Two of my favorite British actors are Peter Cushing (1913-1994) and Christopher Lee (1922-2015). They appeared in hundreds of movies, including 24 films together. Here are my ten favorites, listed by year of release.

1. The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) – Peter Cushing plays Victor Frankenstein and Christopher Lee plays the Creature. The story is quite a bit different from the classic 1931 U.S. version. My grade = B.

2. Horror of Dracula (1958) – Christopher Lee plays the Count and Peter Cushing plays Van Helsing. Nice final scene where Van Helsing is about to die, but pulls down drapes at the last moment, letting the rising sun shine in to destroy the Count. Grade = B.

3. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) – Peter Cushing plays Sherlock Holmes and Christopher Lee plays Sir Henry Baskerville. A farmer and his daughter use a trained evil dog to terrorize the Scottish moors. Grade = B.

4. The Mummy (1959) – Christopher Lee plays Kharis, the mummy and Peter Cushing plays archaeologist John Banning. John notices that his wife Isobel bears an uncanny resemblance to Princess Ananka, and the mummy notices too. Grade = B.

5. The Gorgon (1964) – Christopher Lee plays Professor Meister and Peter Cushing plays Dr. Namaroff. There are mysterious deaths in a turn of the century German village. Dr. Namaroff investigates but his assistant Carla is secretly possessed by the Gorgon when there is a full moon. Namaroff learns the truth but is turned to stone. Prof. Meister lops the Gorgon’s head off. Grade = B.

6. She (1965) – Peter Cushing plays Professor Holly and Christopher Lee plays Billali, the high priest. Holly and his compatriot Leo discover a lost city in Africa. It is ruled by Ayesha who is immortal, until she dies trying to make Leo immortal. Grade = B-.

7. Night of the Big Heat (1967) (aka Island of the Burning Damned) – Christopher Lee plays Professor Godfrey Hanson and Peter Cushing plays Dr. Vernon Stone. Mysterious deaths on the remote island of Fara off the English coast. It turns out to be an alien invasion. Unfortunately for the aliens, they can be, and are, killed by rainfall. Grade = B-.

8. Horror Express (1972) – Christopher Lee plays Professor Sir Alexander Saxton and Peter Cushing plays Dr. Wells. In 1906 they are on the Trans-Siberian Express train from Shanghai to Moscow. And so is an alien that has been frozen for millennia. My favorite movie on this list. My grade = A-.

9. The Creeping Flesh (1973) – Christopher Lee plays Dr. James Hildern and Peter Cushing plays Professor Emmanuel Hildern. Hildren discovers a weird humanoid skeleton. The skeleton grows flesh when exposed to water. The story is told in flashback and has a clever ending. Grade = B-.

10. Arabian Adventure (1979) – Christopher Lee plays Caliph Alquazar, an evil sorcerer. Peter Cushing plays Wazir Al Wuzara, a minor character who appears only briefly. Prince Hasan has to overcome all kinds of dangers to claim the hand of Princess Zuleira. A very under-rated film in my opinion. Grade = B+.