Freedom and JK - Pt. II

Continuing with our look at Jack Kelly in Freedom and You:

The last straw for Jerry comes when Helen announces that their two younger children are going away to a state school. He confronts his wife about choosing to send the kids away, but his youngest daughter Sally (Carol Nicholson) informs Jerry that the idea to attend the school was actually hers and Jimmy's. She explains they were told that family life doesn't encourage the collective character which the Party desires in its young people.  
 

Jerry is further taken aback as Jimmy accuses him of not teaching the children more about "the Party line" and instead indulging in "deviationism and bourgeois sentimentalism", which means he must be reported to the authorities:

 

Jerry can take no more. He says the Donovans are going to be a family again and, as a start, the children are going to Sunday School to learn the truth. He physically drags them there. But once they arrive the children tell him that there is no more Sunday School, because the church has been converted into a museum exhibiting Soviet inventions:

 

Jerry insists that someone has made a mistake. Inside the museum, he finds the "Russian" inventions on display include the telephone. Jerry angrily points out to the curator that the phone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell, an American.

 

Jerry destroys the deceitful display and the curator summons the authorities to arrest him:

Next time in TDS: Is it the end of Jerry's nightmare--or Jerry himself?! Please stay tuned for Part III of "Freedom and JK"!

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! :)

"Maverick" + "Bonanza"= MeTV! :)

Howdy!

MeTV has posted an article about the 1961 Maverick episode "Three Queens Full", the hilarious send-up of Bonanza starring Jack Kelly:

It even has an animated .gif of JK getting comically cold-cocked by "Moose Wheelwright". Enjoy! :)

The "Road" to JK - Pt II :)

Howdy!

Here's another fantastic behind-the-scenes glimpse of Jack Kelly and Mike Road on the set of Maverick. MR shows his "Pearly" whites as smilin' JK takes matters in hand during a break from filming "Dade City Dodge" on June 12, 1961:

The couple standing between JK and MR is identified on the back of this photo as "Mr. and Mrs. Phil Krasney (neighbors)". I presume the Krasneys were MR's neighbors, since he wrote the description.

A non-Maverick candid of JK and MR will be coming soon--please stay tuned! :)

The "Road" to JK :)

Hello!

You may have seen character actor Mike Road on TV or in films. More likely, you heard him, since probably his best-remembered role was one in which his own face was never seen: "Race Bannon" in the original Jonny Quest animated television series.

Fans of  Maverick will also remember Mr. Road as smooth-talking con man "Pearly Gates", who bedeviled Bart Maverick in the episodes Dade City Dodge and The Troubled Heir.

MR kept a large collection of photos as mementos of his many roles. Recently, I was able to purchase some of the photos with Jack Kelly from his collection and add them to the Kellection.

Thankfully, MR wrote information on the backs of the photos, thus saving us from having to guess "Who is that woman?" or "What episode is this still from?" nearly sixty years later. 

Below is a fabulous candid pic of JK and MR on the set of Dade City Dodge. MR noted that it was taken on June 12, 1961, and added the description "On Maverick set (as Pearly Gates) - Jack Kelly, star":

As you can see, this photo is extra special because it's signed by JK! It's also extra large (11" x 14"), meaning not all of it fit in my scanner at one time. So, here's a separate close-up scan of the signature (you can also see the shadow of JK's wedding ring on his left hand, since he'd switched the ring to his right pinky to play bachelor Bart):

The inscription reads "Mike - If we ever do this again, perhaps 'Pearly' will keep score!!--Jack Kelly". (Maybe he was referring to the lunchtime poker games on the Warner Bros. lot?)

You can read more about the talented Mr. Road here on the fascinating "Yowp" blog. And, you can see another fantastic pic of MR and JK, coming up next in TDS. Please stay tuned! :)

Happy 4th of July! :)

Vintage Clipart Courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

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! :)