Episode Details

“RICHARD CARLSON: CLASSIC CINEMA STAR OF THE MONTH” (081) - 3/31/2025

Tall, dark-haired, and handsome, RICHARD CARLSON was always a welcomed addition to any cast. From the beginning, when he was playing preppy college students opposite LANA TURNER, to his reign in the 1950s as the King of Sci-Fi thrillers, Carlson brought believability and authority to each role but also a sense of introspective thoughtfulness. You looked into his deep blue eyes and chiseled face and believed him. Whatever he was selling, we were buying. And while he never became an A-list leading man, he enjoyed a long and steady career and enhanced many a mediocre film with his special appeal. This week, we celebrate RICHARD CARLSON as our Star of the Month. 

SHOW NOTES: 

Sources:

Monsters in the Machine (2016), by Steffen Hantke;

Keep Watching the Skies (2009), by Bill Warren;

“Richard Carlson: Albert Lea’s Other Film & Television Star,” December 24, 2016, by Ed Shannon;

“Today’s Underrated Actor Spotlight: Richard Carlson,” June 24, 2105, by Bynum, www.thetinseltoentwins.com;

“A Tribute To Richard Carlson,’ January 9, 2014, www.scififilmfiesta.com;

“Richard Carlson, Actor, Dies at 65,” November 27, 1977, New York Times;

Wikipedia.com;

TCM.com;

IMDBPro.com;

Movies Mentioned: 

Desert Death (1935), starring Raymond Hatton;

The Young in Heart (1938), starring Janet Gaynor, Roland Young, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr & Paulette Goddard;

The Duke of West Point (1938), starring Louis Hayward & Joan Fontaine;

Winter Carnival (1939), starring Ann Sheridan, Richard Carlson, & Robert Mitchum;

These Glamour Girls (1939), starring Lana Turner & Lew Ayres;

Dancing Co-Ed (1939), starring Lana Turner & Richard Carlson;

Beyond Tomorrow (1940), starring Haley Carey & Charles Winning;

No, No, Nanette (1940), starring Anna Neagle;

The Howards of Virginia (1940), starring Cary Grant & Martha Scott;

Back Street (1941), starring Margaret Sullavan & Charles Boyer;

The Little Foxes (1941Ol staring Bette Davis & Teresa Wright;

The Affairs of Martha (1942), starring Marsha Hunt & Richard Carlson;

My Heart Belongs to Daddy (1942), starring Richard Carlson & Martha O’Driscoll;

Fly By Night (1942) starring Richard Carlson & Nancy Kelly;

Hold That Ghost (1941), starring Bud Abbot & Lou Costello;

White Cargo (1942), staring Hedy Lamarr& Walter Pidgeon;

Presenting Lily Mars (1943), starring Judy Garland & Van Heflin;

The Man From Down Under (1943), starring Charles Laughton & Donna Reed;

So Well Remembered (1947), starring John Mills & Martha Scott;

Behind Locked Doors (1948), starring Richard Carlson & Lucille Bremer;

The Amazing Mr. X (1948), starring Turban Bey, Lynn Bari, & Cathy O’Donnell;

King Solomon’s Mines (1950), starring Stewart Granger & Deborah Kerr;

The Sound of Fury (1950), starring Frank Lovejoy;