Jack Kelly Movies
The son of actress Nan Kelly Yorke, Jack Kelly was the younger brother of stage and film star Nancy Kelly. Like Nancy, Jack was a professional from an early age, acting in radio and on stage before the age of 10, and in films from 1937 (he is quite prominent in a brace of 1939 20th Century-Fox films, Young Mr. Lincoln and The Story of Alexander Graham Bell). He reemerged as a leading man in the early 1950s, appearing in such films as Forbidden Planet (1956, as the ill-fated Lieutenant Farnam). Signed by Warner Bros. in 1955, Kelly starred as Dr. Paris Mitchell in the weekly TV version of the 1942 film King's Row. He went on to play gamblin' man Bart Maverick on the longer-running Warners western series Maverick. Though his popularity never matched that of his co-star James Garner, Kelly still developed a fan following as Bart; he remained with the series from 1957 until its cancellation in 1962, appearing opposite such Garner successors as Roger Moore and Robert Colbert. Kelly dabbled in a little bit of everything after that: hosting the anthology series NBC Comedy Playhouse (1973), emceeing the game show Sale of the Century (1969-71), and playing hard-nosed Lt. Ryan on the Teresa Graves series Get Christie Love (1974) and Harry Hammond on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977-79). He revived the Bart Maverick character on 1978's The New Maverick and the 1990 TV movie The Gambler Returns: Luck of the Draw. Chances are that, had he lived, Jack Kelly would have been invited to co-star again with Garner in the 1994 Mel Gibson theatrical-feature version of Maverick. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1991
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The fourth of Kenny Rogers' Gambler TV movies, 1991's The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw is regarded by many Western diehards as the best. This time, gambler Brady Hawkes is en route to a high-stakes poker game in San Francisco. His travelling companions are a trouble-prone frontier Romeo (Rick Rossovich) and a feisty ex-saloon gal (Reba McEntire). Never mind that: The real attraction of Luck of the Draw is its enormous guest-star lineup of famous TV cowboy heroes of yore: Gene "Bat Masterson" Barry, Hugh "Wyatt Earp" O'Brien, Brian "The Westerner" Keith, Chuck "The Rifleman" Connors, Jack "Maverick" Kelly, Clint "Cheyenne" Walker, David "Kung Fu" Carradine, and "Virginian" co-stars James Drury and Doug McClure. The first portion of this two-part movie concentrates on setting up the plot; Part two is the card game itself, preceded by a boxing match refereed by Bat Masterson (Gene Barry). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Kenny Rogers, Reba McEntire, (more)
Based on the novel by Gloria Naylor, The Women of Brewster Place was produced by and stars Oprah Winfrey. The film concerns a variety of women who live in the housing project located on Brewster Place, and tells about their lives as they struggle in the face of racism, poverty, and troublesome men. Winfrey portrays Mattie Michael who was kicked out of her parent's (Paul Winfield and Mary Alice) house after refusing to reveal the name of her soon-to-be-born child's father. She eventually inherits a house, but loses it after her son skips bail. Robin Givens plays Kiswana, a focused woman who does her best to improve the situations of those around her. During a conversation with her mother (Cicely Tyson), Kiswana learns how her decision to change her name from Melanie is a betrayal of her family history. Cora Lee (Phyllis Stickney) craves being needed by babies and continues to have children, although she becomes neglectful as her children age. Miss Sophie (Olivia Cole) traffics in neighborhood gossip. Theresa and Lorraine (Paula Kelly and Lonette McKee) are a lesbian couple who live on Brewster Place because they believe the people in the neighborhood might let them live in peace. The Women of Brewster Place aired March 18-19, 1989, on the ABC television network. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Oprah Winfrey, Jackée, (more)
In the third and final film in the Oh, God! franchise, Bobby Shelton (Ted Wass) is a struggling musician who can't get a break, which bothers him all the more now that his wife, Wendy (Roxanne Hart), is about to have a baby. Desperate and depressed, Bobby announces that he'd sell his soul to get ahead. Suddenly, Harry O. Tophat (George Burns), Satan's earthly representative, appears and offers Bobby a deal -- seven years of unprecentented fame and fortune in exchange for his soul. Bobby cynically accepts and discovers that the devil is true to his word, but he finds that the trappings of fame and wealth are empty pleasures, and he loses Wendy along the way. When Bobby declares that he's made a horrible mistake, God (Burns), who has been watching over Bobby, offers to help get his soul back as the devil offers Bobby's place in eternity as the prize in a poker game. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- George Burns, Ted Wass, (more)
- 1978
James Garner took time off from The Rockford Files to star in the "retro" TV movie The New Maverick, written by Rockford stalwart Juanita Bartlett. Garner steps into the role of western gambler Brett Maverick as though the 20 years since the original TV series had never passed; he is costarred, as ever, with Jack Kelly as Bart Maverick. Charles Frank is introduced as the Maverick boys' young nephew Ben, a Harvard dropout and gambler-in-training who would carry the action when this film graduated into a brief TV series titled Young Maverick. The plot involves a train holdup, stolen gatling guns, a stupid politico (Eugene Roche), and a gang of Eastern gangsters led by horse-hating George Loros. Susan Sullivan costars in The New Maverick as Poker Alice, a character who was later given a pilot film of her own. The New Maverick is in its own modest way just as much fun as Mel Gibson's expensive Maverick feature film of 1994--which also costarred the evergreen James Garner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1977
Police detective Dennis Becker (Joe Santos) is suspended after being framed on a heroin-possession charge. Since the drugs in question had been confiscated by the police, it would seem that somewhere in the Department is lurking a "dirty" cop determined to destroy Dennis. In his efforts to prove his friend's innocence, Jim (James Garner) matches wits with a third-rate nightclub comic (Jack Carter) who is acting as go-between for a notorious drug dealer. This is the first of two Rockford Files episodes in which James Garner is reunited with his former Maverick costar Jack Kelly, here cast as the villain of the piece. Also making guest appearances are future Hill Street Blues regular James B. Sikking as a zealous internal-affairs officer, and Bucklind Beery, son of series costar Noah Beery Jr., as a policeman. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1977
The Rockford Files opens its fourth season as detective Jim Rockford (James Garner) returns from a vacation in Puerto Rico, only discover that someone has stolen his clothes, his car, his trailer. . .and his identity. Nerdy garage mechanic Fred Beamer (James Whitmore Jr.) has always dreamed of becoming a private eye, and has taken advantage of Jim's absence by making his dream come true. Posing as Jim, Fred has accepted some rather dangerous cases, including one from a gentleman with homicidal tendencies named Manny Arturis (Roger Loggia). Now the REAL Rockford is stuck with the duel task of rescuing Fred and saving himself from the consequences of Fred's whimsical behavior. This episode marks the second Rockford Files reteaming of James Garner with his former Maverick costar Jack Kelly, who may or may not be the villain of the piece. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1977
Previously seen in timeslots ranging from 90 minutes to two hours, Quincy M.E. settles into its standard one-hour format with this episode. While vacationing in the resort town of Paradise, Quincy (Jack Klugman) is approached by young Jessica Casey (Hilary Thompson), whose alcoholic father John is serving jail time for his ex-wife's murder. Jessica is convinced that Quincy has come to town to reopen the manslaughter case in which her dad was involved--and once he begins to figure out that John Casey is the victim of a conspiracy, Quincy decides to play along with the anxious girl. Unfortunately, he meets resistance from the local sheriff (Pernell Roberts), who seems to have reasons of his own for keeping the case closed. Jamie Lee Curtis appears in a bit role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1974
Fly Me - If You Can Find Me was originally an episode of the weekly, 90-minute TV mystery series Banacek. Detective Banacek (George Peppard), who is called in only when the police are totally stymied, is faced with still another puzzler. A damaged airliner has made an emergency landing at a tiny airfield in the desert. Though supposedly crippled, the airliner vanishes during the night. Sterling Hayden, Jack Kelly, and a pre-stardom Victoria Principal make guest appearances in this February 19, 1974 Banacek installment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1973
In this mystery, an unidentified man is accidently run-over and killed by a bus. The mystery around him grows when it is discovered that he carried a briefcase filled with $200,000 in small bills. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1972
Working undercover, Sgt. Ed Brown (Don Galloway) infiltrates the gang responsible for the kidnapping of the daughter (Kay Lenz) of a famous movie actress (Barbara Rush). Curiously, in his efforts to secure the girl's release, Ed's boss Ironside (Raymond Burr) encounters a stunning lack of cooperation from both the victim's mother and her overbearing business manager (Richard Anderson). Meanwhile, Ed finds out that the kidnapping was an "inside job" and that the abductors have been given strict orders not to hurt the blindfolded girl--but one of the gang members (Kaz Garas) has other ideas. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1969
- G
Veteran western director Burt Kennedy wrote the screenplay for this tale, based on the novel Who Rides with Wyatt? and also released under the title Who Rides with Kane? Robert Mitchum, who sings the title song, stars as Ben Kane, an ex-sheriff hunting for Frank Boone (John Anderson), the man who killed his son. He enlists the aid of Billy Young (Robert Walker), a hired gun who was abandoned by his fleeing partner Jesse Boone (David Carradine) after they killed a Mexican general. Kane becomes marshal of Lordsburg and falls in love with Lily Beloit (Angie Dickinson), a dance hall girl. John Behan (Jack Kelly) and Jesse Boone try to kill Kane, but Lily warns him of the plot in time. Kane arrests Jesse Boone, and when Kane learns that his captive is the son of his son's killer, he uses him as bait in a plan to catch Frank Boone. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Mitchum, Angie Dickinson, (more)
- 1969
Civilized Men first saw the light of day as an episode of the TV series Name of the Game. Dan Farrell (Robert Stack), two-fisted editor of Crime magazine, heads to Florida to probe into a cattle scam. Someone has been selling tainted meat, the end product of a rustled shipment of government livestock. Could the Mob be involved? Jill St. John, Jack Kelly and Rod Cameron guest star in this 90-minute mystery, originally broadcast November 28, 1969. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1968
- PG
A combined force of Italian and American commandos are ordered to attack and take over an air base in North Africa with only two days to do it. The Italian film, dubbed into English, is also known as Sullivan's Marauders. ~ John Bush, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lee Van Cleef
- 1968
A U.S. senator points a finger at a magazine publisher accused of stealing government money to fashion his publishing empire. ~ Rovi
- 1967
This 60-minute drama was originally telecast May 17, 1967 on The Bob Hope Chrysler Theatre. Lee Grant plays Virginia Cloyd, the widow of notorious criminal. Early one morning, Virginia calmly walks into a police precinct office--armed with a pistol and vial of nitroglycerine. In a measured voice, she announces that she intends to wait for detective James Lassiter (Donald May), the man responsible for the death of her husband. She also declares that she intends to kill Lassiter, in full view of the other cops. Detective novelist Ed McBain adapted the teleplay from his own story. An earlier version of Deadlock appeared on the McBain-inspired TV series 87th Precinct (1961-62). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1967
The death of an ex-serviceman appears to be accidental, but Ironside (Raymond Burr) suspects murder when he finds six GI dog-tag numbers scratched in the dead man's watch case. It turns out that five former soldiers are desperately trying to cover up their complicity in a robbery which occurred several years before. Ironside's assistant Ed risks his job--and his life--to bring the criminals to justice. Martial arts icon Bruce Lee appears as a karate instructor in this episode, which is climaxed by a heart-pounding showdown in San Francisco's huge cable-car barn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1965
In this domestic comedy, a high school graduate causes chaos when he tells his parents that he is going to get married and remain at home. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ricky Nelson, Jack Kelly, (more)
- 1964
A full year before the debut of Warner Bros.' TV series The FBI, a pilot of sorts was filmed under the title FBI Code 98. Jack Kelly heads the cast of this Dragnet-style docudrama, wherein the action is underlined by William Woodson's stentorian off-camera narration. The main plot concerns a disgruntled mad bomber, who uses his heightened knowledge of electronics to stay one step ahead of detection. The all-Warner-contractee cast includes Maverick's Kelly, Ray Danton, Andrew Duggan, Philip Carey, William Reynolds (later a regular on The FBI), Peggy McCay and Merry Anders. Originally intended as a TV special, FBI Code 98 was released theatrically instead. The film was produced by Stanley Niss, the author of the book on which the screenplay was based. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Kelly, Ray Danton, (more)
- 1964
Police school rookie Lucy (Lucille Ball) gets herself assigned to handsome detective Bill Baker (Jack Kelly), who is participating in a stakeout to capture Green Scarf Louie (John Harmon), alias "The Lovers Lane Bandit." Making a shambles of the stakeout, Lucy must figure out a way to get back into Baker's good graces. Thus it is that she appoints herself a decoy to flush out the elusive Louie--while Viv (Vivian Vance) shows up in drag as Lucy's "boyfriend". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Kelly, Alan Carney, (more)
- 1961
Jack Kelly plays a dual role in this episode, as frontier gambler Bart Maverick and his exact lookalike, vicious outlaw Red Claxton. Mistaken for Claxton, who has been systematically stealing army payrolls, Bart is arrested and thrown in the stockade. Sentenced to hang, our hero must somehow break out of jail to prove his innocence. Appearing as ingenue Caprice Rambeau is a young Dawn Wells, three years before her starmaking turn as Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1961
In this routine political drama by Vincent Sherman, a murder trial is converted into one piece in the complex interaction between three candidates for governor. Judge Hoffman (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) is a solid, anchoring presence in his courtroom, qualities which should stand him in good stead when election day arrives. Senator Simon (Don Ameche) has all the scruples of a hungry ferret and tries to bribe the judge to take on a position in the federal judicial system in lieu of his candidacy. The District Attorney, Dan Callahan also has an ethics-free approach to politics and is not likely to change. Complicating matters is the fact that the Senator's wife Cathy (Angie Dickinson) was once in love with Judge Hoffman. By the time these protagonists get through dealing with the race for governor and each other's scruples -- or lack of them -- circumstances have drastically changed the picture. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Angie Dickinson, (more)
- 1961
Although the departure of James Garner seemed to spell the doom of the long-running satirical western series Maverick at the end of its fourth season, ABC renewed the property for a fifth and final season in the fall of 1961, albeit shunted away to a less-than-desirable late Sunday afternoon timeslot. Jack Kelly soldiered on alone as frontier gambler Bart Maverick, who though he lacked Garner's deft comic touch could still be counted on to deliver the goods in the fast-action department. Only thirteen new episodes were filmed for the series' climactic season, beginning with "Dade City Dodge" and ending with "One of Our Trains is Missing"; the remainder of the season was filled out with reruns from the James Garner era. Although for the most part the final thirteen were but pale shadows of what Maverick had been in its glory days, the series managed to yield one last classic: "Three Queens Full", a riotous spoof of rival western Bonanza, with Jim Backus as millionaire rancher Jim Wheelwright, presiding not only over his vast "Subrosa" spread but also over his three rambunctious sons Henry, Moose and Small Paul! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Kelly
- 1960
The popular tongue-in-cheek western series Maverick entered its fourth season one "Maverick" shy. James Garner, who'd risen to stardom in the role of self-protective frontier gambler Bret Maverick, had long been complaining about the relative pittance he was being paid for his efforts by home studio Warner Bros.. The proverbial back-breaking straw came in early 1960,when the studio suspended Garner without pay, claiming that a Hollywood writers' strike had prevented Warners from turning out any new Maverick scripts--though curiously, Garner's costar Jack Kelly remained on the payroll. Bound by his contract to remain on the series despite this cavalier treatment, Garner sued Warners for breach of contract, finally winning his case when it was proven that the studio had actually built up a healthy reserve of scripts during the strike (some of which were retreads of earlier scripts, pseudonymously created to one "W. Hermanos"!) The upshot of all this backstage intrigue was that Maverick began its fourth season with Jack Kelly as the sole star, playing his familiar role of Bart Maverick. During Garner's absence, the studio attempted to create a new star in the person of future "James Bond" Roger Moore, who is introduced in the season opener "A Bundle from Britain". Moore plays Bret and Bart's English cousin Beau Maverick, who is the "White Sheep" of the family because he was actually decorated for heroics in the Civil War! While Moore played his part admirably, he was no James Garner, and was quietly written out of the show in mid-season. And when it was clear that Garner was never coming back, Warners' brought in a hitherto unknown third Maverick brother, Brent Maverick, played by Robert Colbert. Introduced in the episode "The Forbidden City", Brent survived only three more episodes before he, too, was axed. All of this cast-shuffling had a deleterious effect on the series' ratings, which for the first time in two years dropped completely out of the Top Thirty. Even so, Maverick's fourth season still yielded quite a few golden moments, notably the episode "Hadley's Hunters", which contrives to include cameo appearances by virtually the entire Warners TV-western lineup: Clint Walker (Cheyenne), Will Hutchins (Sugarfoot), Ty Hardin (Bronco), and John Russell and Peter Brown (Lawman)--not to mention Edd Byrnes, then playing the comb-wielding "Kookie" on the studio's non-western series 77 Sunset Strip. Also making guest appearances this season are a pre-Beverly Hillbillies Max Baer Jr. in the aforementioned "A Bundle of Britain"; another Beverly Hillbillies stalwart, Buddy Ebsen, atypically cast as a cold-blooded murderer in "Last Stop: Oblivion"; future Addams Family patriarch John Astin in "The Town That Wasn't There"' and Alan Hale Jr., aka "The Skipper" of Gilligan's Island fame, in "Arizona Black Maria". Season Four of Maverick concludes with the series' only two-part episode, "The Devil's Necklace." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jack Kelly, Roger Moore, (more)
- 1959
One of the most delightful running gags on the tongue-in-cheek western series Maverick was the tendency of frontier gambler Bret Maverick (James Garner) to constantly quote the pearls of wisdom passed down by his dear old Pappy. Generally, these "Pappyisms" came to surface whenever Bret wanted to convince his more adventuresome brother Bart (Jack Kelly) that discretion was the better part of valor--meaning, "Let's hightail it out of town before somebody fills us full of holes!" Inevitably, the elder Maverick would have to make an appearance on his sons' TV series. Thus, the third season of Maverick opens with the appropriately yclept episode "Pappy", with a heavily made up James Garner playing the title role. Evidently to keep peace in the family, costar Jack Kelly was likewise allowed to appear in old-man makeup at the end of this series--one of several vain efforts by the producers to give equal time to both Garner and Kelly, even though Garner was clearly the more popular of the two actors. As in past seasons, Maverick underlined its satirical approach to the western genre by serving up the occasional parody. "Maverick and Juliet", for example, is nothing more nor less than Shakespeare in the Sagebrush, relating the saga of the feud between the Montgomerys and the Cartarets. Even better is the episode "A Cure for Johnny Rain", a dead-on spoof of Dragnet, replete with deadpan offscreen narration ("This is the West. I work here. My name's Maverick.") Also as before, the third season of Maverick is studded with famous or soon-to-be famous names in the supporting casts. Both Troy Donahue and Adam West show up in the aforementioned "Pappy"; Buddy Ebsen of Beverly Hillibillies fame can be seen in "The Cats of Paradise"; a very young Joel Grey is cast as, of all things, Billy the Kid in "Full House"; and yes, that's Robert Redford as a bashful cowpoke in "Devil's Rain." Inasmuch as Maverick ended its third season as the 19th highest-rated show in America, there was no reason that the show shouldn't run forever. Well, actually, there was a reason--and without going into any further detail at this point, it can be noted that the season's final episode, "Greenbacks, Unlimited", also marked the last series appearance by James Garner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Garner, Jack Kelly, (more)
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