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James Craig
1912-1985
Updated 3/19/2008 with more films available on DVD.
biography
Born James Meador in Nashville, Tennessee, in February 1912, handsome second-string leading man James Craig enjoyed a lengthy career in films, spanning the 1930s through the 1950s. When he was a child, Craig's family moved to Texas, where he grew up and went to college. He had just turned 25 when he was put under contract with Paramount in early 1937, and after a few small roles in films, Craig jumped ship to Columbia. He fared better at the new studio, where he earned a starring role in the backlot drama North of Shanghai (1939; with Betty Furness and Morgan Conway) and appeared in several comedy short subjects, such as Trouble Finds Andy Clyde (1939; with Andy Clyde) and the Three Stooges vehicle Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise (1939). Tiring of the low budgets at Columbia, Craig left for RKO's greener pastures in 1940. His fortunes improved when he was cast in meaty roles in Kitty Foyle (1940; with Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan) and The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941; with Walter Huston and Simone Simon), probably the best films of his career.
LEFT: Late 1930s promotional photo from Paramount. RIGHT: A beefcake shot of James Craig in this early 1940s RKO photo
Craig hopped over to MGM with the onset of World War II. With many leading men going into the service, Craig's career flourished in comedies and dramas, such as The Heavenly Body (1944; with William Powell and Hedy Lamarr), Kismet (1944; with Ronald Colman and Marlene Dietrich), and Dangerous Partners (1945; with Signe Hasso). But after the war, Craig's star began to fade. He then moved to westerns, some of them low-budget affairs such as Last of the Desperados (1955; with Jim Davis), Massacre (1956; with Dane Clark), and Man or Gun (1958; with Macdonald Carey and Audrey Totter).
the films of james craig
The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)
With Simone Simon in RKO's fantasy The Devil and Daniel Webster
Valley of the Sun (1942)
Craig stars with Lucille Call in RKO's comedy western Valley of the Sun
Lost Angel (1943)
From MGM's heartwarming drama Lost Angel with Margaret O'Brien
The Human Comedy (1943)
Promotional photo from the MGM drama The Human Comedy
Swing Shift Maisie (1943)
From MGM's wartime comedy Swing Shift Maisie with Ann Sothern
Gentle Annie (1944)
Craig plays the hero in MGM's western Gentle Annie. LEFT: With Donna Reed, Harry Morgan, Marjorie Main, and Paul Langton. RIGHT: With Marjorie Main and Donna Reed
She Went to the Races (1945)
From MGM's comedy She Went to the Races with Frances Gifford
Little Mister Jim (1946)
With Frances Gifford in the MGM tearjerker Little Mister Jim
The Man from Texas (1948)
With Lynn Bari in the Eagle-Lion western The Man from Texas
Drums in the Deep South (1951)
From RKO's western release Drums in the Deep South. LEFT: With Guy Madison and Barbara Payton. RIGHT: With scandal queen Barbara Payton
The Strip (1951)
With Sally Forrest in MGM's noir release The Strip
Fort Vengeance (1953)
From the Allied Artists western Fort Vengeance
The Cyclops (1957)
From Bert I. Gordon's horror flick The Cyclops, released by Allied Artists. LEFT: With pretty scream queen Gloria Talbott. RIGHT: With Lon Chaney Jr.
Four Fast Guns (1960)
From Universal-International's western Four Fast Guns
later years
When his film career began to fizzle in the late 1950s, Craig turned to selling real estate and made a fortune. Thereafter, he appeared in movies only sporadically. Aside from a few late 1960s westerns, the nadir of his career proved to be the campy bargain-basement productions Doomsday Machine (filmed in 1967 but released in 1972; with Denny Miller, Grant Williams, and Ruta Lee), Bigfoot (1970; with John Carradine and Joi Lansing), and The Tormentors (1971; with Anthony Eisley and Chris Noel). Following the latter title, Craig gave up show business for good. Sadly, after a bout with cancer he passed away in June 1985 at age 73. Wed several times, Craig was briefly married to actress Jil Jarmyn in the late 1950s and was married twice to his first wife, Jane.
The Big Broadcast Of 1938 (1937)/College Swing (1938) [DVD] DVD
All-star comedy/musical finds ocean liner owner W.C. Fields pitting his ship against another vessel in a high-speed race. While on the journey, a host of Paramount stars are spotlighted, including Martha Raye, Dorothy Lamour, Kirsten Flagstad, and Bob Hope (his first feature), who sings his signature tune, the Oscar-winning "Thanks for the Memory." Then, Gracie Allen inherits a small-town school and proceeds to turn it into a hangout for her vaudeville friends. Bob Hope, Martha Raye, Betty Grable and, of course, George Burns are among the students of the "new curriculum." Songs include "I Fall in Love with You Every Day," and "You're a Natural." 177 min. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: Spanish, French; tr
Hell Town [DVD](1937) DVD
One of the Duke's best "B" vehicles finds John Wayne forming a fast friendship with Johnny Mack Brown after he rescues Brown's livestock. Johnny Mack returns the favor when Wayne gets in over his head at the card table. Marsha Hunt, Monte Blue co-star. AKA: "Born to the West." 60 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English mono. Plays All Regions.
Pride Of The West [VHS](1938) VHS
A stagecoach robbery sends Hopalong Cassidy and pals Windy and Lucky on a hunt for the culprits. The clues point to a shady land baron named Nixon, but how could anyone named Nixon be a crook? "Gabby" Hayes, Russell Hayden, James Craig also star. 54 min.
Boris Karloff: Icons Of Horror Collection [DVD] DVD
It's four times the terror from Boris Karloff with this quartet of shockers. First, Boris stars as twin brothers, one good and one evil, under the influence of an ancient curse. The wicked one follows a path of depravity and evil that leads to the secret of "The Black Room" (1935). With Marian Marsh, Robert Allen. Scientist Karloff is executed for his illegal work in organ transplants and suspended animation, only to be revived by his assistant so the two can plot a campaign of revenge, in "The Man They Could Not Hang" (1939). Byron Foulger, Lorna Gray, James Craig co-star. Next, Karloff is a doctor experimenting with ways of arresting the aging process who becomes younger thanks to a blood transfusion, but the blood came from a condemned murderer! Edward Van Sloan and Evelyn Keyes co-star in "Before I Hang" (1940). And, the horror/comedy "The Boogie Man Will Get You" (1942) finds deranged doc Karloff selling his house to a woman who turns it into a hotel, providing endless subjects for Boris' plan to breed a race of superhumans. Peter Lorre and Maxie Rosenbloom co-star. 4 1/2 hrs. total on two discs. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono.
Blondie, Vol. 1 [DVD] DVD
Chic Young's comic-strip look at married life was brought to the big screen by Columbia in 28 comedies made between 1938 and 1950, with Arthur Lake as bumbling office worker Dagwood Bumstead and Penny Singleton as his ever-patient wife, Blondie. Featured here are the series's first five films: "Blondie" (1938), in which Dagwood loses his job just before the couple's fifth anniversary; "Blondie Meets the Boss" (1939), which finds Dagwood on a fishing trip...and photographed in another woman's arms; "Blondie Takes a Vacation" (1939), where the Bumsteads work to keep a rundown mountain resort open; "Blondie Brings Up Baby" (1939), with Baby Dumpling playing hooky to search for missing family dog Daisy; and "Blondie on a Budget" (1940), in which Dagwood seeks help from an old flame (Rita Hayworth) to buy a fur coat for Blondie. Each full-length film features a brief "teaser" scene before the opening credits. 6 hrs. total. Standard; Soundtrack: English.
Winners Of The West [DVD](1940) DVD
The building of a transcontinental railroad is threatened by a prairie land boss who hires renegade Indians to stage raids. Can a two-fisted railway agent get the project back on track? Dick Foran, Anne Nagel star. 13 episodes; 247 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; biographies; filmographies; theatrical trailers.
Winners Of The West [VHS](1940) VHS
The building of a transcontinental railroad is threatened by a prairie land boss who hires renegade Indians to stage raids. Can a two-fisted railway agent get the project back on track? Dick Foran, Anne Nagel star. 13 episodes; 247 min.
Kitty Foyle [DVD](1940) DVD
Ginger Rogers won an Oscar (in her first dramatic role) as a Philadelphia working-class woman who marries into a well-to-do Main Line family, but seeks solace with an old flame when the marriage sours. Dennis Morgan, James Craig co-star. 108 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish, French; bonus shorts "Kitty Foiled" (1948), "Bad Luck Blackie" (1949); radio broadcasts; theatrical trailer.
John Wayne: An American Icon [DVD] DVD
Two-disc set of John Wayne classics leads off with "Seven Sinners" (1940), with Marlene Dietrich as a sexy singer whose stint at a cafe in an exotic South Seas island is marked by intrigue, romance, and the love of Navy lieutenant Wayne. Randolph Scott, James Craig co-star. In "The Shepherd of the Hills" (1941), Wayne is an Ozark Mountain moonshiner who seeks vengeance on his father for abandoning him and his mother years earlier. Wayne, Dietrich and Scott reunite for "Pittsburgh" (1942), a rugged drama about a pair of coal miners whose friendship is ruined when they fall in love with the same woman and take different paths in the coal and steel industry. The sweeping historical spectacle "The Conqueror" (1956) became notorious for its unique casting (1956) became notorious for its unique casting (John Wayne as Mongol leader Genghis Khan, Susan Hayward as a Tartar princess) and for its on-location shooting near atomic test sites in Utah (many working on the film later suffered health problems). And, finally, "Jet Pilot" (1957) is a high-flying Cold War drama with American Air Force colonel Wayne charged with looking after defecting Soviet pilot Janet Leigh. The pair fall in love, but Wayne begins to wonder if Leigh is actually a double agent. 8 1/3 hrs. Standard/Widescreen; Soundtrack: English.
Law And Order [VHS](1940) VHS
Johnny Mack Brown has retired as a U.S. marshal, but when a gang kills a townswoman's father he swings back into action. Fuzzy Knight co-stars. 57 min.
The Devil And Daniel Webster [DVD](1941) DVD
Walter Huston and Edward Arnold take the title roles in Stephen Vincent Benet's "New Englandized" Faust story. A young 19th-century farmer sells his soul to Mr. Scratch for seven years of prosperity, but when the Devil shows up to collect, he hires famed lawyer Webster to get him off the hook. With James Craig, Anne Shirley, Simone Simon. AKA: "All That Money Can Buy." Restored version features scenes missing since the film's original run. 106 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; audio commentary; photo gallery; essay; video comparison with "preview version."
They Live By Night (1949)/Side Street [DVD](1950) DVD
Director Nicholas Ray's first effort, "They Live by Night," is an expressionistic blend of melodrama and film noir, with Farley Granger and Cathy O'Donnell as two naive young lovers whose entanglement in a web of hardened criminals destines them for tragedy. Based on the novel "Thieves Like Us" by Edward Anderson; with Howard Da Silva, Jay C. Flippen. And, "Side Street" stars Granger as a down-and-out New York mailman with a pregnant wife who steals $30,000 from a pair of blackmailers in an act of impulsive desperation. After his conscience starts to get to him, Granger decides to give the money back but winds up knee deep in danger when the friend he asked to hold the cash disappears. O'Donnell, James Craig also star. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English (SDH), French.
Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 4 [DVD] DVD
Five-disc boxed set includes the double features "Act of Violence/Mystery Street," "Crime Wave/Decoy," "Illegal/The Big Steal," "They Live by Night/Side Street," and "Where Danger Lives/Tension."
Drums In The Deep South [DVD](1951) DVD
The Civil War is the battleground for emotions and loyalties when a group of West Point comrades find themselves fighting on opposite sides. Guy Madison, Barbara Payton, James Craig star; directed by William Cameron Menzies. 87 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English mono.
Drums In The Deep South [VHS](1951) VHS
The Civil War is the battleground for emotions and loyalties when a group of West Point comrades find themselves fighting on opposite sides. Guy Madison, Barbara Payton, James Craig star; directed by William Cameron Menzies. 87 min.
Man Or Gun [VHS](1958) VHS
Audacious oater involving a drifter who rides into a town operated by a powerful family and teaches the townsfolk about the corruption behind closed doors. Macdonald Carey, Audrey Totter, James Craig star. 79 min.
The Doomsday Machine (1967)/Werewolf Of Washington [DVD](1973) DVD
First, in this fascinating sci-fier set in futuristic 1976, a spaceship crew launched from Earth and destined for Venus witnesses the destruction of the planet by "The Doomsday Machine" built by the Red Chinese. In order to find the secret of mankind's future, the crew delves deeper into space. Grant Williams, Henry Wilcoxon, Ruta Lee, Denny Miller, and Bobby Van star. AKA: "Escape from Planet Earth." Next, Watergate politics mix with furry monsters in "Werewolf of Washington," a horror-satire that will make you howl. A monster's loose in the White House, out for the President. Dean Stockwell, Michael Dunn. 173 min. total. Soundtrack: English.
The Doomsday Machine [VHS](1967) VHS
Fascinating sci-fier set in futuristic 1976, where a spaceship crew launched from Earth and destined for Venus witnesses the destruction of the planet by a Red Chinese doomsday device. In order to find the secret of mankind's future, the crew delves deeper into space. Grant Williams, Henry Wilcoxon, Ruta Lee, Denny Miller and Bobby Van star. 83 min.
The Devil's Brigade [DVD](1968) DVD
William Holden is a tough, level-headed lieutenant colonel assigned to form a crack unit of fighting men out of a band of misfit American soldiers and a well-trained Canadian unit before they are to face the Nazis on the European battlefield. Action-packed war epic based on fact co-stars Carroll O'Connor, Vince Edwards, Cliff Robertson. 130 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English Dolby mono, Spanish mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish; theatrical trailer.
The Revenge Of Dr. X [DVD](1970) DVD
An overworked NASA scientist goes on a trip to Japan and indulges in some botanical experiments that go weirdly awry. Boasts a screenplay written by none other than Edward D. Wood, Jr., abandoning his obsessions with cross-dressing and Bela Lugosi for this modern-day Frankenstein story. James Craig, James Yagi star. AKA: "The Double Garden," "Venus Flytrap." 94 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English.
The Tormentors [DVD](1971) DVD
A vicious street gang rules the city, robbing and killing at will, but their latest killing sends the victim's boyfriend on a one-man vengeance crusade, infiltrating the gang to strike from inside. Anthony Eisley, Chris Noel, James Craig, William Dooley star. 78 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English, French; biographies; theatrical trailer.
filmography
FILM
The Tormentors (1971) with Anthony Eisley, Bruce Kimball, and Chris Noel
The Double Garden (1970) screenplay written by Ed Wood
Bigfoot (1970) with John Carradine, John Mitchum, Joi Lansing, Christopher Mitchum, Lindsay Crosby, and Joy Wilkerson
If He Hollers, Let Him Go! (1968) with Dana Wynter, Raymond St. Jacques, Kevin McCarthy, Barbara McNair, Arthur O'Connell, and John Russell
The Devil's Brigade (1968) with William Holden, Cliff Robertson, Vince Edwards, Andrew Prine, Jeremy Slate, Dana Andrews, and Claude Akins
Arizona Bushwhackers (1968) with Howard Keel, Yvonne De Carlo, John Ireland, Marilyn Maxwell, Scott Brady, Brian Donlevy, and Barton MacLane
The Doomsday Machine (1967) with Grant Williams, Henry Wilcoxon, Mala Powers, Mike Farrell, Ruta Lee, Denny Miller, and Bobby Van
Fort Utah (1967) with John Ireland, Virginia Mayo, Scott Brady, John Russell, Richard Arlen, Jim Davis, and Don "Red" Barry
Hostile Guns (1967) with George Montgomery, Yvonne De Carlo, Tab Hunter, Brian Donlevy, John Russell, Leo Gordon, Richard Arlen, and Don "Red" Barry
Four Fast Guns (1960) with Martha Vickers, Edgar Buchanan, and Brett Halsey
Man or Gun (1958) with Macdonald Carey, Audrey Totter, James Gleason, Warren Stevens, and Jil Jarmyn
Ghost Diver (1957) with Audrey Totter
Naked in the Sun (1957) with Lita Milan and Barton MacLane
The Cyclops (1957) with Gloria Talbott and Lon Chaney Jr.
The Persuader (1957) with William Talman, Darryl Hickman, Alvy Moore, and Gregory Walcott
Shoot-Out at Medicine Bend (1957) with Randolph Scott, Angie Dickinson, James Garner, and Myron Healey
The Women of Pitcairn Island (1956) with Lynn Bari, John Smith, and Arleen Whelan
Massacre (1956) with Dane Clark
While the City Sleeps (1956) with Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Howard Duff, Vincent Price, Sally Forrest, John Drew Barrymore, and Ida Lupino
Last of the Desperados (1955) with Jim Davis, Barton MacLane, Myrna Dell, and Bob Steele
Code Two (1953) with Ralph Meeker, Elaine Stewart, Sally Forrest, Keenan Wynn, Robert Horton, Jeff Richards, and William Campbell
Fort Vengeance (1953) with Rita Moreno, Keith Larsen, Reginald Denny, and Morris Ankrum
Hurricane Smith (1952) with Yvonne De Carlo, John Ireland, Forrest Tucker, Lyle Bettger, and Richard Arlen
Drums in the Deep South (1951) with Barbara Payton, Guy Madison, and Barton MacLane
The Strip (1951) with Mickey Rooney, Sally Forrest, William Demarest, Louis Armstrong, Tommy Rettig, Tommy Farrell, and Myrna Dell
A Lady Without Passport (1950) with Hedy Lamarr, John Hodiak, and
George Macready
Side Street (1950) with Farley Granger, Cathy O'Donnell, Paul Kelly, Jean Hagen, Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, and Whit Bissell
Northwest Stampede (1948) with Joan Leslie, Jack Oakie, and Chill Wills
The Man from Texas (1948) with Lynn Bari, Una Merkel, King Donovan, and Reed Hadley
Dark Delusion (1947) with Lionel Barrymore and Jayne Meadows
Boys' Ranch (1946) with Dorothy Patrick, Ray Collins, and Darryl Hickman
Little Mister Jim (1946) with Frances Gifford, Luana Patten, Spring Byington, Laura La Plante, and Morris Ankrum
She Went to the Races (1945) with Frances Gifford, Ava Gardner, and Edmund Gwenn
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1945) with Edward G. Robinson, Margaret O'Brien, Frances Gifford, and Agnes Moorehead
Dangerous Partners (1945) with Signe Hasso, Edmund Gwenn, and Audrey Totter
Gentle Annie (1944) with Donna Reed, Marjorie Main, Harry Morgan, Barton MacLane, Morris Ankrum, and Noah Beery
Marriage Is a Private Affair (1944) with Lana Turner, John Hodiak, Frances Gifford, Hugh Marlowe, Natalie Schaferm Keenan Wynn, and Morris Ankrum
Kismet (1944) with Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, and Hugh Herbert
The Human Comedy (1943) with Mickey Rooney, Frank Morgan, Fay Bainter, Ray Collins, Van Johnson, and Donna Reed
The Heavenly Body (1943) with William Powell, Hedy Lamarr, Fay Bainter, Spring Byington, and Morris Ankrum
Lost Angel (1943) with Margaret O'Brien, Marsha Hunt, Philip Merivale, Keenan Wynn, and Alan Napier
Swing Shift Maisie (1943) with Ann Sothern and Jean Rogers
Seven Miles from Alcatraz (1942) with Bonita Granville
Northwest Rangers (1942) with William Lundigan, John Carradine, Jack Holt, Keenan Wynn, Grant Withers, and Darryl Hickman
The Omaha Trail (1942) with Pamela Blake, Dean Jagger, Chill Wills, Harry Morgan, and Morris Ankrum
Friendly Enemies (1942) with Charlie Ruggles, Nancy Kelly, and Otto Kruger
Valley of the Sun (1942) with Lucille Ball, Cedric Hardwicke, Dean Jagger, Billy Gilbert, Tom Tyler, and Antonio Moreno
Unexpected Uncle (1941) with Anne Shirley and Charles Coburn
The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) with Edward Arnold, Walter Huston, Jane Darwell, Simone Simon, Gene Lockhart, H.B. Warner, and Anne Shirley
Kitty Foyle (1940) with Ginger Rogers and Dennis Morgan
Law and Order (1940) with Johnny Mack Brown, Fuzzy Knight, and Jimmie Dodd
I'm Nobody's Sweetheart Now (1940) with Dennis O'Keefe, Constance Moore, Helen Parrish, Laura Hope Crews, Margaret Hamilton, and Tim Ryan
Seven Sinners (1940) with Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne, Albert Dekker, Broderick Crawford, Anna Lee, Mischa Auer, Billy Gilbert, and Herbert Rawlinson
South to Karanga (1940) with Charles Bickford
Winners of the West (1940) with Dick Foran and Anne Nagel; a thirteen-chapter serial
Zanzibar (1940) with Lola Lane
Cafe Hostess (1940) with Preston Foster, Ann Dvorak, Wynne Gibson, Bruce Bennett, and Dorothy Comingore
Scandal Sheet (1940) with Otto Kruger and Ona Munson
The Taming of the West (1939) with Bill Elliott, Iris Meredith, Dick Curtis, and Dub Taylor
Overland with Kit Carson (1939) with Bill Elliott, Iris Meredith, and Dick Curtis
The Man They Could Not Hang (1939) with Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray, Roger Pryor, Don Beddoe, Ann Doran, Byron Foulger, and Dick Curtis
Flying G-Men (1939) with Robert Paige
North of Shanghai (1939) with Betty Furness, Keye Luke, and Morgan Conway
Pride of the West (1938) with William Boyd, Gabby Hayes, Russell Hayden, and Glenn Strange
The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938) with W.C. Fields, Martha Raye, Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope, Ben Blue, and Leif Erickson
Born to the West (1937) with John Wayne, Marsha Hunt, Johnny Mack Brown, and Monte Blue
Thunder Trail (1937) with Gilbert Roland, Charles Bickford, Marsha Hunt, J. Carrol Naish, and Monte Blue
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This page premiered May 20, 2005.
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