What's the worst final movie of an actor's career?

Cafe Society
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A lot of people are interested in how stars got their starts - what was their big break, what role was the turning point in their career.

But not me. I’m more interested in how they left us!

Some actors go out in style, with their final movie appearance being at worst a fine film, and at best a classic.

Others go out in disgrace, making bad films because they need the money, or because their egos got in the way of sound, sensible decisions.

So what are your choices for the Worst Final Movie in an Actor’s Career?

Here are some from me, off the top of my head:

Flesh Feast (1969) - Veronica Lake. She coproduced it, too; she hadn’t acted since the late 1940s.

Hillbillies in a Haunted House (1967) - Basil Rathbone. No longer the swashbucklin’ foil of yesteryear, or Sherlock Holmes.

The Sinister Invasion (1968) - Boris Karloff. He actually made four films virtually simultaneously in 1968, all in Mexico.

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Cafe Society

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:smack: :smack: :smack: :smack:

I’m so freaking dumb. That’s the second time I’ve done that.

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As much as Bette Davis and Joan Crawford disliked each other, they have to be posthumously snickering at Trog (Joan) and The Wicked Stepmother (Bette).

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The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu, a gawdawful “comedy” starring Peter Sellers. Released a few weeks after Sellers’ death, and only a year after his Oscar-nominated performance in Being There, this shabby bit of celluloid was a low end to a great career.

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And Bette walked off the set of Wicked Stepmother, too.

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Raul Julia ended with “Street Fighter” based on the video game

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Well, I can give you a two-fer:

“Dracula vs. Frankenstein”

One of the worst horror movies ever made… around 1970 or so. And it marked the last film appearance ever for two well-known actors: Lon Chaney Junior and J. Carroll Naish.

Not the way I want to remember either guy

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According to IMdB, Raul Julia was in Down Came a Blackbird, a cable film released in 1995. I think that’s his last role.

Also, Sellers died during the filming IIRC of Trail of the Pink Panther in 1982 (wasn’t that the one where they had to use a replacement for some scenes?).

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More recent history…
Raul Julia - Street Fighter.

There is an asterisk though, according to imdb.com he appeared a fairly well reviewed TV movie called Down Came a Blackbird which came out after Street Fighter. Can’t say which project he finished last…

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Damn, triple-simulpost! :smiley:

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What a great topic idea. I have nothing to contribute, but I like the topic!

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No contest.
Bela Lugosi in Plan 9 From Outer Space.
Recognized as the worst film ever made.
Bela died during filming, so they used a stand in to finish.
It doesn’t get more ignoble.

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Another:

Errol Flynn’s final movie was Cuban Rebel Girls (1959). In the movie (which also featured Flynn’s final girlfriend, 15-year-old Beverly Aadland) Flynn, playing himself, aids the rebels overthrowing the Batista regime. Yes! He helps Castro!

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Man, I’m always late when I have a good answer!

[sub]Peter Sellers[/sub]

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Arthur Godfrey’s last film was Angel’s Brigade (also known as Angel’s Revenge for all you MST3K fans out there…). Now there’s a stinker.

Zev Steinhardt

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Jackie Gleason: Nothing in Common
Steve McQueen: The Hunter

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No, You’re thinking of David Niven (Sellers died twqo years earlier).
In additon to the double, Rich Little dubbed some of Niven’s lines.

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I think Mae West’s final movie is more in-line with the OP.
Sextette

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Orson Welles died shortly after doing the voice of Unicron in Transformers: The Movie.