling, What are we going to do?   How are we going to do this?"

And we went back to his house.   He showed me his--he had a toy soldier collection, model soldiers--beautiful things.   And we talked about this, I think, for an hour.   And it just caused us distress.   It made him--his eyes teared--he didn't know how to do it.   I didn't know how to do it.   So it didn't really help.

The other memory, which was not a Hammer movie--it was on The Ghoul [1975].   He had to do a scene many times, talking about his wife's passing, the death of Helen.   And I watched this man, take after take.   Freddie [Francis] made him do it over and over again.   And I saw the agony in this man, because always, the person to whom he was talking was Helen, his wife who had recently passed away.   And he broke down.

And I looked around in utter dismay, and the crew were weeping.   And everyone turned away, and he had to go to his dressing room.   And he was there for a long time.   He couldn't recover.   He just couldn't get over it, and it just broke our hearts.   Everybody was touched by Peter.   Everybody loved him.  

So that was a very fond memory, but a very bittersweet one.   That sums up the man to me.

Can you tell us about working with David Prowse?

Veronica Carlson: A very big man.   He's huge.   He really is.   He has an enormous stance, and I remember I upset David, because we had to pose for some stills, and the photographer asked him to hold a girl on each arm, and I thought that was downright dangerous.   I didn't have faith in his strength to hold me.   Which didn't say much, because, when I visited a circus one time, the trainer said the elephant would pick me up with his trunk.   I didn't think that could hold me, either.   So if an elephant couldn't do it, certainly David couldn't do it.

And I said, "No, I don't think that's right.   I don't think that's fair."  

And he was upset.   He thought I should have more faith in him.   And I went to apologize to him afterwards.

A very sweet man.   Very kind, and I became very fond of David.

He's very soft spoken, and he's got that West Country burr.   He comes from Bristol, that area.   He's got a lovely, soft burr.   And he is very quietly spoken--doesn't say very much.

Tell us about Ralph Bates.

Virginia Wetherell: As you may or may not know, Ralph died from pancreatic cancer.   And after he died, we set up a fund--myself and [our] children and three doctors.   And we have a research program going on at a big hospital medical school in London, called St. George's.   And when Ralph was diagnosed, he was given six or eight weeks to live--and now I think people get about five years--and, who knows, one day we might even crack it...

      Doctor Jekyll and Sister Hyde --technically I think it's quite a brilliant film--but Persecution [1974], the film he did with Lana Turner, I think he had a pretty terrible time on it.   Although, I have to say, because of Lana's drinking problem, we went into overtime, and we got the carpet for the house, so I can't complain.   But I thought he was brilliant in it.   You know, I like them all.   Have to.

How did you meet Jimmy Sangster ?

Mary Peach: I had worked with Ralph [Bates].   I had done a few little television movies with Ralph--and I was on my own, and Jimmy was on his own.   And Vig [Virginia Wetherell] said, "Come out to lunch."

      And I went out to lunch, and there was Jimmy.   I didn't expect him at all.   And from then on, more or less, we haven't looked back.   And, sadly, Ralph died afterwards.

      I never really was involved in that [Hammer] world at all, I'm sorry to say.   I wasn't a fan.   I knew him [Jimmy] later when he was working in...American television.   I never knew him in those days of blood and gore.

How do you prepare for a movie role?

Veronica Carlson: I don't think I went into a movie with a preconceived idea.   I don't think I did.   Because you don't know until you see how other people evolve--the actors, their own characters--so that you know, really, that the weight is evenly distributed.  

Virginia Wetherell: You work that out on the floor, don't you?

Veronica Carlson: Yes, you work it out on the floor.   You meet these people, see how they treat the character.   See how they bring the character to life, and that influences yours.   It's best not to go in with a preconceived notion, because your reaction could be quite unexpected, as to how they are in that character role.

Virginia Wetherell: And, anyway, things change.   You cut things.   The director makes suggestions, and your character develops, and you get inspiration from the other artists.

Tell us about Dracula Has Risen from the Grave .

Veronica Carlson: Freddie Francis was disappointed.   Apparently there was a lot of Barry [Andrews] and me that fell on the cutting room floor, and he was really disappointed about that.   Apparently he had taken time out for one week after completion of the film--and they had edited by the time he got back, perhaps because they had known what he had wanted to do.   But he was very disappointed about that, and he wanted it put back in the movie if they ever redo it or put it on disc.

We were at the premiere, and we were all sitting, watching, and Ewan [Hooper] came on the screen, and first I didn't know who was talking.   I couldn't understand, who this voice was coming out of Ewan's mouth, because I had seen bits of rushes while he was working, and obviously I worked alongside him and heard his voice.   And everybody suddenly sat up a little bit taller in their seats.  

And Ewan was sitting just in front of me, and he looked to the left and he looked to the right, and he said, "What have they done to my voice?   Why didn't they tell me?"   He was so hurt.

And I think that's a shame--a shoddy way to treat an actor, because he had done a fine job on the set.   I don't know what they found that they had to re-voice him for.   I don't understand it.   He was very hurt.   Very embarrassing.   It really is humiliating.

What about The Horror of Frankenstein [1970]?

Veronica Carlson: That was horrible.   I still don't watch that.   I won't watch that.

What can you tell us about Demons of the Mind ?

Virginia Wetherell: I wasn't too happy about that, as it happens.   There's one nude scene--the nude scene that obviously wasn't scripted.   And I got a call from Peter Sykes the night before we were to shoot it, and he said, "Oh, Virginia, there's this little scene where you're trying on frocks.   We want the dress to slip off and then you have nothing on underneath."

And I said, "You know, Peter, it's not in the script."

He said, "Well, it is now."   So he did this whole thing.   "We're going to take all day to shoot it, and light it like a commercial."

And I said, "Okay, I'm not happy about it.   But okay, on one condition--no stills."

So he said, "Fine, no stills."

So we came to shoot it, and they built a little dressing room for me on the set.   And I was made up and I was fit, and we did this whole thing.   It was just with Yvonne Mitchell and Patrick Magee, and we had this scene, and I had to walk around the room and go, "Ooh, ahh" at all the frocks, in the nude.   Well I did all the "ooh and ahhing," like I had to.