Peter Gunn: The Complete Series

PETER GUNN: FILM NOIR COMES TO TV BIG TIME
PETER GUNN - FILM NOIR COMES TO TV BIG TIME
LA MovieGuy,
I have viewed the PETER GUNN set and I can tell you
I have never seen the series captured on DVD with
such vivid shades of light and dark, especially the
blacks against black areas. The black wet streets
emptied of parked cars, the neon blinking wash of
light and dark, all captured beautifully.
The audio is good enough to
really showcase how Blake Edwards and Henry Mancini
used variance in sound for dramatic effect.
I don't believe I realized how effectively they did it,
nor how concentrated an effort it was to pull it off.
TV sets in the late 50s weren't noted for sophisticated
sound.
You can read my review of the set on COMICS BULLETIN.

Nothing Like It Before Or Since
When Peter Gunn came on scene back in the late 1950s there had never been anything on TV like it before, and nothing since. Blake Edwards' creation was the coolest private eye anyone had ever seen on the home screen. Casting was inspired with Craig Stevens as Gunn, looking hip in expensive wardrobe, stylishly coordinated. His haircut - based on Cary Grant's hair style - was much admired and emulated. Stevens once said, "Basically it was a crew cut that was parted. Lola Albright was Edie Hart, his sexy, sultry girlfriend singing old standards backed up by an ultra hip combo at Mother's on the waterfront of an unnamed city. Herschel Bernardi's portrayal of police Lieutenant Jacoby was also something new on the tube. Jacoby and Gunn had a love-hate relationship that crackled on screen. Of course, the glue that kept it all together was and still is some of the hippest progressive jazz ever written and recorded by Henry Mancini. It made him in the music business. In season one Hope...

Classic Detective Series
Overall, this is a nice set, with all 114 episodes of the series. For the most part, the picture and sound are superb, although it is less-than-great on a few episodes. Nearly all episodes are full length. (I did notice at least one that wasn't.) As an added bonus, the set contains a CD with Henry Mancini's original Music from Peter Gunn album.

Click to Editorial Reviews