A Virtual "Hong Kong" Affair! :)

Hello!

Well, here we are, over a year since the COVID-19 pandemic started and things still aren't quite back to "normal" yet. I'm still working from home; virtually everything is still "virtual" and anything "live" is socially distanced. Masks are still mandatory when venturing outside one's "bubble".

Thankfully, COVID vaccines have provided a glimmer of hope. Case rates are decreasing and folks are looking forward to finally seeing loved ones again, enjoying undistanced social events and traveling, when it's truly safe to do so. 

While we may not be able to actually travel very far yet, we can take a virtual vacation with Jack Kelly and wife Donna (May Wynn) courtesy of these stupendous stills from Hong Kong Affair which recently joined the Kellection:

JK as "Steve Whelan" and MW as "Chu Lan"

Uh-oh! Trouble as Steve's Triumph is taken (that's Lo Lita Shek w/JK)

A dramatic moment with Chu Lan and Steve

The "Target" boat to the rescue! (Can you spot Chu Lan & Steve?)

Chu Lan is in good hands

"Harboring" hope for the future 

BONUS IMAGE! Here's another one of those magnifico Mexican lobby cards for Hong Kong Affair:

Where will TDS travel to next? Please stay tuned...and stay well. :)

Jack Kelly - A Real American Boy! :)

Hello All!

I figure everyone is stir-crazy by now, so let's escape to Hong Kong--if only vicariously--with Jack Kelly and May Wynn:

I think this is my favorite Kellectible at the moment. It's a magnifico Mexican lobby card for Hong Kong Affair to which my camera didn't do justice. I can't get enough of its wild colors and crazy fonts, or of course, JK!

The wording on the right side is Google-translated as: "Opium smuggling threatening great fortunes of crime and mystery! He was going to recover a fortune and discovered the fatal intrigue! Mysterious China exposed as it is!"

Unfortunately, audiences weren't too intrigued by Hong Kong Affair, even though it starred JK, "That Bart Maverick Guy!" Less than a year after its release in 1958, it ended up in towns like Magna, Utah, where it was relegated to Saturday matinee status:

"Hong Kong Affair - That Bart Maverick Guy, Jack Kelly, his first starring picture. Filmed against the mysterious background of Hong Kong. See Jack Kelly as a real American Boy, first time on screen!" the ad for the Gem Theatre proclaimed. It added: "Hey Gang! Want to take a trip with that Bart Maverick Guy, Jack Kelly, to Hong Kong and get in on the surprise! Then see Hong Kong Affair."

The film was accompanied by cartoons, Captain Video and two feature comedies, promising fun for all.

Not surprisingly, Hong Kong Affair quickly hit the small screen. It was a "First-Run Movie" on WMAL-TV (now WJLA-TV) in Washington D.C. in 1960:

"That Bart Maverick guy [again] leaps into action in the seething Orient. Filmed hot in Hong Kong!"

Nowadays, Hong Kong Affair seems to have vanished from screens completely. Maybe it will turn up on Turner Classic Movies someday?

Well, until then, keep travelin' with TDS & keep well. :)

Sci-Fi Saturday Night :)

Hola!

Here's another magnifico Mexican lobby card for Jack Kelly's 1957 feature film She Devil:

Please stay tuned to TDS--there's more sci-fi in store and JK's WB candids are coming, plus lots of other goodies, too! :) 

The Night Holds Lobby Cards ;)

¡Hola!

Presenting a sensational Mexican lobby card for The Night Holds Terror which just joined the Kellection:

Translated it reads: "'Terror in the Night' - You desire to kill this man!"

Here's JK in the same image on the US lobby card (which, according to the stamp on the back of the card, is actually from Alberta, Canada!):

You can be sure that more about Jack Kelly is "in the cards" in TDS--please stay tuned! :)

Friday Night "Fever"! :)

Hola!

There's a lot going on in this magnifico Mexican lobby card that just joined the Kellection. But, look closely at the black-and-white inset and you'll see Jack Kelly as "Dan Callahan" in A Fever in the Blood.

District Attorney Callahan's overweening political ambition has led to tragedy: while speeding to a TV station, he accidentally runs down a young boy in the street. The boy will survive, but Callahan's dream of becoming his state's next governor doesn't.

Please stay tuned for more JK movie moments in TDS! :)  

Retroceso Viernes! :)

That's "Flashback Friday" in Spanish...and here's another fantabulous Mexican lobby card from the Kellection, this time for Amor y Besos, better known in English as Love and Kisses, the 1965 flick starring Jack Kelly as Rick Nelson's pop. Enjoy! :)

 

There's lot's more about Love and Kisses here and here.

COMING ATTRACTIONS: I've been perusing the pages of the past again and have found some incredible JK stories and pictures to share with you. Please stay tuned! :) 

JK Code 98! :)

Hola!

Here's another goodie from the wide wide world of Kellectibles. Not a fotobusta this time, but a lobby card from Mexico:

The film being advertised is, of course, 1963's FBI Code 98, which starred Jack Kelly and just about every actor under contract at Warner Bros at the time, including a bunch who'd appeared with JK in Maverick (e.g. Kathleen Crowley, Andrew Duggan, and Ray Danton, to name just a few).  Phil Carey (in the lower right corner) had previously acted with JK in They Rode West (coming to TCM on 7/26 at 2:15 am ET, BTW!). JK later joined PC in two episodes of Laredo and the Bob Hope special Shoot-In at NBC.

Freaky Friday! :)

Hello Everyone!

Since it's Friday the 13th, I thought I'd spotlight a couple of items from one of JK's freakiest films, Cult of the Cobra. In this 1955 horror classic, JK is one of a group of GI's who unwisely intrude on a snake cult's secret ceremony while overseas. After the soldiers return stateside, they encounter a mysterious young woman played by Faith Domergue...and begin dropping like flies.

In this still, Carl Turner (JK) is enchanted by the alluring Lisa Moya (FD):

However, when Carl sees the real Lisa, she scares the Brylcreem right out of his hair (that's JK in the upper right corner of this vintage Mexican lobby card):

The drawing in the lower right corner illustrates Carl's unlucky fate.

Well, I'm sure your Friday the 13th will be much luckier than Carl's. Just avoid black cats, broken mirrors and, above all, women with a certain snake-like charm! ;)