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The private eye genre had something of a rebirth in the late 1960s, most notably with Paul Newman's excellent "Harper,'' Frank Sinatra's "Tony Rome'' movies and James Garner doing a nice turn as "Marlow.'' But George Peppard merits a tip of the fedora for his work in this forgotten goodie, "P.J.'' Peppard's PJ is hired as a bodyguard for a fat-cat's (played by a menacing Raymond Burr) mistress, unleashing a plot of double-crosses and, eventually murder. Peppard is great as a wisecracking P.J. Detwieler and the above average script is perfectly matches to his rapid-fire, half-bemused delivery. Gayle Hunnicutt is great as the kept woman, the fantastic (and overlooked)Brock Peters turns up in small, but pivotal role and a young, "pre-MacMillan and Wife'' Susan Saint James spews a few deliciously catty lines. And there is a great ending. Sadly, "PJ" can't be found on video or DVD. And I haven't seen it aired on tv since I saw it (and recorded it, luckly) when a Chicago station aired it 1986. Too bad. This little gem deserves to be seen.

George Peppard is very amiable as the title character, a down-on-his-luck private detective who'll take just about any paying gig. He is hired by a supremely arrogant fat cat, William Orbison (Raymond Burr), to act as bodyguard for his not-exactly-secret girlfriend Maureen Preble (Gayle Hunnicutt). This, despite the fact that Orbison is already married to a fairly pathetic woman named Betty (Coleen Gray). Eventually, after he has accidentally killed a man, P.J. is smart enough to realize that he's been set-up from the start. But for what purpose?

The script by Philip H. Reisman Jr., based on a story by him and Edward Montagne, manages to stand out a little for being rather humorous and sometimes witty. Also, director John Guillermin does a pretty stylish job, giving some life to the entertaining story. The story is not necessarily a great one, but it does entertain, and even adds up at the end; one of its best assets is that eventually you do learn something interesting about one of the side characters that has actually motivated the whole con job. Wonderful location shooting in a Caribbean locale helps, too, and the jaunty pop score by Neal Hefti is a true delight.

Peppard is all too human here (he takes some lumps here and there), and is a believable, compelling main character to watch. He has genuine chemistry with the enticingly sexy Hunnicutt, whom the camera clearly loves. Burr is superb at playing the kind of heel the viewer will love to hate. The supporting cast is superb and full of familiar faces: Wilfrid Hyde-White (as a governor), Brock Peters (as a cheerful police inspector), Jason Evers (as Orbison's employee), and Susan Saint James (as Orbison's opinionated niece), as well as Severn Darden, George Furth, Herb Edelman, John Qualen, Bert Freed, and Ken Lynch. Anthony James appears unbilled as a bartender.

Overall, this is a pretty good example of the private eye genre at a time when it was being revitalized, thanks to efforts like Paul Newman's "Harper". It contains effective amounts of sex appeal and violence, as well as elements that would be unlikely to fly in the present culture.

Seven out of 10.

After years of trying to see the original release version of the film, I finally acquired an uncut copy from a collector and must say I was puzzled with the outcome. There was the original, infamous subway scene intact, as well as the gay-bar beating. There are some really gritty location shooting in NYC, but its mixed with the most banal, studio bound bland scenes. If you can image a film that intercut the "French Connection" with an episode of "The Rockford Files" then you would get a good idea of how this film plays out. Not bad, but a disappointment. Don't even bother watching it if its the TV version, which cut out most of the gritty scenes.

PJ was originally released in the late 60s when movies were rated either "G" or "M"; anything with any questionable content was rated "M" and Studio execs, with the wisdom of their breed, realized they might as well put in as much as they could get away with. The result was some delightfully tasteless sex and violence in films like NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY, DEADLIER THAN THE MALE, GUNN, TONY ROME... and PJ. Unfortunately, when these were released to TV, the studio execs, with the wisdom of their breed, cut out all the best parts and substituted banal "made for tv" scenes. As originally made, PJ contains some really gritty moments that really capture the sleazey aspects of the PI genre. Hopefully, someone will make this available on Video soon.

This Private Eye drama, set mostly in New York City in 1968, is an above-average film which is largely (and unfortunately) passed over by both network television and the movie rental industry. The low-key acting by Mr. Peppard is superb; indeed, he is probably at his best in this gritty PI flick which takes one from the dark subway stations of 1968 New York, to the glamour of a Carribean island, and back again. All the while, there is fantastic music, from the opening score to the recurring theme of "P.J." Raymond Burr is interesting and convincing as William Orbison, a rich, arrogant, scheming tycoon who hires P.J. Detweiler (Peppard) to protect his mistress Maureen Preble (Gayle Hunnicutt), but whom we always suspect of having other, darker motives. Coleen Grey, in a somewhat lesser role, is excellent as Orbison's bitter, scornful wife. Overall a very good, well acted drama, with plot twists, catchy music, and of course, a bit of Peppard's trademark dry humour.