"Drive A Crooked Road" With JK - Pt. III

Hey!

Buckle up for Part III of our look at Jack Kelly in Drive A Crooked Road:

Eddie floors the souped-up getaway car through the desert, with Steve and Harold hanging on for dear life. He makes the run in the prescribed time (22 minutes), and he and the bank robbers part company after splitting the loot.

Back at his rooming house, Eddie phones Barbara. But, there's no answer.  

Barbara is at the beach house. Steve hands her a plane ticket to New York, expecting her to be glad the bank job was a success and they can start a new life with their ill-gotten gain.

Barbara isn't glad, however. She still regrets leading Eddie on and getting him mixed up in Steve's scheme. She wishes she could at least tell Eddie "good-bye". Steve callously dismisses her concern for "the midget". 

Suddenly, Eddie shows up at the door. Steve tells Barbara to hide.

Eddie explains to Steve that Barbara's landlady said she'd moved away. He couldn't believe she would just leave without telling him. Steve tells Eddie he hasn't seen Barbara and warns him to stay away. 

But, Barbara shows herself and tells Eddie the whole sordid truth, including the fact that he was targeted from the start and that she never really loved him.

"You've been had, Mr. Shannon," Harold interjects. 

Steve suddenly pulls a gun. Barbara's show of remorse is a death sentence for Eddie, since Steve fears he'll now tell the police about the robbery.

Barbara pleads for Eddie's life as Harold drags him toward the door, but Steve tells her, "You killed him--you killed him when you walked into this room."

Harold hustles Eddie outside and forces him at gunpoint to remove the car from the garage.

The uncropped version of this exact still from the Kellection
was used in Linda Alexander's print biography of Jack Kelly

Then, Harold tells Eddie to start driving very slowly up the highway.

He taunts Eddie: "C'mon, Shannon, you must be thinking about dying."

This gives Eddie an idea. He swerves the car towards the beach. It rolls down an embankment and flips over. Only one man survives the crash...

Drive A Crooked Road concludes with Steve ending up dead in the surf and the police closing in as Eddie comforts a hysterical Barbara on the beach.

Most of the reviews and publicity at the time of the film's release focused on the "new" Mickey Rooney, who abandoned his usual wisecracking screen persona to play "a lonely little guy who thinks with his heart". 

Jack Kelly dishes out the wisecracks in Drive A Crooked Road. He expertly portrays handsome Harold as the snarky accomplice to Steve's slick mastermind. But, when Harold is tasked with taking out Eddie at the end of the film, JK chillingly reveals the menace behind Harold's mirth. 

TRIVIA:

• Working titles for Drive A Crooked Road were Speedy Shannon and The Little Giant.
• Although now considered a film noir classic, Drive A Crooked Road wasn't a box office hit. Columnist Louella Parsons named it the "sleeper" movie of 1954, lamenting "Few people saw this, and more the pity."
• The screenplay was written by Blake Edwards, who would direct JK in the "Safe Journey" episode of The Star and the Story television series in 1954
• Also in 1954, JK and Dianne Foster appeared in the feature film The Bamboo Prison. In 1955, they appeared in The Violent Men starring Glenn Ford. 
• Like JK, several members of the supporting cast also had successful TV careers. Jerry Paris went on to co-star in The Dick Van Dyke Show and later directed episodes of that series as well as Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley. Paul Picerni become one of The Untouchables. And, Harry Landers was a regular on the Ben Casey TV series.
• And: You can watch Drive A Crooked Road right here! (Be sure to stick around for the original theatrical trailer at the end.) NOTE: If the video doesn't appear on the mobile version of this post, it can be viewed on the web version.

Well, that's all for our Drive with JK. Where will TDS travel to next? Please stay tuned and find out! :)

"Drive A Crooked Road" With JK - Pt. II

Hello!

Here's Part II of our look at Jack Kelly in Drive A Crooked Road:

Steve invites Eddie to the beach house to discuss a "business proposition". He dangles a carrot of $15,000 in front of Eddie, the sum needed for him to achieve his dream of living and racing cars in Europe. To earn the fifteen grand, all Eddie has to do is drive the getaway car after Steve and Harold rob the bank in Palm Springs.

Eddie is shocked by Steve's brazen offer. He can't believe what he's hearing. Steve tells him to discuss the matter with Barbara before he commits to it.

Eddie talks to Barbara, and is again shocked when she seems okay with the idea of him aiding and abetting bank robbers. Then, the penny drops:

"You knew all about this, didn't you?" Eddie asks Barbara.

"Yes," she admits. 

Eddie tells her he won't drive the getaway car. But, after Barbara gives him the cold shoulder, he changes his mind. 

Steve and Harold show Eddie a film of the treacherous desert route he'll have to negotiate at top speed. Then, they reveal the car he'll be driving. It's an ordinary vehicle, so as not to attract attention. 

Steve instructs Eddie to keep his day job. He'll spend his nights modifying the jalopy so it can handle the getaway sprint. Oh, and no Barbara until after the bank job is done, Steve tells Eddie. But, Eddie visits her for reassurance before the big heist.

In Palm Springs, Eddie, Steve and Harold travel to the home of the head teller, who leaves for his job at the bank every morning like clockwork. 

Harold hides in the teller's car and greets him with a gun. As Harold and the helpless teller drive to the bank, Eddie and Steve follow closely behind.

Soon, Harold exits the bank with a suitcase full of cash. And, the race begins...

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS, EVERYONE: IT'S GOING TO BE A BUMPY RIDE IN PART III--PLEASE STAY TUNED!

"Drive A Crooked Road" With JK :)

Howdy!

A bunch of memorabilia from Jack Kelly's 1954 feature film Drive A Crooked Road has trickled into the Kellection lately, including some original stills and this noir-ish French-Canadian lobby card:

"Fate Is At The Turn"

So, let's take a spin down this suspenseful Road:

JK portrays "Harold Baker", who is in cahoots with "Steve Norris" (Kevin McCarthy). Norris and Baker want to rob a bank in Palm Springs, but to do so, they need someone to help them make a fast getaway. So, they hang out at the local raceway in search of a speedy driver.

Steve asks Harold if the winner of one of the races would be a suitable candidate. Harold nixes that driver because he's a solid citizen. But, Harold tells him that the second place finisher, Eddie Shannon (Mickey Rooney), is the "right type"--because not only does he race cars, he's a master mechanic and an unhappy loner. 

Steve comments on Eddie's lack of height: "A little guy, isn't he?"

Harold shoots back, "So was Napoleon". 

Other grease monkeys at the upscale auto repair shop where Eddie works call him "Shorty" and tease him for his seeming lack of interest in "dames". 

The latter changes when a beautiful woman named "Barbara Matthews" (Dianne Foster) drives into the shop and specifically asks for Eddie, saying he was recommended as a mechanic who could fix her car's stalling problem. 

Eddie repairs Barbara's vehicle, but she calls the next day and says it won't start again. After Eddie drives to her apartment and fixes the car once more, Barbara goes to the beach. A smitten Eddie later decides to go to the beach as well, where he finds Barbara...with Steve. 

Steve beats a hasty retreat. Barbara assures Eddie that Steve is just an old friend with a house at the beach. 

After Eddie and Barbara get to know each other, they attend a party at Steve's house.  

While Steve picks Eddie's brain about cars, Barbara dances with Harold, who derisively asks her how she's doing with the "little speed king".

Eddie takes Barbara back to her apartment and they sweetly say good night (or good morning). But, after Eddie leaves, Steve shows up. 

Barbara is, of course, only stringing Eddie along to draw him into Steve's and Harold's web. She's beginning to have regrets, though...

STAY TUNED FOR MORE ABOUT JK IN DRIVE A CROOKED ROAD IN THE NEXT TDS! :)

One Sunday Afternoon With Jack Kelly :)

Howdy!

Here's another amazing pic of Jack Kelly from his early career days at Universal-International Studios.

 

Dated 1951, it shows JK in an opening night scene directed by Sophie Rosenstein from "One Sunday Afternoon" (a play written by James Hagan) which was presented as part of the annual "Inside U-I" stage show. Some writing on the back of the photo says, "Scenes presented on stage as acting exercises to audiences of studio's directors and producers."

More writing on the back of the still identifies JK's leggy co-stars as Gale Storm (L) and Ava Norring (R), although I'm not quite sure if the lady on the left really is Ms. Storm. Anyway, JK appears to be saying "Cheers!" at the sight of Ms. Norring's glamourous gam.

I found this 1951 photo of actors in the U-I workshop online. JK is sitting in the front row; I'm sure you'll recognize some other familiar faces (such as Russell Johnson), too:

I also found some more pix from the "Inside U-I" show in a 1954 issue of Photoplay magazine. The story, "Puttin' On An Act", says, "Movie audiences will never see the U-I talent show. It's strictly a family affair...For several weeks every year U-I's huge Phantom Stage (so-called because it was built for the [1924] movie Phantom of the Opera) hums with activity. Youngsters gleefully go through their own routines or watch Estelle Harman, head of the talent department, put others through their paces."

"Though it looks like bedlam, there's method in the madness. This year's show, the third put on by the studio, is part of a million-dollar talent program which has more than earned its keep. The show called 'Inside U-I', is designed not only to give U-I contract players extra experience, but to display their versatile and sometimes unsuspected off-beat talents. Through these shows,  U-I's young players have again and again obtained better breaks, not only on their own lot, but also on loan-outs. For executives from all the other studios scramble for invitations to this glorified--and exclusive--Amateur Show."

Well, it's no act and I'll give my all to bring you much more about JK in TDS...please stay tuned! :) 

JK Saturday Sillies :)

 

"After I changed your oil, I did a complimentary safety check and lookey here: you got a couple bad spark plugs, your carburetor's pretty cruddy, your transmission is sluggish and your battery probably only has about six months left. I can fix all this stuff now if you'd like. Of course, it'll be extra. If you wanna wait, it should only take, um, about five hours, unless I have to call out for parts, then I'll have to keep it overnight. Oh, okay, you just want the oil change? That'll be $19.99 with the coupon."

If It's Tuesday, This Must Be "Black Tuesday" :)

Hello All,

Since it's Tuesday, I thought I'd shine some light on Black Tuesday, a noirish little number in which Jack Kelly co-starred in 1954.

Heading the cast is Edward G. Robinson, who plays a murderous racketeer named Vincent Canelli. Canelli is about to be executed. All executions are scheduled on Tuesday in the prison where he's incarcerated--hence the title of the film.

JK enters the picture as cub newspaper reporter "Frank Carson". Instead of assigning a more seasoned journalist to cover Canelli's execution, Carson's boss chooses the newbie to provide a less hackneyed perspective of the event. 

Unfortunately, Frank is kidnapped by two of Canelli's henchmen before he reaches the prison.

"Is that a gun in your pocket?" Yes, and Frank Carson (JK) isn't glad to see Canelli's henchmen. BTW, Warren Stevens (left) would reform and accompany JK to the Forbidden Planet in 1956. The bad guy on the right, Russell Johnson, later became a professor and spent a few years marooned on an island... ;->

One of the men assumes Frank's identity and helps Canelli avoid execution with just moments to spare.

Guards are killed and hostages (including a doctor and a priest) are taken as Canelli escapes from the prison with "Manning", a young killer/bank robber played by Peter Graves. Manning is badly wounded in the escape. Canelli wants Manning kept alive because he's the only one who knows where the loot from the robbery is. Canelli covets the cash so he and his moll can flee the country. Canelli, Manning, and the hostages are driven to a hideout where Frank Carson and other captives are also being held.

Carson himself is later wounded when he tries to stop Canelli from shooting the priest (played by Milburn Stone of Gunsmoke fame). 

British lobby card

The young reporter lies unconscious on the floor as the priest tries to reason with the ruthless gangster, as illustrated in the still below (that's Vic Perrin as the doctor at right).

Below is a color version of the same scene, shown on this dynamite Italian lobby card which just joined the Kellection. The title Pioggia Di Piombo literally translates into English as Rain of Lead, no doubt a reference to all the bullets fired in the film.

Here's a close-up of the nearly shirtless JK in repose:

What happens next? Well, a synopsis of the entire film is available on the Turner Classic Movie (TCM) website.

The entire film itself was previously viewable on YouTube, but it's been deleted. Well, maybe it will show up again on YT some Tuesday...or Wednesday, or Thursday. ;)