John Karlsen

Acting

John Karlsen

Born 1919-10-20 · Wellington, New Zealand

Acting credits

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure poster
6.8

Two rock-'n-rolling teens, on the verge of failing their class, set out on a quest to make the ultimate school history report after being presented with a time machine.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

1989

8½ poster
8.1

Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.

1963

Frankenstein Unbound poster
5.9

The ultimate weapon, claimed to be safe for mankind, produces global side-effects including time slides and disappearances. The scientist behind the project and his car are zapped from the year 2031 to 1817 in Switzerland where he meets Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Mary Shelley and others.

Frankenstein Unbound

1990

The Order poster
5.7

For centuries, a secret Order of priests has existed within the Church. A renegade priest, Father Alex Bernier, is sent to Rome to investigate the mysterious death of one of the Order's most revered members. Following a series of strangely similar killings, Bernier launches an investigation that forces him to confront unimaginable evil.

The Order

2003

Spirits of the Dead poster
6.2

Anthology film from three European directors based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe: a cruel countess haunted by a ghostly horse, a sadistic young man haunted by his double, and an alcoholic actor haunted by the Devil.

Spirits of the Dead

1968

The Black Stallion poster
7.1

While traveling with his father, young Alec becomes fascinated by a mysterious Arabian stallion that is brought on board and stabled in the ship he is sailing on. When it tragically sinks both he and the horse survive only to be stranded on a deserted island. He befriends it, so when finally rescued both return to his home where they soon meet Henry Dailey, a once successful trainer. Together they begin training the horse to race against the fastest ones in the world.

The Black Stallion

1979

The Sandman poster
4.4

Daniel and Clara are on a vacation in Italy. In the form of the mysterious "Sandman" Coppola, a figure from Daniel's childhood, returns to haunt him, while he succumbs to an obsessive love with an enigmatic woman of strange beauty: Olympia, who might be far more than she first appears to be...

The Sandman

1993

The Church poster
6.1

In a Gothic cathedral built on the mass grave of a Teutonic purge, an ancient discovery by the new librarian will release an unholy maelstrom of madness, violence, and demonic vengeance.

The Church

1989

Fellini's Casanova poster
6.9

Imprisoned for practicing black magic, writer and adventurer Giacomo Casanova escapes and wanders Europe, using his fluid sexuality to find his place in life amid a variety of eccentric and strange characters.

Fellini's Casanova

1976

The She Beast poster
5.0

A young woman is driving alongside a lake. She has an accident and the car plunges into the water. Her body is then possessed by the spirit of an 18th-century witch who was killed by local villagers, and is bent on avenging herself on them.

The She Beast

1966

Crack in the World poster
5.8

Dr. Steven Sorenson plans to tap the geothermal energy of the Earth's interior by means of a thermonuclear device detonated deep within the Earth. This experiment causes a crack to form and grow within the Earth's crust, which threatens to split the earth in two if it is not stopped in time.

Crack in the World

1965

What? poster
5.4

A young American woman traveling through Italy finds herself in a strange Mediterranean villa where nothing seems quite right.

What?

1972

Face to Face poster
7.0

History Professor Brad Fletcher heads west for his health, but falls in with Solomon Bennett's outlaw gang. Fascinated by their way of life, Fletcher finally takes over the gang, leading with a new 'efficient' ruthlessness.

Face to Face

1967

Modesty Blaise poster
5.3

Modesty Blaise, a secret agent whose hair color, hair style, and mod clothing change at a snap of her fingers is being used by the British government as a decoy in an effort to thwart a diamond heist. She is being set up by the feds but is wise to the plot and calls in sidekick Willie Garvin and a few other friends to outsmart them. Meanwhile, at his island hideaway, Gabriel, the diamond thief has his own plans for Blaise and Garvin.

Modesty Blaise

1966

The Witch's Curse poster
4.7

Maciste travels to Hell to find a witch and make her undo a curse she put on the surface world.

The Witch's Curse

1962

The Boom poster
6.9

Sweet-sour comedy on Italy's 1950s rage to get rich as fast as possible! The businessman wants to satisfy his wife's craving for luxury and a "respectable life" so he becomes heavily indebted. In desperation he agrees to sell a precious part of his body for a large sum of money. But just before the crucial operation he panics...

The Boom

1963

Slaughter Hotel poster
4.8

A masked killer stalks an institution for mentally disturbed rich women.

Slaughter Hotel

1971

The Little Devil poster
6.7

Father Maurice, a priest living in a residential college for priests in Rome, is called out one day to "exorcise" the devil from someone. The devil turns out to be in the form of a fun-loving man called Giuditta. What Father Maurice doesn't know is that this type of devil will turn his life around.

The Little Devil

1988

The Devils of Monza poster
4.0

The young noble Don Monza is caught and thrown out by the nun Virginia de Leva when she catches him flirting with one of her nun sisters across the stone wall between their gardens. He hears the rumor that she'd have an affair with her trustee - so he kills him in a set-up duel and aims to take his place. Against her initial resistance, Monza manages to win her heart - and to get into her bed. This doesn't stay a secret for long, but Monza, now in love, does everything to keep it going.

The Devils of Monza

1987

The Warning poster
5.4

During a high-stakes investigation into corporate and banking elites tied to organized crime, a police chief and his team are murdered for refusing a bribe. Meanwhile, another officer finds his bank account credited with a large sum and receives anonymous instructions on how to handle the subsequent inquiry.

The Warning

1980

The Laughing Woman poster
6.8

Beautiful PR woman, Maria finds herself trapped in the home of the sinister and troubled Dr. Sayer, where she is subjected to a series of increasingly bizarre, terrifying, and degrading sex games. Sayer admits that he has murdered several women after the same ordeal, always killing them at the point of orgasm. But all is not what it seems, and through a series of twists and turns, the whole situation is slowly turned on its head.

The Laughing Woman

1969

Mission Stardust poster
4.5

A team of astronauts is sent to the moon to rescue an alien who is seeking help to save her dying race. They are attacked by a force of bandit robots and discover that enemy spies are out to kill the alien.

Mission Stardust

1967

The New Godfathers poster
6.9

A revolution in Iran halts a heroin shipment, but an alliance of crime families is set on getting it to the US. They decide to run the drug through an unsuspecting network of good-natured, local smugglers in Naples, while an international anti-narcotics agent rushes to shut their operation down. Betrayals and divided loyalties lead to a final, bloody confrontation in America.

The New Godfathers

1979

Good King Dagobert poster
4.2

King's Dagobert I intestinal and sexual problems loom large as he survives an attack on his royal caravan then barely makes it to Rome to personally give thanks to the Pope. After he arrives at the Vatican, he becomes involved in the battle between two contenders for the papacy and has to face the machinations of a ruthless Byzantine princess.

Good King Dagobert

1984