FrancesR Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 I've just completed a site about Jack Carson at: http://jackcarson.atspace.com I say completed, but he did so much it's really just past the first stage, I hope to expand the site and turn it into a resource for Jack Carson fans. If anyone has any stories or further information about him, please let me know and I'll see it's added. I find forums a bit daunting, so this is only my first post to this one, but I couldn't think of a better place to get started. Hope you enjoy the site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarboManiac Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Crazy about Carson! Anything and everything he did. If he was in the film, that was a good enough reason for me to watch it. From The Bride Came C.O.D. to The Strawberry Blonde, to Mildred Pierce, he is one of my all time favorites! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vecchiolarry Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Hi, I also think he was underappreciated and certainly is forgotten today. He should have been nominated at least for an Oscar for playing 'Goober' in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof". I know Ann Sothern was very fond of him and I think they did a couple of movies together. Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdb1 Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 I haven't had a chance to look at the site yet, but I certainly will. You all know how I love those character actors, and Carson was one of the really skillful ones. He could play anything, really -- tough, naive, surly, kind, quick-witted, dumb. And he could sing, too. I well remember hearing on the radio a recording of him singing "Who Cares" from "Of Thee I Sing," and he was good. I think he was in a revival of same. Did you ever meet him, Larry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdb1 Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 I've been thinking further about Carson, and it occurs to me that when I first saw "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" I was just a young person. Besides the images of Newman and Taylor in their "casual" clothing, the image I have retained first and foremost is Goober's anguished speech to Big Daddy - I've done everthing you've expected of me - what more do you want? - why do you love Brick more than you love me? Beautiful, memorable, and really moving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vecchiolarry Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 Hi, No, I never did meet him. Larry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdb1 Posted July 29, 2006 Share Posted July 29, 2006 Frances, your site is very nice, and very interesting. I forgot about Dave Willock and Carson. I think I remember hearing Willock and Carson together - probably on one of the college stations that broadcast old radio shows. Willock was working practically until yesterday! He's one of those "Oh, there's that guy. What's his name again?" actors. I'll be very interested to see what else you can find out. Thanks. Judith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeBSG Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 He was a terrific actor. I can't remember him giving a bad performance. I still remember a couple of bit parts he had in the Thirties. He has only a few lines in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," but he always grabs my attention, and then he doesn't have any lines in "Stage Door." He is one of two goofballs that Lucille Ball and Eve Arden have to go out with. His character is just so thrilled to go on a date that he can't talk. He just laughs and laughs, and I've always remembered it. To go from that and see him in "Mildred Pierce" or "A Star is Born" is to realize the breadth of his talent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdb1 Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 Yes, he was very good at the Chamber of Commerce type guy, and the good-natured goof. I particularly like him in "Arsenic and Old Lace" as the neighborhood cop who wrote a play he'd like Cary Grant to read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarboManiac Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Oh, I forgot about that one! He was a riot in that. Seeeee, he really is one of the greats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrancesR Posted August 2, 2006 Author Share Posted August 2, 2006 I'm glad there's been such a positive response to this. The reason I started it, was because I watched "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" again recently, and I thought why does nobody remember Jack Carson? - after reading some of the IMDB comments it seems people either love him or hate him, but he always makes an impression. The site has only been up for about a month, and I'm sure there's still plenty more out there to find - but what it has done for me is that I now realise just how hard he worked on his career. I read a comment recently that referred to him as "Warner Brother resident buffoon" - can't have seen "The Hard Way" recently then. I will be updating regularly, and thanks again for the support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drdoolittle Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 He was a very good actor I like him especially in Mildred Pierce,He was good at being vindictive that movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackBurley Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 "I like him especially in 'Mildred Pierce'. He was good at being vindictive that movie." For a vindictive Jack Carson, check out Cukor's A Star is Born. He kicks Norman Maine while he's down, and it's hard to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annelindley Posted August 9, 2006 Share Posted August 9, 2006 But Jack, Norman deserved it, he was such a jerk, and I know jerks. I was never a fan of Carson until I saw Mildred Pierce, then I started looking for him, loved him with Eve Arden, That would have been a good pairing for a few comedies in the nature of The Thin Man type of movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUSAN Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Here we go again, I know it seems as if I love everybody, but I do love Jack Carson! One of those "less is more" kind of actors, he seems just like someone you'd meet at a neighborhood cookout, "Hiya Susan, how ya doin?" And that is is acting, brother! Just a great performance in A Star is Born, "I don''t like you, Norman". Sadly his life and career were too short, he died of cancer at 53. Thanks for the site, Frances, welcome to the boards! -Susan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkMiller Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 I remember him in an episode of "The Twilight Zone" in which he played a used car salesman. This was probably one of his last performances so I would love to see that episode again if it's available. People generally remember "Twilight Zone" for its eerie plots, bizarre prediciments or Rod Serling's offbeat introductions, but what also helped was the casting of veteran actors like Carson. Like you say he seemed very much like someone you could have met at a cookout and producers must have picked up on that quality. But you don't have to look too closely to see his range--he was frequently a sidekick, a heavy, the guy who didn't get the girl, a comic and dramatic actor. Yes, he left us too soon and I am sure that's partly why we appreciate him so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilgrimsoul Posted August 12, 2006 Share Posted August 12, 2006 There's an interesting Jack Carson performance rather late in his career in The Tarnished Angels(1958) being shown on Sun., Aug 13th at 2am EDT on TCM as part of its 24 hr. Rock Hudson marathon. In this Douglas Sirk adaptation of William Faulkner's Pylon, much better than average performances are given by Hudson, Robert Stack, and Robert Middleton, as well as Dorothy Malone, whose hot house beauty can be off-putting to me, but she's quite effective here. Yet I've watched this film just to see Jack Carson's poignantly loyal Jiggs character brood, fumble and acquiesce to the more flashily assertive, but less emotionally reliable men surrounding Malone. He doesn't have alot of lines, but Carson expresses his love, resentment and self-pity in detail, making that mixture of rage and longing almost as palpable as the sweat and grease that masks his sensitive, clownish face. Btw, The Tarnished Angels is said to have been one of the few adaptations of his work that William Faulkner found to be close to his original intention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxMania Posted August 13, 2006 Share Posted August 13, 2006 Yes! Jack Carson deserves not only to be warmly remembered, but greatly appreciated. He is one of my all time favorites, always engaging to watch, even in a bad film. My favorite Jack Carson film (and one that hasn't been mentioned here yet) is also the ultimate Jack Carson film - IT'S A GREAT FEELING, in which Jack Carson plays...Jack Carson. Aside from all the fascinating subtext about lies and deception...Aside from the many entertaining cameos from WB stars...What I find most interesting about this film is just how game Carson is to poke fun at himself ("Everybody knows I'm a liar!"), and, by extension, all Hollywood stars. While it's rare for stars to actually "play" themselves for the course of a whole movie, it's even rarer for them to be game enough/brave enough to be the prime butt of the jokes in a film. The only other film that even comes close to this one in that respect (that I can think of, anyway) is THANK YOUR LUCKY STARS, in which Eddie Cantor plays dual roles, including himself - as a control-freak, egomaniac and jerk. (Interestingly, both films were directed by David Butler...) In my opinion, IT'S A GREAT FEELING is THE best Jack Carson film there is. As for THE best film that Jack Carson was ever in, period, I'd have to say it's MILDRED PIERCE. I think this is arguably the greatest American drama ever, and Carson is excellent in it as the pushy, ever so slightly sleazy "Uncle Wally." That Carson could be so good and effective in both broad, Technicolor comedies and grim, B&W dramas is a testament to his talent. Long live Jack Carson! I wanna hear those postcards in your voice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snarfie Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 I always enjoy Jack Carson movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxMania Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 Hey There - Do you ever go to the LaSalle Theater on Saturdays? It's the best place for movies in Chicago. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissGoddess Posted October 12, 2006 Share Posted October 12, 2006 I have happily bookmarked your site and can't wait to explore it at leisure. Certainly a first-rate thesp and always worth watching---sometimes he's the MAIN reason I watch a movie. I would like to add to the kudos here that he was excellent in the Doris Day movies ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS and MY DREAM IS YOURS (reuniting him with Eve Arden) and as Dennis Morgan's pal in a few, such as TWO GUYS FROM TEXAS. Great guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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