BLUEBERRY – This movie (and then television series) that never came to be was based on the 1963 – 21st Century French comic book series Blueberry by iconic creator Moebius (Jean Guirard). The character’s real name was Michael S. Donovan and he was born in 1843 in the American South. Days before the U.S. Civil War broke out, he was mistakenly believed to have killed his fiancee Harriet Tucker’s father, a wealthy plantation owner.
Mike went on the run and headed north, aided by a fugitive slave called Long Sam. Still wanted for murder, our hero enlisted in the Union Army under the false name Michael S. Blueberry.
For decades, the character appeared in countless adventures as he spent his Civil War service crusading against slavery, then when the war ended and he was sent out west to serve in Indian Wars he came to sympathize with Native Americans to the point where he was drummed out of the army and went on to further gunslinging heroics. He also championed Chinese railroad workers.
This attempted 1983-1985 movie project was officially titled Lt. Blueberry to reflect his time as a Cavalry Officer and subsequent dishonorable discharge. Moebius also produced several tales collected as Young Blueberry covering his hero’s Civil War adventures, Marshal Blueberry covering his law enforcement years, and so on.
The Blueberry stories were basically Spaghetti Westerns told in the sequential art (graphic novel) format. Martin Kove, an intense fan of Sergio Leone’s westerns, auditioned for the title role. When the initial project fell through, Kove and other parties tried producing a Lt. Blueberry film of their own, then a television series, but neither were completed.
The good news is that some footage of Martin Kove in Lt. Blueberry has survived!
Click below to see that footage interspersed with a public appearance by Kove in which he recalls various events related to the project. His obvious enthusiasm for the potential film franchise is infectious and his anecdotes about Sergio Leone are entertaining.
In 2004 a Blueberry movie was released in Europe, and as Renegade here in the U.S. Too much was altered from the original material and the film flopped. At any rate, watch Martin Kove’s footage and hear his stories HERE.
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Logged, thank you!
I do enjoy a Spaghetti Western from time to time, and this sounds great! Glad to hear some footage has survived!
Thank you! Yes, glad we have some footage at least.
As a huge fan of the western genre, I found this post about the unmade film “Blueberry” extremely interesting go read.
Thank you!
I have always associated Martin Kove with the Karate Kid. Now I see him in a whole new light. It’s a shame the film wasn’t made. Thanks! Happy Frontierado Day!
Thank you very much! Kove was also the cop Izbeckie on Cagney and Lacey in the 80s.