Captain David Grief

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox television | image = | caption = | alt_name = ''The Jack London Stories'' | genre = Action/Adventure | creator = | writer = | director = | starring = Maxwell Reed | theme_music_composer = | opentheme = | composer = | country = United States | language = English | num_seasons = 2 | num_episodes = 39 | list_episodes = | executive_producer = | producer = Sidney T. Bruckner<br>Duke Goldstone | editor = | cinematography = | camera = Single-camera | runtime = 25 mins. | company = | channel = Syndication | first_aired = {{start date|1957|10|03}} | last_aired = {{end date|1960}} }}

'''''Captain David Grief''''' (also known as '''''The Jack London Stories''''') is an American action/adventure television series that aired in syndication from October 1957 to 1960. The program was based on a series of Jack London short-stories centered on the South Seas tradesman and adventurer David Grief,<ref name=tt>{{cite book|last1=McNeil|first1=Alex|title=Total Television|date=1996|publisher=Penguin Books USA, Inc.|location=New York, New York|isbn=0-14-02-4916-8|page= 143|edition=4th}}</ref> collected in ''A Son of the Sun''.

==Overview== ''Captain David Grief'' was a half-hour filmed series.<ref>{{cite news |title='Grief' Starts in Nine Markets; Five More Sponsors Lined Up |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-02-11-BC.pdf#page=36 |access-date=April 4, 2021 |work=Broadcasting |date=February 11, 1957 |page=36}}</ref>

The cast included the Irish-born actor Maxwell Reed as Captain Grief, Tudor Owen as Elihu Snow, Mickey Simpson as Boley, Mel Prestidge as Jackie-Jackie, and Maureen Hingert as Anura.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=July 14, 1956|title=Reed Gets Feature Roles in 'Grief' Pix|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=7|issn=0006-2510|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-0QEAAAAMBAJ&q=Captain+David+Grief+maxwell+reed&pg=PA7}}</ref> Stuart Heisler was the director, and the producer was Duke Goldstone.<ref name=":0" />

''Captain David Grief'' ran for two seasons with a total of 39 episodes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Halliwell|first=Leslie |title=Halliwell's Teleguide|year=1979|publisher=Granada|page=46}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Erickson">{{cite book|last=Erickson|first=Hal |title=Syndicated Television: The First Forty Years, 1947-1987|year=2001|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0-786-41198-8|page=22}}</ref> The series was distributed by Guild Films.<ref name="Erickson" />

The program was the first TV series to be filmed on location in Hawaii. The three-masted barquentine ''California'' was used for scenes shot aboard ship. It was renamed ''The Rattler'' in the show. The Pioneer Inn in Lahaina, Hawaii, was used for scenes filmed on land.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McWhorter |first1=A. J. |title='Captain Grief' plied the air long before 'Lost' or 'Five-0' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75108025/captain-david-grief/ |access-date=April 4, 2021 |work=Honolulu Star-Advertiser |date=February 9, 2014 |page=F 5|via = Newspapers.com}}</ref>

The program's budget was $1,912,000.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |title=Guild Sets $1.9 Million For New Tv Film Series |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1956/1956-06-25-BC.pdf#page=48 |access-date=April 4, 2021 |work=Broadcasting |date=June 25, 1956 |page=48}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Utica Beer Buys 'David Grief' For 10 -City Area in N. Y. State |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1957/1957-02-04-BC.pdf#page=40 |access-date=April 4, 2021 |work=Broadcasting |date=February 4, 1957 |page=42}}</ref>

==Guest stars== Among the series guest stars were boxers Rocky Marciano and Buddy Baer.<ref>{{cite magazine|date=May 20, 1957|title=Rocky a Heavy In 'Grief' Role|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc.|page=12|issn=0006-2510|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qR0EAAAAMBAJ&q=Captain+David+Grief+maxwell+reed&pg=PA12}}</ref> Other guest stars include:

* Allison Hayes * Ruta Lee * Lois Nettleton * J. Pat O'Malley

==Critical response== A review in the trade publication ''Variety'' found that the program's "beautiful color" and "beautiful scenery" were offset by a "script that was most ordinary".<ref name=review>{{cite magazine |date=February 13, 1957 |pages=30, 75 |title=Captain David Grief |magazine=Variety |url=https://archive.org/details/variety205-1957-02/page/n101/mode/1up?view=theater |accessdate=June 3, 2023 }}</ref> Although the original story was by Jack London, the program's writers "showed their grasp of corny dialog".<ref name="review" /> Overall, the review found the show to be "adequate . . . to fill the demands of the syndication-starved tv stations around the country."<ref name="review" />

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{IMDb title|id=0929646|title=Captain David Grief}}

Category:1957 American television series debuts Category:1960 American television series endings Category:1950s American drama television series Category:1960s American drama television series Category:American action television series Category:American adventure television series Category:Black-and-white American television shows Category:English-language American television shows Category:First-run syndicated television programs in the United States