PUBLICATIONS: 2022–2023

Recent books, chapters and essays on film and television

The following covers commissions completed for publishers and Blu-Ray/DVD labels.

THE BLACK ARCHIVE #62 • KINDA
Published December 2022 by Obverse Books, 205 pages.
ISBN: 9781913456368

The Black Archive is a series of book-length looks at Doctor Who stories. Each title is a 20,000 to 40,000-word study of a single televised story, from 1963 to the present day. To date, over sixty-five volumes have been published.

‘Wheel turns, civilisations arise. Wheel turns, civilisations fall.’

With new input from writer Christopher Bailey, this archive examines how the four-part Doctor Who serial Kinda (1982) emerged from his background as a counter-cultural arts activist, a theatre and television writer, and his formative encounter with Buddhism. Searching the Dark Places of the Inside, Kinda is a richly layered allegory, inextricably linked, through the history and evolution of Buddhism’s teachings, with nineteenth-century European colonialism, fin de siècle literature, heritage cinema of the 1980s, Gauguin’s ‘noble savage’, acid trips and cutting-edge neuroscience.”

I started work on this book back in December 2019, with a pitch to those at Obverse Books who had published my exploration of the Season 18 story Warriors’ Gate previously in May of that year. I was keen to tackle another story that I felt had several layers that could be peeled back and examined. So, I was swapping Taoism, quantum theory, Samuel Beckett and Tom Stoppard in my previous volume for Buddhism, Christian symbolism and Joseph Conrad (and Kate Bush). Plus drugs, primitivist painting, and the Vietnam War. Looking back at the proposal and the book that it generated I’m confident that it managed to achieve the following broad points:

- an examination of Kinda’s development by Christopher Bailey relative to the very different visions of script-editors Christopher Bidmead, Antony Root and Eric Saward.

- director Peter Grimwade’s approach to a story he found worked counter to the Doctor Who serial format. He saw the format’s ‘adventure story’ linearity in contradiction to Bailey’s Play for Today ‘artiness’, intellectualism and realism.

- coverage of the themes and symbolism of Kinda: highlighting the layering of Buddhist, Christian, shamanistic and pagan meanings in the story; the Freudian and Jungian interpretations of self and other; and the articulation and interrogation of concepts of imperialist expansion and colonialism in the story.

Within those aims lay other questions, nuances and contexts. How do you deal with Kinda as a case study in Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text, a structuralist, media studies reading published in 1983? What on earth does the heritage television and cinema of the 1980s, science fiction feminist writer Ursula K. Le Guin and Joseph Conrad have to do with all of this? And where do T.S. Eliot and Tahiti fit into the story? Would Kinda’s elusive, reclusive writer Christopher Bailey even speak to me?

By March 2020, I’d started writing and my first aim was to get to BBC Written Archives and sift through the production paperwork, the writer’s file and any other associated documentation to provide some foundations for the details. The pandemic and subsequent lockdowns put paid to that for some time.

So, desk research — ploughing through scripts, videos, various magazines, online newspaper archives, several books about Buddhism — took over. And, yes, Christopher Bailey did speak to me. Well, we wrote to each other, mindful of the issues that Covid-19 would add to any meeting in person, and because I understood he also wanted to protect his privacy. Intermittently, we exchanged emails for a period of two years, beginning with our first conversation in September 2020. Our last discussion was November 2022, a month before publication. It provoked some interesting tangents in the book and I’m so grateful for his input.

The BBC Written Archives appointment finally came through in July 2021 but even that was fraught with difficulty. The BBC’s Covid-19 policy was very stringent at the time. No one was allowed into the building unless they’d had a negative PCR test within 24 hours of the appointment date and time. After a false start, I was finally able to sift through the files. The team at BBC Written Archives were very supportive as they knew how long I’d had to sit on the waiting list.

Therefore, this book also takes in the span of major, life-changing events. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever attempted to write. I had retired by the time I submitted the first draft in April 2022 and had turned sixty as the final edits were wrestled into shape in November 2022.

Reviews:

“Frank Collins has taken on something of a poisoned chalice by studying Christopher Bailey’s first four-part Doctor Who serial, as many consider John Tulloch and Manuel Alvarado’s Doctor Who: The Unfolding Text to be the last word on the academic study of Kinda. But to his credit, Collins doesn’t revere that publication as a sacred cow, instead taking his own unique look at the story.

Collins had a number of email exchanges with Bailey which provide fascinating first-hand insight, and as is always the way with stories produced during turbulent times, it’s the behind-the-scenes drama that speaks volumes.”

Nick Joy Sci-Fi Bulletin

“For the range’s sixty-second release, the subject is Kinda, the 1982 serial variously viewed as a highly original take on Doctor Who or a highly-flawed production. Rather than embracing or refuting either of those assessments, the book’s writer, Frank Collins, makes the case that both are accurate. This volume benefits from the original writer’s willingness to discuss their work for Doctor Who.

Collins corresponded with Kinda’s writer, Christopher Bailey, about both the substance of the script and the circumstances that shaped it [and] sheds light on Kinda’s oft-discussed Buddhist elements — which Bailey described as “only ever one ingredient in the stew” and expressed some retrospective discomfort about cultural appropriation on his part.

[It’s] among The Black Archive’s most detailed accounts of the journey a Doctor Who story took from paper to production, which might make the book too esoteric for some fans. That said, it provides genuine insight into a period in Doctor Who’s behind-the-scenes history that, if not overtly dramatic in its own right, displayed many of the same tensions that erupted very vocally just a few years later.”

Don Klees, We Are Cult

THE COUNT YORGA COLLECTION — Limited Edition Blu-Ray Box Set.

Published by Arrow Films 24 October 2022. Catalogue No FCD2321.

“RESTORED! REJUVENATED! REBORN!

By the end of the 1960s the boom in Old World gothic horror had begun to wane in the face of present day terrors like the Vietnam war. In response, American filmmakers brought horror out of the past and into the present, and the classic movie monsters packed their bags and headed for the New World. Count Yorga, Vampire was among the first to successfully transpose the classic vampire, cloak and all, to a modern day setting as the Count — played unforgettably by Robert Quarry — arrives in the United States and settles in a Southern California mansion with his mysterious “brides”. A drive-in favourite from the moment it was released, a sequel soon followed. The Return of Count Yorga ups the ante and sees the sardonic Count on the streets of San Francisco, his sights set on an orphanage as a potential source of sustenance. Director Bob Kelljan (Scream Blacula Scream) delivers a one-two punch of classic cult cinema mixing chills, thrills, style, and suspense with a knowing wit that revels in the genre trappings.

Presented in all new restorations by Arrow Films from new scans of the original camera negative, The Count Yorga Collection is a full blooded feast to die for!”

It was a delight to be asked by disc producer Neil Snowdon at Arrow Films if I would be happy for my original 2016 essay ‘ A Tale of Unspeakable Cravings’, a feature of the original release by Arrow, to be republished in the new box set. It was also an opportunity to correct some errors that had crept into the original version.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 2K restorations by Arrow Films of Count Yorga, Vampire and The Return of Count Yorga from new 4K scans of the original 35mm camera negatives • High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentations of both films • Original lossless mono audio • Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• Illustrated perfect bound collector’s book featuring new writing by film critic Kat Ellinger and horror author Stephen Laws, plus archive contributions by critic Frank Collins and filmmaker Tim Sullivan • Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Heather Vaughan • Fold-out double-sided posters for both films featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Heather Vaughan • Twelve double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction art cards • Reproduction press book for Count Yorga, Vampire

COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE

• Brand new audio commentary by film critic Tim Lucas • Archival audio commentary by film critics David Del Valle & C. Courtney Joyner • The Count in California, a brand new appreciation by Heather Drain and Chris O’Neill • I Remember Yorga, a brand new interview with Frank Darabont in which the award-winning filmmaker talks about his love for Count Yorga, Vampire • A Vampire in L.A., a brand new interview with actor Michael Murphy • Fangirl Radio Tribute to Robert Quarry, an archival episode featuring host Jessica Dwyer in conversation with Tim Sullivan filmmaker, Yorga fan and friend of Robert Quarry • Theatrical trailer • Radio spots • Image galleries

THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA

• Brand new audio commentary by film critic Stephen R. Bissette • Archival audio commentary by David Del Valle & C. Courtney Joyner • The Count and the Counterculture, a brand new interview with film critic Maitland McDonagh • Chamber-music of Horrors, a brand new interview with David Huckvale about the scores for both films • Archival interview with film critic Kim Newman • Theatrical trailer • Radio spots • Image gallery

ROBIN HOOD AT HAMMER: TWO TALES FROM SHERWOOD FOREST — Limited Edition Blu-Ray Box Set. (UK and World Blu-ray premieres)

Published by Powerhouse / Indicator, 12 September 2022. #PHILTD270

Britain’s best-loved outlaw gets the Hammer treatment in Robin Hood at Hammer: Two Tales from Sherwood Forest, featuring Sword of Sherwood Forest (Terence Fisher, 1960) and A Challenge for Robin Hood (C M Pennington-Richards, 1967)

“For 1960’s Sword of Sherwood Forest, Richard Greene (The Blood of Fu Manchu, The Castle of Fu Manchu) reprises the role he made famous in the classic television series The Adventures of Robin Hood. Directed by Terence Fisher (The Gorgon, The Revenge of Frankenstein), and starring Peter Cushing (The Devil’s Men, Corruption) as the dastardly Sheriff of Nottingham, the film sees Robin Hood thwart a plot to assassinate the Archbishop of Canterbury (Jack Gwillm, Jason and the Argonauts, The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb). The film also boasts an uncredited early role for Oliver Reed (The System, The Damned).

In 1967’s A Challenge for Robin Hood, Barrie Ingham (The Day of the Jackal) dons the Lincoln green as he and his merrie men hide out in Sherwood Forest after his cousin (Peter Blythe, Frankenstein Created Woman) frames him for murder. This action-packed adventure features acting support from Gay Hamilton (Barry Lyndon, The Duellists) and Leon Greene (Adventures of a Private Eye, Adventures of a Plumber’s Mate).”

I was commissioned to write the essay ‘Riding Through the Glen’ for the booklet accompanying this Blu-ray box set. It was another welcome opportunity to write about the Robin Hood Hammer films and place them in context with the centuries old mythology and history of the Robin Hood figure. Not only did I examine the genesis, production and intention of the films and their relationship to the development of television drama in the 1950s, but I also referred back to specific aspects of the mythology of Robin Hood. My essay takes the reader from Hood’s early appearance in William Langland’s satirical poem Piers Plowman in the 14th century, through the various songs and play-games and narrative ballads of the 15th and 16th centuries that develop the idea of the Merry Men, onto novels such as Ivanhoe and other “19th century popular children’s novels and part works, written by Pierce Egan the Younger, Howard Pyle, Stephen Percy and George Emmett” and the early cinematic representations, with “Douglas Fairbanks’ Earl of Huntingdon in the silent Robin Hood (Allan Dwan, 1922), and Errol Flynn’s Saxon noble Sir Robin of Locksley in 1938’s The Adventures of Robin Hood.”

This 2-disc Limited Edition set of 5,000 units contains a limited edition exclusive 80-page book with a new essay by Frank Collins, an article on Richard Greene, archival materials, contemporary reviews, and film credits plus a limited edition exclusive poster.

SWORD OF SHERWOOD FOREST

• High Definition remaster • Original mono audio • Audio commentary with writers and film experts Barry Forshaw and Kim Newman (2022)
• Interview with Terence Fisher (1967, 76 mins): the legendary director reflects on his work with Hammer in this rare archival audio recording • The BEHP Interview with Sidney Cole (1987, 80 mins): career-spanning audio interview, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the celebrated editor, writer and producer in conversation with Alan Lawson, Arthur Graham, and Rodney Giesler • Play It Again: Richard Greene (1981, 23 mins): film and television’s celebrated Robin Hood chats with Tony Bilbow about his favourite silver-screen moments • Merry Memories (2022, 4 mins): actor Dennis Lotis fondly recalls his time making the film • All in a Quiver (2022, 7 mins): continuity supervisor Pauline Wise remembers her big break at Hammer • Riding Through the Glen (2022, 29 mins): Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema 1897–2015, examines the production of Hammer’s second Robin Hood adventure, and considers its enduring appeal • A Hero’s Fanfare (2022, 23 mins): appreciation of Alun Hoddinott’s score by David Huckvale, author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
• Isolated music & effects track • Original theatrical trailer • Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography • New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • UK premiere on Blu-ray

A CHALLENGE TO ROBIN HOOD

• High Definition remaster • Original mono audio • Audio commentary with film historians Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby (2022)
• The John Player Lecture: The Hammer Forum (1971, 61 mins): onstage discussion chaired by John Russell Taylor, with contributions from noted Hammer luminaries Michael Carreras, Peter Cushing, Terence Fisher, James Needs, Anthony Nelson-Keys, and Jimmy Sangster • The BEHP Interview with C M Pennington-Richards (1990, 96 mins): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the veteran cinematographer and director in conversation with Alan Lawson and Colin Moffat • An Excuse for Action (2022, 12 mins): actor John Gugolka remembers making the film at Pinewood and on location • Sherwood on Screen (2022, 25 mins): author and critic Kim Newman surveys the many cinematic portrayals of the world-famous English outlaw • Songs from the Hood (2022, 12 mins): appreciation of Gary Hughes’ score by David Huckvale, author of Hammer Film Scores and the Musical Avant-Garde
• Robin Hood Junior (1975, 61 mins): Children’s Film Foundation adventure yarn, starring actor and television presenter Keith Chegwin as the young outlaw • Audio commentary with film historian Vic Pratt on Robin Hood Junior (2022)
• Original theatrical trailer • Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography • New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing • World premiere on Blu-ray

All written material by Frank Collins (the author) is © 2007–2023 and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Please seek permission from the author if you would like to quote or re-use any of the author’s own written material.

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