The horror movies that made a name of Jack Nicholson
American actor Jack Nicholson is, without a doubt, one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Although he is less active today, Nicholson has appeared in some of the most iconic and influential movies ever made, from Easy Rider to One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and The Shining.
Standing as the most nominated male actor in Academy Award history, with 12 nominations and one win, Nicholson is widely held in high esteem. However, it wasn’t easy for Nicholson to break into Hollywood, and his first significant role – George in Easy Rider – didn’t come until 11 years after his film debut in 1958’s The Cry Baby Killer.
Although Nicholson’s breakthrough role led straight to an Oscar nomination, he spent a decade cutting his teeth in low-budget movies, especially horrors, in order to reach that point. Reflecting on his career, Nicholson told Film Comment: “I got out of high school a year early, and though I could’ve worked my way through college, I decided I didn’t want to do that. I came to California where my only other relatives were; and since I wanted to see movie stars, I got a job at MGM, as an office boy in the cartoon program.”
However, he soon began taking acting classes and started performing at the Players Ring Theatre, where he landed his first paid acting job in Tea and Sympathy. Soon enough, he was auditioning for movies. “I got the lead in my first movie, Cry Baby Killer,” he said. :Jeff [Corey] recommended me. I read for it just like every other actor in town. I screamed and yelled—I know I gave the loudest reading, if not the best. And when I got the part I thought: ‘This is it! I’m made for this profession.’ Then I didn’t work for a year.”
Nicholson ended up landing roles in various B-movies by Roger Corman throughout the 1960s, most of which were horror pictures, including The Little Shop of Horrors, The Raven, The Terror and The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. During this time, Nicholson’s rapport with Corman saw him collaborate with the director as a writer rather than as an actor. Nicholson wrote Corman’s psychedelic film, The Trip, before starring in another similar movie, Psych-Out, directed by Richard Rush, the following year.
These early roles in B-movies, particularly horrors, allowed Nicholson to hone his craft. From there, he had the experience and skill to launch into bigger productions, subsequently becoming a Hollywood star. Interestingly, Nicholson abandoned the horror genre for the next decade, only returning with 1980s’ The Shining, for which he is perhaps best known.
