Gunn (1967)

Peter Gunn investigates the murder of Scarlotti, a mobster who once saved the detective's life. The primary suspect appears to be Fusco, who has taken over. In the middle of the case, an ... See full summary »

Director:

Blake Edwards

Writers:

Blake Edwards (screenplay), William Peter Blatty (screenplay),

Stars:

Craig Stevens, Laura Devon, Edward Asner

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Craig Stevens	...	Peter Gunn
Laura Devon	...	Edie
Edward Asner	...	Police Lt. Jacoby
Albert Paulsen	...	Nick Fusco
Sherry Jackson	...	Samantha
Helen Traubel	...	Mother
Jerry Douglas	...	Dave Corwin
J. Pat O'Malley	...	Tinker
Regis Toomey	...	The Bishop
George Murdock	...	Archie
Frank Kreig	...	Barney
Lincoln Demyan	...	Julio Scarlotti
Chanin Hale	...	Scarlotti's Mistress
Charles Dierkop	...	Lazlo Joyce
Mikel Angel	...	Rasputin

Storyline

Peter Gunn investigates the murder of Scarlotti, a mobster who once saved the detective's life. The primary suspect appears to be Fusco, who has taken over. In the middle of the case, an unclothed woman calling her self Samantha shows up at Gunn's apartment. The investigation gets grizzlier as it goes on, including the bombing of Mother's, one of Gunn's hangouts. Finally, Fusco gives Gunn a deadline to prove the mobster didn't kill Scarlotti - or else Gunn will be killed.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | character name in title

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Taglines:

Gunn explodes in his first big screen color caper!

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Genres:

Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 January 1968 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

24 uur uit 't leven van een Moordenaar

Company Credits

Production Co:

Geoffrey Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Gunn eats melon continually during lengthy scene in diner but at end of meal, only a few bites are missing from slice.

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Connections

Followed by Peter Gunn (1989)

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Soundtracks

"Dreamsville, Bye, Bye (Peter Gunn Theme)"
Lyrics by Jay Livingston & Ray Evans
Music by Henry Mancini

User Reviews

I was disappointed

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.