''A Fever in the Blood'' is a 1961 American

courtroom drama A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice pla ...

, produced and distributed by

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

. The film features a roster of the studio's television contract players, often miscast according to the film's producer and screenwriter

Roy Huggins Roy Huggins (July 18, 1914 – April 3, 2002) was an American novelist and an influential writer/creator and producer of character-driven television series, including ''Maverick'', '' The Fugitive'', ''Hunter'', and ''The Rockford Files''. He ...

in his

Archive of American Television The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (formerly titled the Archive of American Television) is a project of the nonprofit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, that records interviews with notable ...

interview. In fact, Huggins later complained that the film's star,

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (November 30, 1918 – May 2, 2014) was an American actor known for his starring roles in the television series '' 77 Sunset Strip'' and ''The F.B.I.'' He is also known as recurring character "Dandy Jim Buckley" in the s ...

was "too young for the role f the judgeand I said so". The

picture An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimension ...

, based on the 1959 novel of the same name by a retired Colorado lawyer, William Pearson, also featured

Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...

, Jack Kelly,

Don Ameche Don Ameche (; born Dominic Felix Amici; May 31, 1908 – December 6, 1993) was an American actor, comedian and vaudevillian. After playing in college shows, stock, and vaudeville, he became a major radio star in the early 1930s, which ...

Ray Danton Ray Danton (born Raymond Caplan; September 19, 1931 – February 11, 1992) was a radio, film, stage, and television actor, director, and producer whose most famous roles were in the screen biographies '' The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond'' (196 ...

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Uni ...

Rhodes Reason Rhodes Reason (April 19, 1930 – December 26, 2014) was an American actor who appeared in more than 200 roles in television, film, and stage. Film and television career Reason was born in Glendale in Los Angeles County, California, the so ...

Robert Colbert Robert Colbert is an American actor most noted for his leading role portraying Dr. Doug Phillips on the ABC television series ''The Time Tunnel'' and his two appearances as Brent Maverick, a third Maverick brother in the ABC/Warner Brothers ...

Carroll O'Connor John Carroll O'Connor (August 2, 1924 – June 21, 2001) was an American actor, producer, and director whose television career spanned over four decades. He became a lifelong member of the Actors Studio in 1971. O'Connor found widespread fame a ...

(in his film debut),

Parley Baer Parley Edward Baer (August 5, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American actor in radio and later in television and film. Despite dozens of appearances in television series and theatrical films, he remains best known as the original "Cheste ...

, and Saundra Edwards. The film was directed by

Vincent Sherman Vincent Sherman (born Abraham Orovitz, July 16, 1906 – June 18, 2006) was an American director and actor who worked in Hollywood. His movies include ''Mr. Skeffington'' (1944), ''Nora Prentiss'' (1947), and '' The Young Philadelphians'' (1959). ...

, with music by Ernest Gold, cinematography by J. Peverell Marley, and editing by William H. Ziegler.

Plot

Judge Leland Hoffman (Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.) and District Attorney Dan Callahan (Jack Kelly) go on a weekend hunting trip. The two men share something in common; they both will seek their party's gubernatorial nomination. But when socialite Paula Thornwell is found murdered, D. A. Callahan is summoned back to the city to investigate. Because of the high-profile nature of the Thornwall case, Callahan decides to handle the prosecution himself. The victim's estranged husband, industrialist Walter Thornwall (Rhodes Reason), becomes Callahan's prime suspect. Eventually, he is charged with murder. Interestingly, Judge Hoffman is assigned to hear the case. The pressures of the courtroom turn the otherwise affable Dan Callahan into a ruthless, vindictive prosecutor, determined to win a conviction at any cost. However, at one point, Thornwall's defense attorney (Ray Danton) calls police sergeant Michael Beers (Jesse White) to the witness stand. During his testimony, Beers unethically blurts that the defendant, Thornwall, had once threatened his wife. The defense makes a motion for mistrial, triggering Callahan's immediate objection. After a tense moment of reflection, Judge Hoffman orders Beers' testimony stricken from the record, but he denies the move for mistrial. Later, after the case goes to the jury for a verdict, they decide in favor of conviction, thus paving the way for a Callahan gubernatorial candidacy. After the trial is over, however, the gardener for the Thornwall estate is found to be Paula Thornwall's actual murderer when he is apprehended by police and confesses. Callahan uses the confession to free Mr. Thornwall as a means of more political self-promotion. Later, when delegates at the party's state convention consider whom to nominate for governor, they wind up rejecting the showboating Callahan in favor of Hoffman, the quiet man of conscience. As a result, the judge is selected to represent the party in the gubernatorial contest.

Cast

... Judge Leland Hoffman

... Cathy Simon
Jack Kelly ... Dan Callahan

... Sen. Alex Simon

... Clem Marker (lawyer)

... Gov. Oliver Thornwall

Andra Martin Andra Martin (born Sandra Rehn, July 15, 1935 – May 3, 2022) was an American actress who appeared in many television series and a few movies as a contract player for Warner Bros. in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Early years Martin was born ...

... Laura Mayberry
Jesse White ... Mickey Beers

... Walter Thornwall

... Thomas J. Morely

... Matt Keenan

... Charles 'Charlie' Bosworth
Saundra Edwards ... Lucy Callahan

Production Notes

Director Vincent Sherman at first considered the story "old-fashioned...with dismal prospects." The script's adapter, Roy Huggins, agreed and "tried to update it wherever possible." Ultimately though, Sherman criticized the casting of TV actors like Jack Kelly and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., because he felt their presence on screen would "cause audiences to regard the film as merely an enlarged TV program." Studio boss Jack L. Warner's attitude toward television actors like Jack Kelly who aspired to film stardom was somewhat cynical. He once commented that "naturally they want to get out of TV because the work is not easy. They want to get into features where they can have an easier occupation.". Nevertheless, Warner had to admit that Jack Kelly "was a worker and a contract player hogave Jack

arner Arner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Elias Arnér (born 1966), Swedish biochemist *Gwen Arner, American television director and actress * James G. Arner (born 1951), American judge * Sivar Arnér (1909–1997), Swedish wri ...

all he was worth." Thus, Warner felt obligated finally to offer him a starring role in this film. Since ''A Fever in the Blood'' had debuted while Jack Kelly was still appearing in the TV western-satire, ''Maverick'', the actor "found himself in two totally different personas at the same time -- one on the small screen, and one on the large screen." In ''Maverick'', he was an easy-going, laid-back gambler on horseback; in ''Fever'', however, he acted the role of an intensely dislikeable politician. Another ''Maverick'' cast member, Robert Colbert, who played " Brent Maverick" in two episodes,''Encyclopedia of Television''. Second edition. (Ed. Horace Newcomb). New York: Taylor & Francis, 2014. p. 1443.
/ref> was also in the cast of ''Fever''. He played the Thornwalls' gardener.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fever In The Blood 1961 films 1961 crime drama films American black-and-white films American crime drama films American political drama films Film scores Films based on American novels Films directed by Vincent Sherman Films scored by Ernest Gold Warner Bros. films Films with screenplays by Harry Kleiner 1960s English-language films 1960s American films