Pete Kelly's Blues (1955, dvd)

Synopsis: A marvellous one-off, directed by, produced by and starring Dragnet's Jack Webb, a tale of a Kansas City cornet player that is one of the most sympathetic and understanding movies about jazz not that there's exactly a plethora. Additionally, the film is superbly designed and photographed in early CinemaScope, deploying that letterbox frame to its best advantage, and perfectly cast.

Not just moll Janet Leigh and bootlegger Edmond O'Brien, but also Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee, the latter touching and Oscar-nominated for a performance that includes the affecting Sing a Rainbow.

The melancholy tone is brilliantly sustained, the attitudes and language resolutely adult. This one's a goodie join its cult following.

Cast: Jack Webb, Janet Leigh
Runtime: 95 min