Gunn

Blake Edwards in black & white during the early sixties was a class act. But this transfer of his classic TV series to the big screen in Technicolor with a psychedelic titles sequence, nastier violence, sprinkled with words like 'pervert' and 'hooker' and a proliferation of zooms and fussy compositions belongs more with Edwards' cheesier films of the seventies.

In the absence of Lola Albright (considered by the producers too old, although the same year she was a sleek & sexy T.H.R.U.S.H. woman in the 'Man from U.N.C.L.E.' feature 'The Helicopter Spies') the cast largely recruited from television still manages to include a memorable female contingent including Laura Devon, Sherry Jackson, Jean Carson as a waitress and Marion Marshall (billed as 'M.T.Marshall') in her sole late sixties reappearance on the big screen after making an impression in a handful of supporting roles during the fifties. Here she makes an even greater impression as queen bee Daisy Jane. (I'm staggered that so few reviewers have mentioned the extraordinary conclusion.)

A womanizing 1950's playboy in the late-1960's Sexual Revolution is like a millionaire winning the lottery, and in the case of the past-middle-age Craig Stevens returning into his PETER GUNN role for creator/director Blake Edwards' GUNN, it's also like a father romancing his college son's girlfriends...

But no matter what, it's what's expected and... even with original singer Lola Albright's Edie replaced by a far less natural (or attractive) Laura Devon... GUNN makes for a decent Bond Clone despite the TV-series proceeding 007 cinema...

But the popular spy franchise was most likely Edwards' reason to revisit this kind of fun-flowing investigation, now more twisty espionage and in color as opposed to the B&W series' noir... Meanwhile the jazzy nightclub's a slow-groove random backstop instead of an uptempo mainstay...

The action sequences are effective and suspenseful, creatively-shot yet far too sporadic with our resilient, often vulnerable anti-hero aged into a stone-faced Jack Webb monotone and, now backed by a grouchy Ed Asner, he's dealing with the mob who killed his friend, now after him...

But the token hot young girl adds the real heart in quirky and neurotic brunette Sherry Jackson: her zesty presence noticeably ages our hero, yet she could have been the sole GUNN girl who, with only a few scenes, seems far more into the movie than anyone else on board, including old Pete.

This film was based upon the highly regarded "Peter Gunn" television series that ran from 1958 to 61. Running for five seasons to the unforgettable title theme and background music of early Henry Mancini, the show set a standard for script writing that proved, beyond doubt, television writing need not be the 'medium of 'hacks': even within the limits of a thirty minute format interrupted by commercials. This big screen treatment starring, once again, Craig Stevens as the suave, indomitable Gunn, failed at the box office, more a casualty of the changing times than the writing and acting-both of which were superb. Unfortunately this cinematic outing in color dimmed slightly in comparison to the television series that was shot, quite effectively, in a film noir format reminiscent of detective films of the 40's. Regardless, the crisp story line and plot is intriguing from beginning to end, with the intentional humor never once tripping over the drama (credit writer William Peter Blatey). I must admit, however, I truly missed two key characters from the original series played by Herschel Bernardi and Lola Albright: their replacements were nowhere near as effective. Nevertheless, the performance of Craig Stevens must be credited for recapturing the intellectually glib character of the title character,Peter Gunn: the thinking man's 'gumshoe'. This film deserves to be seen by all those who love a really good detective story.

Craig Stevens is still the suave, unflappable title character and he's still spending his nights at Mother's, so there's a comforting sense of continuity in "Gunn." Granted, the supporting cast is different...but there had been two Mothers already, and frankly I was never a big fan of Lola Albright as Pete's steady flame Edie Hart. The only jarring change for me was Ed Asner as Lt. Jacoby. I like Asner, and he's the right general type for a curmudgeonly character like Jacoby, but I missed Herschel Bernardi's unique screen presence. (Was he uninterested in reprising the role, or was it not offered to him?)

There are a few misguided attempts to give Gunn a self-effacing sense of humor, but that was never a part of the original mix and it comes off awkwardly. Other reviewers have noted that the script recycles elements of certain episodes of the TV series, and they're right, but it relies even more heavily on the denouement of Howard Browne's 1949 detective novel "Halo in Brass." I'll offer no spoilers in that regard, but it's obvious that either Blake Edwards or William Peter Blatty was familiar with Browne's book.

Some graphic violence, some kitsch, and a reassuringly levelheaded performance by Stevens. (Gorgeous Sherry Jackson makes the most of a relatively small role; her fans will find this film worth seeking out.) "Gunn" is nothing special, but it's a reasonably entertaining attempt to update a quintessentially '50s character for the Groovy Age.

Will someone please find the Master cut of this great film and make it available to the general public?! I saw Gunn in the early 1970's on Television on two different occasions, on the ABC network in New York City. Of course the film was edited for content and to squeeze in the sponsors commercials, so ABC cut out the good stuff. The opening scenes of the couple sleeping on the yacht,then being sprayed with automatic machine gun fire until dead, set the pace for Henry Mancini's Theme song, Peter Gunn. (Peter Gunn's theme song is Much "Cooler than James Bond's folks).I vaguely remember other bits and pieces of the movie, so I would like to view it again, uncut. Can someone please shed some light on what happened to this Cool movie starring Craig Stevens, one of the coolest detectives ever to track a suspect? This movie should have been on Video ages ago. Now it should be on DVD for the world to see. If anyone knows of a way to get a copy of the film in any format, please e-mail the details. Best regards, JD