CAREY, HARRY

(1878–1947)

   Born in the Bronx, Harry Carey developed a film career that started in the earliest days of nickelodeon silent pictures and stretched through World War II. By 1916 he was starring in such Westerns as A Knight of the Rangewith Olive Golden and Hoot Gibson. He married Golden that same year, and their son, Harry Carey Jr., became a significant Western actor in his own right. Golden left acting for many years after A Knight of the Range but resumed her career in the 1950s and 1960s with appearances in such cult favorites as Billy the Kid versus Dracula (1966), starring John Carradine. Carey himself became a major silentWestern star. Satan Town (1926) is probably his best film in the lead role.It is based on a traditional revenge plot, but as with Hell’s Hinges(1916), the town becomes as much the antagonist as any character. During the Alaskan Gold Rush, Bill Scott (Carey) arrives in Satan Town seeking revenge on a crooked lawyer who had betrayed him long ago. Contemporary reviews point to a complex film with significant character development as well as action. Unfortunately, as with many silents, this Western is evidently lost forever.

   Harry Carey did not make the transition to talkies well and never regained his status as a major Western star. His rough, hard-lined face caused him to be cast as characters older than his actual age. He did, however, continue a successful career of secondary roles in both B Westerns and major productions, particularly those by John Ford. In fact, Ford dedicated 3 Godfathers (1948) to Carey, and in The Searchers (1956), he provided a visual tip of the hat to Carey when John Waynetakes a Carey-like pose in the doorway in the last scene. As a character actor, Carey appeared in several of the great Westerns of the 1940s such as Angel and the Badman (1947) and Duel in the Sun (1946). His last Western, Red River (1948), in which he appeared with his son Harry Carey Jr., was released after his death.

   See also SILENT ERA CINEMA.