Yes, it may seem John Carradine appeared in nearly every other genre outing from the mid 1930s to the mid 1980s. And yes, to this day he remains (rather undisputedly) the King of All Things Grade B. It's true as well that his oft-hammy bravura teetered dangerously close to kabuki terror on many occasions. But in the end analysis, Carradine was an ultra hardworking character actor who brought an indomitable spirit to the horror spectrum: shlock, gems and everything in between.
Born Richmond Reed Carradine in New York City on 5 February 1906, the future actor first studied painting and sculpture at NY's Graphic Arts School before landing his stage debut in a 1926 production of Camille.
Carradine moved to Hollywood in the late '20s and found early work as a set designer for Cecil B. Demille. His uncredited film debut came with 1930's Bright Lights.
Although he worked throughout the early '30s variably billed as either 'Peter Richmond' or 'John Peter Richmond,' his nascent horror work included uncredited parts in 1933's classic The Invisible Man and 1934's The Black Cat. He officially changed his name to John Carradine in 1935.
The 1940s got off to a great start for Carradine when he hooked the role of Casy in John Ford's celebrated The Grapes of Wrath (1940); the rest of the decade saw Carradine work steadily in a gaggle of horrors including several Universal terrors such as House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945).
The next two decades gave Carradine work in nearly five dozen features, a healthy combination of straight roles mixed with horror. Various high (and low) lights include 1966's Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors and 1969's Blood of Dracula's Castle.
Carradine appeared in a horde of enjoyable late nite horrors from the 1970s including Legacy of Blood (1971), the low budget Silent Night, Bloody Night (1972) as well as 1977's weirdly creepy The Sentinel.
The king of cameos, Carradine also worked in a handful of TV horrors throughout the '70s, such as 1973's The Cat Creature and 1976's Death at Love House.
The committed actor continued to work throughout the 1980s, garnering roles in The Monster Club (1980) and Joe Dante's The Howling (1981). In 1983, he joined forces with fellow kings of terror Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Vincent Price in Pete Walker's House of the Long Shadows.
Carradine's acting legacy continues through his three sons (David, Keith and Robert). Ever a familiar staple of low budget and drive-in horror fare, the deceptively versatile Carradine took his last bow in 1988. Long live that crazed old man.
| NOTABLE CARRADINE FILMS
|
YEAR |
| The Bees |
1978 |
| Bigfoot |
1970 |
| The Black Cat |
1934 |
| Blood of the Man Beast |
1965 |
| Bluebeard |
1944 |
| The Cat Creature |
1973 |
| Crowhaven Farm |
1970 |
| Daughter of the Mind |
1969 |
| Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors |
1966 |
| Half Human |
1957 |
| House of Dracula |
1945 |
| House of Frankenstein |
1944 |
| House of the Long Shadows |
1983 |
| The Howling |
1981 |
| The Invisible Man |
1933 |
| Legacy of Blood |
1971 |
| Madame Death |
1967 |
| Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary |
1975 |
| The Monster Club |
1980 |
| The Mummy's Ghost |
1944 |
| Revenge of the Zombies |
1943 |
| The Sentinel |
1977 |
| Shock Waves |
1977 |
| Silent Night, Bloody Night |
1974 |
| Terror in the Wax Museum |
1973 |
| Voodoo Man |
1944 |
