Christopher Lee, In Memoriam
It’s been almost a week since we learned of the passing of Christopher Lee at age 93 and I still can’t accept it. It’s not fair. Christopher Lee gave us numerous reasons to assume he would never leave us. Lee has portrayed creatures resurrected from the grave, all-powerful wizards, omnificent demons, timeless vampires, and anthropomorphic personifications of death itself. These are associations that lend an air of permanence to a man. Couple this with a 70 year career in front of the camera, an unwillingness to slow down, and a masterful stage presence even in his 90’s. Can we be blamed for taking his presence as a given?
I’ve seen Lee die on film countless times only to return (often in the same role) again and again. This occasion shouldn’t be any different. Lee was the last of the grand masters of horror. As the babe of the group, he had outlived his contemporaries, co-stars, and friends from that era including Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, John Carradine, and Peter Lorre. Like the others on that list, Lee brought class, grace, and dignity to the roles he took on. Perhaps this is why Lee’s credits more often than not included an honorific. On camera Lee has been referred to as Count, Doctor, Lord, Major, Baron, Commander, Captain, Prince, Pastor, Constable, King, and Professor among many others.
From left to right: Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, John Carradine.
Words cannot do justice to the career of Christopher Lee. The only appropriate tribute is to go back and enjoy his work. What follows is a sampling of some of Lee’s more interesting roles. Some will be very familiar. A few may come as a surprise. Seek out some of the films mentioned and bask in Lee’s performance. Share them with others. That is the means by which Lee will receive his deserved immortality.
Laurence Olivier in Hamlet – That spear carrier in the back just might be Christopher Lee.
1. Spear Carrier – Hamlet (1948)
Although he was not credited in the film, one of Christopher Lee’s first onscreen performances was as a spear carrier in Laurence Olivier’s version of Hamlet. Criterion Collection reviewer Matthew Dessem believes that to be Christopher Lee in the background of the shot above. An auspicious, if small, start for the young actor.
Christopher Lee as Frankenstein’s Monster or ‘The Creature’
2. The Creature – The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
The Curse of Frankenstein is significant as Christopher Lee’s first role for British production company, Hammer Films. Hammer Films is best known for its series of “Hammer Horror” films of which Lee became a significant part. The Curse of Frankenstein also marks the first pairing of Lee with Peter Cushing, who plays Victor Frankenstein. Lee and Cushing would appear in over twenty pictures together and became close friends.
Christopher Lee and Caroline Munro in Dracula A.D. 1972
3. Count Dracula – Horror of Dracula (1958) and a host of others
In 1931 Bela Lugosi took on the role of Count Dracula in the Universal Pictures production of Dracula. Lugosi made the role his own and is to this day most closely associated with the character. However, if ever a contender could dethrone Lugosi, it was Christopher Lee. Christopher Lee’s 1958 performance as Dracula for Hammer Films was extremely popular and lead to Lee portraying the Count in six more Hammer Horror films and in several films produced by other studios.
Peter Cushing attempts to fight off Christopher Lee as The Mummy
4. The Mummy – The Mummy (1959)
Hammer Films’ very successful business model hinged on producing gothic remakes of the Universal Pictures horror movies from the previous decades. Through no fault of his own, Lee could not escape being compared to Boris Karloff for his roles in The Curse of Frankenstein, The Face of Fu Manchu, and The Mummy. Not surprisingly Lee greatly admired Karloff and, in a letter to Karloff’s widow upon the senior actor’s death, expressed a desire to follow his example as both an actor and a person.
The Face, the Brides, the Vengeance, the Blood, and the Castle of Fu Manchu – Lee knew them all.
5. Fu Manchu – The Face of Fu Manchu (1965) and four sequels
Fu Manchu has fallen from public favour due to the characters association with the “Yellow Peril” paranoia and a general consensus that the character is insulting to Asians and Asian-Americans. It is a bit of a shame because, if you strip away the Asian stereotypes, the character is a foreboding and interesting super villain. Lee’s portrayal of the evil criminal genius was instilled with the dark menace that made Lee such a popular fiend.
Two glasses of poison wine and a handful of poisoned chocolates and yet the Mad Monk will not die!
6. Grigori Rasputin – Rasputin the Mad Monk (1966)
Christopher Lee portrayed Rasputin, the mystic-healer and family friend to the last Tsar of Russia in this semi-biographic film from Hammer Films. Given the legendary charisma and hypnotic eyes of Rasputin, casting Lee must have seemed like the obvious choice.
The Wicker Man – If for no other reason, see it for this hairstyle!
7. Lord Summerisle – The Wicker Man (1973)
The Wicker Man was a personal favourite of Lee’s. He played Lord Summerisle, who leads the islanders of a remote Scottish island to forsake Christian beliefs. The islanders instead turn to pagan rituals in the hopes of appeasing Celtic gods. Not surprisingly, the devout Christian sent to the island to investigate the disappearance of a young girl is very disturbed by this turn of events.
Christopher Lee as Count de Rochefort in The Return of the Musketeers (1989)
8. Rochefort – The Three Musketeers (1973) and two sequels
Lee, who was a trained fencer, portrayed Count de Rochefort in three films. The eyepatch wearing adversary of the musketeers was actually killed off in the second film (The Four Musketeers, 1974) when he found himself impaled on a sword during a duel. In the third film, however, Rochefort himself dismisses that minor detail.
A villain to equal the abilities of James Bond.
9. Francisco Scarmanga – The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Going up against Roger Moore’s Bond, Lee portrayed skilled assassin, sharp-shooter, and third nipple owner, Scarmanga. Having portrayed so many villains, it was inevitable that Lee would eventually play the lead villain in a James Bond film. Based on the next entry, however, it might have been more appropriate for Lee to play the secret agent.
Flying Officer Christopher Lee (1944)
10. Secret Agent – Special Operations Executive (circa 1939 – 1946)
No, that is not a movie role. Christopher Lee was a member of the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a British military organization during World War II. The SOE was formed to conduct espionage and sabotage. Lee admitted his association with the SOE but refrained from talking about it saying that they were “forbidden – former, present, or future – to discuss any specific operations.” Add to that the rather chilling story of how Lee explained to Peter Jackson the sound a man makes when he is stabbed in the back, and you have the start of a good spy novel.
Hands off the Mogwai, Doc!
11. Doctor Catheter – Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)
Believe it or not, this is one of my favourite Christopher Lee roles. Gremlins 2 is basically a live action cartoon with Joe Dante poking fun at as many horror and science fiction tropes as he can think of. I enjoy Lee in the role of the corporate funded mad scientist because he seems to be legitimately having fun with it. Lee was always afraid of typecasting and was known to speak up when a film did not meet his standards. It is therefore nice to see that he could poke fun at himself.
Rock on, Chris! Rock on.
12. Heavy Metal Vocalist – Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross (2010), Charlemagne: The Omens of Death (2012), and multiple heavy metal Christmas EPs
Given Lee’s powerful baritone, I guess it is not surprising that he would be a capable singer. That heavy metal was his genre of choice might be a little more surprising. The fact that he released his first album at age 88 and followed it up with a sequel at age 91 is mind blowing. Lee is credited with being the oldest living performer to ever enter the Billboard music charts and the oldest performer in the history of heavy metal.
Death in Terry Pratchett’s Soul Music
13. Death – Soul Music (1997), Wyrd Sisters (1997), The Colour of Magic (2008)
It’s been a rough year for the DiscWorld. It already lost creator Terry Pratchett earlier this year. Now it’s personification of death has been silenced. Pratchett had described Death’s voice as a hollow voice that arrived in your brain without actually passing through your ears. When it came time to voice Death in two animated programs and a live action mini-series, Christopher Lee was ready for the challenge.
Count Dooku about to learn that joining the Dark Side is a poor life decision.
14. Count Dooku – Star Wars: Episode II (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III (2005)
Ok. So maybe episodes II and III are not exactly our favourites. Being part of the franchise in any capacity is still pretty cool. When you are responsible for instigating the Clone Wars and played a key role in the creation of Darth Vader, you’ve got some serious street cred. Although a double was used for longshots requiring vigorous footwook, Lee reportedly performed most of the character’s swordplay (lightsaber-play?) himself. Remember, this was when he was in his eighties.
Christopher Lee is Saruman the White
15. Saruman – Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001 – 2003) and The Hobbit trilogy (2012 – 2014)
Many would say that Dracula was the role Lee was born to play. I would guess that Lee would name Saruman as the character most in line with his personal interests. Lee was an avid Tolkien fan who reportedly re-read The Lord of the Rings every year. He is also the only cast member from the movies to have actually met J. R. R. Tolkien. When he learned that Peter Jackson was directing film adaptations of the novels, he sent Jackson a photo of himself dressed as a wizard with the note: “This is what I look like as a wizard, don’t forget this when you cast the movie.”
R.I.P. Christopher Lee (May 27, 1922 – June 7, 2015)
