John Carradine

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John Carradine (born February 5, 1906 in Greenwich Village , New York City , † November 27, 1988 in Milan , Italy ; actually Richmond Reed Carradine ) was an American actor . Because of his 50-year Hollywood career, he is one of the actors with the most film appearances mentioned in the credits, where he mostly played supporting roles on the side of the big stars. He has worked with directors John Ford and Cecil B. DeMille many times . John Carradine was the father of actors David , Keith and Robert Carradine .

Career

The beginnings

John Carradine studied sculpture and made his first theater experiences in New Orleans . In 1927 he came to Los Angeles . At the beginning of his career Carradine played small supporting roles under the pseudonym John Peter Richmond ; Among other things, he worked in the monumental films Imzeichen des Kreuzes ( The Sign of the Cross , 1932) with Charles Laughton and Fredric March and Cleopatra (1934) with Claudette Colbert ; both films were directed by the famous Cecil B. DeMille . At the turn of the year 1934/1935 he changed his pseudonym; henceforth he called himself "John Carradine". It was around this time that John Carradine got his first roles in horror films. In The Black Cat ( The Black Cat , 1934), he played alongside Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi a small role as devil-worshipers; in Frankenstein's Bride ( Bride of Frankenstein , 1935) a villager.

Supporting actor in classic Hollywood

From the mid-1930s, John Carradine's roles slowly expanded. He became one of director John Ford's favorite actors during this period ; Ford and Carradine worked together on a total of eleven films. In The Prisoner of Shark Island ( The Prisoner of Shark Iceland , 1936), the story of the physician Dr. Unknowingly treating the murderer of Abraham Lincoln , Mudd played John Carradine an unlikable jailer, just like in the drama ... then came the hurricane ( The Hurricane , 1937). In Drums Along the Mohawk ( Drums Along the Mohawk , 1939), a western that at the time of independence wars played, John Carradine portrayed alongside Henry Fonda and Claudette Colbert to an eye-patch wearing politicians Caldwell, who sympathizes with the British. In Mary of Scotland ( Mary of Scotland , 1936), he played alongside Frederic March and Katharine Hepburn David Rizzio , the private secretary of Mary Stuart , in the drama Four men - a vow ( Four Men and a Prayer , 1938) with David Niven a general. In the drama The Last Hurray ( The Last Hurray , 1958) with Spencer Tracy and Basil Rathbone , John Carradine embodied the politician Amos Force.

John Carradine played two of his best-known roles in classic films by John Ford: In Ringo ( Stagecoach , 1939), the film that made John Wayne a film, he played the elegant gambler Hatfield , who is ultimately killed by the Apaches ; in The Grapes of Wrath ( The Grapes of Wrath , 1940), Ford's film version of the novel by John Steinbeck , he played alongside Henry Fonda former preacher Casey, who courageously stands up for the rights of workers and is it killed by a farmer . Under Ford's direction and on the side of James Stewart , he turned the Western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance ( The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance , 1962), which also John Wayne and Lee Marvin were involved, and Cheyenne ( Cheyenne Autumn , 1964) with Richard Widmark in the leading role and Karl Malden and Edward G. Robinson in other supporting roles.

Carradine played usually in supporting roles, including alongside Burt Lancaster and Walter Matthau (in his first film role) in The Kentuckian ( The Kentuckian , 1955), at the side of Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden in Johnny Guitar - When Women hate (1954) or next to Alan Ladd and Olivia de Havilland in The proud rebel ( The proud Rebel , 1958). In The Proud Rebel , John Carradine made a brief appearance as a traveling salesman in the opening scene.

Among many other film stars John Carradine starred in 1956 in 80 days around the world (Around the World in 80 Days) with, the classic film adaptation of the novel by Jules Verne . He can be seen in the role of Colonel Stamp-Proctor , who takes on Phileas Fogg (played by David Niven) during his train ride through the Wild West. That same year, John Carradine appeared in The Ten Commandments (The Ten Commandements) with, a Bible film about Moses and the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. In addition to Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Pharaoh , John Carradine played the role of Aaron .

He worked with many famous colleagues, for example with Frederic March in Die Elenden ( Les Miserables , 1935), a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo and in Die Abenteuer Mark Twains ( The Adventures of Mark Twain , 1944), a film about the life of Mark Twain . He appeared with Peter Ustinov in Sinuhe der Egyptian ( The Egyptian , 1954), with Jerry Lewis and Peter Lorre in Die Heulboje ( The Patsy , 1964), one of his rare comedies. With Peter Lorre, John Carradine also directed the adventure film Hell Ship Mutiny (1957), in which Carradine played the criminal Malone and Lorre the corrupt judge Lamouet , who is in common with Malone , as well as two Mr. Moto films. Together with Lorre and several other well-known actors, he was seen in 1957 in The Story of Mankind .

Horror films and B-movies

In the 1940s, John Carradine impersonated Count Dracula in the horror films Frankenstein's House ( The House of Frankenstein , 1944) and Dracula's House ( House of Dracula , 1945) , a role he later played in the horror film Dracula on the Astray ( Nocturna , 1979 ) and Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966), a cross between a horror film and a western. He played the servant of Count Dracula in 1969 in the cheaply produced horror film Dracula and his victims (Blood of Dracula's Castle) .

John Carradine has made numerous horror and / or science fiction films since the 1940s , sometimes without artistic aspirations, but in which he occasionally received one of his rare leading roles. Among other things, he played the role of Count Dracula in various films, Bela Lugosi's star role, where Carradine came a lot closer to the description of the character in Bram Stoker's novel. John Carradine was forced to take on these roles out of financial difficulties - he tried, for example, to finance his own theater projects and had to pay for several ex-wives and children. With Bela Lugosi he directed Voodoo Man (1944) and Return of the Ape Man (1944), in which Lugosi played mad scientist and Carradine played his stupid assistant. Carradine also worked alongside Basil Rathbone in The Chamber of Horrors of Dr. Starring Thosti ( The Black Sleep , 1956), Bela Lugosi's penultimate film.

John Carradine made his last watchable horror film in 1982; in House of the Long Shadows (The House of the Long Shadows) , he played the English Lord Grisbane . The house of long shadows was by no means cheap; in other roles acted Vincent Price , Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing with.

Late career

Carradine made his Broadway debut in 1962 in the musical A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum by Stephen Sondheim in the role of Lycus.

In the 1970s, John Carradine appeared among other things, directed by Woody Allen in the comedy What You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972) in the role of mad scientist Dr. Bernardo up. Directed by Elia Kazan , he starred in The Last Tycoon ( The Last Tycoon , 1976), a film adaptation of the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald , alongside Robert De Niro , Robert Mitchum and Ray Milland a small role as a guide.

He was also with John Wayne, Lauren Bacall and James Stewart in The Shootist ( The Shootist see 1976), John Wayne's last film. One of his last roles was played by John Carradine in 1986 in Peggy Sue Got Married , opposite Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage , directed by Francis Ford Coppola . John Carradine's film career spanned from 1930 until 1988, the year of his death.

Private life and death

Carradine was married four times, most recently to Emily Cisneros since 1975, and had five children - including the later self-known actors David , Keith and Robert Carradine . In old age Carradine suffered from painful and debilitating rheumatoid arthritis before he died of multiple organ failure on November 27, 1988 at the age of 82 at Fatebenefratelli Hospital in Milan, Italy.

Filmography (selection)

cinemamovies

Guest appearances in television series

literature

  • Rainer Dick: John Carradine. Philosopher of the macabre. in: The stars of horror films. Tilsner, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-910079-63-6 , pp. 51-60.

Web links

Commons : John Carradine  - Collection of Images
personal data
SURNAME Carradine, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Carradine, Richmond Reed (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-American actor
DATE OF BIRTH February 5, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Greenwich Village , New York City
DATE OF DEATH November 27, 1988
Place of death Milan , Italy