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Weekend Discussion Thread: Favorite Actor/Actress in a MSTed Movie Who Also Did Good WorkDuring this week’s episode guide discussion there were a lot of folks who expressed admiration and sadness for Lon Cheney Jr., lamenting how far he had fallen from his Wolfman days.
So let’s open this topic up. Which actor or actress in a MSTed movie do you genuinely admire for the good work they did, even though they also did a MSTed movie? My pick is easy: George Reeves, who created one of the most iconic TV characters of all time. Your pick? 149 Replies to “Weekend Discussion Thread: Favorite Actor/Actress in a MSTed Movie Who Also Did Good Work”Commenting at Satellite News
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I thoroughly enjoyed Donald Pleasence in the early Halloween movies(I’d say 1, 2, and 4) and The Great Escape, among others.
Peter Graves was also a lot of fun on BIOGRAPHY.
Had to say it.
For me, the answer is just like yours: Jason Evers. He never went on to a major TV character as George Reeve, but he had quite a long career as a TV character actor. I’ve seen him in Mission:Impossible and Mannix, and he was quite good.
Joe Don Baker was surprisingly good in Charley Varrick
Kim Catrail (Sp?). I believe Crow recognised her sex appeal right off the bat!
Burgess Meredith(starred in SST:DEATH FLIGHT)who was in the Rocky movies,was the Penguin in the Batman tv series, was in the original OF MICE AND MEN,but also did a lot of movies in the 40’s and appeared in a couple of Twilight Zone episodes.Just to name a few..
Beverly Garland. She truly was the best part of It Conquered the World, and her over-the-top villainy in Swamp Diamonds made that one watchable. I was upset when a show talking about the first series featuring a police woman focused on Angie Dickinson, but ignored Beverly Garland’s Decoy series. Garland definitely had a presence, and ability.
First name that comes to mind is Jim Backus from Angel’s Revenge. “Magoo, you’ve done it again”.
Alan Hale Jr-pretty obvious
Joe Don Baker- Junior Bonner, Charley Varrick
Richard Carlson from Tormented was the hero in “Creature from the Black Lagoon.”
Bela Lugosi and Richard Kiel are also obvious.
Is it wrong that my first reaction was “Peter Graves, for his excellent work in ‘Airplane!'”?
John Carradine was great in Stagecoach and I second Jim Backus and add Russell Johnson.
I’ll third Jim Backus and add Alan Hale Jr.
Gene Hackman… Get well soon Gene !!!
“Holy great weekend discussion thread, Batman!” One vote for Adam West.
Burgess Meredith was great in That Uncertain Feeling from about 1940-41.
Russell Johnson, Jim Backus (for Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol if for nothing else) and Alan Hale Jr from the island of Gilligan, Beverly Garland, Kim Catrall, James Earl Jones, John Carradine, Peter Graves AND his brother James Arness, Francis Bavier from The Day The Earth Stood Still is, of course, immortal as Aunt Bee from The Andy Griffith Show, Richard Kiel was a favorite of mine when I was a kid for playing Jaws in the James Bond movies, Donald Pleasance for god knows how many movies (one of my faves being an ensemble piece from the 60’s called The Madwoman Of Chaillot),…..hmmm…..I’ll also say Richard Carlson for It Came From Outer Space, Terry-Thomas from Diabolik was hilarious in a good many movies of my childhood, John Saxon, and probably a bunch more, but that’s just off the top of my head. GREAT TOPIC!!!!!! Just goes to show, if you have a large body of work, there’s bound to be a few that aren’t exactly stellar. Everybody comes from and goes to somewhere.
Christopher Lee! The Castle of Fu Manchu will never lessen him in my eyes.
Ooops, sorry, didn’t realize I was supposed to just pick one. My bad.
Everyone in Space Travelers/Marooned.
Favorite? Hmmm, Ernest Borgnine did *amazing* work in “Emperor of the North”, won an Academy award (for “Marty”) and was a pretty iconic television figure as well.
Plus he’s still alive! (and STILL making films — wants to make a film when he reaches 100, which will have to be some kind of record if he makes it).
How about Basil Rathbone in “The Magic Sword”. As far as I’m concerned he is THE Sherlock Holmes.
(To stray from the main subject, I was shocked when I saw Max Von Sydow (Who has worked with Ingmar Bergman and was in the Exorcist) as the villain in Strange Brew. It was really sad, eh?
There are too many to count- but I’ll start with one of my favorite performances from one of my favorite movies-Maximilian Schell, our very own Hamlet, in Judgement at Nuremberg.
Well, if we’re counting the KTMA shows, then I think Henry Fonda (CITY ON FIRE) has it hands-down … I mean, he’s Henry-for-God’s-sake-Fonda.
But if we’re not, well, it’s funny, but my first thought was of Ann-Margret (KITTEN WITH A WHIP). She really is a fantastically talented performer with an amazing range.
Hard to ignore Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine, though.
But I’ll still go with Ann-Margret. :)
Well, in a slightly different tangent…mst’d movie actor that was also in a great movie—Duane Whitaker “Roadrash” from “Hobgoblins” a wonderfully terrible movie, also played “Maynard” in Pulp Fiction…a straight up GANGSTA(lol) movie … ya know the first guy (not Zed) in the pawn shop with “the Gimp”!
Tim Van Patten turned out to be a pretty good director – And I guess he’s also the exec. producer for HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, which is an excellent series.
Huh? No one is saying Raul Julia? How quickly they forget.
Seconding Ann Margaret also.
I liked Joe Don Baker in the original Walking Tall film.
Peter Graves in the Mission Impossible TV series.
Ernest Borgnine in select Spongebob Squarepants episodes.
Gregory Peck in almost everything (standouts for me are The Omen and To Kill A Mockingbird).
Beau Bridges in Spaceman and The Other Side of the Mountain
Pernel Roberts in Bonanza
This should be besides Gene Hackman and Gregory Peck. Other than them I’d say Peter Graves and Alan Hale. And I enjoy Tomothy Van Patten’s work as a director on television but that’s a different topic I guess.
Clint Eastwood, considering he started with Revenge of the Creature and within a few years was making Beguiled, Dirty Harry, Play Misty for Me, and High Plains Drifter, along with, as someone once said, the “Any Old Movie You Can Make” collection, would be my choice.
Don Scardino from Squirmed. He’s one of the producers on 30 Rock–and won two Emmys for it–as well as a pretty solid TV director, having done episodes of Law & Order, 30 Rock, and Royal Pains.
…also William Sylvester from “Devil Doll” and “Riding with Death” (Mark English and Leonard Driscoll) was obviously fantastic in “2001 A Space Odyssey” as Dr. Heywood R. Floyd…
I wonder if anyone has metioned Bela Legosi….some of his early work (like DRACULA) is actually good…then…he got typecast in films like THE BRIDE OF THE MONSTER.
Lee Van Cleef and Beverly Garland here.
@31 – Sadly, Bela was a has-been by the time he met Ed Wood and simply couldn’t find work in acting any more. But yes, he was being typecast as Dracula, mad scientists, body snatches, voodoo men, etc. long before that time.
Jack Elam from “The Girl in Lover’s Lane” was a fun character actor in Westerns, particularly “Support Your Local Gunfighter” and “Support Your Local Sheriff.” Of course he had that great face and crazy eye, which were put to good use at the beginning of one of my favorite movies: “Once Upon a Time in the West.”
I’ll agree with Joe Don Baker, not just in Charley Varrick (which is criminally underexposed, imo), but also in Walking Tall, Fletch, and he’s pretty fun in the Bond films he’s done as well.
John Carradine is another obvious choice, as he was in about a third of all movies made between 1930 and 1970. Even when he was down and out the guy was working. Vampire Hookers, anyone?
And of course, Ernest Borgnine for such a broad range of performances. Everyone likes him in Marty, but I think he might be at his best when he’s playing the heavy. From Here to Eternity, Johnny Guitar, and Bad Day at Black Rock really showcase his despicable side. And of course, he was great in the Wild Bunch too.
Just one more thing since it’s on my mind: if you like 70’s caper movies, do yourself a favor and watch Charley Varrick. Directed by Don Seigel (Dirty Harry), it also features some truly great performances from Howard Vernon and Walter Matthau. Joe Don really steals the show for me as the psychotic southern dandy named Molly. Good stuff!
Cameron Mitchell. Everyone on here knows his as the wonderful Captain Santa Clause in Space Mutiny, but before that he did a lot of great films in the 40’s and 50’s as well as starring in the television series The High Chaparral.
Another vote for Gene Hackman who’s good in anything
I’m going to agree on Christopher Lee for this one. Let’s face it, he’s made a lot of movies that were MST-worthy, but he’s always managed to deliver fine performances.
It is hard to argue with Christopher Lee–what a career! and perhaps the greatest movie Dracula–but I want to give a little love to Claude Akins from Master Ninja–maybe best known for the silly Sheriff Lobo show, but with good performances in movies going back to From Here to Eternity, Rio Bravo, The Killers, on TV in the great “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” Twilight Zone episode, and the list goes on. Clu Gulager, another top MSTie movie actor, gives a great tribute to Claude Akins in an interview on the DVD for The Killers, praising him as being amazingly talented and professional.
I was going to say Donald Pleasence. He’s one of those actors who can be captivating even in the worst dreck imaginable. And man, was he in a lot of dreck. He’s probably my favorite MST movie actor though who is actually good.
Lots of hard-to-name character actors who just randomly appear in these movies fit the bill too. To say nothing of stars like Raul Julia, Lloyd Bridges, Basil Rathbone, Roddy MacDowell, and the cast of Marooned/Space Travelers.
Marooned made me wonder how many MST movies are guilty of wasting a good cast. Lots of Hollywood movies (Marooned is sort of one) hire lots of great actors but have a boring script or bad direction or a terrible concept.
Gene Hackman, WHO’S GOOD IN ANYTHING!
Also, Donald Pleasence, Lee Van Cleef, Gregory Peck, Peter Graves (who has a great small role in NIGHT OF THE HUNTER), Raul Juila, Ernest Borgnine, Christopher Lee, Ann Margret, and Clint Eastwood (if he counts for his brief role in REVENGE OF THE CREATURE).
–
Also,
nice to see the shout outs to CHARLEY VARRICK (#3 and #34), which stars our man Joe Don Baker, and is one of my faves. As mentioned above, if you ain’t seen it, track it down; you won’t be disappointing.
OH
and Roddy McDowell too. God, I love the PLANET OF THE APES films….
So many excellent choices listed above. My personal favorites have got to be be Basil Rathbone for movies like The Son of Frankenstein and his Sherlock Holmes portrayals. Female favorite has got to be Ann Margaret, if only for the opening and closing musical interludes to Bye-Bye Birdie.
Sampo, I must ask, what is with the “Lon Cheney Jr.” reference? I realize many people equate Vice President Dick Cheney with the Butcher Benton character, but that’s absolutely Freudian.
No mention of Keenan Wynn? Not only was he in Parts, but also Dr. Strangelove
[Another choice: Roddy McDowell, Laserblast and the APES (Planet of, not Time Of) movies.
J/P=?
Bela Lugosi – Dracula “I do not drink….wine”
But there are others I will mention
Christopher Lee (MANY great films from Hammer and Lord of the Rings)
Peter Graves ( Night of the Hunter)
Basil Sherlock Holmes Rathbone
George Superman Reeves
Ralph Dick Tracy Byrd
Wanda McKay – she was in Bowery at Midnight which is a pretty good movie also with Bela
John Carradine
Joe Don Baker – Walking tall
Forest Tucker – F Troop
Shawn Levy from Zombie Nightmare went on to direct some great comedies
Jack Elam – Kiss Me Deadly
Lee Van Cleef – Beast from 20000 Fathoms, Django
John Phillip Law – The Golden Voyage of Sinbad
Gene Hackman is pretty obvious
That enough ? :)
Pretty much everyone in GODZILLA VS. THE SEA MONSTER. Though only their monster movies are shown here, the same actors did plenty of dramas and high profile movies in Japan. I have some crime films starring Akira Takarada (THE BIG BOSS; 1959) and Kumi Mizuno (THE MERCILESS TRAP; 1961) and they both turn in really good performances. Incidentally, THE MERCILESS TRAP was directed by Jun Fukuda, who did both the Godzilla movies featured on MST. TMT isn’t a great movie, but it’s very stylish. Fukuda is an underrated director, IMO. Takarada also gives a highly emotional performance in THE LAST WAR (1961), but the American version waters it down a lot!
Besides those, I think there are a lot of actors who appeared in MST’d movies that were good in other things (and sometimes even in the MST’d film!). It’s hard to imagine now, but back when these actors and actresses were on studio contracts, they were often required to make movies like REVENGE OF THE CREATURE. A lot of the really good ones have been named already (Burgess Meredith, Roddy McDowell, Basil Rathbone, Raul Julia, Gene Hackman, Gregory Peck, George Reeves, Beverly Garland, etc. etc.)
Gregory Peck is perhaps my favorite actor of all time. And besides Trace does a killer Peck impersonation.
Austin Stoker of Being from Another Planet was also in Horror High, which is also a stupid schlocky horror flick, but I love it. But seriously, he was also in John Carpenter’s superior Assault on Precinct 13 and Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Not many people know that he speaks with a heavy West Indies accent and had to imitate an American one in the movies. He should have been cast in more quality stuff.
Okay, he’s not what you’d call a fallen star so much as a b-movie star from the beginning but there’s Frank Gerstle (Dr. Otto Frank from the Atomic Brain) who was the doctor in the classic noir thriller D.O.A. and did tons of great television work, including the super keen Man on the Moon from Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color.
I had to go obscure to avoid the obvious actors that had already been covered….
I’ll actually toss in a vote for Michel Piccoli, who played Inspector Ginko in “Danger: Diabolik.” Check out the 1969 Italian film “Dillinger Is Dead.” It’s a fascinating film that relies heavily on his performance.
Heh. Just spotted John Carradine in The Shootist as the greedy gravedigger. That must have been one of his last mainstream roles. Kind of went full circle there. He was in Stagecoach, the movie that launched John Wayne to stardom, as well as John Wayne’s final film. I’d like to think they were good freinds.
I agree about Donald Pleasance. After seeing him play a professor in an episode of ‘The Twilight Zone,’ it just made me sad that he was reduced to such bad b-movie roles like Prosser and Kobras.