Sun 8 Mar 2015
A Radio & TV Series Review by Michael Shonk: PETE KELLY’S BLUES.
Posted by Steve under Old Time Radio , Reviews , TV Drama[18] Comments
RADIO SERIES: NBC. 4 July to 19 September 1951; 30 minutes. Cast: Jack Webb as Pete Kelly, Meredith Howard as Maggie Jackson. Pete Kelly’s Big 7: Dick Cathcart, Matty Matlock, Moe Schneider, Ray Schneider, Bill Newman, Marty Carb and Nick Fatool. Announcer: George Fenneman. Created by Richard Breen. Writers: James Moser and Jo Eisinger.
TV SERIES: NBC / Mark VII Ltd., 1959; 30 minutes. Cast: William Reynolds as Pete Kelly, Connee Boswell as Savannah Brown, Than Wyenn as George Lupo, and Phil Gordon as Fred. Music by Dick Cathcart. Additional Music by Matty Matlock, Gus Levene and Frank Comstock. Produced and directed by Jack Webb.
Pete Kelly was born from Jack Webb’s love of jazz and survives because of the music. Pete Kelley’s Blues began as a summer replacement series on radio in 1951 (On The Air – the Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio by John Dunning (Oxford University Press, 1998. The radio series lasted just thirteen episodes but that was not the end for Pete Kelly.
There was a film, a television series and the music. Besides the more famous film’s soundtrack there was music released from both the radio and TV series. Capitol Records released music from the radio series featuring Pete Kelly’s Big 7 led by Dick Cathcart with singer “Maggie Jackson,†including the song “Funny Man†(1951). An on the air credit announced the TV series music was available from Warner Brothers and featured the sounds of “Pete Kelly’s Big 7†(Dick Cathcart, Eddie Miller, Jud De Naut, George Van Eps, Moe Schneider, Nick Fatool and Ray Sherman).
While the TV series had been planned to follow the radio series (more on that later), it would have to wait until 1959 when it aired on NBC as a summer series that lasted only 13 episodes.
Both the radio series and the TV series focused on the daily struggles of Pete Kelly, a cornet player and leader of a Dixieland jazz band called Pete Kelly’s Big 7. All Pete wanted was to avoid trouble and play his music but it was the 1920s in Mob-run Kansas City, and even accepting the corruption was not enough to keep Pete out of trouble.
Surviving TV episodes are a rare find. Thanks to the collector’s market I found one episode of the TV series, “Poor Butterfly Story.â€
“Poor Butterfly Story.” Teleplay by Jack Webb. Based on Radio Play by Jo Eisinger. Produced and Directed by Jack Webb. Guest Cast: Whitney Blake, John Hudson, and Marshall Kent. *** Pete finds himself trapped, surrounded by a deadly romantic triangle involving Matty his record producer, Matty’s ex-wife Zelda and Zelda’s new husband gangster Johnny Angel.
Zelda begs Pete to help her get a record back from Matty. The record featured the Pete Kelly’s Big 7 performing “Poor Butterfly.†Matty and Angel are not happy about Pete getting involved. Pete is not happy about his involvement either, especially when finding that record becomes a matter of life or death — his.
While I have been unable to find any TV episode of Pete Kelly’s Blues available online to watch, the radio version is available. It was common during the fifties for TV series based on radio series to reuse the radio scripts. The TV episode “Poor Butterfly Story†was a remake of the radio episode “Zelda†that aired originally September 5, 1951 on NBC. The Great Detectives website has all six of the known surviving episodes of the radio series. Click on the link and scroll down for the episode “Zelda.â€
The story and most of the dialog from the radio show remained the same in the TV version. Different songs were used but in the same style, with Dixieland for Pete Kelly and the blues for Maggie Jackson (in radio and film) and Savannah Brown (in television). The most noticeable difference was changes in two characters. Pete’s friend “across the river†blues singer Maggie Jackson (on radio and film) got a new name Savannah Brown in the TV series. Pete’s other friend, the failed bootlegger and loquacious drunk Barney in the radio series was replaced by the band’s piano player, a Southern with a folksy sense of humor, named Fred.
I preferred the radio version mainly because of the cast. Webb was the better Pete Kelly. When Angel confronts Kelly about Zelda, Webb’s voice in the radio version ranges in emotion from fear to anger while in the TV versions Reynolds failed to show those emotions. Known best for his role in The F.B.I (1965) as Special Agent Colby (1966-74), William Reynolds was a bland actor at best. Webb was visually limited in range as an actor, but his voice talent was among the best in radio.
Webb’s former high school classmate, Meredith Howard as radio’s Maggie had the voice and acting ability to make you believe she lived on “the other side of the river†(the black side). Ella Fitzgerald made the character of Maggie her own in the film. Connee Boswell as Savannah had the voice but being white and shot in the pre-Elvis TV style (where the singer stands stiff and still as he or she sings) ruined the character. But it did allow Southern NBC stations to carry the series.
According to TV Tango, TVGuide.com and IMDb the TV episode aired April 26, 1959, Sunday at 8:30pm. There is some confusion over dates the show aired. The NBC series premiere date is uncertain. Broadcasting (April 6, 1959) and Billboard (March 30,1959) claim Pete Kelly’s Blues premiered on Tuesday March 31, 1959 at 8-8:30pm. Yet today’s databases and books give the premiere date as Sunday April 5, 1959 at 8:30pm. IMDb has the skill to disagree with itself. The database gives March 31, 1959 as release date for TV series but the episode index list April 5, 1959 as the premiere’s airdate.
Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present by Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh (Ballantine, Ninth Edition) claim the series debuted April 5, 1959 and aired on Sunday until July when it move to Friday at 7:30 pm until its final broadcast September 4, 1959. The episodes on Friday were probably reruns as the series lasted just thirteen episodes. TVTango.com agree with the Sunday and Friday time slots.
It took jazz fan Jack Webb several years to get the TV series on the air. While the radio series aired first, there were plans for a TV series from nearly the beginning. In Broadcasting (December 22, 1952), details of the proposed TV version of Pete Kelly’s Blues was reported with shooting to begin in June 1953 and Webb as director, Stan Meyer as executive producer and Michael Meshekoff as producer. There was no mention of the cast.
In July 13, 1953 Broadcasting, during a report about Dragnet starting syndication in the fall under the title The Cop (that would be later changed to Badge 714), the article mentions Webb’s plans to do a Pete Kelly’s Blues TV series in color with Webb as star.
According to Hedda Hopper (Chicago Tribune, August 11, 1954), Webb had originally planned to follow the radio series with a TV series version, but “instead of which he’ll make it into a movie, playing the title role, a trumpet player.â€
Plans to make a TV series continued as the film version played in the theatres (Broadcasting, March, 28, 1955). Billboard (May 27,1957) reported Jack Webb and ABC were in talks for a Pete Kelly’s Blues weekly TV series with sixty-minute episodes.
The December 16,1957 issue of Billboard claimed Bob Crosby was being considered for the part of Pete Kelly in the possible TV series. A few months later Broadcasting (February 17, 1958) noted that Bob Crosby would not star due to commitments he had with CBS. A new lead was been sought. The magazine added that Webb would supervise production with Harper Goff as producer and George Stevens Jr. and Joseph Parker also involved in production. Plans were to start shooting in May.
In a Chicago Tribune (April 30, 1961) interview Webb said he thought the failure of the TV series was in part due to timing. He believed airing Pete Kelly’s Blues at the end of the season rather the beginning hurt and regretted it aired only a year or so before interest in the 20s music, fashion, and crime would explode among the public.
I doubt timing was the problem. The more entertaining ABC’s Roaring 20s (1960) had the timing but lasted only a season and a half. The real problem with both the radio and television series was with the protagonist Pete Kelly, who lacked the qualities of the type of hero the audience at the time wanted. Joe Friday would have disapproved of Pete Kelly. I think the audience did as well.
Editorial Comment: The video clip obviously comes from the movie version of Pete Kelly’s Blues, and more than likely the two photo images do, too. I apologize for that, but I thought it was more important to give you an idea of what the radio and TV series were like, in spite of the bit of inaccuracy involved.
March 8th, 2015 at 8:40 pm
Michael
As always impressive research. I remember loving the movie when I first saw it on television and I’ve heard some of the radio series, but only barely knew of the television series. Thanks for the info and insight.
I am not being the usual smart ass blogger looking for gaffes, but there is a comma Steve needs to add for clarification that admittedly came out pretty funny.
“a Southern with a folksy sense of humor named Fred”
Please believe me I am not playing gotcha, I do these all the time. I’m not sure what my sense of humor is named though.
March 8th, 2015 at 8:47 pm
Missing comma duly noted and inserted. Thanks, David!
March 8th, 2015 at 11:27 pm
1. Thanks David. I was thinking of my sense of humor…its named Bob.
March 9th, 2015 at 2:48 am
At first I didn’t recognize the cigarette girl in the movie clip as Jayne Mansfield.
I wonder what Jack Webb’s jazz musician friends thought of the anti-marijuana episodes on the late ’60s “Dragnet” revival.
March 9th, 2015 at 12:11 pm
Connee Boswell didn’t move around for a reason: she was confined to a wheelchair for most of her life, the result of either childhood polio or an accident (accounts vary).
During the Big Band era, Boswell and her sisters had a successful singing act with several bands; Connee was always seated during the act – she didn’t hide her paralysis, but she didn’t publicize it either.
Jack Webb, an old friend from radio days, talked Connee out of performing retirement with the Pete Kelly’s Blues role; she also contributed majorly to the musical content, along with Dick Cathcart, who was “ghost” trumpeter for William Reynolds.
Cathcart later joined Lawrence Welk’s orchestra, ultimately marrying Peggy Lennon (you might remember her sisters …).
Also Harper Goff was an art director at Walt Disney Studios, where Webb filmed his series in the ’50s. He was also the original banjo player with the Firehouse 5+2 (the Dixieland combo formed by Disney animators that had a brief vogue with their jazz recordings).
Harper Goff also played bit parts in films and TV, usually as favors to friends (he can be seen in some of the ’50s Dragnets, for example).
I can’t confirm his participation as a producer on Kelly’s, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned up on camera occasionally – with or without his banjo.
My sense of humor, for reasons of its own, prefers to remain anonymous.
March 9th, 2015 at 1:22 pm
4. Gary R., reportedly Webb was a popular person from his childhood who remained loyal to those close to him. I suspect his jazz musician friends like his ex-wife Julie London accepted his views and he did theirs.
As for the late 60s-70s DRAGNET, I suspect they got high and watched it as camp. I wish I had looked at the series then as I do now, TV’s version of REEFER MADNESS.
One also has to remember Jack Webb was not Joe Friday. That he had spent nearly all of his life around jazz musicians and certainly knew how to speak hip better than Joe Friday did on that show. Maybe Webb was a better actor than we give him credit for.
March 9th, 2015 at 1:54 pm
5. Mike Doran, you remember the style of singing until rock, you stood still and sang.
It is a surprise to me Boswell was in a wheelchair because she appeared to be standing when she sang (FDR would have been proud). The shot was a static close-up with a little to no background.
I have found something interesting on you-tube (my faithful sidekick). There is an audio clip from one of the records with the TV soundtrack. At 0:41 the record cover appears with the TV cast featured. Notice Boswell “standing?” Also, notice how out of place she would have looked on the “other side of the river.” The character needed to be played by a black actress but TV was not ready.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sc6oPAiSk0
Webb had a habit of hiring friends. Dick Cathcart was an old Army buddy. Webb knew most if not all of the musicians. Announcer George Fenneman helped Webb in his early radio days.
The “Broadcasting” article mentioned Harper Goff as a supervising art director at MarkVII productions. I don’t remember his name in the credits. Maybe I will check again.
March 9th, 2015 at 2:02 pm
Those you take a listen to the clip from the TV series soundtrack (see comment 7) the cast is Connee Boswell in left front. Phil Gordon as Fred at the piano in left back. To Fred’s right is Than Wyenn as George Lupo manager at speakeasy where the band plays. And foreground right with cornet is William Reynolds at Pete Kelly.
March 9th, 2015 at 4:55 pm
Thanks for that video clip, Michael. I enjoy this type of music, but for me a little also goes a long way. Webb must really have enjoyed telling stories about Pete Kelly, to have kept the multi-faceted project (radio, movie an TV) alive and well for so long. He certainly displayed an unusual acting ability on the screen, but he really did well for himself. I enjoyed the early DRAGNET television shows often just to see the faces of many old radio stars.
March 9th, 2015 at 7:00 pm
Gary R., Comment #4
I didn’t recognize Jayne Mansfield at all till you pointed her out. It looks like this was her first film, after one TV appearance. Her second movie was ILLEGAL, which I reviewed here:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=29302
March 9th, 2015 at 9:42 pm
7:
That picture of the Pete Kelly soundtrack album shows Connee Boswell on a stool, with her legs crossed and her feet not touching the floor.
I believe this practice is called sitting.
As I mentioned (perhaps not clearly), Ms. Boswell didn’t publicize her condition; when she performed with her sisters on stage, they would form a triangle with Connee at the base.
I seem to recall an article at the time the Kelly show aired, about how camera setups were arranged to accommodate Connee Boswell’s condition.
March 9th, 2015 at 10:23 pm
Mike you missed my “” marks around standing and the mention of FDR for doing the same. I am the one who needed to be clearer.
I have noticed our different spelling of Connie. I went back to the copy and see how it was spelled. You are correct about Connee. The first e blended into the image behind it.
Note to Steve: please fix the spelling in post and change Connie Boswell to Connee.
No Harper Goff in the credits. Herman Saunders was the associate producer and the rest of the credits were the ones you see in tiny type at the end.
March 9th, 2015 at 11:45 pm
Michael
Done. I’ve changed all of the Connie’s to Connee’s, including the mention of her in your previous comment. I didn’t spot that, either, and I knew better. Or should have.
March 9th, 2015 at 10:29 pm
The bootleg copy of the episode featured an odd trailer and commercial at the end. It was in the style but cheaper than the famous trailer Webb made for the film. Watch the film trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNvUkfyRW78
My dubbed copy opens with Webb talking to us. He introduces some items, one at a time. With each item – a cornet, a photograph, a mouthpiece for the cornet and a player piano – he begins with the phrase “This is…†and establishes its connection to PETE KELLY’S BLUES. Finally the pictures cuts into the series title card and the voice of the announcer and the same theme as the radio series, a theme that began with the phrase “This is…â€
But it is the closing, after the credits end that make this odd to be on the TV series. Webb is back, standing in front of a car from PETE KELLY’S BLUES. Webb invites the audience to see the car in cinescope and in the new movie PETE KELLY’S BLUES. The film was released in 1955 yet here for a TV show that aired in 1959 telling all to see it in the theaters.
My only guess is someone added it to the bootleg and was not on the original. It was not part of the famous movie trailer. I wonder where the Webb promos came from.
March 9th, 2015 at 11:47 pm
Michael
I wonder if your bootleg was a pilot for the TV series that was filmed at the same time as the movie, then refilmed or used again as part of the TV series when that finally came about, four years later.
March 10th, 2015 at 12:23 am
Steve, it is possible but the copyright date on the TV show was 1959.
Also, the film was made instead of the TV series that no one was interested in. Yet Webb talked as if people would see this in 1955 (go see the “new movie”). Then there were different versions such as the 1957 proposed hour series with ABC that were considered after the film.
Webb in the film trailer is dressed in period and not in the b&w version on TV.
I think Webb did a trailer for TV to promote the 1955 film and this was edited, for some reason, on to this copy.
Of course, then there is the mystery of when the series first aired and why modern sources say April 5th and the sources at the time say March 31st. Was its premiere airdate changed at the last minute and if so why?
Its been awhile since I’ve have needed the help of kind strangers with old TV Guides.
March 10th, 2015 at 10:36 pm
I bumped into Mike Doran over at blog “It’s About TV” one of two sites I know that examine and reveal the secrets of the past according to TV GUIDE (the other is TV Obscurities).
From this information we can assume with much certainty that the premiere episode of PETE KELLY’S BLUES was moved from March 31 to April 5th at the last moment and too late for the press to change its dates.
Why remains a question, but maybe PETE KELLY’S BLUES wasn’t ready after all that time travel Jack Webb was doing from recommending audiences to watch a new 1955 film in a promo during this 1959 TV episode.
February 6th, 2024 at 9:49 pm
Unrelated –except to Jack Webb and ‘Dragnet’ –I gotta say that this week I happened to hear one of the greatest ‘Dragnet’ episodes I’ve ever experienced.
I’ve been bingeing the radio series exclusively lately, while I struggle with paperwork each night for a project at work. Absorbing one show after another –each one dominated by Webb’s flat, familiar narration –no commercials –frees my mind. Lets me concentrate better.
I’ve relied on Webb this way before –frankly, any of his series suits this occasional need of mine. I reckon I’m familiar with maybe half the nearly 400 installments. But somehow, I’d never before encountered one titled, ‘Big Ben’.
At first I only gave it half-an-ear; half-my-attention. You know how it is with, ‘Dragnet’: the format is practically identical from one story to the next. The cases hardly vary; the crime-solving is always drawn from the same recipe. Interrogations, stakeouts, legwork. Intermittent shootout or car-chase. Los Angeles’ wrong-doers always tidily bundled up in 27 minutes.
Webb’s iron-like restraint is one of the strengths of the show. He never allowed the production to waver in its depiction of dull, rote police procedure; he never permitted his actors to veer from the faithful reenactment of dry, conservative cop-speak.
But this specific program is a stroke of sheer genius by the writers. It was so astounding I set aside my homework assignment, rose from my seat, and paced around the room listening to it unfold.
I won’t spoil it for anyone here by going into detail. For that matter, I don’t know whether anyone else will appreciate the novelty which amazed me about it. It might only be something that you ‘get’ if you’ve you’re a regular fan of this serial.
But I’d go as far as labeling it the radio equivalent of, “David-Janssen-finally-cornering-the- one-armed-man”; or the whole, “Who-shot-JR” thing or something like that. I was utterly thunderstruck.