Page-ing Doctor Mitchell :)

Happy Friday Everyone!

You know the old saying: "April showers bring May flowers". Well, where I live, April showers brought May showers in addition to flowers. Hopefully it will stop raining by June! :)

Anyway, here's a wonderful photo from the Kellection of Jack Kelly and Joy Page enjoying some flowers in an episode of the very short-lived 1955 TV series Kings Row:

 

This episode is called "Ellie" and Ms. Page plays the title role, as the info on the back of the photo explains: "Lovely Joy Page appears as Ellie, co-starring with Jack Kelly, as Dr. Parris Mitchell, in the third Kings Row offering of Warner Bros. Presents, Tuesday, October 25, at 7:30 p.m., EDT, over the ABC-TV network. Dr. Mitchell uses his knowledge of psychiatry to reveal to Ellie Banning that she is being destroyed by her mother's possessive love."

 

Incidentally, Joy Page had very strong ties to Warner Bros. Her stepfather was none other Jack L.Warner, head of the studio. She married actor William Orr, who later became the first head of television production at Warners. If you've watched Maverick or virtually any other Warner Bros. TV series from the mid-1950's through the mid-1960's, you've seen his credit as "Wm. T. Orr".

 

I shared some British lobby cards for "Ellie" in one of the earliest posts in TDS. In fact, I thought the photo above was on one of the lobby cards, but it's actually different:

 

 

Please stay tuned for more about Kings Row next time in TDS...and stay well. :)

 

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.