FORRYbidden Planet :)

Happy Monday Everyone!

A couple of years ago, I purchased an auction lot of photos from Forbidden Planet. The seller didn't seem to know much about the photos, except that they had been stored in a filing cabinet since the late 1970's. The seller also wasn't sure if they were original 1950's stills or more recent restrikes. However, most of them appear to be original.

Some of the stills are production photos of the film's sets with no cast or crew present. These are stamped "RETURN TO PROPERTY DEPT. - METRO GOLDWYN MAYER" on the back:

Two original British lobby (or "Front of House") cards were also included in the lot. Here's a fantastic one with Jack Kelly (as the amorous "Lt. Farman") and Anne Francis (as the otherworldly "Altaira"):

In addition to JK, there's something else very interesting about this FOH card. It's stamped on the back with a name well-known to sci-fi fans:

Ackerman--affectionately known as "Uncle Forry"--is actually credited with coining the term "sci-fi". His "day" job was as a literary agent (he represented Isaac Asimov and Ray Bradbury, among others). However, he's probably best remembered as editor and chief writer for the iconic magazine "Famous Monsters of Filmland", which inspired future sci-fi legends such as Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Stephen King.

Ackerman owned an 18-room home in Los Angeles nicknamed the "Ackermansion" that served as a repository for his vast collection of horror, sci-fi and fantasy film memorabilia. The Ackermansion (which Ackerman joked was located in "Horrorwood, Karloffornia") also operated as a private museum until 2002.

So, it's cool to have a tiny piece of memorabilia from that incredible collection.

Is the Kellection big enough to fill my hacienda? Not yet--but until then, I'm happy to serve as your tour guide right here in TDS. :)

Please stay tuned for more fun with Forbidden Planet--and stay well.

JK Steps Out With The Queen...

...Ellery Queen, that is! :)

JK and his fellow guest stars (Anne Francis, Ida Lupino, Susan Strasberg, Don Ameche and Craig Stevens) stay in step with Ellery Queen stars Jim Hutton and David Wayne.

Yep, that's Jack Kelly smiling on the right in a star-studded cast portrait for "The Adventure of The Lover's Leap", an episode of the short-lived but fondly remembered Ellery Queen TV series which originally aired on Thursday, September 18, 1975. JK played lawyer and suspect "J. T. Latimer". He was reunited with two former co-stars, Anne Francis (from Forbidden Planet) and Don Ameche (from The Story of Alexander Graham Bell and A Fever in the Blood).

Yikes! It's hard to believe this photo and the show are over 40 years old now. I recall watching Ellery Queen. I especially liked the classy Elmer Bernstein theme music, and Ellery (Jim Hutton) playfully breaking the fourth wall to ask the viewer, "Have you figured it out yet?" The complete series was released on DVD in 2010 and is already out-of-print.

Well, Ellery Queen is timeless and so is JK. Here's a close-up of our guy in the 1970's rockin' that 1940's look:

Jack Kelly: JK on Upcoming DVD! :)

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to give you a "heads up" about the upcoming DVD release of the complete 1975-'76 Ellery Queen TV series on September 28. Jack Kelly guest-starred in the episode "The Adventure of the Lover's Leap" along with his Forbidden Planet co-star Anne Francis.

Click here for more info and a couple of preview videos for the 6-disc set.

Jack Kelly on Screen - The Unbelievable End One :)

Hi!

I was rooting through the Kellection today and came across an interesting item I bought this summer for $1.00 at an antiques mall. It's the Films Incorporated 1978 Entertainment Catalog. It's a relic from a time long before Netflix and DVDs, in the days when home VCRs were mostly still a novelty. This catalog offered 16mm films for rental, with one-day rates ranging from $40 for Tortilla Flat to $300 for Doctor Zhivago. (And, one had to ask the rate for Gone With the Wind, which means one probably couldn't afford to rent it.)

Outdated, yes, but this catalog is loaded with color and black-and-white film pix. One of those pix persuaded me to buy the catalog:

Yep, it's Jack Kelly and Anne Francis being served coffee by Robby the Robot in Forbidden Planet. This pic reminded me that I meant to discuss this film after watching it a couple of weeks ago on Turner Classic Movies.

I'd seen Forbidden Planet before, a long time ago, but I wanted to watch it again since JK was in it.

The still above comes from a scene in this clip:


I love it when "Alta" (Ms. Francis) describes the doctor (Warren Stevens) as "lovely". He's flanked by the Commander (Leslie Nielsen) and Lt. Farman (JK), and she adds, "But the two end ones are unbelievable!" Especially Lt. Farman, when he hilarously chats up the sheltered but shrewd Alta.

In the next clip, the obliging Lt. Farman tries to teach poor Alta how to kiss. This guy has a Ph.D in kissing, but, unfortunately, Alta flunks the course and decides to enroll with the Commander instead. Okay, I know--"rank has its privileges"--but, c'mon! She'd pick Leslie Nielsen over Jack Kelly?! No wonder they call this "science fiction". ;->



Incidentally, when JK tells AF at 4:27 that kissing is good for her, it's just a line. But, it turns out maybe he was right.

Sadly, Lt. Farman is later killed by the "Id" monster, which looks like a big red dog (but definitely not Clifford).

All kidding aside, though, I really enjoyed Forbidden Planet. It truly is one of the great sci-fi films of all time.

By the way, during that same summer trip to the antiques mall, I bought another Jack Kelly-related book for only $2.00. It's Whatever Became of...? All New Tenth Series by Richard Lamparski. Now, if I were a celebrity, I don't know if I'd want to be featured in a book that more or less implies one has become a "has-been". However, it's nice to know that someone at least cared enough to find out "whatever became of " notables such as JK and Clint "Cheyenne" Walker, although neither was completely out of the public eye at the time, 1986.

Lamparski noted about JK, "Jack erroneously believes he is remembered solely for the part of James Garner's younger brother on Maverick, the show that ran on ABC-TV during the late fifties and early sixties. The series was a huge success in North America and parts of Europe, but a few of his movies are also well-known.

"The Night Holds Terror (1955) is considered an exceptionally fine low-budget film. Forbidden Planet (1956) introduced 'Robby the Robot', a cinematic device that made subsequent screen appearances and developed a following of its own. Cult of the Cobra (1955) with Faith Domergue and She-Devil with Mari Blanchard are held in high esteem by fans of low camp."

Lamparski quoted JK about his acting career at the time: "Within my limitations I was fine, but at my age I just cannot be a journeyman actor. I did [some] Hardy Boys episodes, but I am not about to consider anything short of a running part. I simply cannot afford to."

But, JK was doing OK. He added, "Not only do my [real estate] tenants not go on hiatus, they never refer to my ratings or middle-age spread." ;->

Jack Kelly's write-up also includes a smiling, autographed headshot (which looks to be from his Sale of the Century days in the late 1960's - early 1970's) with a cryptic inscription: "Richard - thank you for the use of the typewriter."