Following John Carson's appearance and a panel discussion with all the guests of the 20th Festival of Fantastic Films (unfortunately too complex to transcribe, but featuring a discussion on the nature of British horror films and what exactly makes them British), Ian McCulloch took the stage looking every inch the gentleman farmer and a good decade younger than his 70 years.
Born in Glasgow in 1939, he began acting at the age of 15 and, following national service, went up to Oxford University and from there joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon just one week after leaving college. Unfortunately, surrounded as he was by the likes of Vanessa Redgrave (The Devils) and Eric Porter (Hands of the Ripper) his performances lacked confidence, however he was championed by RSC head Peter Hall, and ended up in repertory at the Nottingham Playhouse, alongside Ian McKellan (The Lord of the Rings, X-Men).
Ian's first film was Herbert J Leder's Golem update It! (1967), in which he has just one line as a detective. This was followed by a variety of parts in British television, including episodes of "Man in a Suitcase" (1967), "The Borderers" (1968–9), "Manhunt" (1970), and "Dr Finlay's Casebook" (1970), as well as often uncredited bit parts in movies such as Where Eagles Dare (1968), Cromwell (1970), and the Christopher Lee Jekyll and Hyde film I, Monster (1971), of which he has no recollection.
He was about to leave for Canada when he auditioned for a part in the hugely popular World War II PoW series "Colditz". He'd been told that the role would be a boyish, heroic type and played it that way at the tryout, only to be informed that the character he would actually be playing was a cold-blooded shit. Nonetheless, he got the part, and his profile increased as a result. The following year, he appeared in the Tyburn production The Ghoul (1975), which also starred Peter Cushing and John Hurt. He remembered it as being a "boring, boring film", with a wonderful director in Freddie Francis, and a jerk of a producer (Freddie's son Kevin), and that he loved working with John Hurt but has no idea why he chose to be in such a film at that stage in his career.
Producer Terence Dudley, who directed the "Odd Man In" episode of "Colditz" in which Ian appeared, offered him the lead in a new series he was setting up at the BBC written by Terry Nation of "Dr Who" fame. "Survivors" was a serious look at Britain after a virus has wiped out 99% of the world's population, dark and often violent, the series was a huge success, but Ian recalls an encounter with a man at a petrol station who asked "Have I seen you?", followed by "Are you on telly?. BBC1? Wednesday Night? 7:10? Survivors!" to which Ian relied in the affirmative, only to receive the retort: "Fucking awful!"
These days making his living as a farmer, Ian pondered how prescient the series was - he was two fields away from having to destroy his whole herd during the recent Mad Cow outbreak. Ian also recalled with sadness the fact that he spent 18 months attempting to mount a remake with BBC Scotland, only to have his hopes dashed by the BBC drama department. Later, when they were mounting their own 2008 remake, he offered his help in whatever capacity they needed, but is still waiting for a response.
McCulloch's appearance in "Survivors" paved the way for perhaps his best known work, the role of Peter West in Lucio Fulci's notorious Zombie/Zombie Flesh Eaters/Zombi 2 (1979). He spoke with obvious admiration about the financing of the Italian films and the fact that they were all pre-sold and in profit before they were even made. The year prior to Zombi 2, only a few films were made in Italy and Fulci's classic - which Ian reckons has made over $100M worldwide over the years – caused a renaissance in their industry.
He recollected not being able to take Fulci seriously, as he thought he looked like Benny Hill and that, while he had no personal problems with him, Fulci could be a bully, and behaved particularly badly toward Auretta Gay, who played Susan Barrett, the girl who takes a topless scuba dive and encounters the famous zombie/shark altercation. He also recollected not getting along too well with Tisa Farrow - she found him too British, he found her too American – and didn't realize until after the production that she had a glass eye.
He marveled at his naivete when embarking on these films and in particular a visit to the US Embassy in London to pick up his Visa, when they could find no record of the film he claimed to be working on, he returned home and called the production manager, only to be told "No, no, don't tell them that, we are shooting without a permit". He returned the next day and explained that he had been mistaken, and that he would only be passing through New York on his way to the actual location. The official stamped his passport, look him in the eye and said "We're not fucking stupid." Apparently, the fact that they were running around Broadway and shooting on the Hudson illegally did not stop the local police from hiring themselves out for certain scenes.
In another incident at the Caribbean location, he had been promised his own caravan but once there, realized he would be sharing with Richard Johnson and Tisa Farrow. Johnson took matters into his own hands and explained in his gentlemanly way "No caravan tomorrow – difficult to work." after which he received his own private quarters. Once Johnson's scenes were completed, McCulloch expected to inherit the caravan, only to have the thing disappear, after which he approached matters with slightly less dignity than his co-star and threatened to quit, only to be told by the Sicilian production manager "You do. You no leave here alive!"
Three days after completing the Fulci film, McCulloch started work on Marino Girolami's hilariously awful Zombie Holocaust/Dr Butcher MD/Zombie 3 (1980), and he recalled the fact that, having received a critical hard-time for his bald spot in Zombi 2, he wore a wig but unfortunately left it in London, meaning all his scenes in New York had to be shot from below. With respect to critics, he commented that they can be very cruel, but loved one review that contained the words: "When they run out of ideas in the Italian schlock industry, Ian McCulloch wanders the Earth looking in desperate need of a beer and a shag."
Ian's third Italian film was Luigo Cozzi's Contamination/Alien Contamination/Toxic Spawn (1980), following which he was never again asked to take a leading role in a movie, partially because David Warbeck (Fulci's The Beyond and The Black Cat), was then offered all the parts previously given to him. Asked about his thoughts on the banning of his films in the UK, he commented on the irony that his wife's uncle sat on the government committee that legislated the Video Recording Act 1984 and his reply of "Ian, how could you", when he pointed out that he had been in three of them.
Sadly, Ian McCulloch has no films he's proud of and feels he isn't particularly good on film, being happier on the stage. Reminiscing on missed opportunities, he said he was offered a ground floor investment in the West End stage version of Susan Hill's The Woman in Black, which he turned down due to a dislike of the lead actor and his belief that it would never last – it's now been running at the Fortune Theater for 10 years.
As to recent work on screen, he was recently offered a part playing himself in a movie about Lucio Fulci returning as a zombie, which he turned down as he felt it was disrespectful. He has also taken a role in the spoof Behind the Scenes of Total Hell: The Jamie Gunn Chronicles (2009), which stars his son, Grey (who looks remarkably like his father), in the title role. He's also been on the road with Zombi 2, talking about his work for the first time in year, and been very happy with the audience response. This entertaining Q&A was followed by a screening of Zombie Flesh Eaters, bringing Saturday's proceedings to a suitably eye popping close.
Ian McCulloch at the 20th Festival of Fantastic Films 2009 in Manchester (© Gareth Walters).
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