Peter Gunn

Watching Johnny Staccato recently whetted my appetite for more late 50s TV private eye series. A year before Johnny Staccato NBC had started airing Peter Gunn, a series that enjoyed much greater success.

Peter Gunn was created and produced by Blake Edwards who also wrote and directed a number of episodes. Henry Mancini, a frequent Blake Edwards collaborator, provided what was to become one of the best-known theme tunes in TV history.

The program adheres to the half-hour format that was then standard on American television. This series has a much more marked film noir feel to it as compared to Johnny Staccato. In fact some episodes, such as Edge of the Knife and The Comic (one of the episodes written and directed by Blake Edwards), are remarkably grim and downbeat by the standards of 50s network TV.

Craig Stevens in the title role is a convincing tough guy private eye.

The first and second seasons (it ran for a total of three seasons) have both been released on DVD but only the second seems to be still in print, and that’s the one I bought.

It’s great stuff if you enjoy that hardboiled private eye style. Recommended.