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IMDb > Pete Kelly's Blues (1955)

Pete Kelly's Blues (1955) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.5/10   318 votes
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Director:
Jack Webb
Writer:
Richard L. Breen (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Pete Kelly's Blues on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
31 July 1955 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama | Music more
Tagline:
A jazz-man of the wide-open '20s - caught in the crossfire of its blazing .38s! more
Plot:
In 1927 Kansas City Pete Kelly and his jazz band play nightly at a speakeasy. A local gangster starts... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Actress Janet Leigh Dies at 77
 (From IMDb News. 4 October 2004)

Peggy Lee's Family's Oscar Fury
 (From WENN. 5 April 2002)

User Comments:
The hole in the donut more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Jack Webb ... Pete Kelly

Janet Leigh ... Ivy Conrad

Edmond O'Brien ... Fran McCarg

Peggy Lee ... Rose Hopkins
Andy Devine ... George Tenell

Lee Marvin ... Al Gannaway
Ella Fitzgerald ... Maggie Jackson
Martin Milner ... Joey Firestone
Than Wyenn ... Rudy Shulak
Herbert Ellis ... Bedido (as Herb Ellis)
John Dennis ... Guy Bettenhouser

Jayne Mansfield ... Cigarette Girl
Mort Marshall ... Cootie Jacobs
Moe Schneider ... Band member (Big 7)
George Van Eps ... Guitarist (Big 7)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
95 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Warnercolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.55 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (RCA Sound Recording) (magnetic prints) | Mono (RCA Sound Recording) (optical prints)
Certification:
Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG
Company:
Mark VII Ltd. more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In August 1957, this film was being widely shown on a double bill with The Last Hunt (1956). more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "The Colgate Comedy Hour: (#5.33)" (1955) more
Soundtrack:
Bye Bye Blackbird more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
13 out of 17 people found the following comment useful:-
The hole in the donut, 9 June 2003
Author: schappe1 from N Syracuse NY

This was Jack Webb's labor of love and his big shot at big screen stardom. Humphrey Bogart was aging, (and soon to die), and perhaps Webb saw himself as an heir to his thrown. He certainly was a lover of everything about the 1920's into which he was born and of the jazz of the time in particular. He was a competent actor, (quite good in 1950's "The Men", opposite Marlon Brando) but ultimately lacked the presence and ability necessary for stardom. he we see him completely outacted by two who did, Edmund O'Brien and Lee Marvin, (who would have been a fabulous choice to play Pete Kelly). Webb seems trapped in his Joe Friday characterization. Particularly poor his the scene where he first confronts O'Brien, as gangster McClarg, in anger. Kelly, (Webb), knocks out McClarg's henchmen. McClarg then breaks a bottle on the bar and offers Kelly a chance to beat him to it. Kelly then shrinks into intimidation and sulks out. The scene is preposterous to begin with: why would Kelly be intimidated by McClarg when he's just kayoed hi body guard? But Webb clearly has no idea how to play it. He just stars blankly at O'Brien, then turns around and, hunched over and with his arms dangling lifelessly at his side, he marches out stage left while the music swells up to convey Kelly's humiliation to us much more effectively than Webb does.

Where Webb really excelled was as a director. He opens this with a shot of a New Orleans jazz funeral. Period detail is exquisite throughout. The dialog is snappy and authentic. The music, of course is great if jazz is to your taste. Any film with both Peggy Lee and Ella Fitzgerald singing in it is work a listen. This one is worth a look, as well. There are great camera shots, particularly when one of Kelly's associates gets gunned down in an alley. The final confrontation is exciting and well-staged. As noted below, it was clearly influential to modern directors. The cast of the film is uniformly excellent except for Webb himself. Peggy Lee is great and one wonders why a significant acting career didn't follow. O'Brien, in a rare villain role, is forceful without the overacting he's often guilty of. Marvin dominates every scene he's in and Martin Milner, a much underrated actor, is excellent in an early role as well. Andy Devine is a revelation as a tough cop. You've got to see it to believe it. Janet Leigh appears as Kelly's girlfriend. She's essentially window dressing but very attractive window dressing. But it's hard to tell what attracted her to Kelly. Webb is so stiff an uncomfortable in their romantic scenes that their relationship is hardly credible.

This film would probably be regarded as a classic today if Webb had not insisted on playing the lead, but who can blame him? It was his big chance on the big screen. He created an exquisite donut to star in. But this donut had a hole in it and he was that hole.

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