Richard Carlson was born on 29 April 1912.
He was an iconic psychotronic actor. But I could easily be writing about him here just as a director. Most of these were westerns. But that is hardly surprising. Westerns were the most popular films in the 1950s. But he first directed a science fiction film, Riders to the Stars. He also made a noir, Appointment with a Shadow.
After that, he went into TV where he directed and wrote a number of TV episodes including the season 8 episode of Mannix, “The Green Man.” But I haven’t seen any of these. So I know him for his acting. Let’s look at that.
Although known primarily for his genre film roles, Carlson was a serious theater actor. After his theater company in Minnesota failed, he worked in theater in Los Angeles and then New York. He starred on Broadway in Three Men on a Horse. As a result, MGM signed him. But he walked away soon to go back to the theater. He did eventually return to movies. And in the early 1940s, he even returned to MGM.
Richard Carlson had a solid career as a supporting actor in studio productions and eventually TV. But things changed in 1953 when he was cast in the independent science fiction film The Magnetic Monster. The success of that film resulted in Carlson starring in two William Alland and Jack Arnold films: It Came from Outer Space and Creature from the Black Lagoon.
By the late 1950s, Carlson had moved almost completely to TV. But he made two important psychotronic films in the 1960s. The first was the Bert I Gordon film Tormented. Then there was the Ray Harryhausen effects film The Valley of Gwangi.
Although Richard Carlson isn’t the star, let’s watch The Valley of Gwangi to celebrate his birthday. It is wonderfully bizarre!
Other 29 April Anniversaries
Filmmakers:
- Michelle Pfeiffer (1958-): Actor in many films including Scarface, The Witches of Eastwick, and Batman Returns.
- Uma Thurman (1970-): Actor most notable for the Kill Bill films.
- Tyler Labine (1978-): Actor known for many things but especially Tucker & Dale vs Evil.
- Alex Vincent (1981-): Actor known for the Child’s Play films.
Films:
- Ghost Chasers (1951): Bowery Boys with a ghost.
- Mothra vs Godzilla (1964): The title gives it away, right?
- Night of the Devils (1972): Everyone thinks dad might be a vampire.
- The Hand That Feeds the Dead (1974): Klaus Kinski stars as a man kidnapping women to fix his burned wife.
- The Beyond (1981): Lucio Fulci classic supernatural horror.
- Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983): Demonic circus comes to town; Ray Bradbury wrote it based on his novel.
- The Hunger (1983): Sexy vampire film.
- Critters 2: The Main Course (1988): Space aliens are hungry.
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (2005): Watchable film version of the novel.
- Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (2010): Supernatural PI fights monsters.
Richard Carlson via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.
