Kraziest Kasting?

[Rev. Powell]

I love reading legendary cast lists, even if I have no desire to see the movie.  The most insane cast I think I've ever seen is the one assembled for SEX KITTENS GO TO COLLEGE (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054298/):   

Mamie van Doren, Tuesday Weld,  John Carradine (of course), Vampira, Jackie Coogan, Conway Twitty (as himself), "Woo-Woo" Grabowski (as himself).

For star power, add Charlie Chaplin (Jr.), Harold Lloyd (Jr.), and Brigitte Bardot's sister, Mijanou.

Anyone else have any demented, drunken or downright inspired examples of the casting director's art?

[Andrew]

"Candy" and "Sextette" have to qualify.  Heck, "Candy" has Ringo Starr as a hispanic gardener.

[sideorderofninjas]

Hillbillies in a Haunted House because the world needed horror stars and country singers in the same movie. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061765/

   John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr., Basil Rathbone, Ferlin Husky, Sonny James, and even Merle Haggard? 

[AndyC]

Definitely The Conqueror. John Wayne as Ghengis Khan?

[Yaddo 42]

Try The Story of Mankind. Among others off the top of my head: the Marx Bros. (appearing separately) and Dennis Hopper. But the whole film is a series of history related comedic skits strung together. Should be seen, not because it's that good or bad, but just for all the aging and up and coming names that appear in such a mediocre vehicle.

[Doc Daneeka]

Mine would have to be the star strewn cast of WAXWORK II: LOST IN TIME, which literally rides it's cast and several dumb cult references around the film towards an unsatisfying end result.

lessee, we got Bruce Campbell... but we could not get Deborah Foreman

We got John Ireland... but we could not get deborah Foreman

Patrick Macnee returns... but Deborah Foreman does not

David Carradine chose this film over the 50 other cult films he was probably being offered at the time... but Deborah Foreman who was not really doing anything could not be pulled into the production

Alexander Godunov, Karl from Die Hard was the main villain... but Monika Shnarre played the main girl

Buck Flower... added this film to his resume as Sarah's father... but the original Sarah wouldn't have him

Drew Barrymore cameo'd... but Deborah Foreman couldn't star

Godzilla even made a guest appearence... but Deborah Foreman couldn't star?

[Raffine]

Try The Story of Mankind.

That's one I've wanted to see for years. Harpo Marx as Sir Isaac Newton? Supposedly he gets a whole bushel of apples dumped on his noggin to inspire his theory of gravity. 

Another film with an infamous "all-star" cast I've alway wanted to catch is SKIDOO.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063612/

[RapscallionJones]

Somewhere, somehow, someone thought that Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band would be a great movie as long as The Beatles were replaced by The Beegees plus Peter Frampton.

Also featured are Aerosmith, Earth Wind & Fire, Donovan and Rick Derringer.

George Burns shows up as Mr. Kite, Steve Martin plays Maxwell Edison.

All of this is based on the ridiculous notion that the movie has to be based on the Beatle's ablum of the same name.  Nothing makes any sense and you're left with the impression that most of the budget went to supplying the cast and crew with mountains of blow.

[AndyC]

Then there's the Star Wars Holiday Special, with Art Carney as a friend of Chewbacca's family, not to mention Harvey Korman and Bea Arthur in the Mos Eisely cantina.

Of course, in the context of a network variety special of the late 70s, maybe that's not so weird. Personally, I'd have used Jamie Farr, Lorne Greene and Linda Lavin 

[Neville]

Spanish epic Alatriste has some odd casting choices. We have a comic actor, Javier Cámara, portraying one of the most cotroversial characters in Spanish history, the count of Olivares. Then we have a woman, Blanca Portillo, playing the Grand Inquisitor with a good deal of her head shaved off. And last but not least, Viggo Mortensen disguising as well as he can his Argentinian accent as the titular character.

The casting choices wouldn't be as weird if it wasn't because Alatriste is precisely the type of film that always tries to play things safe.

On Hollywood movies, I'd go with "Kiss of Death 1995". Having an underactor as the main character and an overactor as the villain looks like a fool proof formula, but when you're talking about David Caruso and Nicholas Cage you start to wonder what the filmmakers were smoking.

The David Thewlis - Val Kilmer duo of "The Island of Dr. Moreau" was a disaster too, I'm told they decided to switch roles shortly before the filming started.

[Dubal]

Street fighter the movie had some fairly unique choices.

Raul Julia as Bison.....

Wes Studi as Sagat.....

I think that about says it all. 

[Torgo]

Another film with an infamous "all-star" cast I've alway wanted to catch is SKIDOO.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063612/

I still get a nervous twitch of the worst kind whenever someone mentions that that pile of excrement called SKIDOO.....................................

[Oldskool138]

Keanu Reeves in Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Fantastic movie that even Mr. "Whoa!" couldn't ruin despite his abysmal acting.

Still, I wonder what Coppola was smoking when he cast Keanu... 

[Neville]

The trivia section at the IMDB says he was cast because Coppola wanted a well-known actor that would draw younger audiences.

This said, he was also "krazily" cast in "The gift" as a southern redneck and it's one of his best roles.

[Raffine]

One of the most painful examples of bad casting can be found in what appears to be a rather innocent old-fashioned musical. I dare anyone here to try to sit through MAME (1974), with a singing & dancing geriatric Lucille Ball. Bea Arthur (from the stage version) is in it, and she sings and dances, too. Filmed through a lens as Vaselined up as a two-dollar whore, Lucy's singing is just as bad as you'd imagine it. The whole thing plays out like a demented, nightmare version of a lost episode of I Love Lucy where Satan grants Lucy her wish to be in show business... but with a terrible price.

Many were grateful to this movie, since it effectively killed off (or was the last nail in the coffin, at least) the over-blown big budget Hollywood musical. Immediately after it's huge flop of a theatrical release one of our local stations started showing it very late at night, just like a horror movie.



MAME blows.