The Maverick Report - "The Goose-Drownder"

"The Goose-Drownder" took me completely by surprise. Its goofy title (a colloquialism for a torrential downpour) and the presence of Gentleman Jack Darby (Richard Long) led me to assume it was a comedy. There are comic moments in "The Goose-Drownder". However, for the most part this tense episode surges with drama. 

The goose-drownder strands Bart and Darby in a decrepit hotel in Silverado, Nevada. The town's population of one consists of Boone Gillis, the hotel's elderly but spirited caretaker. Gillis watches in amusement as his two poker-playing guests--bored silly after being cooped-up for a week--start wagering on the chance to slug each other. Bart wins and almost collects on his bet, when a stagecoach suddenly arrives through the deluge. 

 A woman passenger anxiously asks for help for her ailing brother. After Bart helps the pair get settled in, he realizes that the man isn't just ill--he's been shot, and is bleeding badly. Plus, he's armed. The woman and another passenger tend to the wounded man, whom Gillis has recognized as The Arapaho Kid, a murderous bandit. 

The woman is familiar to Bart, as well. She is Stella, a dance-hall girl he met in Abilene only months before. They spent some meaningful time together. Not that meaningful to Stella, perhaps--she absconded with Bart's watch and his $350. 

When Bart gently confronts Stella about his watch, she pretends not to remember him from Abilene. Then, she 'fesses up, but refuses to return the watch. Later, Stella admits to Bart that the man she's caring for isn't her brother, but someone who rescued her from the saloon. She tells Bart her life story. Bart urges Stella to give her story a happy ending by leaving the abusive gunslinger she's entangled with. Blinded by her foolish love for the bandit, she contemptuously calls Bart a "boy" who could never measure up to a "real man" like the Arapaho Kid. 

Meanwhile, Darby has learned why the Kid and his crew were on the stage in the first place--to steal its cargo, the payroll of a local mine. He also learns that the stage driver is an imposter, and discovers the murdered body of the real driver in the floodwaters. 

Back inside the hotel, Bart is forced to operate on the increasingly delirious Kid. Bart successfully removes the bullet, but the dying Kid turns on him and orders Stella to shoot Maverick. Stella hesitates. Bart tenderly begs her to save his life, and her own, by not committing murder. He admits he has deep feelings for her, but won't try to hold on to her if she feels nothing for him.

The Kid sneers at Bart's heartfelt declaration and tries to kill him and Stella. Maverick beats him to the draw. Darby glibly congratulates Bart on his lifesaving "performance" with Stella. Bart promptly decks him. "Just collecting a debt," Maverick insists. But, Darby wonders if there was something more to that punch. The rain subsides and Stella leaves on the next stage to find a new life. Bart watches her go, and then he and Darby prepare to move on. Until the rain starts again... 

Jack Kelly expertly shows us several sides of Bart's personality in "The Goose-Drownder". One minute, Bart is bantering with Darby; the next he's reminiscing with Stella; then, he must perform makeshift surgery on a half-crazed outlaw; finally, he has to plead for his life. Since Stella has caused almost nothing but trouble for Bart, we (like Darby) wonder if he is merely to trying to save his own skin when he earnestly professes his love for her at gunpoint. The truth is never revealed, only hinted at when Bart--with his face hauntingly framed in the rain-fogged window--sadly gazes at Stella as she prepares to leave on the stage.

Stella is played with refreshing realism by Fay Spain. Stella isn't the hackneyed dance-hall girl with a heart of gold. Nope, she is one tough cookie, and at times it's hard to tell if she has a heart at all. The rest of the cast of "The Goose-Drownder" is top-notch as well, especially venerable Will Wright as Gillis.

JK on Screen - "And Starring ??? As Jack Kelly"

There's been some fun discussion on the JK Facebook page about who might be able to play Jack Kelly if a movie was made about his life.

I gave the matter some thought, and my choice is:

No one.

Because, like all true stars, JK is an original and can't be duplicated. :)

And, they just don't make guys like Jack Kelly anymore. No modern actor could do him justice. :(

However, if it was announced tomorrow that Jack Kelly's life story was about to go before the cameras and someone had to play him, I would choose:

Ashton Kutcher. :0

I know, I know...that doesn't seem like a likely choice. One day, though, I stumbled upon What Happens in Vegas starring AK while channel surfing. I was surprised because it was better than I thought it would be. I was also surprised to notice that Mr. Kutcher reminded me of Mr. Kelly in certain ways.

I'm not saying there's a spot-on likeness, but there are similiarities in their smiles and especially in their eyes. And, Ashton Kutcher can play straight roles as well as convey the same kind of sweet silliness that JK sometimes displayed as Bart Maverick.

Maybe it's just me. Oh well, here are some photos where JK and AK kind of look like each other:





Actually, I prefer factual documentaries to scripted biopics. For instance, I was very disappointed in Walk the Line. I thought Joaquin Phoenix captured Johnny Cash's mannerisms, but not the man himself. I'd have much rather watched actual footage of Cash.

Therefore, I'd love to see a documentary made about Jack Kelly's life. Too bad the Biography Channel shows almost everything but biographies these days...that would be a great place for a JK documentary. Or, maybe Turner Classic Movies.

The Kelly Kollection - From the Telly to the Cinema

Although my interest in Jack Kelly dates back only a few months, one corner of my desk is already precariously piled with JK kollectibles. (Don't panic - I'm going to find a proper place for them.)

One of the items I've found is a set of British lobby cards advertising a film called Ellie. Now, if you glance at any of Jack Kelly's filmographies, you probably won't find a movie by that title. I didn't. But, the info on the lobby cards made me wonder if this was originally a TV production. Sure enough, Ellie is actually an episode of JK's short lived Kings Row series that was released as a feature film in English cinemas. I did some sleuthing, and the plot involved a fearful older lady who keeps her daughter near by pretending to be ill and broke.

It's doubtful that Ellie will be appearing on a TV screen or theatre near you any time soon, but here's a look at how Jack Kelly appeared in the episode as psychiatrist "Parris Mitchell":

I'm wondering about this picture -- is she trying to figure out if he likes butter?


This one is my favorite.

I think JK looks very Humphrey Bogart-ish here.

Smilin' Jack!

The Kelly Pages: A Maverick's Life Story!

I recently received a very nice e-mail from Linda J. Alexander. Linda is an accomplished author and a long-time Jack Kelly fan. Combine these two facts, and you get A Maverick Life - The Jack Kelly Story, the biography Linda is currently researching and writing. This eagerly anticipated book is slated for publication by BearManor Media in 2010. In the meantime, you can follow the book's progress and communicate with other JK fans on Linda's Facebook page. Plus, here's a press release about the book.

Thank you, Linda! :)

JK on TV: Tonight Let it Be....Jack Kelly!

I'm a teetotaler, so why am I featuring a Lowenbrau ad from YouTube on this blog? You guessed it...that's the velvet voice of Jack Kelly coming in at about :19:

Here's another Lowenbrau ad with JK's voice from YouTube. It's mashed in on one video with some movie credits and other commercials, so you'll have to fast-forward a little. JK comes in about 1:20 (and some of these other ads are fun, too):

The Kelly Pages: In This Corner - JK?

I've read that Jack Kelly and James Garner had a good working relationship while filming Maverick.

But, what's this?

"HOLLYWOOD'S STRANGEST FEUD", the 1959 fan magazine headline blares.

Jack Kelly is shown staring knives at James Garner--who doesn't look too thrilled with JK, either.

Wait a minute: The pix are actually stills from Maverick. And, the article accompanying the headline is pretty strange itself.

The author goes to great lengths to explain that while some Hollywood actors feud, Kelly and Garner are not feuding, no sirree! Why, they're like the brothers they play on TV.

Then, he tells us that Garner supposedly dissed Kelly at a party, and Kelly reportedly fumed that Jimbo was garnering most of the Maverick press buzz.

But, they're not feuding, no way!

The pair has little in common, the author says. For example, country boy Garner craves home cookin'; city kid Kelly fancies fine cuisine.

So, they couldn't possibly see eye-to-eye on anything else, right? They're not feuding, though!

The author ping-pongs back and forth like this for two tedious pages. The only thing really newsworthy he reveals is that the highest-rated Maverick episode up to that time starred Jack Kelly ("Betrayal", 3/25/59).

Finally, the author confirms what we already suspected--he's pretty much clueless about the whole thing. He concludes, 'If there IS a feud, it's a strange one. If there ISN'T a feud--it's even stranger.'

What's strange is how these fan magazines stayed in business for so long with writing like that!

NEXT: Did Wally and the Beaver really get along? ;->

The Kelly Pages: Ladies Love Mavericks

As promised, here's an excerpt from the 1960 article re: Jack Kelly and Roger Moore on Maverick. It was written by Cecil Smith and it's mostly in the form of a candid conversation in which old hand JK tries to teach newbie Moore (who was just joining the series as "Cousin Beau") what it means to be a Maverick:

"JK: 'To begin with, Beau is rather the white sheep of the Mavericks. He was born in Texas, but [lived] in England. He was a hero in the Civil War and there's nothing a Maverick abhors like heroism or bravery.'

RM: 'I rather think if Maverick turned up today, he'd be rather like Francis Powers.'

JK: 'No, Powers hasn't the guts Maverick has.'

RM: 'But, is it guts, really?'

JK: 'It's the manifestation of guts. It's ingenuity. It's sophistication. And it's intestinal fortitude...Beau, despite being a white sheep, was fortunate enough to have been born a Maverick. So, some of the real Maverick point of view rubs off.'

RM: 'Jack, see that girl at the end of the bar--isn't that lovely?'

JK: 'See what I mean? That's a Maverick remark. But a Maverick would go up and meet her, introduce himself. See Maverick is wishful thinking. Maverick does what every man wants to do--but because of conventions or timidity or public opinion won't'.

RM: 'I see Maverick as a sort of modern Robin Hood.'

JK: 'Not exactly. Maverick would be more inclined to steal from the poor and give to the rich.'

RM: 'I see--he's rather altruistic in reverse.'

JK: 'Exactly. He doesn't attack conventions. He ignores them. He symbolizes man's wishful thinking.'

RM: 'I'd hate to be like Maverick. My wife would kill me.'

JK: 'No she would not. There's a perverse side of a woman that loves a Maverick.' [B27: !!!!]

RM: '...I suppose there are parts of Maverick in me. In every man. That's what you draw on in interpreting the role.'

JK: 'Now, to meet that girl...'

[B27: Moore chats up the girl, but returns with a man!]

RM: 'Say, you know that lass at the bar, the attractive one. I'd like you to meet her husband.'

JK (holding his head): 'Oh no, he'll never make a Maverick!'"