A Fever in the Blood

I watched this recently on TCM. I had always liked the actors - Jack Kelly (perhaps most famous for Maverick where he and James Garner shared the honors), Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Angie Dickinson, Don Ameche (and a host of character actors from Jesse White to Carroll O'Connor).

This is a movie about politics in a state in mid-20th century America. The ambitions of three men to become Governor: the current U.S. Senator, a prominent state court judge in the largest city in the state, and the famous District Attorney from that state. Their party lost the last election for Governor - they have reason to believe their party will succeed this time around. Each wants the job - very much.

Kelly plays (wonderfully) a man with a poor slum background - he's risen to be the D.A., he is aggressive, articulate, driven. His life has risen to this point - he wants the Governorship desperately - a loving wife, two happy children in his 1950s suburban home - he feels he's got to move up.

Zimbalist is the product of a wealthy background - he rose naturally to be a judge - his wife was an invalid a long time - then died. He has no children - no particular interest except fishing alone. He is lonely, and says repeatedly that he seeks the Governorship out of interest, to give his life more meaning. He lives year-round in the posh residential suite at the nicest hotel in the biggest city of the state.

Ameche is the current U.S. Senator - in middle age, he won the love of a beautiful blonde woman (Dickinson) who had been in love with Zimbalist (who was married to his invalid wife). Ameche is insecure, childless, deeply cynical, fast thinking, and far older than his wife. He suffered a heart attack the previous year - and wants desperately to win the adoring love of his wife - feeling that if he defeats her former love (Zimbalist), he'll have proved something.

Three smart men - all in the same party - and one job they seek. The screenwriters do a wonderful job of focusing this ambition upon a murder trial - over which Zimbalist presides - and Kelly is the prosecutor. And the defendant in that murder trial is ... the nephew of the former Governor of their party.

Possible - and actual - deals of alliance - offers, rejections, reneging on those deals - create the twists and turns of this political drama.

The movie is deeply cynical - sometimes I felt too much so. (I was sometimes out of sync with the movie - and felt that the characters' actions were not so unjust - or unfair - than the movie wants us to think).

It's a film about character, about ambition, about modern politics - in the last 1/4 of the movie, it goes off the rails repeatedly - with crazy turns and twists that seem implausible and wild - and yet the movie is BIG, the twists and turns remarkable - its ambition to show America the world of modern politics very admirable - even if sometimes too moralistic.

I loved watching it - it's exciting, fresh, the performances are just great (not only by Zimbalist, Kelly, Ameche and Dickinson - but by all the actors).

I suspect if you get the chance, you'll really like it - and remember it.

Ridiculous melodrama from Warner Bros. and director Vincent Sherman has pipe-smoking judge in Capital City (a miscast Efrem Zimbalist Jr.) setting his political sights on the governorship, but sidelined by dirty doings during a high-profile murder trial in which the district attorney on the case also intends to be governor. Plainly-filmed, poorly-written and acted potboiler full of boring men who take turns ignoring Angie Dickinson, playing the wife of beady-eyed Don Ameche, a windbag senator who eventually wants to run for president. Dickinson, with lacquered blonde hair, has apparently settled for Ameche but still carries a torch for Judge Efrem, now a widower--however, since he seems indifferent to her, always staring intensely off-camera like an eagle, one has to wonder are these two men her only options? Other subplots are introduced and dropped carelessly, while Zimbalist walks through the proceedings like a sexless sleepwalker. *1/2 from ****

A Fever In the Blood is a nice little package of a movie, and I don't mean this is a negative or condescending way. It has fairly low ambitions and achieves them nicely. It's a product of the tail end of the studio system, and was directed by the very able Vincent Sherman. The plot concerns political intrigue in contemporary (as of 1961) California. I saw the movie so long ago don't remember the details well but do remember being impressed by the performances, much stronger than I expected from such actors as Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Jack Kelly and Don Ameche. The ending was both predictable and highly satisfying. I recommend the film to those who want to see what studio film-making looked like when the studios were on their last legs, and for those curious about Hollywood's take on the American political system in the early, still optimistic sixties. There were a lot of much bigger and more ambitious films from the same time that are much better known--Advise and Consent and The Best Man come to mind--but A Fever In the Blood can hold its own in its modest way, especially as entertainment. It's not as thought-provoking as the bigger, more prestigious films from the same era but it has a retro charm all its own is easy to watch and plays fair with the viewer.

Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. heads an all-star cast about the fever of politics, those running for office, and how those use others in their quest for getting what they want, no matter the cost. The film begins with a murder of a housewife, who's been straying. The district attorney, played by "Maverick" star Jack Kelly, has aspirations of running for Governor and means to get a conviction to help his chances of winning. Judge Efrem presides the case and has thoughts on running for governor as well. Senator Don Ameche even wants to be governor so he can stay in office while going back to his roots. The case gets very interesting quick, when the viewer knows more than they do - that they have the wrong man. They think the husband did it. For such a underrated film compared to Advise and Consent, this was a very well-made and enjoyable film, with a stellar cast, including also Angie Dickinson, who married Don Ameche, only because Efrem was already married. (She must have always loved him.) But when Efrem's wife died, she became more disenchanted with her marriage and filled with what if. Character actors Herbert Marshall and Jesse White costar, along with TV stars Parley Baer and Carroll O'Connor, in his movie debut. And the more I see of Efrem in movies, the more I like him; he always embodies the voice of reason and common sense. But more than that, he exudes a warmth not usually found in handsome leading actors. And he is still with us today, at the age of 95. A sign of a life well lived. "A Fever in the Blood" showcases good actors as politicians immersed in their worlds and being pitted against each other, all vying for the position of one. Who will be governor? Who deserves it? Watch and see for yourself.

A Fever in the Blood is the film title for uncontrolled political ambition. And quite a few people have it in this film as a murder trial has all kinds of political implications for those involved.

The nephew of a former governor of the state, Herbert Marshall, is murdered and his trial is sensationalized and covered like the O.J. Simpson trial. Mainly because prosecutor Jack Kelly knows that a conviction here will give him a big boost towards the gubernatorial nomination in his state.

Kelly will need all the help he can get because his main rival is a United States Senator Don Ameche, come home to seek the office of Chief Executive of his state. He's a formidable foe, but he's got a beautiful wife in Angie Dickinson with a roving eye.

Presiding over the trial and carefully avoiding all the traps as best he can is upright judge Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

A Fever in the Blood was Warner Brothers way of giving a little big screen exposure to TV Stars Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. from 77 Sunset Strip and Jack Kelly from Maverick. These guys acquit themselves well in their parts. But the days when studios could make stars was now in the past.

This is a very nice political film which for some reason is unjustly overlooked. Hopefully TCM or AMC will run it sometime so you can judge for yourselves.