MovieChat Forums > Maverick (1957) Discussion > Bret or Bart?

Bret or Bart?

posted 14 years ago by MartynGryphon
13 replies | jump to latest

The episodes when both appeared were brilliant. The James Garner Episodes tended to be more weighted to the comedic storylines, while Jack Kelly's were much more serious in nature.

This must have been a co-incident as the script writers were always told to write the episodes visualising Garner and not Kelly as the main protagonist and it would be decided later, (based on the two actors schedules), who would be cast.

My question is Who was your favourite brother?

Mine was definetely Bart. Who's with me?

Growing old is mandatory, Growing UP is optional

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Captain_Augustus_McCrae 14 years ago

My favorite is Bret, but not by as wide a margin as when the show was first on. As I mature I have come to appreciate Mr. Kelly's performances more.

"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's living!!!"
Augustus McCrae

[–] joehrobertsjr 14 years ago

I have all the Maverick episodes on DVD and the more I watch, the more I've come to appreciate Jack Kelly and the work he did on the series. He never got the credit he deserved. Though he lacked the charisma and overall screen presence of James Garner he was a fine actor in his own right and many of his solo episodes are the equal of anything Garner ever did on the series. When Garner and Kelly appeared together on the series it was television magic. You don't see that very often.

[–] lguadiana 14 years ago

I love Bart

[–] tightspotkilo 13 years ago

The episodes when both appeared were brilliant. The James Garner Episodes tended to be more weighted to the comedic storylines, while Jack Kelly's were much more serious in nature.

You'd certainly think so, that the scripts featuring Bret were more comedic and the ones with Bart were more serious, but apparently not so! The Encore Westerns channel has been featuring Maverick episodes daily for years, and they sometimes include interviews with writers and others involved with the production. In one such interview with a writer who had written numerous episodes during the period when Garner and Kelly alternated weeks, the writer said, they were instructed to not differentiate between Bret and Bart. In other words, the same scripts went to each, and they just gave half to Garner and half to Kelly. The comedy and the seriousness were supplied by the actors, not the scripts.

[–] robann1 13 years ago

I was a little kid when it first came on TV and I really liked James Garner better. However, now that I see them on Retroplex on TV I find that I am favoring Jack Kelly. He was very intense and very handsome

[–] Sathill45 13 years ago

Bart, Jack Kelly all the way.

[–] lexyladyjax 13 years ago

When they appear together there's something about their chemistry that only happened when DeForest Kelley, William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were together a decade later. Those two were amazing and should have been paid whatever they were asking to have kept them on all those years ago.

It's too bad the studio didn't know what they had when they had it.

[–] Brownsbros3 12 years ago

Everyone thinks of Bret when talking about the franchise, but I had a soft spot for Bart. I think he was the more versatile of the two actors. My favorites were always the ones with Bret and Bart together. I also give Jack Kelly credit, because the series could have fallen apart after Garner left, but he kept it going for two more years.

[–] carolineno 12 years ago

Bret! No one ever looked so good in those sissy-looking clothes!

[–] jayraskin 11 years ago

I didn't like Jack Kelley in his first four or five appearances. He seemed to unsure whether he was supposed to be imitating James Garner or creating his own character. He also seemed a bit nervous and forced in his acting, as if he expected to be fired. It was possible that he was afraid that WB execs would come to him and say, "Hey, you're just not Maverick material." For the those first few episodes I just felt sorry for him as an actor put in a difficult situation.

The 20th episode of the series "The Savage Hills" was the first one where I felt he was completely comfortable with his character. His chemistry with Diane Brewster playing Samantha Crawford was wonderful. He is totally relaxed in his scenes with her and they have a lot of fun.

At this point, he seemed to finally find a way to differentiate his character from Garner, playing his character as more of a womanizer, a touch less brainy and perhaps a bit braver.

By the second season, I really liked him. I would still say Bret was my favorite, but only by a little. Bart was almost as delightful.

[–] deana_lisi 10 years ago

For me it's Bart all the way! I thought his acting was better, he was cuter, and his episode plots were better.

[–] Kinokima 10 years ago

I just started watching this series because of James Garner who I adore but I have to admit I have really fallen for Jack Kelly as well. I think Garner is more fun by himself but Kelly is great at the dramatic roles so they balance each other out and together they had terrific chemistry. I am just sorry there wasn't more episodes with the two of them.

Even though episodes with Kelly were always written with Garner in mind and both characters were lovable rouges, I think their performances were so different they both created very different characters. In the end I think they both were fantastic.

I understand the show was never designed as a show about brothers and Kelly was brought in because of production issues so they could film more episodes but I really wish the series had focused more on the two of them together because I think they made a great team and I loved their relationship as brothers.

So after that entire post simple answer BOTH and while I think I would have enjoyed the series with just Garner I don't think I would have become as attached without the Brother and Kelly addition.