Love Me to Death 

Mr. Bowers booby-traps his basement, electrocuting his wife when she turns on an overhead bulb. Next, the widower ties the knot with a mousy heiress, Maggie, whom he has seduced. While Edie... See full summary »

Director:

Jack Arnold

Writers:

Blake Edwards (creator), Lester Pine (as Lester Aaron Pine)

Stars:

Craig Stevens, Lola Albright, Hope Emerson

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Craig Stevens	...	Peter Gunn
Lola Albright	...	Edie Hart
Hope Emerson	...	Mother
Herschel Bernardi	...	Lieutenant Jacoby
Jeanette Nolan	...	Maggie Goffney Bowers
Robert H. Harris	...	Henry Bowers
Helen Wallace	...	Wilma Goffney
Ellen Corby	...	Irma Goffney
Lucien Littlefield	...	James Bond
Clegg Hoyt	...	Big Mug
Pitt Herbert	...	Sucker
Charles Calvert	...	Card Player
Sid Kane	...	Card Player
Louis Cavalier	...	Card Player
Brandy Bryan	...	Camera Girl

Storyline

Mr. Bowers booby-traps his basement, electrocuting his wife when she turns on an overhead bulb. Next, the widower ties the knot with a mousy heiress, Maggie, whom he has seduced. While Edie warbles "when the lights start lighting the town", Maggie's quibbling older sisters, one controlling and their other daffy, along with their pince-nezed attorney James Bond, drive to Mother's in their antique Baker Electric car (c1913) to employ Gunn to investigate Bowers, whom they accurately suspect is only interested in Maggie's money. Gunn detects he's an ex-con blackmailer, but the new bride doesn't fret, although Bond warns her she'll be the next victim.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 1959 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spartan Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At 2:24 Sitting at the table at the lower left is series composer Henry Mancini.

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Soundtracks

Peter Gunn
Music by Henry Mancini
Henry Mancini and His Orchestra; John Williams, piano; Robert Bain, guitar; Jack Sperling, drums; Rolly Bundock, bass; Larry Bunker, vibes; Richard Nash, Milt Bernhart, trombone; Pete Candoli, Conrad Gozzo', trumpet; Ted Nash, alto sax; Ronnie Lang, baritone sax; Gene Cipriano, flute.

User Reviews

Mixed, At Best

More of an exercise in perverse psychology than the usual Gunn trackdown. In fact, Jacoby makes only a brief cameo. The episode's hook is okay as fortune hunter Bowers (Harris) sets up an electrocution trap for his rich, unwanted wife. Seems like he's already murdered 4 or 5 wives before this, all of which were deemed accidents. Now he's got poor love-starved Maggie (Nolan) in his sights, except her ritzy sister Wilma (Wallace) smells a rat and hires Pete to check him out. So, can Pete make a difference before Bowers strikes again. All in all, I think the story would have had more suspense had we not been tipped off to Bowers guilt by the hook.

Anyhow, the short pudgy, rather charmless Harris makes an unlikely Romeo. But then Maggie is tragically love-lorn. Stealing the show however is that great old vet of a thousand house maids, Ellen Corby, as the third sister, Irma. Her ditzy remarks are a hoot. Then there's that surprise if pretty unbelievable ending that, in my view, flops as a twist. Anyway, Edie gets a brief appearance for us guys. Otherwise, it's a mixed 30-minutes of the usually stylish Peter Gunn.