Le Gang du blues

Bandleader Pete Kelly (Jack Webb) struggles to get out from under the thumb of a gangster (Edmond O'Brien) in 1920s Kansas City. A departure for Dragnet star and creator Jack Webb, who was also a huge jazz fan. Like Dragnet, Pete Kelly's Blues was originally a radio show. It only lasted three months. I heard some of it on satellite radio a few years ago and actually enjoyed it. This idea was also turned into a short-lived TV series (again by Webb) a few years after this movie. So obviously this concept was a labor of love for Jack Webb.

Actingwise, Webb is his usual stiff self here. It works better with Dragnet where he played a straight-laced character. Here he's a rough fit. I especially find it hard to swallow beautiful and flighty rich girl Janet Leigh would be so into him. Still, the Dragnet-style narration and rapid fire dialogue make the part fit Webb even if he doesn't fit the part. The rest of the cast is good. In addition to Leigh and O'Brien, there's Lee Marvin in a small part, Andy Devine as a detective (!), and Than Wyenn as the amusing owner of a club the band plays at. But the scene stealer is Peggy Lee as O'Brien's drunk moll that Webb is forced to take into the band as a singer. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance and it's well-deserved. The music, script, and direction are the movie's biggest strengths. It's definitely worth a look, particularly for Dragnet fans.