''Captain David Grief'' (also known as ''The Jack London Stories'') is an American

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

television series that aired in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

from October 1957 to 1960. The program was based on a series of

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

short-stories centered on the South Seas tradesman and adventurer David Grief, collected in ''A Son of the Sun''.

Overview

''Captain David Grief'' was a half-hour filmed series. The cast included the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

-born actor

Maxwell Reed Maxwell Reed (2 April 1919 – 31 October 1974) was a Northern Irish actor who became a matinee idol in several British films during the 1940s and 1950s. Biography Early Years Reed was born in Larne. He left school aged fifteen to work on ...

as Captain Grief, Tudor Owen as Elihu Snow,

Mickey Simpson Mickey Simpson (December 3, 1913 – September 23, 1985) was an American supporting actor of burly roles, probably most familiar as "Sarge," the bigoted diner owner in the 1956 film, ''Giant''. He appeared in over 175 films and television episod ...

as Boley, Mel Prestidge as Jackie-Jackie, and

Maureen Hingert Maureen Neliya Ballard (née Hingert) (born 9 January 1937), also professionally known as Jana Davi is a former Sri Lankan dancer, model, actress and beauty pageant titleholder. Biography Hingert was born on 9 January 1937 in Colombo, Ceylon. ...

as Anura.

Stuart Heisler Stuart Heisler (December 5, 1896 – August 21, 1979) was an American film and television director. He was a son of Luther Albert Heisler (1855–1916), a carpenter, and Frances Baldwin Heisler (1857–1935). He worked as a motion picture editor ...

was the director, and the producer was Duke Goldstone. ''Captain David Grief'' ran for two seasons with a total of 39 episodes. The first nine episodes were shot in Hawaii. The production later moved to southern California and then Cuba, before the final episodes were shot in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The series was distributed by Guild Films. The program was the first TV series to be filmed on location in Hawaii. The three-masted

barquentine A barquentine or schooner barque (alternatively "barkentine" or "schooner bark") is a sailing vessel with three or more masts; with a square rigged foremast and fore-and-aft rigged main, mizzen and any other masts. Modern barquentine sailing r ...

''California'' was used for scenes shot aboard ship. It was renamed ''The Rattler'' in the show. The Pioneer Inn in

Lahaina, Hawaii Lahaina ( haw, Lāhainā) is the largest census-designated place (CDP) in West Maui, Maui County, Hawaii, United States and includes the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. As of the 2020 census, the CDP had a resident population of 12,702. Laha ...

, was used for scenes filmed on land. The program's budget was $1,912,000. Sponsors varied by region of the country. As of February 1957, they included West End Brewing Company, Utica, New York; Stroh Brewery, Detroit; Pearl Brewing Company, Texas; Standard Oil of California; and D-X Sunray Oil, Tulsa.

Guest stars

Among the series guest stars were boxers

Rocky Marciano Rocco Francis Marchegiano (September 1, 1923 – August 31, 1969; ), better known as Rocky Marciano (, ), was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955, and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the only ...

and

Buddy Baer Jacob Henry "Buddy" Baer (June 11, 1915 – July 18, 1986) was an American boxer and later an actor with important parts in seventeen films, as well as roles on various television series in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1941, he came extremely cl ...

. Other guest stars include: *

Allison Hayes Allison Hayes (born Mary Jane Hayes; March 6, 1930 – February 27, 1977) was an American film and television actress and model. Early life Allison Hayes was born to William E. Hayes and Charlotte Gibson Hayes in Charleston, West Virginia. She ...

Ruta Lee Ruta Lee (born Ruta Mary Kilmonis; May 30, 1935) is an American actress and dancer who appeared as one of the brides in the musical ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers''. She had roles in films including Billy Wilder's crime drama ''Witness for th ...

Lois Nettleton Lois June Nettleton (August 16, 1927 – January 18, 2008) was an American film, stage, radio, and television actress. She received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won two Daytime Emmy Awards. Early life Lois Nettleton was born on Au ...

J. Pat O'Malley James Rudolph O'Malley (15 March 1904 – 27 February 1985) was an English character actor and singer who appeared in many American films and television programmes from the 1940s to 1982, using the stage name J. Pat O'Malley. He also appeared on ...

DVD release

Four episodes of the series (episodes 9, 19, 24 and 25) were released on DVD by

Alpha Video Alpha Video (also known as Alpha Home Entertainment) is an entertainment company, based near Philadelphia, that specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of public domain movies and TV shows on DVD. Alpha Video releases approximately 30 ne ...

in 2007.

References

External links

* 1957 American television series debuts 1960 American television series endings 1950s American drama television series 1960s American drama television series American action television series American adventure television series Black-and-white American television shows English-language television shows First-run syndicated television programs in the United States {{US-drama-tv-prog-stub