Line #48 Creator/JohnCarradine


1	[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/John_Carradine_4329.jpg]]
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3	->''"I've made some of the greatest films ever made—and a lot of crap, too."''
4	-->-- '''John Carradine''', summing up his own body of work rather nicely
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6	John Carradine (born Richmond Reed Carradine; February 5, 1906 – November 27, 1988) was a very prolific and [[LargeHam frequently hammy]] actor who is probably best remembered for appearing in many, ''many'' [[BMovie B- to Z-grade]] {{horror films}} of the type later featured on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' and ''WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob'', usually in the role of a MadScientist or {{Dracula}}.
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8	For the record, that quote above is accurate: he ''did'' have some actual good roles. Carradine was a favorite of Creator/JohnFord and appeared in several all-time classic Ford films, including ''The Grapes of Wrath'', ''Stagecoach'', ''The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance'', and ''Drums Along the Mohawk''. Other major films that Carradine appeared in include ''Man Hunt'', ''Captains Courageous'', and ''The Ten Commandments.'' He had a decent stage acting career, being a protégé of Creator/JohnBarrymore and playing roles such as the lead in ''Theatre/{{Hamlet}},'' and he's also remembered as the father of Creator/DavidCarradine, Creator/RobertCarradine, and Creator/KeithCarradine.
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10	Still, best known for all those B-movies. Easily one of the most prolific actors who ever lived (if not '''THE''' most). His entire filmography (as listed by IMDB) comes to 340 titles, dwarfing even the 275 titles of fellow Dracula actor Creator/ChristopherLee (incidentally, Lee and Carradine actually share one credit: ''House of the Long Shadows'', a 1983 [[Creator/TheCannonGroup Cannon]] horror comedy [[AllStarCast in which they appeared alongside]] Creator/VincentPrice, Creator/PeterCushing and [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Desi Arnaz, Jr]]).
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12	Often cited as a poster child for MoneyDearBoy, Carradine's willingness to take any role actually stems from an abortive passion project. In the '30s and '40s he managed a Shakespearean repertory company, John Carradine and His Shakespeare Players, which performed in San Francisco. Carradine's performances were highly acclaimed, but money was always tight, forcing Carradine to fund these productions out of pocket. When the Shakespeare Players collapsed (which also caused his first marriage to dissolve), Carradine found himself in dire financial straits, forcing him to continue appearing in roles beneath his talent. Despite this, he didn't seem to mind and simply committed himself to [[TookTheBadFilmSeriously giving the best performance he could with the material]].
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14	----
15	!!Partial filmography:
16	[[folder:Film Roles]]
17	* ''Film/BrightLights'' ({{uncredited\|role}}, film debut)
18	* ''Film/TheStoryOfTempleDrake'' (uncredited)
19	* ''Film/TheInvisibleMan1933'' (uncredited)
20	* ''Film/TheBlackCat'' (uncredited)
21	* ''Film/Cleopatra1934'' (uncredited)
22	* ''Film/BrideOfFrankenstein'' (uncredited)
23	* ''Film/MaryOfScotland''
24	* ''Theatre/{{Winterset}}''
25	* ''Literature/CaptainsCourageous''
26	* ''Film/TheLastGangster''
27	* ''Film/AlexandersRagtimeBand''
28	* ''Film/JesseJames''
29	* ''Film/DrumsAlongTheMohawk''
30	* ''Film/FiveCameBack''
31	* ''Film/TheHoundOfTheBaskervilles''
32	* ''Film/{{Stagecoach}}''
33	* ''Film/TheReturnOfFrankJames''
34	* ''Literature/TheGrapesOfWrath''
35	* ''[[Literature/RogueMale Man Hunt]]''
36	* ''Film/HitlersMadman''
37	* ''Film/Bluebeard1944''
38	* ''Film/HouseOfFrankenstein''
39	* ''Film/HouseOfDracula''
40	* ''Film/TheCourtJester''
41	* ''Literature/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays''
42	* ''{{Film/The Ten Commandments\|1956}}''
43	* ''Film/TheUnearthly''
44	* ''Film/TheManWhoShotLibertyValance''
45	* ''Horror of the Red Planet[=/=]The Wizard of Mars''
46	* ''Billy the Kid Versus Dracula'' - He played Dracula
47	* ''[[Series/TheMunsters Munster, Go Home!]]''
48	* ''Film/RedZoneCuba'' (in which he also sang the theme song, "Night Train to Mundo Fine")
49	* ''Film/HillbillysInAHauntedHouse''
50	* ''Film/TheAstroZombies''
51	* ''Hell's Bloody Devils''
52	* ''Honey Britches'' aka ''Demented Death Farm Massacre''
53	* ''Film/TheGatlingGun''
54	* ''Film/BoxcarBertha''
55	* ''Blood Of Ghastly Horror''
56	* ''Silent Night Bloody Night''
57	* ''Film/TheShootist''
58	* ''Film/TheSentinel1977''
59	* ''Film/ShockWaves''
60	* ''Film/SatansCheerleaders''
61	* ''Film/MissileXTheNeutronBombIncident''
62	* ''Film/TheBoogeyman1980'': Dr. Warren
63	* ''Film/FrankensteinIsland''
64	* ''Film/TheHowling1981''
65	* ''Satan's Mistress''
66	* ''Film/GoliathAwaits''
67	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'' - One of his last decent roles was voicing [[OminousOwl The Great Owl]] in a memorable cameo
68	* ''House of the Long Shadows'' (Notable for being the only film to feature a DreamTeam of legends of classic horror cinema with Carradine, Creator/VincentPrice, Creator/PeterCushing and Creator/ChristopherLee)
69	* ''Film/TheIcePirates''
70	* ''Film/MonsterInTheCloset''
71	* ''Film/JackO''--Scenes filmed in 1985; film not released till '95.
72	* ''Film/TheNightStrangler''
73	[[/folder]]
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75	[[folder:Television Roles]]
76	* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' (episode: "The Howling Man")
77	[[/folder]]
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80	!!Tropes associated with his body of work include:
81	* ClassicallyTrainedExtra: He was revered as one of the finest stage actors of his generation and took as many acting gigs as possible to keep his productions funded, meaning he was often in roles ''well'' below his talent range.
82	* EvilSoundsDeep: Even when he's relatively "good", such as the [[WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH Great Owl]].
83	* EvilIsHammy: He played a lot of villains and always brought his usual level of ham when doing so.
84	* LargeHam: He was not an actor known for his subtlety or doing things halfway. While the quality of the films was often debatable, no one ever doubted that Carradine was giving his roles everything he had.
85	%%* MadScientist
86	* MetaCasting: He made a guest appearance in ''Series/LandOfTheGiants'' as a washed-up horror actor who kidnaps the heroes to pitch a comeback film where he'd play a MadScientist who shrinks people, with no need for special effects.
87	* MoneyDearBoy: [[invoked]] Oh dear ''God''. Look at that filmography. Just '''''look''''' at it. It didn't even have to be that '''''much''''' money. In Creator/JoeDante's DVDCommentary for ''Film/TheHowling'', he tells the story of how, at one point during the shoot, Carradine was carrying around snacks that he bought himself, and wrapped in heavy blankets because there was no heat in his trailer. The man was '''''so''''' accustomed to working in no-budget films that ''it never even occurred to him'' that the film's budget should have been able to cover his food and heating costs!

Context Creator / JohnCarradine