Peter Gunn (1958–1961)

The cases of a stylishly cool private detective.

Creator:

Blake Edwards

Stars:

Craig Stevens, Herschel Bernardi, Lola Albright

Nominated for 8 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Craig Stevens	...	Peter Gunn (114 episodes, 1958-1961)
Herschel Bernardi	...	Lieutenant Jacoby (102 episodes, 1958-1961)
Lola Albright	...	Edie Hart (84 episodes, 1958-1961)

Storyline

Filmed in a film noir atmosphere and featuring Henry Mancini music that could tell you the action with your eyes closed, Peter Gunn worked in style. Known as Pete to his friends and simply as Gunn to his enemies, he did his job in a calm cool way. He got his tips and cautions from Lieutenant Jacoby, a coffee drinking pal from the police. Also providing tips was "Mother" of her self-titled nightclub. Working at the nightclub as a singer was Edie Hart, his girlfriend.

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Plot Keywords:

private detective | detective | famous opening theme | jazz | neo noir | 

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Genres:

Action | Mystery | Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gunn for Hire

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spartan Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 30 min (114 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was one of the first television shows to have its own original score and it was the first to feature modern jazz for a soundtrack. Previously, producers used generic music scores that were used in many television productions. RCA released an album of music from "Peter Gunn" featuring the title song and other pieces. It reached #1 on Billboard's chart, stayed there ten weeks, and stayed on the list for the next two years. It was so successful that RCA put together a sequel. Henry Mancini received an Emmy nomination for the theme and won two Grammys for the album.

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Connections

Referenced in Surf School (2006)

User Reviews

Kinescope Kabuki Captured It All --

A masterful interpretation of a wonderful TV show AND musical experience (thank you, Henry Mancini). And thank you, Kabuki!! This was one of the hottest TV shows of the 1950's, spawning a slew of imitators, a chart-topping record from Ray Anthony, a theme that has been covered by dozens of artists and which caused at least one existing TV series (M-Squad, starring Lee Marvin) to change its theme to a jazzier format (thank you, Count Basie). I grew up with this stuff, and to my mind, Peter Gunn exemplified television's 'golden age' in a way few others could. If only today's television fare could come close.