All Dressed Up! :)

Howdy!

Here's a pic from a 1959 movie magazine of Jack Kelly and some famous friends, all dressed up:

As the caption says, "It's not often you see so many Western heroes all duded up at the same time. Left to right, the TV cowboys are Ty Hardin, Peter Brown, Chuck Connors, Jack Kelly and John Russell. The occasion for the fancy dress was a ball held at the Hollywood Palladium."

Of course, this is how we usually saw JK, Hardin, Brown and Russell (along with some other cowboy pals):

It's interesting to glimpse these TV westerners in tuxes, and especially to see Russell ("Marshal Dan Troop" in Lawman) without his signature mustache.

I think JK looks great in a tux or in a buckskin jacket. Please stay tuned for more of his "looks" in TDS. :)

Freedom and JK - Pt. III

Part III of "Freedom and JK"...

Jerry is put on trial by the State after being arrested at the museum:

The prosecutor (Mike Road) reads off the charges against Jerry: "Subversion, deviationism, and treason". He offers Jerry a chance to confess his crimes, but Jerry asks where the proof is that he committed any crimes at all. The prosecutor answers that it's up to Jerry to prove his innocence.

Jerry asks how he can prove his innocence if he doesn't know what he's accused of: "'Subversion' against whom? 'Deviationism' from what? 'Treason' against what government?"

The prosecutor states that Jerry was given the opportunity to confess and should now be sentenced. Jerry protests that the State is falsely accusing him of crimes while it committed actual crimes such as breaking into his home without a warrant, taking Linda away, desecrating a house of worship and turning his family against him.

He begs Helen to back him up. But, the prosecutor produces a document signed by Helen stating that Jerry tried to turn their children against the Communist State. He asks her if the statement is true:

She answers "Yes":

The prosecutor has signed accusations from other witnesses, including Bill Martin, and they each confirm that their statements are also true:

 

The prosecutor says that the evidence against Jerry is overwhelming and that he should be sentenced immediately. Jerry demands to read the witness statements and to speak in his own defense.

The judge (Andrew Duggan) orders him to return to the box.

He tells Jerry there's no need to examine the witness statements, because he stands condemned by his own words. The judge calls Jerry "a dangerous enemy to the proletariat, who must be treated as such, as an ugly remnant of a diseased bourgeois class, who must be eradicated before the contagion can spread". He sentences Jerry to be shot at a time and place to be decided:

Before Jerry is removed from the courtroom, he delivers an impassioned speech against Communism, saying that although the State uses big words like "proletariat", there's one word they're afraid of: freedom.

Jerry is chained to a chair by Communist soldiers. His executioner is the same officer (Peter Breck) he saw speaking in the street. The executioner offers him one last chance to confess his "crimes". Jerry refuses, but tells him that one day people will finally realize that "Communism" is just another word for "slavery":

 

As he utters these final words, the executioner fires a shot:

Luckily, Jack Webb shows up again and assures us that the bullet won't reach Jerry:

Jerry really wakes up to discover that it was all just a Red nightmare:

And Helen is Helen again:

Sally and Jimmy are back to being their playful selves:

 

And, Linda and Bill have decided to postpone their marriage until after Bill finishes his hitch in the service:

Everything's back to normal:

 

Except this time, as Jack Webb concludes, "Jerry knows now so he'll never forget it--responsibilities are a privilege...freedom has a price, and its price is vigilance..."

JW then launches into a patriotic salute to the US and its armed forces, which, like the end credits, was filmed in color. Too bad the rest of the film wasn't:

Well, that's the end of Freedom and You...but please stay tuned because there's more of "Freedom and JK" coming up in TDS! :)

Freedom and JK :)

Hello!

One of Jack Kelly's most famous--or most infamous--movies is the 1962 anti-Communist educational film Freedom and You.

It's usually referred to as Red Nightmare, but that's actually a condensed version of Freedom and You:

The complete film gives a lot more background and insight into the characters. (And has a lot more scenes of JK!) Some things which are alluded to in Red Nightmare (such as the union meetings and the Cub Scout banquet) are explained in more detail in Freedom and You.

Jack Webb (who was the film's co-producer as well as its narrator) intros the film by showing scenes depicting a supposed Soviet replica of a US city set up to train Communists to infiltrate America.

Then, JK enters the picture as "Jerry Donovan", an average Joe who lives with his wife, three kids and a dog in a typical American town.

 

Jerry cheerfully works as a machinist on a lathe he's nicknamed "Bertha":

Pete (Robert Conrad), a co-worker, jokes with him about the upcoming bowling league championship:

 Pete also asks Jerry if he's attending the important union meeting that night. Nope, Jerry tells him, because the in-laws will be in town:

A manager, Mr. Evans (William Reynolds), also urges Jerry to attend the union meeting, but he still declines:

After a hard week's work, Jerry just wants to relax. But, his wife Helen (Jeanne Cooper) bugs him about the union, PTA and Naval Reserve meetings he's weaseled out of recently. And, it turns out his in-laws weren't coming until next week, which Jerry knew perfectly well:

 

Plus, much to Jerry's consternation, his teenage daughter Linda (Pat Woodell) and her college-aged beau, Bill Martin (Peter Brown), suddenly announce that they intend to marry as soon as possible (earlier scenes revealed that Bill has been drafted):

 

Then, Jerry goes fishing the next day and forgets to take his little boy Jimmy (Ronnie Dapo) to the father and son Cub Scouts banquet--again. (They were no-shows the year before, too.) The poor kid ends up crying in his room.

And finally, Jerry is ordered to report for two weeks' active Naval Reserve duty, which will jeopardize his bowling league's chance to win the championship.

After all this, Jerry is beat and decides to hit the hay. Maybe he'll feel better in the morning.

Or, maybe Jack Webb will show up in his front yard and wish a "Red Nightmare" upon him for being such a complacent shirker:

Jerry wakes up to discover that the "Commies" aren't just coming, they're already here. At the drugstore where he's stopped for coffee, Jerry is puzzled because, as Webb says, "Freedom has suddenly vanished":

Jerry tries to call Helen from a pay phone, but the operator informs him he needs a permit from "The Commissar" to make a personal call:

 

Then, a siren sounds. Jerry goes out into the street where a Communist officer (Peter Breck) exhorts his fellow "comrades" to "purge the minds of reactionary Americans" so they will "welcome the "enlightened Soviet system" and "conform without resistance to the dictatorship of the proletariat".   

Jerry returns home, relieved to find his family having dinner. But, the children are unusually quiet and Helen's demeanor is chilly. She tersely informs Jerry that he's slated to address the PTA about how the new Communist life benefits children, because he was on the debate team in high school. Helen chastises him for not revealing this fact to the Party officials.

Then, Bill Martin--now a Communist soldier--bursts into the house and announces that Linda has volunteered to join a farm collective to free herself from "the lingering bourgeois influence of family life".

 

Jerry protests, but is helpless to stop Linda from leaving. Comrade Martin warns Jerry that his "deviations and remarks" against the Party will be reported to the proper authorities.

Things aren't any better at work. Jerry greets his co-workers as usual but is answered with stony silence, because he and his fellow machinists are now expected to fulfill a daily quota:

 

Jerry finds he can't do his job because "Bertha" is broken. However, he gets no sympathy from Pete, who advises Jerry to fix the lathe immediately and work anyway (even during his lunch hour), because Comrade Commissar isn't interested in excuses:

Will Jerry's "red nightmare" ever end? Please stay tuned for Part II to find out...and stick around to see rare candid photos of JK on the set of Freedom and You coming up soon! :)

Another Postcard Post! :)

Howdy!

Two more vintage Jack Kelly postcards just joined the Kellection, including one with the quintessential JK image which adorns this blog. So, I now have five of these cool cards:

These postcards were sent by the Warner Bros. fan mail department whenever folks wrote to JK. For only fifty-cents, you could also get an 8"x 10" photo (try getting one for that price now! ;>)

The reverse side of the cards features a reproduced signature and a greeting ("You are a real friend for writing!") from JK. Helpful hint: Some sellers erroneously assume the signatures on these cards are hand-written. I way overpaid for the first JK postcard I bought many years ago because I was led to believe I was purchasing a hand-signed item. Nope: the autographs shown on the front and back of these cards are pre-printed.

WB used the postmark to advertise their upcoming or current films. This one heralds A Summer Place, a 1959 melodrama starring Richard Egan, Dorothy McGuire and Sandra Dee. Postmarks on other JK cards I have advertise Auntie Mame, Sunrise at Campobello, and The Sundowners.

Yes, that's only four cards. The fifth JK postcard is "postally unused"--it has no postmark or mailing address, which means it was never sent by the fan department.

The other JK-related postcard I just received features a familiar grouping of Warner Bros. TV western stars. I've seen this pose before, but not in color like this:

Here's Clint Walker, Wayde Preston, Ty Hardin, Jack Kelly, John Russell, James Garner,
Peter Brown and Will Hutchins having a rootin' tootin' time
 on the Warner Bros. western street set

(How come JK is the shortest person on this card?!)

I think the image of Clint Walker ("Cheyenne") may have been inserted by WB into the color scene--he's usually not in other shots of this grouping I've seen, such as this one:

(BTW, this B&W photo was one of my first Kellectibles, before I actually had a Kellection! It was in a group of pix I bought at an antiques show before I "discovered" JK. :>)

The back of the color postcard has the pre-printed signatures of all the WB cowboys appearing on the front (with another pitch for A Summer Place):  

Well, I hope this post about JK postcards "sent" you. ;> Please stay tuned for more fun in TDS!

When Jack Kelly Had "Fun" In 1979 (Part II)

Hello Again!

JK also spent "Cinco de Mayo" (May 5th) 1979 working on When The West Was Fun. (It was a Saturday, too!)

This time, he had a 10:00 am call:

This was the day the wonderful closing western song medley with Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and the Sons of the Pioneers was taped (watch for glimpses of JK in this clip):

Watching When the West Was Fun is kind of bittersweet, with so many of its stars (including Jack Kelly) now gone. But, thankfully this marvelous "Re-Union" is preserved on DVD, so future generations can enjoy it, along with press photos like this one:

The snipe on the back says, "Legends meet when more than 50 of the stars who made television Westerns a prime-time part of American entertainment, including  (l to r) Guy Madison (Wild Bill Hickok 1951-53), Peter Brown (Laredo, 1965-'66), Jack Kelly (Maverick, 1957-'62), and Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger, 1951-'57), get together for a roundup of memories on When The West Was Fun, airing on the ABC Television Network on Tuesday, June 5 (10:00-11:00 PM EDT)".

Happy trails! :)

How to Get Your Man Without a Gun :)

What's the deal with Bart Maverick?!

Did he just invent "52 Pickup"? Is he demonstrating his new card swallowing trick? Did Goldie step on his foot? 

Actually, Bart's clowning for this lovely lass, who wandered onto the Warner Brothers lot for a western-themed fashion shoot which appeared in a 1962 issue of Teenagers/Ingenue magazine: 

The text says, "...It's hard to outdo Bart Maverick's sleight-of-hand with cards. We'll bet high stakes, too, on the sleight-of-styling in these back and white striped cotton-ticking pants with a western hip-slung look and bell-bottom legs. Winningly paired with a red and white polka dot shirt and sash."

Bart's cowboy compadres "Deputy Johnny McKay" (Peter Brown of Lawman) and "Bronco Layne" (Ty Hardin of Bronco) also show up in the light-hearted layout.

And, in a special feature titled "How to Get Your Man Without a Gun", such "pistol packing western heroes" as Michael Landon of Bonanza and Eric Fleming of Rawhide give dating advice to teens. Bart Maverick's alter-ego Jack Kelly also contributes some wise words: 

"Be yourself, not a carbon copy of someone else. Don't cover up your personality with what you think a man wants you to be. Let Liz Taylor be herself; you be yourself. No man wants a counterfeit. Whatever you are is unique. I fell for a girl because there was nobody else like her." 

(JK's advice is still valuable today--even for those of us who said "Adios" to our teen years a while back. 
;->)