Biff Elliot, Film Star

biff life

When I tell people that my uncle Biff is a movie star, they usually react the same way.

“You have an UNCLE named BIFF? That’s so awesome.”

Then I repeat the part about him being a movie star, and thus a conversation is born. I say “movie star,” when in fact that is something of a misnomer. He was an actor in both movies and television. His list of credits is amazingly long - I’ve seen but a small percentage of his work listed on IMBD. To hear him talk about it, you’d think it was something he just dabbled in back in the 1950’s. But the Internet Movie Database doesn’t lie: Biff Elliot had a decades-long career as varied as any actor could hope for.

A few years ago, I had the privilege of recording a commentary track with Biff about his first starring role, 1953’s Mike Hammer movie I, the Jury. This movie was important in film history because Biff Elliot was the first Mike Hammer. Beyond “importance,” I, the Jury is a really good film noir that actually uses 3-D in a non-gimmicky way.

At first Biff was skeptical of the endeavor; I think he agreed to do it as a favor. But as the recording got underway, he was slowly won over by the then 50-year-old film. He got past the flaws any artist sees about their work and was able to appreciate the performances of his co-stars, the direction, and even a bit of his own acting flair. I was particularly moved when he described the decision for his character to shed a few tears at a climactic moment. Back in the 50’s, this was considered blaspheme: a man doesn’t cry. From the perspective of a new millennium, I found the scene played just right.

That commentary track is in turns enlightening, engaging, and funny. Biff alternates between background information on the production and personal stories, with a little bit of acting advice sprinkled in for good measure. Biff is a champion talker. I knew going in that he wouldn’t run out of things to say, but I was surprised at the variety and depth of his topics. I had made a list of questions in case things got quiet, but quickly found I wouldn’t need them.

Finally, the commentary that I recorded over 15 years ago can finally be heard by a wider audience. I, the Jury was restored by the venerable UCLA Film Archive and released by Classic Flix. You can, and should, pick up a copy immediately.

Biff’s career in television begs further research, but I want to highlight just one role today. You see, Biff was one of the ill-fated “red-shirts” in the original series of Star Trek. For those of you unfamiliar, a red-shirt is the unfortunate crew member who dies before the opening credits in a Star Trek episode. This is a small but important role: the red-shirt dies, thus setting the plot into motion.

Schmitter

Following is a summary of the fan-favorite episode Devil in the Dark:

The U.S.S. Enterprise answers a distress call from Janus Six, a mineral-rich planet with a long-established pergium production station and colony. Several miners have been killed and machinery has been damaged by a powerful corrosive. A pump for the pergium reactor is stolen, and Captain Kirk orders Commander Giotto to lead the security troops into the mine to search for the creature responsible.

Schmitter (played with aplomb by Biff) is the first miner we see the rock monster kill. His unfortunate fate gets Kirk and crew excited enough to go exploring on Janus Six. Eventually, Schmitter’s death is attributed to a great misunderstanding between the miners and the rock monster. I won’t give away the ending, but you can bet it is resolved in true Trek fashion: a fight, followed by a bit of inter-species diplomacy.

Hollywood is full of actors unknown in spite of their greatness; Biff Elliot is one. I hope this blog can bring a greater awareness of Biff’s career. Seek out I, the Jury on Blu Ray today!