Peter Gunn, détective spécial

A noble effort but a box office clunker. Secret agents were the name of the game in the mid-sixties. Not private eyes on rain slicked streets in black and white. Gunn lacks the film noir cinematography of the original TV show, the great jazz soundtrack, Herschel Bernardi and most of all, Lola Albright as Gunn's love. Singer Edie. Laura Devon is gorgeous as the new Edie but there's no chemistry between Craig Stevens and Devon. The best addition is Sherry Jackson, the underrated, underhired beauty who was mainly a TV actress. Several events are lifted from the series. The bombing of Mother's night club. The racquet ball playing mobster. A man killed by a speargun. See it if you can but if you liked the original you may be let down.

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.

This movie is based on the very popular 1960's TV show "Peter Gunn." It was an early Blake Edwards effort that was unfortunately made three or four years too late. The film industry was already following the mood of the viewing public into the era of "relevance." Up against films like "The I.P.C.R.I.S. File" and "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold" it seemed lightweight and trivial. Too bad, because this film is clever, witty, well cast, well acted, well directed, well paced, well filmed, well edited and has a superb Henry Mancini score that is as good as movie music gets.

"Gunn" is also a very good detective movie with a plot that is far above the average, as good as any Dashal Hammit story.

"Gunn" is also Blake Edwards dress rehearsal for the "Pink Pnather." Using "TV Actors" and in-your-face Mid-60's Los Angelas waterfront locations, Edwards created a low budget film with a high budget look and feel. If it were released today it would easily rival "Pulp Fiction" and "Get Shorty" for box office and critical honors.

If you want to see where "The Pink Panther" came from, or if you want to see what the early 60's in L.A. really looked like, or if you just want to see one of the best detective movies ever made, then take a look at "Gunn."

While I'm a really big fan of the original series, "Gunn" is a disappointment. Style and memorable characters was the series strong suit, and you have one real standout here. J. Pat O'Mally is perfect as Peter Gunn's chief informant. However, even the usually banal plotting of Peter Gunn is surpassed by this weak script, which leaves too much background of the villain off-camera. It's left to Peter Gunn to explain much of the plot in the closing scenes. While beautiful and even more spectacularly put together than the original Edie (Lola Albright), Laura Devon is too young and has to little to do to make the needed impression as Gunn's main squeeze. Ed Asner suffers in comparison to Hershel Bernardi, as Lt. Jacoby, and his relationship with Gunn is far more antagonistic than that portrayed in the series. The harsh photography is not kind to Craig Stevens. Further, Sherry Jackson's character is poorly written and provides a demeaning stereotype as a "mystery woman," whose real identity should be no mystery to fans of bad mysteries. Further, Jackson's fate is ludicrous in retrospect, given her actions during the climax. Still, bad "Peter Gunn" is better than no "Peter Gunn" at all, and it is a shame this movie failed at the box office.

A later Peter Gunn remake with Peter Strauss only reminds us how great Craig Stevens was in the role. Too bad Blake Edwards was unable to try again while Stevens was still young enough to play the part.

It's also a shame the 1967 PLAYBOY pictorial didn't include any revealing shots of Devon or of Carol Wayne, who has a cameo. Jackson is really good eye candy, but Wayne and Devon would have made a sublime pictorial.

Watch "Gunn" for the music and the memories, as that's about all you get.

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.