Okay, not THAT Keith Richards.
Anyone who’s as immersed as I am in obscure, forgotten, Psychotronic movies and television shows can’t help but repeatedly come across American actor Keith Richards. Long before the walking corpse from the Rolling Stones became famous, this other Keith Richards was turning up in some very unlikely roles.
THE JAMES BROTHERS OF MISSOURI (1949) – In this 12-chapter Republic serial the Keithmeister General starred as Jesse James with Robert Bice as his brother Frank. Future Lois Lane Noel Neill played Peg Royer, while B-movie staple Gene Roth was along for the ride in a supporting role.
History went out the window in this story featuring the James Brothers helping a former member of their gang who had turned straight but was now being harassed by sinister criminals with a secret agenda. Keith Richards is … okay in this.
THE LIVING CHRIST SERIES (1951) – Keith was At His Satanic Majesty’s Request as Judas in this 12-episode television series about incidents in the life of Jesus Christ. Each episode filled a 30-minute time slot.
You might think it would be impossible to make Judas dull, but you’d be reckoning without the vast forces of entropy at work in any Keith Richards performance. The traitorous disciple practically fades into the woodwork in this television effort.
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO: VICTOR HUGO (1956) – In this television series about the swashbuckling adventures of Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo, Keith Richards portrayed author Victor Hugo.
The literary legend, whom Richards makes as cardboard as the other supporting characters, is recruited by the Count to help him combat injustices inherent in the French legal system under royal control. George Dolenz was the series star as the Count of Monte Cristo.
CHEYENNE: GOLD, GLORY & CUSTER (1960) – In this episode of the long-running western series Cheyenne, K.R. as Crazy Horse proved how versatile he was by … No, who am I kidding? He was every bit as lame as every other “white guy in a wig” pretending to be Native American in these old westerns.
The series’ title character Cheyenne Bodie (Clint Walker) got mixed up in the antics of George Armstrong Custer, Major Reno, Sitting Bull, Captain Benteen and the rest in this semi-historical look at the post-Little Big Horn inquiries. Lorne Greene played Colonel Bell.
MAGNAVOX THEATER: THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1950) – A one-hour television production in which Keith fills the role of the musketeer Aramis, known in the novel for his skill with a sword, his womanizing, his poetry, and the transparently phony piety that he thinks hides his roguish nature.
A young Robert Clarke plays D’Artagnan with John Hubbard as Athos and Mel Archer as Porthos. As for the villains, Paul Cavanagh was Cardinal Richelieu, Kristine Miller played Lady DeWinter, and Peter Mamakos played Count Rochefort.
DAY OF TRIUMPH (1954) – Keith Richards IS the Apostle John in this movie that is reasonably good. Possibly because K.R.’s John is kept to the side while James Griffith is very prominent as Judas this time around.
Mike Connors, still in his “Touch” Connors phase, played Andrew, and a pre-Leave it to Beaver Barbara Billingsley was the wife of Pontius Pilate. In major roles were performers such as Robert Holton as Jesus Christ and Joanne Dru as Mary Magdalene.
BUFFALO BILL JR: TRAIL OF THE KILLER (1955) – As the one and only Pat Garrett, our man Keith leads a posse on the trail of his friend turned foe Billy the Kid (Chuck Courtney). Henry Rowland plays the Kid’s pal Charlie Bowdre.
Dickie Jones starred as Buffalo Bill Jr. in this series, and this episode depicted Junior getting caught in the middle of Garrett’s posse and Billy’s gang. Dull and VERY forgettable. Of Keith Richards’ performance you can DEFINITELY say he was one of the actors who appeared in this episode of the show. And I mean that.
KING OF THE CARNIVAL (1955) – Another 12-episode serial from Republic. This time around, Keith Richards plays Treasury Agent Daley, sidekick to Mick Jagger in the form of Harry Lauter’s T-Man Bert King. I guess Fran Bennett as Harry’s romantic interest June Edwards would qualify as Jerry Hall in this scenario.
At any rate, Daley and King take on a counterfeiting ring run from a traveling carnival. THE Stuart Whitman has a supporting role as Mac, while B-movie staples like Robert Clarke, Gregory Gaye and Rick Vallin also make appearances along the way.
THE LIVING BIBLE: THE BOOK OF ACTS (1957) – Ten-part series of short films. Keith Richards gets the villainous role of Simon Magus as he goes up against Robert Brubaker’s Apostle Simon Peter. Low budget but half-decent. Look for Bad Movie legend COLEMAN FRANCIS as the Chief Jailer. (And before you ask, nobody asks him for a drink of water as part of an escape plan.)
In other roles we viewers get to see Carleton Young as Jesus Christ, Dean Cromer as John, Nelson Leigh as Paul and Christian Drake as Phillip. Inoffensive and child-friendly set of shorts.
YOUR FAVORITE STORY: DR. MORLEY’S DAUGHTER (1954) – This was a semi-comedic adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story Rappaccini’s Daughter. Our man Keith is in the role of the student who becomes fascinated with the daughter of a mad scientist – whose name has been changed to Dr. Morley in this production.
Aileen Stanley played the title role, a young woman whose nature is not quite human and who can kill vermin and plants with her touch. Half-hour episode hosted by Adolphe Menjou.
SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE: CITY OF DOOM (1957) – Keith-a-roni plays Doc Felsen, a supporting character to the show’s leads John Russell as Tim Kelly and Chick Chandler as Toubo Smith. Tim and Toubo are hired to safeguard a construction crew in India when cultists try to sabotage their project in the name of superstition.
Pamela Duncan portrayed the Maharani. Richards’ character is so obviously a “secret” bad guy that you’ll roll your eyes. Even at a mere half-hour City of Doom is so low effort it just crawls by.
TALES OF ROBIN HOOD (1951) – Watch it with the Robin Hood completist in your life. Or better yet, don’t unless you want to see what Psychotronic movie maven Robert Lippert could do to the Robin Hood legend. K.R. is Sir Alan de Beaulieu, one of the villains allied with the Sheriff of Nottingham (Tiny Stowe).
This theatrically released 59-minute bomb is really just three episodes of an unsold Robin Hood tv series slapped together as a film to sucker in moviegoers. Low budget, low energy, with strictly by-the-numbers depictions of popular moments from the Robin Hood saga. Robert Clarke stars alongside Whit Bissell and others.
I’M THE LAW: HUSBAND AND WIFE MURDER STORY (1953) – An episode of George Raft’s all but forgotten half-hour series I’m the Law. Keith Richards is the killer Harry Smith, whose accomplice in his slayings is his wife Vivienne (Lynne Roberts).
Raft’s Lt. George Kirby investigates and sees through the diversions that the homicidal pair use to pull off their murders. Richards is less than convincing as a criminal mastermind.
THIS IS THE LIFE: GOD OF LOVE (1960) – Keith stars as family man “Jim” who has a crisis of faith after his wife’s failing mental condition requires her to be hospitalized. The title does NOT mean “this is the life” as in everything’s great, it was an anthology series.
From 1952 to 1988, from black & white to color, This is the Life presented short dramas about Christian families dealing with hardships and suffering. God of Love is one of the half-hour episodes. Earnest. Very earnest.
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Balladeer's Blog 
Great posts as always. I haven’t heard of any of these movies but as always I find them to be very interesting. For instance, “The James Brothers of Missouri” reminds me of classic gangster movies which I admire. The plot for the film reminds me a lot of Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas”. Scorsese’s film has stood the test of time as a mobster masterpiece. It introduced me toward my lifelong love for gangster movies. Obviously, there’s a huge difference in the release dates of both movies. That being said, they share similar themes of focusing on the lives of gangsters. “Goodfellas” is in my view the greatest gangster movie ever made.
Here’s why I recommend it:
Thank you very much for saying so!
Lulu: “Our Dada was like, ‘I don’t see Keith Richards here anywhere’. So we told him he had to go back and look at the first sentence and then he was like, ‘Ohhhhhh.'”
Uh oh. I hope he wasn’t too disappointed.