Diagonaldi Very well executed

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

pensman Great music, clipped noir dialogue right out of Dashiell Hammett, solid plots (mostly), black actors when no one was using any, and non PC police (shoot first)--the series deserves a modern audience to appreciate early quality TV. What's nice for me is seeing this show on a 65 inch TV and running the sound through a home theater sound system with top JBL speakers. Just sit back and enjoy that Mancini sound track. Yes the sets are minimal but some great actors getting started--James Coburn, Norman Fell, Ted Knight, Gavin MacLeod--just to name a few. Now thanks to Hulu you can stream Gunn right into your home.

dougdoepke Think crime shows of the 50's and you probably think Dragnet (1951-1959). Certainly, it was the most influential, presenting the LAPD as complete police professionals. Of course, there were other lesser known cop shows like Racket Squad (1951-1953) or the Lineup (1954- 1960). However, in terms of private eye crime solvers, there were very few until the end of the decade. Most crime in that decade was of the Old West variety that sheriffs solved amidst the flood of Westerns that followed Gunsmoke (1955-1975). This remained pretty much the case until the big movie studios decided to get into the TV business. In 1958, Warner Bros. introduced the hip detective series 77 Sunset Strip (1958- 1964). Unlike its predecessors, Strip concentrated on good-looking people, hipster Edd Kookie Byrnes, and the glamorous surroundings along Hollywood's famed Sunset Strip. In short, it suggested that being a private eye doesn't have to be a grimy business, ala Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe. The series' success was quickly followed by such clones as Bourbon Street Beat (1959-1960), and Hawaiian Eye (1959-1963), all making use of the same basic formula. In short, the rising prosperity of that post-war decade was beginning to be reflected on the living room screen.This background is worth outlining in order to provide a flavor of just how unique Blake Edwards's Peter Gunn was to the time and to the genre. Sure, 77 SS had a snappy musical lead-in, but Henry Mancini's driving jazz score signaled a new and more daring sensibility. But more significantly the jazzy motif framed both the characters and their setting as not just hip, but cool, urban cool, like in 'sophisticated'. And Edwards followed that up by wisely casting Craig Stevens as the immaculately sleek and unemotional private eye, the very essence of urban cool. Note how emotionally restrained his private eye is in most every situation.Also worth noting is how the series populated its urban landscape with not only unusual but sometimes grotesque characters, ones never seen on network TV in those days. Note also that Gunn is portrayed as non-judgmental toward these unconventional types. He simply accepts them as part of the human landscape.And, of course, there's also Edie (Albright) the sultry lounge singer. It's clear that her relationship with Gunn is both intimate and indifferent to the bonds of matrimony. To my knowledge, this is the first TV series to challenge that taboo even if only in implied style. Something should also be said about Mother, the proprietress of where Pete hangs out. It's clear that Mother, whether played by Emerson or Urecal, is not exactly Donna Reed. In fact she's closer to Mike Tyson, making it clear that producer Edwards is not afraid of a little gender bending, another challenge to convention of the day. In fact, the only conventional continuing character is Lt. Jacoby (Bernardi) as Gunn's cop buddy. This allows Gunn to be separate from law enforcement but not outside it—an important gesture to convention and likely TV's Standards and Practices.Gunn is also likely the most noirish of the shows of its day. The traditional approach was high-key lighting that cast few shadows. This was also true of the other crime shows. Most of Edwards' production, however, was filmed in low-key lighting, whether dimly lit lounges or darkened city streets. My guess is that as an independently produced series, budget was as important here as was aesthetics. Anyway, the low-key lent not only atmosphere but complemented the rest of the production as a whole.Put all these components together and Peter Gunn added up to an occasionally brilliant series even though the stories were often unexceptional. It was that overall exotic feel in contrast to those otherwise unadventurous TV years that carried the show, even down to today. All in all, Gunn was also the first series to foreshadow the coming cosmopolitan and liberalizing years of the Kennedy era. In that sense, it proved also something of a cultural milestone, and is thus worth commenting on.

jacegaffney In a way, PETER GUNN was (and is) to be enjoyed as Hollywood's own modest version of the virtues of French auteur, J.P. Melville: a dreamily nocturnal jazz-laced exercise of style over content in which the achingly desirable Lola Albright provides counterpoint sultriness to the stone-faced stoicism of Craig Stevens' Cary Grant-like Gunn.But there is one episode entitled "The Comic," starring Shelly Berman as a neurotic funnyman (Danny Arnold) who insists his wife is out to destroy him and enlists the hero's help to prevent it. The show is basically two monologues: the first one is of Arnold explaining the cause of his concerns to Gunn; the second is of a crucial portion of the nightclub stand-up act itself, in which through metaphor and analogy, it becomes increasingly more clear that it is Arnold who is a mortal threat to his wife and not the other way around. His monologue which is "killing" the audience is thus transformed in the story from being merely comic to a confession of first degree murder.Berman's performance defines what tour-de-force means and is one of the greatest (if not THE greatest) neglected acting job in the history of network television (he received no Emmy). It is also quite possibly the most personal, successfully concentrated expression by Edwards of his divided, comedic/depressive sensibility. So direct, so simple, but the final effect is enormous.That this half-hour installment is not one of the legends in the annals of the golden age of television is one of the Industry's cruelest mysteries.Rating for the Series: A generous 8for this one sterling episode: a steely 10Composite Score: 9

ciaoetshana I take exception to the present commentary in that the movies were large and more impressive due to the sound and filming. However, the television characters that had a good, strong, character or persona were definitely their own and I respectfully do not see the comparison.Gable, Brando and Grant can never be duplicated in any way. Each man had a distinctive personality and body language that expresses their individual persona which comes through the camera. Jones and Davis have nothing in common. Jones can be compared to Lola Albrights character somewhat from her movies, being in the same era. Her performance in comedy (the Adams Family) is a good reference of her acting abilities. William Shatner is what I call a very lucky actor being at the right time and place all during his career. Not an impressive nor commanding actor.Edward G. Robinson is another actor with extreme body language that meets his verbal lines. However, Craig Stevens has some romance in his persona and combining this with being a detective brings a new and fresh character. I have seen him in a movie with Lucille Ball and he did not have as much presence as he did in Peter Gunn.Ephram Zimbalist, Jr., played the same persona type actor in his movies as he did in television. A very personable, attractive male but not the leader. He is a well poised and groomed actor but lacks a certain strength. John Vivyan was great. I loved his facial expressions, his voice and body language. The all matched the character. Comparing Grant to Barry is somewhat close, however, we have a definite individual persona behind the characters that is strong and distinct. Grant is Grant after so many pictures and Barry did an outstanding job at his character. Looking back at the program and the comparison commentary, brings the thought to mind that being a female, of that era, makes me think the commentary was written by a male. I hope I am right.