All Day With JK! :)

Hello!

While researching the previous posts about Drive A Crooked Road, I came across this block of movie ads from February 1, 1955:

Look closely. Notice anything interesting? 

Well, three movies with Jack Kelly were playing in theaters on this day: The Violent Men, Black Tuesday and They Rode West. Both the first and last of these films also co-starred his future wife May Wynn (Donna Kelly).

So, one could have spent all day watching JK! :)

Of course, we can do that today, too. And, thanks to modern viewing technology, fans can watch JK in his various roles at home, without having to rush between three different theaters. Still, it would have been fun to see him on the big screen.

Although JK played only supporting roles in these three films, he managed to attract the eye of a moviegoer when she and her friends saw him in Black Tuesday. She asked a fan magazine about "the good-looking actor who played 'Frank Carson' the reporter...Although his part was small, my friends and I were impressed." 

"The facts", but they got JK's birthday wrong! :0

Please stay tuned for more about our good-looking guy in TDS. :)

A Veterans Day Salute

Hello Everyone,

Some wonderful original stills from Jack Kelly's 1955 film To Hell And Back have joined the Kellection, just in time for Veterans Day.

JK is in the back center of this first photo and somewhat out of focus, but he still commands attention. The snipe on the back says, "SOME MADE IT--AND SOME DIDN'T--In 'To Hell And Back'...With fear in their faces and guns ready, these are the men who fight their way with Audie Murphy (right) 'To Hell And Back' in the movie based on his autobiography of the same title. However, most of Audie's buddies of the 3rd Infantry Division didn't make it back--and it is to them he dedicated his book and now dedicates the movie. Filmed by Universal-International in CinemaScope Technicolor, with large-scale cooperation of the Army, the movie is regarded as 'the most human story of the foot soldier ever told.' Players include (left to right) Brett Halsey, Gregg Palmer, Paul Picerni, Richard Castle (on elbows), Jack Kelly, Charles Drake--and Murphy."

In the second photo, JK (as "Kerrigan") and AM flush Germans out of a farmhouse at Anzio:

Below, Kerrigan consoles Murphy after their buddy Brandon (Gregg Palmer) dies in battle:

 

In a lighter moment, AM, JK and friends enjoy some much-needed R&R:

The same scene as shown on a Spanish-language lobby card:

Another lobby card showing a battle scene:

 

BONUS IMAGE! Another fotobusta arrived from Italy the other day, and it just happens to show JK in a different military uniform in a different film: They Rode West (or Cavalcata ad Ovest). While this 'busta isn't in the greatest shape, we can still recognize JK's million-watt grin (which he's beaming at Donna Reed, on the left side of the image).

Let's remember all veterans on this day and be thankful for their service. :)