Jack Kelly on Screen: Any Objections?

Hey!

The distinguished-looking man above is, of course, Jack Kelly. He's not our friend Bart Maverick here, though. JK's playing a character miles away from the carefree gambler: overly ambitious District Attorney "Dan Callahan" in the 1961 feature film A Fever in the Blood. I've not seen this film yet (yo, Turner Classic Movies?). But, the info on the back of this still describes JK's role:

"Warner Brothers' A Fever in the Blood gives Jack Kelly a complete change of character. As Bart in the studio's Maverick TV series, he is an easy-going, non-chalant ladykiller--and always a gentleman. But in A Fever in the Blood he plays a hard-bitten, ambitious District Attorney who would willingly sacrifice friendship in exchange for a state governorship. Even his appearance has changed. There are lines on his face, drawn by discontent, and there is gray in his hair."

Actually, some of that discontent may have come from having gray in his hair. JK was only 34 at the time, so his hair was artifically grayed. In Filmfax magazine three decades later--in what sadly turned out to be his final interview--he discussed doing the 1965 film Love and Kisses, where he played singer Rick Nelson's father. He refused to put gray in his hair for the part: "I had done a picture at Warner Brothers called A Fever in the Blood with that phony gray in my hair, and I looked like an ass."

(Oh, I don't know about that, JK--you look pretty good in that pic to me! ;->)

Anyway, here's how Screen Stories magazine describes Fever: "A woman was murdered and the District Attorney meant to hang her husband, whether he was guilty or not. A conviction would lead the D.A. right to the Governorship!"

Screen Stories adds that JK was so eager to make a feature film after co-starring in Maverick since 1957 that he gave up a vacation to make Fever. While working on the film, he received the escrow papers for a new home in Westwood Village. He was so excited he exclaimed to a reporter, "My wife--May Wynn--and I had to talk our business manager into allowing us to spend $12,000 on alterations. So help me, that's more than we spent on our first little home!"

JK is joined in Fever by a virtual Maverick reunion: Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. (Dandy Jim Buckley) plays a judge; Robert Colbert (Cherokee Evans in "Hadley's Hunters" and later brother Brent) plays an important witness; and Ray Danton (who guested with JK in "State of Siege") plays the opposing District Attorney. And, it was produced and co-written by Maverick creator Roy Huggins.

Plus, Angie Dickinson (who would play opposite JK again in Young Billy Young) plays a senator's wife. Finally, Don Ameche plays the senator, and, of course, wee Jack Kelly had appeared in Ameche's film The Story of Alexander Graham Bell way back in 1939.

I'd love to see A Fever in the Blood, although, uh, I prefer seeing Jack Kelly as a good guy rather than a bad guy. It's not that he's bad as a bad guy--no, no, he's usually darn good. It's just that after enjoying him as the benevolent Bart Maverick, it's almost hard for me to watch him as someone like "John Behan" in Young Billy Young. Behan is like Bart's evil twin!

But, I guess that's the hallmark of a skilled actor: the ability to convincingly portray vastly different, even unsympathetic, characters. Jack Kelly didn't just play variations on Bart for the rest of his career. He had the courage to play villains as well as heroes.

And, by golly, I'll watch him as either one! :)

Color Him Ambitious :)

 Hello Everyone, 

In the 1961 feature film A Fever In the Blood, Jack Kelly plays an ambitious district attorney named "Dan Callahan":

Detail from original vintage B&W A Fever In the Blood promo portrait
of Jack Kelly from the La Bartista Kellection. Hand-tinted by La Bartista 

using photo editing software.

Although JK's character isn't mentioned by name in the contemporaneous newspaper review below, the author does provide a cynical but accurate analysis of A Fever In the Blood. In fact, the title of the review sums up the plot pretty well: "All's Fair in Politics and Murder". 

The review begins, "If the men in a movie called A Fever in the Blood had as much blood in them as they have fever, this might be a useful study of professional politicians who have little aptitude for their work."

It continues, "The title of this movie...implies that politics is a disease. But like many films that deal with disease, this one suffers from the symptoms which it seeks to diagnose. Its real conviction is that politics is a fascinating fight for power, that the details of this fight are dramatic and important, that honesty is a doubtful asset which sometimes wins on a fluke, and that 90 minutes in a theater are well-spent if they reveal which one of a group of tricksters finally becomes governor of an unfortunate anonymous state.

"Almost everyone in the movie wants to become governor...In one courtroom scene, during a murder trial, the presiding judge [Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.] is a candidate for governor; the district attorney [JK] is a rival candidate; one of the witnesses [Herbert Marshall] is an ex-governor who is a force in the election; and in the judge's chambers next door is another candidate [Don Ameche] who is waiting for a recess so that he can offer the judge a bribe...Justice fights with politics for the camera's attention and it is hard to say which is more unattractive as presented here. This is a movie divided against itself, as they say in politics. The question becomes whodunnit instead of whowunnit."

The reviewer has several objections to how the trial is depicted, describing it as "bizarre" and noting that "the judge fails to disqualify himself from sitting on the case even though the prosecuting attorney is a close personal duck-hunting friend, and even though their lives are all snarled up in political maneuverings."

He also pinpoints one of the major faults of A Fever In the Blood: "Its style of storytelling seems to be adapted from television. The action always has an indoors and confined feeling, and the shots are tight, close-in, and hurried, as though they must move out of the way of the next commercial...The movie needs more elbow room, and it needs to take a deep breath."

Well, A Fever In the Blood is still worth watching, even if only to see JK.

The original vintage B&W A Fever In the Blood promo portrait 

of Jack Kelly from the La Bartista Kellection from which the color detail above was created.

 Please stay tuned for more about JK in the next TDS. :)

Saturday Night "Fever"! :)

Well, it's actually Saturday morning, but I'm sure you won't mind seeing these stills of Jack Kelly in A Fever In The Blood any time of day!

In this 1961 feature film JK plays ambitious district attorney "Dan Callahan", who throws an innocent murder suspect under the bus during a ruthless bid to become a gubernatorial candidate.

Callahan listens intently to Senator Alex Simon (Don Ameche), who also intends to seek the governor's office. (That's actor Parley Baer behind JK.)

Accompanied by the press, Callahan himself arrests the murder suspect, Thornwall (Rhodes Reason):

The same scene seen in color (detail from an Italian fotobusta):

Callahan grills the real killer (Robert Colbert) on the stand as Judge Leland Hoffman (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) looks on.



BONUS: A lurid 1961 newspaper ad for Fever which mentions Bart Maverick and Stu Bailey (Zimbalist's character in 77 Sunset Strip):

 

TRIVIA: A Fever In the Blood was referenced in the recent miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan. Director Robert Aldrich tries to convince Warner Bros. chief Jack Warner to let him hire Bette Davis and Joan Crawford for Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? by bluntly pointing out that WB films such as A Fever in the Blood flopped because they had no "stars". 

But, JK will always be a star to us. To read (and see) much more about him in A Fever in the Blood, please click here and here.

Remembering Efrem Zimbalist Jr....

We recently lost a fine actor and gentleman with the passing of Efrem Zimbalist Jr.

I first saw Mr. Zimbalist's work on The F.B.I. television series, which my family watched every Sunday evening when I was little (and which my dad always called The F.B.I. Story, actually the title of a James Stewart film).

When I finally discovered Jack Kelly and Maverick many years later, I was delighted to watch Mr. Zimbalist guest star several times on the series as the suave con-artist Dandy Jim Buckley.

JK and EZJ also worked together in the 1961 Warner Bros. feature film A Fever in the Blood, as shown in this still: 

 

Great news: A Fever in the Blood will air this Wednesday, May 14, on Turner Classic Movies in the US at 4:00 pm ET (check your local cable/satellite guide for correct time/channel).

 

More info about this rarely seen classic can be found in this 2009 TDS post. (I guess TCM heard me! ;->)

 

I'm thankful that Efrem Zimbalist Jr. left a long legacy of performances for us to enjoy. Rest in peace, sir.

 

*******************************

UPDATE (5/23/14): A Fever in the Blood has just been released on DVD! It's available from WB Shop.com for $18.95 and $2.50 standard shipping (in the US only at this time).

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! :)  

"Plumbing" The Depths of the Kellection! :)

Hello!

Have you ever looked for one thing and ended up finding another?

I can't tell you how many times I've started to look for something--either online or offline--and then gotten distracted by something else I discover. For example, I was combing through the Kellection for research material for upcoming TDS posts when I found a pair of negatives in a protective sleeve.

I held the negatives up to the light and instantly remembered them. I had purchased them some time ago but put them aside because my aging scanner didn't do negatives. However, I have a new scanner now and am positively thrilled to be able to share these "before he was Bart" images of Jack Kelly with you. (Aren't you glad I got distracted?)

JK seems to be in a real "fix" here! This is a scene from "Just Across the Street", an episode of Lux Video Theatre which originally aired on January 10, 1957. The plot: To help support her father (Cecil Kellaway), a young woman (Julie Adams) pretends to be a socialite and gets a job as a plumber's helper. Actually, I don't know how much help she can be in that dress and those heels--maybe she can borrow some coveralls from Josephine the Plumber! And, maybe JK (who plays a character named "Fred Newcombe") should just call Roto-Rooter before he hurts himself.  :)

Here's another cute scene from "Just Across the Street". That's the sprightly Mr. Kellaway photobombing JK!

Julie Adams would meet up again with Jack Kelly in two episodes of Maverick ("The White Widow" and "The Brasada Spur"). Her husband at the time, Ray Danton, would also star opposite JK in Maverick (the episode "State of Siege") and in the feature films A Fever in the Blood and FBI Code 98. Ms. Adams is still active today.

More info: According to TV Guide, "Just Across the Street" was broadcast in color (although few viewers had color sets at the time) and was based on a 1952 film with the same title starring Ann Sheridan and John Lund. Cecil Kellaway also played the father in that version.

Hmm...I wonder if this show will ever be available on DVD? I wonder what else neato I can find in the Kellection? Oh-oh! Getting distracted again...better get back to work! :)

JK on Screen - Around the World With Jack Kelly

Howdy Everyone!

Well, January's almost over, but it's still winter. Our thaw didn't last and the temps plunged back into the teens. Some other folks around the country are getting socked by snow and ice right now. And, I'm sure we've all got a touch of cabin fever.

So, I thought it would be fun to "travel" to different locales with Jack Kelly.

First stop: Hong Kong!

Hong Kong Affair was released in 1958. Although the poster called JK "That Bart Maverick Guy", the film was actually made before he joined the Maverick cast.

I haven't seen Hong Kong Affair yet, but The All-Movie Guide sums it up thusly: "In this thriller, shot on location in Hong Kong, the owner of a plantation that grows Iron Lady Buddha Tea, is perplexed when he cannot make a profit. He decides to go there and investigate the problem in person. There he encounters his British lawyer's Chinese secretary. He and she team up and after many false leads and blind alleys discover that the lawyer has been keeping the profits after he smuggles opium in with the tea shipments. The plantation owner puts a quick stop to the shyster's operation and turns him over to the authorities. "

JK's plays "Steve Whalen", the plantation owner, and his then-wife May Wynn plays the secretary, "Chu Lan". Reportedly, May got the part when it turned out the Asian actress originally cast as Chu Lan couldn't speak English well enough to say her lines.

Hong Kong Affair has a theme song. It's titled (uh huh):


Sample lyrics: "New lotus moon, starlight to wear, this was the start of it, my Hong Kong affair".

Here are some stills from Hong Kong Affair. I know the plot of the film involves tea, but somehow, these photos made me think of JK's cooking talents:

"Would you happen to have a good recipe for chicken,
General Tso?"

"Let's see - I need three pounds of chicken, some soy sauce, some garlic, some ginger root, some dried hot peppers, some cornstarch..."

"Hey, Popeye, this 'ginsu' knife you sold me couldn't cut Jell-o!"

"Imagine, having to take May to this cheesy restaurant instead of being able to treat her to one of my delectable dinners. All because of a stupid knife. That's the last time I buy anything from someone selling stuff out of a truck!"

Next stop on our itinerary? Keep watchin'! :)

Jack Kelly on TV - Your Christmas Bonus! :)

Hi!

I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas.

I found an extra present for you: Jack Kelly's appearance in (click here) "The Adventure of the Lover's Leap", a 1975 episode of Ellery Queen, the great retro mystery series starring the late Jim Hutton.

JK plays lawyer and suspect "J. T. Latimer", and he appears at 24:28 and again at 35:55. Interestingly, he's reunited with two former co-stars, Anne Francis (from Forbidden Planet) and Don Ameche (from The Story of Alexander Graham Bell and A Fever in the Blood).

Although I didn't remember this particular episode, I enjoyed watching Ellery Queen when it originally aired. I especially liked the classy Elmer Bernstein theme music, and Ellery playfully breaking the fourth wall to ask the viewer, "Have you figured it out yet?"

Of course, now that I've seen JK's episode, I like Ellery Queen even more! :) And, the entire series is reportedly coming to DVD in 2010.

"The Adventure of the Lover's Leap" comes from the same site that had the Maverick episodes which I posted about a few months back (the links on that post are now void). It has a few different Maverick episodes now, including the Bart starrers "Betrayal" and "The Brasada Spur", plus the Bret/Bart teaming "Duel at Sunset". The site also has the Rockford Files episode "The Becker Connection".

Incidentally, I noticed that the same person who maintains "The Curtis Files" also has a channel on YouTube called "The Gunsmoke Channel" that showcases mostly the older half-hour black-and-white GS episodes. Here's hoping "Jealousy" (JK's episode) gets there posted, too! :->

Jack Kelly: The Day He Gambled His Life! :)

Hello!

Here's a fantastic article from a 1961 fan magazine:

"Jack Kelly: The Day He Gambled His Life

by Pat Younger

'If you don't have the guts to gamble on a fair deal, you have no business in show business,' declared Jack Kelly, as he got up for the twentieth time in fifteen minutes to check on how things were progressing on the Maverick set.

We were there to get the inside story on Jack's gamble with his life --his professional life. Disputes with a studio can very often lead either to oblivion for an actor, or to a better deal for him.

Jack seemed to be able to give his attention to half a dozen things at once--checking the stunt men, anticipating his next scene, switching wardrobes, signing autographs for a group of visitors--and still carry on a logical conversation with our interview questions.

Quite a feat, if you've ever been on the back-lot at Warner Bros. studio and witnessed actors and horses from Cheyenne chasing the same from Sugarfoot and all ending up in the middle of a Maverick setting. It's dirty, dusty and on this particular day, it was also hot.

We were trying to up-date Kelly with his new alignment in the famous Maverick series, and check on his recently completed picture A Fever In The Blood for Warners. Everyone has been very conscious of the running disagreement Jim Garner has been having with the studio, and his subsequent withdrawal as a Maverick co-star. This was bound to have some bearing on Kelly's situation.

Jack had also left the studio at the same time Jim did, but is now back before the cameras with his new co-star, Roger Moore. Pursuing Jack to the edge of the action (obviously the only way we were going to get our story before quitting time), we pressed for a further explanation.

'An actor has to consider the fact that he is not the only one taking a gamble when he goes into a TV series,' Jack continued. 'The studio is a big corporation, and they have many far reaching policies that often times never concern, or touch the actor. Now, I fight for my own ideas, but the studio has to hold to its ideas of policy, too. Basically, the studios are trying to be fair to all parties. This isn't always the easy or popular solution to problems, but they're real.

'My recent difference with the studio wasn't my first. In fact, the first time I fell out with a studio--and it happened to be Warners, but could have been any other major studio--I was using a clause in my contract in the hopes of bettering my position. This is only a natural thing for any person to do.

'I had signed a standard seven-year contract with Warners to do a series called Kings Row. My agent and I thought this theme had great possibilities and I was looking for a long, long run. We filmed six segments but, like may other ideas, the viewing public turned thumbs down.

'My agent and I felt we could better my situation by doing feature pictures at other studios,' Jack explained. 'In short, we were looking for a way out of the contract.'

'The studio also had a problem. One particular clause regarding residual payments was particularly awkward and they wanted it struck out. What they wanted struck out served to give me a way out. I said no.

Suddenly, Jack smiled. 'It turned out to be a complete victory for the studio. My option was dropped and I went home and sat for four months without the phone ringing once for work.'

After this lull in Jack's career (the last he has suffered through) prospects busted wide open and one film part followed another. He was in a full swing of activities when the Maverick series came along.

'But we gambled on this Bret-and-Bart brother western,' pointed out Kelly. 'Once again, my agent and I were impressed with the material and felt there was a great future in doing the role (Jack is in his fourth season, as proof of this conviction). However, it was necessary for me to gamble fifty percent of my potential gross income in order to accept the Maverick part. That's quite a gamble, when you add it up.

'There had been may westerns offered me, but it was a stroke of luck and good judgment that made my agent settle on the part of Bart. We took a gamble that paid off. The studio took a greater gamble on the entire series. Surely they deserve their full credit.

'A few months back, the writers' strike threw everything out of line,' Jack went on. 'No one knew exactly where they stood...including the studio. A few of us felt we were suddenly free agents again. Like Jim Garner and other actors. I was notified of my suspension by the studio. We felt this was a technical breach of our contracts, so I sent them notice that my obligation to them had ceased. The studio immediately replied [that] this wasn't true. The company maintained I was still under contract to the studio.

'Again, let me point out, all the basic contracts between actors and studios have been in general practice (with union approval) for many, many years. There are slight variations to each one, but generally speaking, these same contracts have been successfully completed--happily completed--by many of the top stars in the business.

'But before matters grew serious enough to test the point in a court of law, Warners called and we sat down to talk the matter over. Naturally, there has to be some compromise in any negotiation. You can't take the position that your side of the question is the only side. This is ridiculous. They gave and we gave. In the end, they made up a new contract.

'The studio has been good to me and J. L. Warner has kept other agreements we made--and they weren't all written down in black and white.'

Our conversation was again interrupted while we dragged our chairs to the fourth location spot of the afternoon. Settling ankle deep in the dust again, we gingerly brought up the question of Jack's so-called 'feud' with Jim Garner.

Kelly smiled and answered, 'Whenever two guys like Jim and I work together as well as we did, some writers seem to feel that they must start a rumor of a feud. Don't ask me why, they just do. So far as Jim and I are concerned, there's never been one word between us. We've had a lot of fun working together and anything you hear to the contrary is just a lot of baloney. In fact, we still play golf together every week or so.'

We couldn't help but wonder how it must feel to Jim Garner now that his hold-out from the studio and the Maverick series has him sitting on the outside looking in, while Kelly became the senior co-star.

Kelly puts it this way: 'Due to the fact that Jim had been working on the Maverick series for some time before I was brought in because the studio realized it was technically impossible to keep going with one star, some people got the impression that I wasn't getting my full credit.

'That isn't true. It took very little time before Jim and I were sharing on an equal basis. Not only in time exposure on the TV screen, but in public acceptance. The fan mail reflected this.'

When asked how he thought Jim would make out with his present adamant position, Jack answered, 'I couldn't possibly look at Jim's situation through my eyes and draw my own conclusions. I not only couldn't, I wouldn't want to. This is a gambling business...but each guy has to do his own gambling.'

Like Jim Garner, Edd Byrnes, Clint Walker and so many other stars, contract disputes are bound to arise, but Jack's appreciation that there are always two sides to a problem and that the other side is gambling, too, will serve to keep him riding high with Lady Luck. His new contract to do pictures as well as the Maverick series should serve as ample proof of his gambling wisdom."

Shelter In Place Cinema

Hello!

I thought it would be apropos to take a look at Jack Kelly's 1952 film No Room For the Groom, since it deals with a man (played by Tony Curtis) whose life is upended by a virus, in this case the chicken pox.

Curtis portrays "Alvah Morrell", a young draftee who elopes to Las Vegas with pretty "Lee Kingshead" (Piper Laurie) during a two-day leave:

They find their hotel room already decorated with flowers. Alvah instructs the bellhop to bring them a bottle of "Delicioso" champagne, since it's made from grapes grown in Alvah's vineyard.

The newlywed's honeymoon ends before it can really begin, however, when Lee notices that Alvah has broken out in spots and has a fever:

After Lee anxiously summons a doctor, Alvah is rushed to the hospital with chicken pox. As soon as he recovers, he's shipped overseas with his outfit and is absent from Lee's side for 10 months.

When he's finally able to get a week's leave, Alvah returns to his house to find it overrun with Lee's various relatives, who beat him to the dinner table and hog the bathroom. 

First and foremost among the brood is "Mama" (Spring Byington), Lee's manipulative mother. The rest of the kooky clan runs the gamut from infant twins and a bratty little boy to a lumbering distant cousin (Fess Parker in his film debut).

Alvah feels like a stranger in his own home. What's worse, Lee hasn't told Mama that she and Alvah are actually married (Mama thinks they're only engaged) and the couple has no room to be alone.

Enter JK:

He plays "Will Stubbins", an old buddy of Alvah's who was invalided from the service after being shot in the leg. He now owns a bar that Alvah walks past while in search of a little peace and quiet.

Will invites Alvah in and explains that while the bar is making him rich, he's not enjoying it because he doesn't enjoy their town (Suttersville) anymore. Suttersville has changed lately, mainly due to the Strouple Cement Plant, which is burgeoning due to defense contracts. He tells Alvah that so many women are wearing minks in the once quaint burg the coats are nicknamed "Suttersville Squirrels":

Alvah knows all about the cement plant, since Herman Strouple (Don Defore), the owner, is Lee's boss. He informs Will of his marital dilemma.

Will comes up with the perfect solution--Alvah and Lee can use his apartment that evening while he's out on a date:

Unfortunately, their plan hits a snag when Mr. Strouple unexpectedly shows up at Alvah's house to announce before the entire family that he wants to offer the soldier an enormous sum of money to run a railroad spur for his cement plant through the vineyard.

Alvah angrily refuses the offer since his grandfather and father owned the vineyard before him. And, he notices that Lee is wearing a Suttersville squirrel, which came from Herman (as a bonus). The couple argue and Alvah stomps out on his own.

Will returns to his apartment to find Alvah alone and drunk on Delicioso:

Will starts to return to his bar, but Alvah insists that he stay so he can tell him his troubles:

Will leaves to let Alvah sleep it off. Ironically, his apartment faces the cement plant:

Mama and Herman Strouple double-down on their efforts to break up the newlyweds, including a ludicrous scheme to have Alvah declared mentally incompetent so Lee can gain control of the vineyard and allow the spur to proceed. Lee is appalled and furiously quits her job. She and Alvah are reunited at Will's apartment.

Will quickly peeks in on the happy couple and vamooses so they can finally resume their long-delayed honeymoon:

While it's far from being a cinematic masterpiece, No Room for the Groom is a pleasant little farce and JK is extremely pleasant in it. He expertly plays the role of comedic matchmaker for a couple who's already married. And, he looks fantastic while doing so. :)

No Room for the Groom is just the thing for watching while having to shelter in place. It's available on DVD from the Turner Classic Movies Shop and can also be found on eBay.

Please stay tuned for more fun with TDS, stay well, stay strong...and stay home.

JK Goes "Commandos"! :)

(I've been waiting a long time to use that line!) ;>

A set of original British lobby cards and a British pressbook for Jack Kelly's World War II drama Commandos (a.k.a. Sullivan's Marauders) just landed in the Kellection, so let's take a look at this 1968 Italian-German co-production.  

According to the book Cinema Italiano: The Complete Guide From Classics to Cult  (2011) by Howard Hughes, Commandos was filmed on location on Sardinia, a large Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea, during July and August 1968. Interior scenes were filmed at Incir-De Paolis Studios. 

Here is the cast and credits list (from the British pressbook):

 

Set in 1942, Commandos stars Lee Van Cleef as testy, battle-hardened "Master Sargeant Sullivan" and JK as career soldier "Captain Valli". Although Valli is higher-ranked than Sullivan, he has no combat experience.

Sullivan resents Valli's presence at the "secret Mediterranean base" where both men are tasked with training a group of Italian-American commandos whose mission is to seize an oasis in North Africa which contains the only well for miles around, disguise themselves as the Italian soldiers holding the oasis, and secure the site for two days until the Allied landings occur.

The first part of the mission goes as planned and most of the Italians guarding the oasis are killed. Despite Sullivan's protests, Valli orders that the handful of Italians who survived the siege be imprisoned instead of being put to death.

The Captain's decision to spare the Italians comes back to bite him when the POWs escape in a truck. The truck explodes after hitting a mine, but one of the Italian escapees survives and blabs to a German patrol about the American commandos' switcheroo at the oasis.

Then, the Americans receive orders to abandon the oasis, since their mission is no longer considered necessary. However, before they can leave, the oasis is attacked by a heavily armed German outfit equipped with tanks. The ferocious battle which follows leaves only one American and one German soldier alive. (Neither Sullivan nor Valli survive.)

Although Commandos was released in Italy in 1968, it took its sweet time getting to the rest of the world. The British pressbook dates to 1972, the same year the film was exhibited in Canada.

A reviewer in the Ottawa Journal was dismissive: "...Commandos stars Lee Van Cleef and is possibly the worst war film ever made in Italy. The commandos are Americans who land in Italy, sloppily massacre an entire section of the Italian army and pose as the murdered men in order to capture a water hole in North Africa. The soldiers do a great deal of grunting and hard breathing. This is obviously director Armando Crispino's idea of neo-realism. Dreadful."

The film arrived in the US later in 1972, playing towns such as Hallettsville, Texas, and Burlington, North Carolina. It was usually paired on a double-bill with another "macaroni combat" film titled Salt in the Wound (a.k.a. Il dito nella piaga and War Fever).

Today, Commandos is sort of a cult classic, earning favorable fan reviews such as this one and this one (which has a display of color fotobustas for the film).

Of course, Commandos is worth watching because of JK. He looks great and does very well with the role of Captain Valli. But, don't take my word for it--here's a preview, and the entire flick can be purchased for peanuts online.

Incidentally, you may have noticed the "X" on the lobby cards. It signifies that Commandos was rated "Certificate X" by the British censors, meaning one had to be over 16 to see the movie in English cinemas. 

Well, Jack Kelly fans of all ages are welcome at TDS. What's coming up next? Please stay tuned! :)

Jack Kelly - "I Hated Horses When I Was a Kid" :)

Howdy Everyone!

After reading Jack Kelly's stirring column about the Lone Ranger and Silver, I got to wondering: How did JK really feel about horses himself? We know he rode Sickle, a.k.a. Goldie, and other mounts in Maverick. And, of course, he rode horses in the western films in which he appeared.

So, I did a little digging and found an article from 1960 which reveals how JK felt about horses and some other interesting things, as well:

"TV's Maverick Once Didn't Even Like Horses -
Let Alone Ride Them
by Joe St. Amant,
United Press International, 10/30/1960

Jack Kelly, television's sophisticated easy-in-the-saddle Bart Maverick, talks to his horse these days but there was a time he was not on speaking terms with any of the four-legged critters.

This suave TV gambler with the educated eyebrows [B27 - I love that description!] who looks perfectly at home on a horse in his video shenanigans, was not born to the saddle. He was not raised in the saddle. And the only range he knew as a boy was the kitchen stove at home in Astoria, Long Island.

Between scenes in the shooting of a Maverick episode on the Warner Bros. lot, Kelly came clean on his relationship with horses.

'I hated horses when I was a kid,' he recalled. 'I was afraid of them.

'When we moved here to Southern California, I used to ride at weekend boys' camps--I don't know whether they have things like that any more--but I never liked it. Then, in 1951, I signed a contract with the old Universal Studio--for about 150 or 200 bucks a week. They had regular classes for young actors in almost anything you can name--including riding and Balinese dancing where you'd have to strike a lot of kookie poses. [B27 - I had to stop here because I was laughing so hard - can you imagine JK dancing like that?] This was the greatest thing that ever happened to me as far as training was concerned. You learned poise. You learned how to cock your head or lift an eyebrow to get an idea across. I do that a lot today in Maverick, if you'll notice. [B27 - Yep!]

'But the riding class--I thought I could do without that. I missed the first two classes and Bob Palmer, head of talent then, called me into his office and told me, 'Listen, young fella, the measure of your success in this business may well be how you can handle a horse. Now get out of here and get your satchel over to the stable.' I got.'

Thus began a great friendship between Kelly and the equine family.

'I really learned to handle a horse," Kelly continued seriously. 'In the first place, I lost my fear. You couldn't hold me then. I wanted to get out there every day and saddle up as soon as possible. The wranglers they had at the studio were great guys. They knew horses, of course. And they taught you how to treat a horse. It was their responsibility to see that the horses were not mistreated. They did a good job on the horses and the students.'

For the past three seasons, Kelly's been grateful for his acquired horsemanship.

'In the situations in Maverick, I could look awfully silly if I didn't know how to handle a horse," he explained. It's getting on and off mostly in the show, and I could look foolish if I didn't know what I was doing.'

But, he isn't about to indulge in any mad gallops down the side of a mountain or any other such breakneck stunts.

'I've got too much at stake," he said. "A broken arm or leg and my career might be wrecked.'

That career is a serious thing with Kelly. In real life, he displays few of the characteristics of the light-hearted drifter, Bart Maverick.

He recently completed a movie for Warner Bros. called A Fever in the Blood. He plays a straight part as a district attorney who exploits the prosecution of a murder case as a lever to try to become governor.

Kelly recently renegotiated with Warner Bros. and signed a seven-year contract covering Maverick and four more movies.

'I got what I wanted,' he said.

Kelly said he does not think movie audiences will identify him with Maverick.

'It doesn't have the stereotyping characteristics that some other westerns have," he explained. "I like doing this show. The stories are usually whimsical. The spirit infiltrates the whole company and turns it into a lot of camaraderie. It helps to make the work easier.'

It's easier in the saddle now, anyway."

JK is tall in the saddle as "Curly Mather" in
Gunsmoke (1953), one of his early Universal westerns.

All the World's A Stage With JK - Pt II :)

"I've Got My Straw Hat, I've Got My Cane..."

Undated candid slide of JK

I've discussed Jack Kelly's summer stock performances before in TDS, but since I've discovered so much more new information about this topic, it's time for a re-visit.

 

JK was a very busy performer on the "straw hat circuit" in the early 1960's. After Maverick went on permanent hiatus in 1962, JK toured in The Music Man,  The Moon is Blue and Under the Yum-Yum Tree.

JK starred in the latter play at the O'Hare Inn Theatre, which was located in a 400-room motel only minutes from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. His co-star was Brigid Bazlen, a young actress who had gone from local TV and stage stardom in the Windy City to appearing in Hollywood epics such as King of Kings and How The West Was Won. 

Joan Mette, drama critic for the Arlington Heights (IL) Herald, dubbed JK's performance as a lecherous landlord in Under the Yum-Yum Tree "delightful" and said that he "out-Mavericks his TV role". Ms. Mette added, "In this age of Freud, the sex-oriented play might be termed a 'sophisticated comedy', but it's really an old-fashioned farce. And Kelly plays it as a farce--with all the stops pulled out. He cut loose a bit too early, however. His performance would have been better paced if he had given himself a little room to develop his role of 'Hogan' in the first scene. However, by the last scene, all is forgiven. Kelly has a way with grimaces, posturing and timing that is most beguiling."  

In July 1963, JK starred in the Dayton (OH) Summer Theatre's production of Cole Porter's saucy musical Can-Can.

JK portrayed "Aristide", a French judge who falls in love with a dance hall girl. A reviewer for the Dayton Daily News stated that "[The audience] was enthusiastic...over television's Jack Kelly as the judge who invades Montmartre in the interest of justice and discovers l'amour". 

The reviewer added, "Kelly handled the role with such aplomb and urbanity that no one seemed to mind his lack of a singing voice...He [and his leading lady] managed commendably on the 'C'est Magnifique' duets despite the shortcoming and generally were an attractive romantic duo".

The following month, JK sang and danced in The Pajama Game in Anderson, Indiana. The Hoosier state was a hotbed of summer stock activity at the time. In July 1964, JK appeared in Indianapolis as "Sky Masterson" in the Starlight Musicals production of Guys and Dolls.

Masterson is a smooth gambler (sound familiar?), but JK looks ruggedly handsome on the cover of the Guys and Dolls program:

Indiana didn't have a lock on summer stock, however. The following month, JK traveled north to appear in the farce Petticoat Fever at Prudhomme's Garden Centre Theatre in Ontario, Canada.

This theatre, located in a resort setting, was a rather unusual venue. According to the "World Theatre" website, owner George Prudhomme removed the seats each winter to convert the theatre into a curling rink! The seats were returned in the summer so audiences could watch celebrities such as JK and even a young Liza Minelli (who appeared in The Fantasticks) tread the boards.

JK made another jaunt to Prudhomme's in July 1965 to star in Love and Kisses, a comic play he'd done in Chicago in 1964. He also portrayed Rick Nelson's father in the film version, which was released in 1965. 

JK revisited Indiana as well in 1965 to appear in The World of Suzie Wong at the Avondale Playhouse (a.k.a. Avondale-in-the-Meadows) in Indianapolis from August 24 through August 29. The play's program states that JK broke box office records at Avondale when he'd starred in The Moon is Blue in 1962.

 

Suzie Wong, the popular "East meets West" love story, originated as a novel by Richard Mason. It was adapted into a play by Hoosier-born Paul Osborn and debuted on Broadway in 1958 with William Shatner as the male lead. It became a film starring William Holden and Nancy Kwan in 1960.

 

At Avondale, JK portrayed "Robert Lomax", a struggling artist who falls in love with Hong Kong prostitute Suzie Wong, played by Lisa Lu. (Ms. Lu's program bio lists her credits, but oddly doesn't mention the role she's probably best-known for: "Hey Girl" in TV's Have Gun--Will Travel.)

Marshall Pitler, a guest writer for The Kokomo (IN) Tribune, gave JK's performance a glowing review: "Kelly's television fame drew the largest opening night crowd in the history of Avondale last Tuesday, and the audience was well-rewarded for its support. This week's star proved once again that [Avondale's] star system, with the proper vehicle, can work. Jack Kelly is a handsome, well-poised, natural actor who has learned his trade well through years of television and movie experience. His performance as Robert Lomax, the artist, was superb--an adjective not easily applied to Avondale stars this season."

 

Suzie then ran August 31-September 5 at the theater's sister venue "Avondale-on- the-Mall". An ad in the program says this theater could be reached via "a short trip through colorful Southern Indiana, across the beautiful Ohio River, to Louisville, Kentucky". It was located in "'THE MALL', one of the nation's newest and largest Closed Mall 'Shopping Centers'", the ad proclaimed.

 

Avondale-on-the-Mall was an ambitious attempt to expand the Avondale brand to other cities. Unfortunately, the gambit was such a failure in Louisville, that, according to the website "indianahistory.org", the Playhouse board was forced to liquidate Avondale's assets. 

 

JK wasn't a failure, however, especially with Jane Marlow Willis, the editor, publisher and entertainment columnist for the weekly Meade County (KY) Messenger. On 9/16/65 she wrote, "Miss Rose Grinnell and I went to Avondale Playhouse for the last production of the season, THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG, starring Jack Kelly. Mr. Kelly is a most interesting person and quite gracious about posing for pictures. His performance as Robert Lomax was great. Although most of us know him as Bart Maverick and expect him to be typed as Maverick, he is a versatile actor, and as at home in the role of Lomax as he was on Maverick...THE WORLD OF SUZIE WONG is a rather difficult play for an arena theatre, but the Avondale players did it quite well. The summer is usually a slow theatre season, but Avondale has made summer a good season for theatregoers in the Louisville area."

In 1966, JK co-starred in the comedy Mary, Mary at the Music Theatre in Houston, Texas. 

A reviewer in the Bellaire & Southwestern Texan newspaper wrote on 10/26/1966 that the production was "delightful" and continued, "There's a keen cast: Jack Kelly (remember when he was Bart Maverick) and Marjorie Lord (she from The Danny Thomas Show) are a divorced couple who have a hilarious reunion...[then] a fading Hollywood actor tries to woo Mary to New Orleans, only to make her [former] husband furiously jealous...The Jean Kerr comedy is light, but highly entertaining as performed by these actors...Every scene clicks and that's because of good timing and expert line readings."

In this rare photo from the Kellection, JK chats with Iris Siff at a party held during the October 1966 run of Mary, Mary in Houston, TX. A former actress, Ms. Siff was at the time the assistant to the director of the Alley Theatre in Houston. She later became both the managing and artistic director of the theatre. Tragically, in 1982 Ms. Siff was murdered in her office at the Alley while working to finish a government grant application. Her murderer was a former security guard at the building. 

By this time, JK had also became an annual fixture at the Summer Arena in historic Canal Fulton, OH, located in Stark County near the cities of Akron, Canton and Massillon. The Arena began as the Canal Fulton Summer Theatre in 1954 and later moved into a renovated barn next to a pond. The Theatre's founder, David Fulford, staged productions with one "name" star per play and filled the supporting roles with local actors. This formula was such a crowd-pleaser that in 1959, the barn was upgraded into the air-conditioned Canal Fulton Summer Arena. (The pond was upgraded into a swimming pool.)

Undated postcard view of the Canal Fulton Summer Arena (courtesy CardCow.com)

JK first appeared at the Arena with The Moon is Blue (which a reviewer in Massillon's Evening Independent described as "exceedingly risqué") from September 4 through September 9 in 1962. The reviewer felt that some of JK's mannerisms in the play "rang a little off-key", but added this may have been due to the fact that JK had just arrived from performing the play in Traverse City, MI, and "could hardly be accustomed to the Arena setting yet".

JK would have plenty of time to get used to the setting, though. He was brought back "by popular demand" to star in Neil Simon's Come Blow Your Horn in 1963. (Julie Sommars, later seen in TV series such as The Governor and JJ and Matlock, portrayed one of his girlfriends in this play.) According to the Evening Independent, advance ticket sales were so strong for this show that an extra Sunday matinee performance was added to the run before the play even opened. JK also served as grand marshal of the Edgefield Volunteer Fire Department's 12th annual homecoming parade while in town for Come Blow Your Horn.

A review of the production in the Daily Times of New Philadelphia proclaimed "Jack Kelly Play Is Seen As Hit Of Fulton Season" and lauded JK's performance as "suave, sophisticated and assured".

JK starred in A Thousand Clowns in 1964 and Goodbye, Charlie in 1965. He headlined Tunnel of Love in 1966. The latter play was reviewed by an uncredited writer for the Dover OH Daily Reporter. While describing JK as a "bit paunchy", the reviewer also noted the actor's obvious appeal to the ladies: "The predominately female audience punctuated his love scenes with little squeals and one eager matron even broke the house rules and snapped a flash bulb in his eyes. Undaunted, but not unaware of the adoration, he treated the audience to one his best acting roles at the Arena. Thoroughly poised and articulate, he was believable in his difficult role...This is a good play! Jack Kelly has risen to the full height of his potential and with a first-rate supporting cast has made this an outstanding night of theatre." 

Arena audiences obviously loved JK and the feeling was mutual because he is quoted in the program for Simon's The Odd Couple (where he starred as slobby "Oscar Madison", 6/27-7/9/1967) as saying, "I hope I  never have to miss a season at Canal Fulton Summer Arena because it has become my second home. The Arena represents the gateway to the many friends and activities I have enjoyed over these recent years in the general area."

Incidentally, JK's bio in the Odd Couple program also contains some amazing information that I've not read elsewhere about a couple of tantalizing TV roles which unfortunately never happened:

"Jack Kelly once more is making his only summer appearances of the season at The Arena, where he has become one of our most popular repeat performers. Preparation of his new television series, Tolliver's Travels, is consuming most of his availability. Tolliver's Travels is geared for September production and January or mid-season release. The setting is Hawaii and all exterior photography will be shot in the Islands. Kelly, under contract to Universal for the past five years, has again had a very busy TV schedule, the past season having completed three Chrysler shows for Bob Hope [and] Run for Your Life for his old Maverick producer, Roy Huggins. Immediately upon completion of The Odd Couple he will return to Hollywood for another Run for Your Life segment that Huggins has lifted from the shooting schedule until Kelly is available."

A reviewer for the New Philadelphia Daily Times bluntly described JK as "chubby", but pointed out that "the extra weight is put to good use" in his role as Oscar in The Odd Couple.

At the Arena, JK also appeared in proven laugh-getters such as Under the Yum Yum Tree (repeating his 1962 Chicago role as "Hogan", 9/10-22/1968); Cactus Flower (as "Dr. Julian Winston", a dentist who stays single by pretending he's married, 6/24-29/1969); and other productions including that old standby The Moon is Blue (6/5-10/73), this time playing "David Slater", a father whose daughter was involved with the lead male character (a local newspaper reviewer noted that "...Kelly did a fine job as David, the charming, swinging divorced father always with a drink in hand").

 In July 1973, JK co-starred with Gale Storm in a political comedy called Affairs of State at Florence State University's summer theater  program in Alabama. The supporting actors were students at the University. JK participated in an engaging press conference with Ms. Storm. The play (and the actors) received a very nice review.

 

But sometimes, life onstage wasn't everything nice...stay tuned and learn about the play in which JK appeared that was so awful the audience reportedly booed it off the stage on opening night! It's here in Part III.