Undertaker


I remember a time when a lot of people erroneously thought John Carradine's film career consisted of mostly him being type-cast as undertakers. Carradine himself was so amused by this popular misconception that he played his undertaker bit in "The Shootist" with zest and gusto; up until then, he said he had NEVER portrayed an undertaker!

However, with a career as prolific as John Carradine's, is it possible he'd forgotten having played undertakers in his earlier movies? I doubt it; but if anyone can name any other picture besides "The Shootist" featuring Carradine as an undertaker, let's hear it!

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Hmmm . . . he played "a kind of" an undertaker - a grave robber who helped Sinuhe bury his parents in "The Egyptian" ('54). Can we count that?

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Not exactly. I'm referring to the stereotyped man of the profession of preparing/embalming the dead and arranging their burial and how, as depicted in "The Shootist," these characters often try to "drum up business" before their *subjects* are even dead!

But I can see where one who labors under the misconception that John Carradine typically portrayed undertakers/funeral directors would be right at home with his character in "The Egyptian"

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though i haven't seen it, he played a undertaker in "The White Buffalo" circa (1977) which is also his last western as well. other than that & the film 'The Shootist' i have no idea.

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Aside from the Grave Robber in 1954's "The Egyptian," and his undertaker in 1977's "The White Buffalo," there's also his undertaker/barber/town doctor in his FIRST Western with Charles Bronson, 1957's "Showdown at Boot Hill." His performance is a total delight, and it's a real pleasure to see 36 year old Bronson in his very first starring role, even before Roger Corman's "Machine-Gun Kelly" in 1958. Carradine was often described as 'cadaverous,' so that may explain the misconception. If there was an actor who was seemingly typecast as undertakers, check out Milton Parsons! At least two Monogram Chans cast him in such a role.

"I take pleasure in great beauty" - James Bond

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Does television count here? If so, he played Herman Munster's boss at the funeral home on The Munsters.

"Fasten your seat belts!
It's going to be a bumpy night!"

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He played an undertaker in a short film called 'Threshold' in 1971. It hasn't got a rating on IMDb so I don't know if it still exists.

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