The John Derek Filmography and More Podcast: Recent Episodes
Dennis Brian
The John Derek Filmography And More podcast is dedicated to John Derek's films as auteur & paid actor plus films & books by those in his circle of influence including Don Murray, Linda Evans, Ursula Andress and Bo Derek
In this episode of the podcast, I take a few moments to express my appreciation of the director of the Ernest films, commercials and television series, Mr. John R Cherry. His death was announced this morning. And he was a rare talent.
I then spend some time on a John Derek WW2 film for Republic Pictures. I highlight the plot of the film and discuss what worked and what left me cold. I will be back in episode 20 covering a Bo Derek television guest spot. I hope you enjoy.
This epsiode I am joined by radio host and film critic Steve Pulaski. We have been friends for over a decade. We talk about how we met in the early days of chat rooms. Steve extols the virtues of The Bad Guys (2022). We then move on to recent religious films. I saw The Mulligan because it stars Pat Boone. And I like Pat. Steve saw it because he is one of the few critics to often cover churchy films in a secular way. Did we like The Mulligan (probably not). We end covering Food Fight, a woeful animated film Steve has been interested in since childhood. Sean Catherine Derek (daughter of John) has a writing credit for Food Fight. And that is why it is here. Did we like Food Fight (probably not)
This episode I discuss John Derek doing a crime film with Broderick Crawford. Did they get along? There was one incident on the set. I also go through Prince of Pirates, a B adventure starring Derek and made on the cheap. I finish discussing a film John could have starred in, but it went to Anthony Dexter. I explain why Dexter might be a better choice for this particular Dumas adaptation and why Jody Lawrence was a treasure. I talk about subversion in these films (coitus interruptus, heavy flirtation) and how the Hollywood morals code hurts these films by not being fair to the female characters.
In this episode, my lovely wife Vanessa joins me to discuss DC Follies, a clever political and celebrity late night satire featuring puppets created by Sid and Morty Kroft.. Vanessa is a good bit younger than I am. Did she get this political references of this late 80's show? Did she like the puppets featured on the Follies? We discuss Bo Derek's acting in this; she has to seduce puppet Richard Nixon (who has corn rows in one sequence to parody the film 10)!. We talk about Barbara Bush always looking the same, a funny Michael Jackson joke and our experiences with Gorbachev and Jimmy Carter. I hope you enjoy.
This is a different episode. I really miss Dwayne Hickman, And I wanted to do a tribute even though he has nothing to do with John Derek. I talk about my favorite episode of Dobie Gillis and what Dobie meant to me. I talk about his film career and family friendly bent. I met him once and talk about that. After celebrating Hickman, (I will cover a film of his down the road), I briefly go through how the critics felt about the John Derek films we have covered so far. Bosley Crowther and Rex Reed come up in this section. Next episode is devoted to Bo Derek on DC Follies. I hope you enjoy.
In this episode I talk about Jeffrey Hunter, a John Derek passion project that never came to be, Pat Boone and his three best films. But mostly I talk about The Family Secret, a crime drama starring our guy and meant to remind audiences of John Derek's breakthrough film, Knock on Any Door. I hope you enjoy!
In this episode I discuss John's first pairing with Donna Reed in the college football drama Saturday's Hero. I hope you enjoy.
Episode 14 covering another drama, The Family Secret will drop in a few days.
Tonight my wife joins me to cover the two most recent Bo Derek credits: John Bronco and John Bronco Rides Again. These are short mockumentaries about a Ford pitchman played by Walton Goggins. We discuss some of the best gags (without giving away much in terms of spoilers) and our past experience with pitchmen like the Marlboro Man and Joe Camel. We also discuss aptonyms and Postmates and weird celebs that have a star on the walk of fame. I hope you enjoy.
In this episode I talk about Anthony Quinn who plays the villain in the film Mask of the Avenger. I talk about the film itself. I talk about John Derek's lack of interest in his starring hero role and a part he was not able to get because he was making this film. I also talk about win dinner with a celebrity contests and Larry Parks. I hope you enjoy.
In this short episode my wife Vanessa and I discuss our holiday season. I also focus on Bo Derek (in terms of where I am at in John Derek's career, I have not even reached Ursula Andress yet!) because Bo hosted and narrated a 25min special about Maui in 2002 that I just happen to have on DVD; I figured now is the time to cover this because who doesn't wanna think about Maui for the holiday season? We talk about the imagery of the special, what the filmmakers might have been trying to convey and if any of it works. I hope you enjoy.
This time I finally cover John Derek's follow up to Knock on Any Door. It really is one of the best rise of a politician films ever made. And I go into some of the reasons why. I also explain real life parallels with the character John plays and his real life son Russell. Forgive my scratchy voice this episode. I have a cold.
https://www.dga.org/Craft/VisualHistory/Interviews/Nathan-Juran.aspx?Filter=Full%20Interview
The link is for an interview with director Nathan Juran who made the film under discussion tonight: The Boy Who Cried Werewolf., a 1970s Universal horror film. I wanted to cover a Halloween film, but John Derek did not really do one. I went back to episode one of this podcast for inspiration. That episode featured a discussion on The Big Moment, a John Derek television special directed by Juran. Juran did sci-fi, horror, a lot of different things. I am joined by my wife Vanessa and we discuss werewolf cliches in film, communes, Mickey Rooney as a live performer and a number of other things. I hope you enjoy! And Happy Halloween!!
In this episode, I discuss the allure of Valentino and how John Derek was once offered the chance to play him on screen. Gene Wilder in the 70s did an homage to Valentino (so did John Derek in Bolero, but I did not mention that yet) called The World's Greatest Lover. I spend a bit of time on that film before going into John Derek as Robin Hood Jr. in his first star vehicle The Rogues of Sherwood Forest. I also talk about illusion and beauty and what became of John Derek's mother. I was suppose to cover All the King's Men for episode 7 but thanks to an internet outage, I could only cover what I had on physical media. Thanks for understanding.
In this episode, I talk a little more about John Derek's first wife, Pati Behrs. I then take a spoiler heavy look at Apartment for Peggy, the best film she every appeared in (even if she only did a cameo). This is a spoiler heavy look about a very thoughtful film featuring young William Holden that is currently free on YouTube and well worth your time I will be back on the John Derek track next time to cover All the King's Men.
Tonight I talk about Bogart's first production company. I talk about the first wife of John Derek, Pati Behrs, how they met and her short lived career. I focus on her biggest role, a comedy western with a fair share of mayhem and butt jokes. I talk about the moment Dare Harris became John Derek and the film that made him a star, Knock on Any Door. I also talk about its improbable sequel. I hope you enjoy this episode.
I was set to record an episode on John Derek's first wife Pati Behrs, but I found out a brand new film featuring Linda Evans (her first theatrical film in 41 years) and Udo Kier was playing in art theaters. I took my wife Vanessa; she joins me to discuss this film. While doing so we talk about Quentin Crisp, gay bars and great icons. I also fit in how Linda met John and became his third wife, the death of Lawson Harris and John's youthful military service. I hope you enjoy.
I made a change this week. I planned to cover a Double Life (47) said to feature John Derek in a bit part. I could not find him in the film and other sources say he is not actually in the film. I happened upon a brand new western featuring Don Murray, a friend and collaborator of Mr. Derek. I had a few questions after seeing Promise and reached out to its director/star Joe Cornet. He was kind enough to grant me an interview for the podcast. And that is what this episode is. We discuss LQ Jones, Clu Gulager, Harry Dean Stanton and a whole lot about Don Murray. I hope you enjoy.
This screen cap for this episode is from my favorite scene in Since You Went Away. I talk about Joseph Cotten in this episode. I talk a lot about Hattie McDaniel and producer David O Selznick. David ran Vanguard films, a production house that had John Derek (then known as Dare Harris) under contract. These two the war at home related films (made during WWII) feature John in very small roles. I talk about his time with Shirley Temple. I discuss if John Derek is the sensitive artist type. I play a snippet of Iggy Popp at the end. This is a packed episode I hope you enjoy.
This is the premiere episode of a podcast about the career of John Derek and those in his immediate circle. I talk about his director father (Lawson Harris), his actress mother (Dolores Johnson). I cover one of his mother's films, Riders of the Kitchen Range. I then go into a couple of firsts. The Nest is a very early Kenneth Anger film, the thing thing John ever appeared in. The Big Moment is the first television special featuring John. I then go into a film Shirley Temple did at the age of 12 called Kathleen. At 16, Temple turned in support roles in two films that I will cover next week both featuring John Derek. The two briefly dated. But for this episode, I am covering Kathleen, explaining why it is a potentially icky film and doing a quick Shirley Temple overview.
The John Derek Filmography And More Podcast is dedicated to John Derek's films as auteur & paid actor plus films & books by those in his circle of influence.