Lee On The Big Screen

**Matt Gemmell** · 2nd May 2003, 09:12 PM

I'm looking forward to seeing one of Mr Lee's classic films on the big screen at the London event and it got me wondering .
What was the first film starring , or featuring , Christopher Lee that you saw at the cinema ? Nowadays many people see movies at home first but not in the good old days ( That made me sound old , did'nt it )
For me it was circa 1976 when my local flea pit showed a double bill of Taste The Blood Of Dracula and Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell . A couple of weeks later it was The Wicker Man.

**Jacob Remery** · 2nd May 2003, 10:22 PM

I've been a fan for years now.
However the first movie with CL on the big screen was Sleepy Hollow.

A small but wonderfull role. And an excellent movie. :)

elizabeth vanharlingen · 2nd May 2003, 10:24 PM

One day, my Junior High School gave us all an "End of the School Year" send-off.

They did two "The Scars of Dracula", and "Taste the Blood of Dracula" back-to-back. This must've been in '72, or '73...

Vandevere

LCD · 2nd May 2003, 10:30 PM

I was 12 or 13 (either the summer of 1968 or 69) when our family was camping at Lake Huron, Ontario, and we went to the drive-in theatre at Port Elgin. The great film was Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, and I have liked Mr. Lee and vampires ever since.

**Colin Bushby** · 2nd May 2003, 10:55 PM

That's a toughy,
Made me scratch my head for a while, but I think it may have been 1941 I may have seen one earlier but cannot for the life of me think what it was.

**Charles Prepolec** · 3rd May 2003, 03:13 AM

Simple one for me, it was a combo showing of The Three Musketeers back-to-back with The Four Musketeers in what...1974...I think.

My cousin Boris had just emigrated to Canada from Croatia and took me to the cinema frequently to both absorb a bit of culture and gather a better knowledge of the subtleties of the English language. I can still vividly recall standing outside the Grand Cinema and staring up at the lovely movie poster. I was very much taken by the Musketeers films at the time, and still have a strong affection for them to this day (possibly more than ever actually). As a related oddity, I still have (somewhere) the soundtrack to the films on...wait for it...8 Track tape that I pleaded to have purchased for me! Great films!

Strangely enough, the next time that I probably saw Mr. Lee on the big screen was likely in Return From Witch Mountain of all things.

Cheers!

**Sylvain Descoteaux** · 3rd May 2003, 03:32 AM

If i remember correctly, it was a double bill featuring "
Dracula prince of Darkness" and "Frankenstein created woman".

those two films at that time were rated as "not to be shown for children under 14 years old" and i remember going to see them with my brother and being very nervous because i was not 14 at that time.

Later on i remember also seeing "Taste the blood of Dracula", and "The oblong box".

Of course over the years i went to see more, but these were my first "Cinema introduction" to me. Lee on the big screen.

**Dave Hutchens** · 3rd May 2003, 07:57 AM

Well, I really feel old, reading of movies like 1941 and Sleepy Hollow! For me, it was The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974. I also saw the double-bill of The Three and The Four Musketeers, same year.

Later on came a re-release of The Devil's Bride, which I saw on a double-bill with In Search of Dracula. This, I believe, was 1976.

**Colin Bushby** · 3rd May 2003, 01:35 PM

Thanks for jogging my memory Dave. , it was of course The Man With The Golden Gun I make it my business to see all Bonds on the big screen, the only place you should see them imo.:)

Jurious · 3rd May 2003, 02:50 PM

Mine was as recent as Fellowship of the Ring, I'm afraid. :D Though my first memory of seeing Mr. Lee in a film was The Three/Four Musketeers, two of my very favourite movies.

3rd May 2003, 03:51 PM

Dracula was the first movie I saw with Christopher lee after that i would watch any thing and every film I could find with him in, from the first time I saw him I was hooked, I have been a fan for many years, and I never get tired of watching his films over and over again.

star38

Summerisle · 3rd May 2003, 06:28 PM

The first time I saw a Christopher Lee film it was "Dracula: Prince Of Darkness". That would have been in "66, so I was ten years old. The local theater was originally a popular spot on the vaudeville circuit from many years ago. It was a fabulous place with a full, working stage and the most spectacular gilded artwork. It was the perfect setting for a Lee film and I was quite taken by his screen presence. In fact, I became quite obsessed with his films. I never missed one after that. The strangest thing I remember doing to see Christopher Lee was getting my grandfather to take me to an all-night marathon "creature feature" at the drive-in. We sat through two movies nobody wanted to see just to get a look at "Blood Demon", aka "Castle Of The Walking Dead". It was great!!!

**Wendy Wood** · 4th May 2003, 11:35 PM

I have never seen Mr. Lee on the big screen. However, I would love to have the opportunity! I bet he is has a wonderful screen presence!

Jonathan Craig · 5th May 2003, 12:29 AM

"Gremlins 2: The New Batch" is the first time I saw Mr. Lee on the big screen. That was back in 1990. Unless, if my father took me to see "The Last Unicorn" 20 years ago, but I would have been too young to remember.

**Stuart Ball** · 6th May 2003, 07:21 PM

Yes, Gremlins 2 for me as well.....

My first experience of Mr Lee altogether was Horror Express. I was only about 11 and I persuaded my parents to let me stay up and watch it on late night tv.