Today is the 89th birthday anniversary of the man himself. Would that he were still with us on the earthly plane.
I promise to get this blog going on a more regular basis again after I straighten out a few things. Thanks to everyone who still sticks with us, come hell or high water, for Tim’s sake.
Our final entry for Memorabilia Week is a British lobby card/still for Bert I. Gordon‘s The Boy and the Pirates (1960). I have three of these, which are identical to the U.S. publicity stills, except for the text and the fact that they are tinted blue. Which is pretty cool, actually.
Young Charles Herbert, shown here being menaced by mean pirate Morgan, had vivid memories of working with Tim. “He, on that movie, probably scared me more than the Colossus of New York!” he told Tom Weaver in an interview for Classic Images in 2006. “But he was a nice man, and he always tried to make you feel, ‘I’m not really crazy,’ and you would say, ‘Okay.’ And then he would walk away and you’d go, ‘He’s CRAZY!’ He was a scary man… It was just his eyes—those eyes! He’d look at me and I would run behind my mother. And I had to catch up to her, because she was tryin’ to find somebody else to hide behind! His eyes, and the way he talked—all the time, he just seemed ANGRY, and out of control. But after a while, it didn’t bother me. He wasn’t somebody who was different off-screen—he was crazy on- AND off-screen.”
Our pic today is a lobby card from R.G. Springsteen‘s Revolt in the Big House (1958), the entertaining low-budget prison drama starring Gene Evans, Robert Blake and third-billed Timothy. Here we see the gang plotting said revolt in the prison greenhouse.
Of all the memorabilia for Tim’s films, items for Revolt seem to be the most ubiquitous and readily available. A casual search on eBay will always turn up stills and lobby cards from this film. Given that, it’s strange that I’ve yet to run across a trailer. I’m guessing there’s one out there somewhere.
I’m in a medical mood today, having spent all morning in the dentist’s office. So today’s pic is a lobby card from Unwed Mother (1958), Timothy’s first film after Paths of Glory (1957). His grumpy abortion doctor is inspiring no confidence in the title character (Norma Moore).
A colorized publicity still was used for this one, a common practice back then. I wonder if Tim’s pants were really that shiny blue?
Our pic of the day is a British publicity still from Finger Man (1955), directed by Harold D. Schuster. Timothy’s sullen torpedo Lou Terpe is menacing the ill-fated blonde (not sure who the actress is) who has just told him, “Get your big wet paws offa me!” Lou’s boss, bootlegger and “white slaver” Dutch Becker (Forrest Tucker), sits at the far right.
The British publicity materials are interesting; I have a few from The Boy and the Pirates that are tinted blue! In general, I find non-American film memorabilia to be a bit more off-beat and colorful than most of their American counterparts. The Mexican lobby cards are especially good examples of this.
CH: Do you know who Timothy Carey is? He, on that movie [The Boy and the Pirates (1960)], probably scared me more than the Colossus of New York [laughs]! But he was a nice man, and he always tried to make you feel, “I’m not really crazy,” and you would say, “Okay.” And then he would walk away and you’d go, “He’s CRAZY!” He was a scary man.
CI: For instance?
CH: It was just his eyes—those eyes! He’d look at me and I would run behind my mother. And I had to catch up to her, because she was tryin’ to find somebody else to hide behind [laughs]! His eyes, and the way he talked—all the time, he just seemed ANGRY, and out of control. But after a while, it didn’t bother me. He wasn’t somebody who was different off-screen—he was crazy on- AND off-screen.
– Charles Herbert, “So You Wanna Be a Kid Actor…? “Not I!” said The Fly Co-star,” Classic Images, May 2006; interview by Tom Weaver
Today’s pics are artwork from promotional materials for Waterhole #3 (1967), featuring caricatures of the cast by the stellar comic artist Jack Davis. Timothy makes a great cartoon!
Here also is a great shot of Tim on the set of the film. We’re not sure who the other fellow is; we think he’s from the prop department.
Our pic for today is a lobby card from Unwed Mother (1958), Timothy’s first film after Paths of Glory, believe it or not. The title character (Norma Moore) is thinking twice about employing the services of Tim’s back-alley abortionist, who looks like he just stumbled in from an all-night bender.
The film is in black and white, but as was often the case, a publicity still was colorized for use on the lobby card. I’m hoping those shiny striped pants he’s wearing really were blue. Moore appeared on television quite often in the 1950’s. Perhaps her finest film role was in Fear Strikes Out (1957), opposite Anthony Perkins and Karl Malden.
I finally got the Wall of Timothy rearranged and updated!
A word about the ladybugs. For some reason, I’ve been associating them with Tim for quite a while now. It made me happy when I discovered recently that he mentions them in his play The Insect Trainer. I found this ladybug banner/decoration on the ground behind my car the other day. I like to think it’s Tim saying “Hi!”
And you guys, this isn’t everything. I have so many lobby cards that I’m going to have to swap them out every few weeks or so. There are also big posters from Bayou and The Wild One that I just don’t have room for. Slowly but surely, Tim is taking over our house… I’m OK with that!
The Timothy Carey Experience 