John Carradine Movies
Though best known to modern filmgoers as a horror star, cadaverous John Carradine was, in his prime, one of the most versatile character actors on the silver screen. The son of a journalist father and physician mother, Carradine was given an expensive education in Philadelphia and New York. Upon graduating from the Graphic Arts School, he intended to make his living as a painter and sculptor, but in 1923 he was sidetracked into acting. Working for a series of low-paying stock companies throughout the 1920s, he made ends meet as a quick-sketch portrait painter and scenic designer. He came to Hollywood in 1930, where his extensive talents and eccentric behavior almost immediately brought him to the attention of casting directors. He played a dizzying variety of distinctive bit parts -- a huntsman in Bride of Frankenstein (1935), a crowd agitator in Les Miserables (1935) -- before he was signed to a 20th Century Fox contract in 1936. His first major role was the sadistic prison guard in John Ford's Prisoner of Shark Island (1936), which launched a long and fruitful association with Ford, culminating in such memorable screen characterizations as the gentleman gambler in Stagecoach (1939) and Preacher Casy ("I lost the callin'!") in The Grapes of Wrath (1940). Usually typecast as a villain, Carradine occasionally surprised his followers with non-villainous roles like the philosophical cab driver in Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938) and Abraham Lincoln in Of Human Hearts (1938). Throughout his Hollywood years, Carradine's first love remained the theater; to fund his various stage projects (which included his own Shakespearean troupe), he had no qualms about accepting film work in the lowest of low-budget productions. Ironically, it was in one of these Poverty Row cheapies, PRC's Bluebeard (1944), that the actor delivered what many consider his finest performance. Though he occasionally appeared in an A-picture in the 1950s and 1960s (The Ten Commandments, Cheyenne Autumn), Carradine was pretty much consigned to cheapies during those decades, including such horror epics as The Black Sleep (1956), The Unearthly (1957), and the notorious Billy the Kid Meets Dracula (1966). He also appeared in innumerable television programs, among them Twilight Zone, The Munsters, Thriller, and The Red Skelton Show, and from 1962 to 1964 enjoyed a long Broadway run as courtesan-procurer Lycus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Though painfully crippled by arthritis in his last years, Carradine never stopped working, showing up in films ranging from Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask (1972) to Peggy Sue Got Married (1984). Married four times, John Carradine was the father of actors David, Keith, Robert, and Bruce Carradine. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1976
- R
Stacy Keach plays Lou Ford, a deputy sheriff whose brutal childhood experiences have left him emotionally warped. Ford is prized by his community for his no-mercy treatment of criminals. But the danger that he will snap and begin killing indiscriminately is ever-present. Based on the novel by Jim Thompson, in this adaptation Ford's psychotic breaks are signalled by lightning flashes. Director Burt Kennedy handles his material in the manner of his earlier Welcome to Hard Times: nothing is quite of this earth, and everything is painted in broad, violent morality-play strokes. Despite Kennedy's predilection for "cutting in the camera" (that is, filming each scene with only one or two different camera angles, so that his directorial vision will survive the editing room), Killer Inside Me gives evidence of having been severely tampered with in the post-production process. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stacy Keach, Susan Tyrrell, (more)
- 1976
One of four dramatic miniseries carried by NBC under the blanket title Best Sellers, Captains and the Kings was adapted from a novel by Taylor Caldwell. Covering a time span from 1857 to 1912, this was the saga of the Irish-immigrant Armagh clan, with emphasis on the rags-to-riches career of Joseph Armagh (Richard Jordan). Achieving fame and prominence (if not full-fledged social acceptance) through a Byzantine series of investments in the oil industry, the elder Armagh was obsessed with the notion of having one of his sons become the first Irish-Catholic President of the United States (does this story sound vaguely familiar?). Along the way, Joseph and his offspring indulged in innumerable romantic liaisons, extramarital and otherwise. Featured in the all-star cast is Patty Duke Astin, who won an Emmy award for her portrayal of Bernadette Hennessey Armagh. Captains and the Kings was broadcast from September 30 to November 18, 1976 in seven installments, two of which ran 120 minutes, and the other six lasting 60 minutes -- a total of nine hours' air time in all. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1975
- R
A sultry artist (Cristina Ferrare) moonlights as a vampire while in Mexico, killing both male and female lovers. Seems the only person who has any chance of stopping the reign of terror is her father (John Carradine), also a vampire. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cristina Ferrare, David Young, (more)
In this made-for-TV film, a screenwriter (Robert Wagner) begins writing the biography of the dead movie queen who had a brief affair with his father. After work on the project has commenced, he becomes obsessed with her spirit and gets a response from the other side of the grave. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kate Jackson
- 1974
The made-for-TV Stowaway to the Moon may be regarded by some as an excellent argument for birth control. Michael Link plays E.J., an 11-year-old boy fascinated by manned space travel. While visiting Cape Canaveral, E. J. accidentally finds himself on board a space missile. By and by, he is accidentally launched to the moon. But don't despair--this is a kiddie movie. Also in the cast is Lloyd Bridges, Jeremy Slate, and, in the role of a TV commentator, real-life former astronaut Pete Conrad. Curiously, the full-color Stowaway to the Moon was often telecast in black and white when it went into local syndication. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1974
John (Randolph Mantooth) would like to date a new nurse named Daisy (Britt Lind), but it looks like he'll have to wait in line. Among the evening's emergency patients is a refrigerator repairman who ends up frozen to an ice-house floor, an elderly hobbyist (John Carradine) who has glued himself to a model ship, and a man trapped in a theater fire. The guest cast this week includes TV-sitcom veterans Steve Franken ("Chatsworth Osborne" on Dobie Gillis) and Ann Morgan Guilbert ("Millie Helper" on The Dick Van Dyke Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- R
Tara B. True is the airline hostess with the mostest. While at work she affects the demeanor of a rather introverted, serious stewardess, but as soon as the plane lands, she doffs her mousy brown wig and turns into a blonde bombshell with a black belt in karate who, when not fighting crime, seeks to satisfy her hunger for manly affection. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
The Night Strangler is the sequel to the enormously successful 1972 TV movie The Night Stalker. Darren McGavin returns as seedy reporter Carl Kolchak, who previously ran into conflict when Las Vegas authorities refused to acknowledge Kolchak's uncovering of a modern-day vampire. Now he's in Seattle, on the trail of a mysterious strangler who drains the blood of his victims. Kolchak's quest takes him to a hidden underground city beneath Seattle and the bizarre residents therein. Margaret Hamilton (The Wizard of Oz) is seen briefly as an expert on alchemy; John Carradine also makes cameo. The success of this telemovie and its predecessor inspired a brief 1974 TV series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, also starring McGavin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- PG
A filmmaker and his crew get more than they bargained for in this low-budget haunted house film directed by Paul Harrison. Director Eric Hartman (John Ireland) chooses the old Beal mansion for the setting to his latest horror outing, taking little heed of the house's eerie past. As shooting commences, Hartman demands his leading lady, Gayle (Faith Domergue), recite passages from the Tibetan Book of the Dead. However, by doing so, the tormented spirits of the Beal family that had been trapped in the mansion are set free and begin restaging the grisly deaths that met the doomed family several years ago. As various crew members turn up dead, the remaining filmmakers desperately attempt to escape the house's evil spirits, while also trying to piece together the secrets of the house. ~ All Movie Guide
- 1973
Cat Creature is a heady Curtis Harrington combination of high-gloss production values and spinechilling terror. A curse imposed thousands of years ago by a cat goddess wreaks havoc in the 20th century--all for the purpose of retrieving a long-lost golden amulet. Gale Sondergaard, whose association with things horrific went back to 1944's Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman, is suitably hissable as the cat queen; also in the cast is fright-flick veteran John Carradine and second-generation spooker Peter Lorre Jr. Screenwriter Robert Bloch intended this film as an affectionate throwback to the stylized horror films of old. Cat Creature is the sort of film that removes the "potboiler" stigma from the made-for-TV form. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- PG
In this bizarre biker movie, set in 1919, a wandering group of bikers encounter two weird sisters from Nebraska. The siblings are hereditary witches, taught by their father. One of them uses her powers to kill many of the gang members. She spares the one she is attracted to. He begins staying on her farm while her sister and another biker take off to California. On video, it is also known as The Shrieking. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1973
- PG
Murder abounds at a wax museum after the owner decides to sell it, and seemingly waxen figures come alive. By the way, are wax images normally supposed to breathe when being filmed? ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide
- 1973
When a couple of coal miners decide to turn into gangsters they find they're still in the wrong business. ~ All Movie Guide
The secrets of a small New England town are violently exposed on Christmas Eve in this proto-slasher shocker. The owner of the long-abandoned Butler estate is desperate to sell, and dispatches his lawyer from New York to negotiate its purchase by the town council. Meanwhile, an inmate from a nearby insane asylum breaks loose and makes his way to the old mansion to take bloody revenge for a crime kept hidden for 35 years. The maniac makes mysterious phone calls to various prominent citizens, telling them that "Marianne" has returned, and lures each to the Butler house to meet their doom. The mayor's daughter, Diane, receives a visit from a man who claims to be Jeremy Butler, the mansion's owner, in town to investigate his lawyer's disappearance. Together they attempt to unravel the sinister mystery of the Butler house, which turns out to be a harrowing tale of incest, insanity and mass murder. Cult favorites Mary Woronov and John Carradine are featured in the cast of this eerie thriller, which also includes cameos from Warhol Factory legends Candy Darling and Ondine. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- 1972
- R
- Add Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, But Were Afraid to Ask to QueueAdd Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, But Were Afraid to Ask to top of Queue
Woody Allen's in-name-only adaptation of the once notorious sexual reference guide by Dr. David Reuben contains seven episodes based on "helpful" questions answered in the book. In "Do Aphrodisiacs Work?", Allen appears as a court jester who uses a love potion to spark the erotic interests of the Queen (Lynn Redgrave). "What Is Sodomy?" stars Gene Wilder as a doctor who throws away his marriage, career, and position in the community when he falls madly in love with an Armenian sheep named Daisy. "Why Do Some Women Have Trouble Reaching Orgasm?" is a parody of stylish Italian films of the '60s in which a slick playboy (Woody Allen) discovers his wife (Louise Lasser) can climax only when they make love in public places. In "Are Transvestites Homosexuals?," Sam (Lou Jacobi) has his little secret revealed at a most inopportune moment. "What Are Sex Researchers Actually Accomplishing?" features John Carradine in a great parody of his mad-scientist roles as Dr. Bernardo, whose research into human sexuality has led to a fearsome mutation -- a 50-foot tall female breast! "What Are Sexual Perversions?" takes us to a broadcast of the popular game show What's My Perversion?, in which Jack Barry leads a panel of celebrities (including Regis Philbin and Robert Q. Lewis) in guessing the erotic obsessions of their guests. And "What Happens During Ejaculation?" takes the audience inside the body of a man in the throes of passion; The Brain (Tony Randall) guides the body's functions, with the help of his assistant (Burt Reynolds), while Allen plays a nervous sperm cell not sure if he can make the big jump. While the quality of the episodes is uneven, the best rank with the funniest moments of Allen's career, especially Gene Wilder's touching romance with the sheep ("I think we can make this work, Daisy") and the final sequence inside the male body ("What if he's only masturbating? I'll end up on the ceiling somewhere!"). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, John Carradine, (more)
- 1972
- R
Screenwriter Ernest Lehman, whose credits include the screenplays for North by Northwest, Sabrina, West Side Story, and The Sweet Smell of Success, made a less than distinguished debut as a director with this adaptation of Philip Roth's controversial novel about Alexander Portnoy (Richard Benjamin), a Jewish man who, during a session with his analyst, goes on one long tirade after another about his family, his childhood, his sexual fantasies and desires, his problems with women, and his obsession with his own Judaism. If ever there was a novel that by its nature would defy accurate presentation onscreen, this was it; but for all its flaws, Portnoy's Complaint does feature a few good performances, most notably Karen Black as Portnoy's Gentile lust object, "The Monkey," Jeannie Berlin as the memorably named local slattern Bubbles Girardi, and Jill Clayburgh as Naomi, a woman Portnoy meets in Israel. Lehman never directed again. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Benjamin, Karen Black, (more)
- 1972
This prescient satirical drama (it came out before Watergate) takes a harsh look at Richard Nixon. His rise to political power is chronicled from his boyhood to his first go at becoming a Congressional candidate to his involvement with three devilish advisers. Later after suffering a series of political failures, the young politician gets plastic surgery and emerges a new man. Unfortunately, he is still a rotten politician so this time a guardian angel is sent down to insure his success. His three advisers then brainwash him a la Clockwork Orange. The man is soon ready to become a famous, powerful political figure. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This Western presents a fictionalized account of the ways in which the Gatling gun was created. Also chronicled are its tremendous effects on the great frontier. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Al Adamson, shameless purveyor of countless horror anti-classics, juggles around most of the footage from his 1965 clunker Psycho-A-Go-Go after dressing up and re-releasing it on no less than three prior occasions (under a wide assortment of titles -- see below) with a few incomprehensible subplots added to further confuse audiences into thinking they were watching something else. The initial premise involves an insane Vietnam veteran being fitted with a brain implant by mad medic John Carradine (a regular Adamson player by this point) and used as a remote-control zombie by a cabal of jewel thieves. Their pet maniac subsequently blows a gasket, breaks his programming and turns on his controllers, strangles some dancing girls, then gets his revenge on Carradine. Enter gratuitous subplot #1 as the electro-fiend heads straight for Lake Tahoe (can you blame him?), where his rampage continues until he is eventually killed by the cops. Splice in gratuitous subplot #2: The late psycho's embittered pop is also a monster-making mad scientist, who avenges his son's death by mutilating Carradine's buxom daughter. None of the aforementioned plot combinations can disguise Adamson's trademark style -- i.e. cheap gore, cardboard sets, hideous acting, and so on. Viewers who manage to make sense of this piecework monstrosity should switch off their VCRs and seek immediate professional help. Sundry title variations include The Man with the Synthetic Brain, The Fiend with the Atomic Brain, The Fiend with the Electronic Brain, The Fiend with the Synthetic Brain... you should begin to notice a vague pattern here. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
Produced by Roger Corman and directed by Martin Scorsese, Boxcar Bertha is a Bonnie and Clyde-like yarn set during the Depression. The title character, played by Barbara Hershey, links up with union organizer David Carradine (Hershey's real-life lover at the time) after the death of her father. Running afoul of anti-union forces, Bertha and Carradine are forced into a life of crime. Whereas Bonnie and Clyde robbed banks, Boxcar Bertha's specialty is trains. A story of this nature can only end in tragedy, and wait until you see Carradine's symbolic demise! For the record, there really was a Boxcar Bertha Thompson, and it is her autobiography, Sister of the Road, that serves as the basis for Joyce and John Corrington's screenplay. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, (more)
- 1972
This campy oddity -- featuring John Carradine in one of his patented walk-on roles -- pits some silly facsimile of a motorcycle gang against an even sillier stuntman in a deep-pile shag suit who is supposed to be the legendary humanoid lurker of the Northwestern wilderness. It seems Bigfoot has developed an understandable liking for buxom human females (including Joy Lansing and one-time Russ Meyer regular Haji), whom he abducts and carries off to his scenic woodland retreat and ties to ridiculously scrawny trees. Apparently the bike boys are jealous -- abducting curvaceous cuties is also a favorite pastime of theirs -- and they embark on an uncoordinated rescue mission. Predating mid-'70s Bigfoot-mania (sparked by the famous home-movie sightings), this goofy outing is probably more entertaining than Legend of Boggy Creek and a dozen other "serious" pseudo-documentaries on the subject. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
