I was surprised that he was almost exclusively in B-movie schlock -- his performance in The Grapes of Wrath was amazing. As soon as I was done watching it I had to look up his bio and see what other meaty roles he had been in. It looks like very few.
Any suggestions for someone who liked his "Grapes" role and wants to see more of the same?
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shareIf you can find it, you might enjoy "Prisoner of Shark Island" (1936) directed by John Ford. It's about Samuel Mudd, who treated John Wilkes Booth's leg after the Lincoln assasination. Carradine plays a sadistic prison guard. A very good movie. In a different vein there's "Bluebeard" (1944) directed by Edgar Ulmer. It's a period piece in which he plays a murderous puppeteer.
cinefreak
I consider his work in Grapes of Wrath to be the greatest supporting performance of all time.
shareAlso try JESSE JAMES and STAGECOACH, both released in 1939. The longer he worked, the schlockier the material got, for the most part. But he does have great cameos in THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE and THE SHOOTIST (watch this one on a double bill w/STAGECOACH and seeing what the years did to Carradine and Wayne is shocking).
shareHe played Moses' brother Aaron in The Ten Commandments. Captain's Courageous is another good one. It was actually his personal favorite.
shareYou should watch "Son of Fury." It's an excellent movie, and he had a really nice part as Tyrone Power's friend.
share
I think "Grapes Of Wrath" was the first time I saw John Carradine and I remember how utterly sad he looked in it, his performance moved me and got me into my love and admiration for character actors which John Carradine is one of the best of course.
I know he made a few cheap mad doctor horrors but he was always consistent in his performances and his role as "Bluebeard" was very good, I wish I could have seen Carradine giving one of his Shakespeare readings, what a voice, I wonder if there are any on cd?
"Badges? We ain't got no badges. I dont have to show you any stinking badges!"
THE GRAPES OF WRATH was directed by John Ford, who also did THE PRISONER OF SHARK ISLAND, STAGECOACH, DRUMS ALONG THE MOHAWK, THE LAST HURRAH (Spencer Tracy), and THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE. It was an early title for Ford called MARY OF SCOTLAND which finds Carradine in a lyrical mood, and his stabbing death in Katherine Hepburn's bed was just as tragic as his demise in GRAPES. He played a little guitar in SWAMP WATER, a John Barrymore impersonation in DOWN MISSOURI WAY, and played the hero in CAPTAIN FURY (George Zucco was the villain). Whenever asked about his father's films, Keith Carradine usually mentions GRAPES, although he admits they would probably remember him better from any one of the horror films. With James Stewart, he did THE LAST GANGSTER and OF HUMAN HEARTS, which finds him playing President Abraham Lincoln, a moving, personal favorite of mine. Sympathetic roles were few, but among his great villains I particularly enjoyed DANIEL BOONE (George O'Brien) and TARZAN THE MAGNIFICENT. On television, he did three episodes of KUNG FU opposite son David, while reciting Shakespeare on THE ADVENTURES OF OZZIE AND HARRIET.
"I take pleasure in great beauty" - James Bond