PETE KELLY'S BLUES (1955)

Pete Kelly's Blues is a 1955 musical-crime film based on the 1951 original radio series. It was directed by and starred Jack Webb in the title role of a bandleader and musician. Janet Leigh is featured as party girl Ivy Conrad, and Edmond O'Brien as a gangster who applies pressure to Kelly. Peggy Lee portrays alcoholic jazz singer Rose Hopkins (a performance for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role). Ella Fitzgerald makes a cameo as singer Maggie Jackson (a character played by a white actress in the radio series). Lee Marvin, Martin Milner, and Jayne Mansfield also make early career appearances.

Much of the dialogue was written by writers who wrote the radio series Pat Novak for Hire (1946-1949), and the radio version of Pete Kelly's Blues (1951), both of which Webb starred in for a time before creating Dragnet. Directed by    Jack Webb
Produced by    Jack Webb
Written by    Richard L. Breen
Starring    
Jack Webb
Janet Leigh
Edmond O'Brien
Music by
Arthur Hamilton
Ray Heindorf
David Buttolph
Matty Matlock
Cinematography    Harold Rosson
Edited by    Robert M. Leeds
Release date July 31, 1955

Running time 95 min.
Country    United States
Language    English
Budget    $2,000,000
Box office    $5 million (US)

These films were originally produced long before the advent of High Definition TV, therefore they are best viewed on a small screen. HD TVs tend to stretch and skew the picture. Set your HD TV on 4:3 aspect ratio. (That was the old TV format). Please do not expect DVD or Commercial level DVDs from these films.