# Captain David Grief
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{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| caption =
| alt_name = ''The Jack London Stories''
| genre = [Action](/source/Action_(genre))/[Adventure](/source/Adventure_(genre))
| creator =
| writer =
| director =
| starring = [Maxwell Reed](/source/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
Duke Goldstone
| editor =
| cinematography =
| camera = [Single-camera](/source/Single-camera_setup)
| runtime = 25 mins.
| company =
| channel = [Syndication](/source/Broadcast_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](/source/Action_(genre))/[adventure](/source/Adventure_(genre)) television series that aired in [syndication](/source/Broadcast_syndication) from October 1957 to 1960. The program was based on a series of [Jack London](/source/Jack_London) short-stories centered on the South Seas tradesman and adventurer David Grief,[{{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}}] collected in [''A Son of the Sun''](/source/A_Son_of_the_Sun_(novel)).
==Overview==
''Captain David Grief'' was a half-hour filmed series.[{{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}}]
The cast included the [Irish](/source/Ireland)-born actor [Maxwell Reed](/source/Maxwell_Reed) as Captain Grief, [Tudor Owen](/source/Tudor_Owen_(actor)) as Elihu Snow, [Mickey Simpson](/source/Mickey_Simpson) as Boley, [Mel Prestidge](/source/Mel_Prestidge) as Jackie-Jackie, and [Maureen Hingert](/source/Maureen_Hingert) as Anura.[{{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}}] [Stuart Heisler](/source/Stuart_Heisler) was the director, and the producer was Duke Goldstone.[{{cite book|last=Halliwell|first=Leslie |title=Halliwell's Teleguide|year=1979|publisher=Granada|page=46}}] 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](/source/Mexico).[{{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}}] The series was distributed by Guild Films.[{{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](/source/Newspapers.com)}}]
The program's budget was $1,912,000.[{{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}}] 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.[{{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}}]
==Guest stars==
Among the series guest stars were boxers [Rocky Marciano](/source/Rocky_Marciano) and [Buddy Baer](/source/Buddy_Baer).[{{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}}] Other guest stars include:
* [Allison Hayes](/source/Allison_Hayes)
* [Ruta Lee](/source/Ruta_Lee)
* [Lois Nettleton](/source/Lois_Nettleton)
* [J. Pat O'Malley](/source/J._Pat_O'Malley)
==Critical response==
A review in the trade publication ''[Variety](/source/Variety_(magazine))'' found that the program's "beautiful color" and "beautiful scenery" were offset by a "script that was most ordinary".[{{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 }}] Although the original story was by Jack London, the program's writers "showed their grasp of corny dialog".