{"id":36776,"date":"2016-04-07T09:30:11","date_gmt":"2016-04-07T16:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36776"},"modified":"2021-08-29T19:25:25","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T02:25:25","slug":"pete-kellys-blues-1955","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36776","title":{"rendered":"Pete Kelly&#8217;s Blues (1955)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You couldn&#8217;t give me a cold.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Poster-183x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"183\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-36780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Poster-183x300.jpg 183w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Poster-78x128.jpg 78w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Poster.jpg 580w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 183px) 100vw, 183px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA Prohibition-era jazz band leader (Jack Webb) is pressured into being &#8220;managed&#8221; by a local gangster (Edmond O&#8217;Brien) after his uncooperative drummer (Martin Milner) is gunned down, prompting his longtime bandmate (Lee Marvin) to hit the road. Meanwhile, a beautiful socialite (Janet Leigh) doggedly pursues Webb, and O&#8217;Brien insists that Webb allow a talented but alcoholic performer (Peggy Lee) to sing in his band.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Edmond O&#8217;Brien Films<\/li>\n<li>Gangsters<\/li>\n<li>Jack Webb Films<\/li>\n<li>Janet Leigh Films<\/li>\n<li>Lee Marvin Films<\/li>\n<li>Musicians<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nJack Webb made his feature debut as a writer\/director\/actor\/producer by adapting his hit radio series <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36553\"><em>Dragnet<\/em> (1954)<\/a>, and followed up with this cinematic rendering of a <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pete_Kelly%27s_Blues_(radio_series)\">crime-musical radio drama taking place in Prohibition-era Kansas City<\/a>. Webb stars as the title character, who comes across as essentially a variation on his personae as &#8220;facts only&#8221; Detective Joe Friday and hard-hitting Sergeant Moore in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36572\"><em>The D.I.<\/em> (1957)<\/a>.  As DVD Savant writes in his review: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Webb locked himself into his perfectly deadly &#8216;Dragnet&#8217; style. He often moves like a robot. Instead of acting he hits marks, turns his head and flashes the occasional predetermined smile.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The movie&#8217;s redeeming moments are fine period sets, luminous Technicolor cinematography, and the presence of real-life musical stars Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee, who are given wonderfully uninterrupted, respectful moments to shine. Otherwise, the storyline&#8217;s awkward pacing, rat-a-tat dialogue (&#8220;They say you&#8217;ve got rubber pockets so you can steal soup.&#8221;), and underdeveloped characterizations reflect blunt radio serial norms rather than effective screenwriting.   <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ella Fitzgerald singing &#8220;Hard Hearted Hannah&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Fitzgerald.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Fitzgerald.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"213\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36779\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Fitzgerald.jpg 360w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Fitzgerald-128x76.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Fitzgerald-300x178.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Peggy Lee&#8217;s tunes<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Lee.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Lee.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"198\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36778\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Lee.jpg 360w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Lee-128x70.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Pete-Kellys-Blues-Lee-300x165.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Some creative direction and vibrant Technicolor\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, unless you&#8217;re a diehard jazz fan. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0048484\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s2671pete.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1955\/08\/19\/archives\/webb-plays-the-blues.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nysun.com\/arts\/warner-bros-celebrates-hollywoods-jazz-age\/82767\/\">NY Sun Article (scroll down)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/reviews\/66381\/pete-kellys-blues\/\">DVD Talk Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/us\/film\/pete-kellys-blues\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You couldn&#8217;t give me a cold.&#8221; Synopsis: A Prohibition-era jazz band leader (Jack Webb) is pressured into being &#8220;managed&#8221; by a local gangster (Edmond O&#8217;Brien) after his uncooperative drummer (Martin Milner) is gunned down, prompting his longtime bandmate (Lee Marvin) to hit the road. Meanwhile, a beautiful socialite (Janet Leigh) doggedly pursues Webb, and O&#8217;Brien insists that Webb allow a talented but alcoholic performer (Peggy Lee) to sing in his band. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Edmond O&#8217;Brien Films Gangsters&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=36776\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36776"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75550,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36776\/revisions\/75550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}