Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on February 23, 2020

(WOW it’s been over a year since I’ve posted! I’m so sorry. Trying to get my life back on track; I promise to post more often!)

Standing at 6’4 with a tornado of jet black hair, piercing blue eyes and more swagger and verve than every founding father and mother of rock & roll combined, Carey started to make his mark in cinema in the 1950’s, with turns in such classics like Elia Kazan‘s East of Eden (1955) and in Stanley Kubrick‘s twin masterpieces, The Killing (1956) and Paths of Glory (1957). Standing out in the Kazan film despite being both dubbed and on screen for a hot second, Carey blew the lid OFF with the latter two. In particular, his turn as the doomed Private Maurice Ferol in Paths of Glory is unshakable once you’ve seen it. Carey’s ability to not only innately steal every scene he graced but also bring the entire rainbow of the human condition to any film made him a presence to look out for.

Heather Drain, “God in Gold Lamé: Timothy Carey’s The World’s Greatest Sinner,” from The Bizarro Encyclopedia of Film Vol. 1 by John Skipp and Heather Drain (Fungasm Press, 2019) (ED. NOTE: HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!)

bizarro

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on December 13, 2015

This week’s quote is from an independently published memoir by and about Robert Austin Brady, acting coach and former member of the American Mime Theater. He was briefly employed as assistant and driver to Stanley Kubrick, just before Kubrick started shooting 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Apparently while driving Kubrick around, Brady got a chance to chat with him quite a bit about his films. While discussing Paths of Glory (1957), this choice interchange occurred. It is a remarkable, and let’s face it, rather disappointing read, for Kubrick throws major shade at Timothy, and also at Karl Malden.

**********

BOB: Absolutely. I think that was Kirk Douglas‘s best performance, and George Macready, who can also play heavy-handed, was terrific. And Timothy Carey, in several scenes, was riveting–unforgettable. You cast him earlier, in “The Killing“.

SK: Never again. He was wild–almost dangerous to have around. He was almost impossible to direct. He never matched his movements to his lines. He accidentally hit Ralph Meeker so hard in the face that we had to stop shooting for the day. He was brilliant, but impossible. As a matter of fact, my next film was going to be “One Eyed Jacks” with Marlon Brando as star/producer. I brought in Calder Willingham to adapt the script. Calder and I adapted “Paths of Glory“. I worked on the script for two months but then I decided to drop the project. My main reason was that Brando fired Calder, and my enthusiasm faded. The other factor was casting. Marlon had promised Karl Malden and Timothy Carey, the co-starring parts. I knew Karl Malden was not a worthy adversary for Marlon. He lacks charm and empathy. I don’t think he’s a good actor. I wanted Paul Newman for the part, or somebody like that, somebody the audience could feel some sympathy for and I certainly didn’t want to work with Timothy Carey again. So, Brando wound up directing.

Robert A. Brady, “Vis-A-Vis (Bob Brady and Stanley Kubrick have a conversation)”, from Tales, Observations & Notes: BOB An Actor’s Mentor by Susan Doukas Brady; CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (July 11, 2012)

One-Eyed Jacks

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on October 25, 2015

The greatness of Timothy Carey, and indeed his essence, is the man as a symbol. It is not so much what he has done for others, but what others have done and will do because of his example. This is the true measure of the man. What has come out of his artistic work, his life and examples, is the kind of inspiration that can animate a generation.

The World’s Greatest Sinner alone supplies a completed vision and a working demonstration of unwavering artistic courage and reverence for life. It represents enduring proof that honest cinematic self-expression is a rare event that needs to be celebrated.

– Romeo Carey, “Making Sinner, A Work-In-Progress,” from Dead Flowers (Vox Populi/Participant Press, 2011)

A shot from The World’s Greatest Sinner (1962) as seen in Romeo Carey’s short film The Devil’s Gas (1990), Timothy’s final film appearance

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on October 18, 2015

Tim Carey’s total face time in film noir probably doesn’t add up to an hour, if that. But oh, what a face! That uber-creepy countenance and mad-genius acting methodology make almost all of his performances unforgettable. It certainly seems that Carey commanded far more camera time than he actually did.

Grossly underutilized by Hollywood primarily due to the erratic off-screen behavior that made his off-kilter characters so powerful and edgy on screen, Timothy Agoglia Carey was more than just one of a kind. He was a brother from another planet, somehow uniquely appealing and captivating – even lovable, his ever-expanding number of cult followers might submit – in spite (or because) of the grotesque, unbalanced, and downright bizarre characters he played.

– Carl Steward, “Timothy Carey: Noir’s Wildest Card,” Noir City Annual #2: The Best of the 2009 Noir City Sentinel (Film Noir Foundation, 2010)

Finger Man (1955)

Video of the Week: “The Outfit” revisited

Posted by Marisa on October 14, 2015

Here’s another one from the archives. It’s Timothy’s pivotal scene from John Flynn‘s The Outfit (1973), with a crackling screenplay by Flynn from Donald Westlake‘s novel. Tim’s ill-tempered gangster Jake Menner learns a hard lesson from bent-on-vengeance Earl Macklin (Robert Duvall).

One of Tim’s best performances in a stellar tribute to film noir. Don’t miss it!

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on September 27, 2015

Scene

1957 / Paths of Glory – Timothy Carey kills a cockroach.

U.S. Director: Stanley Kubrick. Cast: Ralph Meeker, Timothy Carey.

Why It’s Key: A quintessential character actor achieves his apotheosis when his character kills a bug.

To cover up his vain blunders, a French general (George Macready) in World War I orders three of his soldiers (Ralph Meeker, Joe Turkel, Timothy Carey), chosen almost at random, to be court-martialed and then shot by a firing squad for dereliction of duty, as an example to their fellow soldiers. When their last meal is brought to them, they can mainly only talk desperately about futile plans for escape and the hopelessness of their plight. Then Corporal Paris (Meeker) looks down at a cockroach crawling across the table and says, “See that cockroach? Tomorrow morning, we’ll be dead and it’ll be alive. It’ll have more contact with my wife and child than I will. I’ll be nothing, and it’ll be alive.” Ferol smashes the cockroach with his fist and says, almost dreamily, “Now you got the edge on him.”

We’re apt to laugh at the absurdism and grotesquerie of the moment — especially Timothy Carey’s deadpan delivery, as if he had a mouthful of mush and was soft-pedaling the phrase like Lester Young on his tenor sax. One of the creepiest character actors in movies, he doesn’t fit the period; even if we accept him as a French soldier, accepting him as one in World War I is more of a stretch, because he registers like a contemporary beatnik. That’s also how he comes across in East of Eden, One-Eyed Jacks, The Killing, or The Killing of Chinese Bookie. But for precisely that reason, he gives the line the existential ring it deserves.

Jonathan Rosenbaum, “Five Key Moments,” from Defining Moments in Movies, edited by Chris Fujiwara (London: Cassell, 2007)

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on August 16, 2015

The second picture I did was for Allied Artists and was titled Unwed Mother, a very provocative title for the late fifties. It starred Timothy Carey, an actor who had scored in Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory alongside Kirk Douglas. In our picture, Timothy played the role of an abortionist (also pretty frisky stuff for that time). When he arrived on the set to do his scene, dressed appropriately in a cheap dark suit, he opened his black medical bag and from it brought out some of the ugliest, vilest-looking knives, tools, hammers, and sundry stuff you’d likely see only in some triple-X horror movie. This bag had not been furnished by the prop department, nor was a bag of that kind mentioned in the script. It was all Timothy’s idea, and he had to be talked out of using it in his scene by the director [Walter Doniger], who threatened to have him fired and, if possible, kicked out of the Screen Actors Guild. He finally did acquiesce, and I heard very little about or from him since then.*

Robert Vaughn, A Fortunate Life (Thomas Dunne Books, 2008)

*Marisa’s note: I guess he forgot about the Man from U.N.C.L.E. episode he and Timothy did together.

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on August 9, 2015

[Ted] De Corsia‘s sidekick in Crime Wave is the young Charles Bronson, who not only flexes impressively, but growls a few great henchman lines. Leveling his gun at Ellen, he smiles at her husband: “You want I should clip a curl off the cutie?” [Andre’] DeToth loved the primitive contours of Bronson’s face, and his atavistic grace. He used them smartly in several pictures, including the 3-D House of Wax. The gang also included the amusingly unstable Timothy Carey, who is so brain damaged that midway through sexually intimidating Phyllis Kirk he becomes distracted and forgets what he’s doing. Crime Wave was one of the first films that would prompt viewers to ask of Carey: “What the hell is wrong with this guy?”

Eddie Muller, Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir (St. Martin’s Press, 1998)

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on July 19, 2015

William Finley is an enigmatic actor. He is Ichabod Crane played by Peter Lorre. He’s Harold Lloyd portrayed by Timothy Carey. He’s Max Schreck‘s handsome cousin. […]

Outside of Timothy Carey, who Finley admires, few actors are more skilled at playing world-class oddballs or are more fun to watch doing it.

– Justin Humphreys, Interviews Too Shocking To Print! (BearManor Media, 2014)

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on June 7, 2015

Timothy Carey, best known for playing sometimes crazy, sometimes villainous, sometimes both characters in movies (Paths of Glory, The Killing, Beach Blanket Bingo) auditioned for the role of the gang boss [in Reservoir Dogs]. In an interview with Grover Lewis that eventually appeared in Film Comment (“Cracked Actor: Timothy Carey,” January/February 2004), Carey pinned his losing the role to Harvey Keitel: “Tarantino brought me in to read. He’d done a terrific script with my name on the top – ‘inspiration by Timothy Carey.’ Harvey Keitel didn’t want me on the show. He was afraid. I could tell when I walked in. He had the right to say yea or nay to any actor. Larry Tierney got the part. Larry’s a good friend of mine, and he called me up later and kind of apologized.” However, Carey failed to mention that, as seen on page 125 of Wensley Clarkson‘s book Quentin Tarantino: The Man, The Myths and His Movies [John Blake Publishing, 2007], the dedication on the script shows eight individuals – including himself and Tierney – a point that would come up with the next person who auditioned for the role [Robert Forster].