"Peter Gunn" Letter of the Law (TV Episode 1960) Poster

(TV Series)

(1960)

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8/10
Family Guilt
gordonl563 December 2013
Warning: Spoilers
PETER GUNN – Letter of the Law - 1960

This is episode 73 from the 1958 to 1961 P.I. series, PETER GUNN. Craig Stevens headlines as the hard as nails detective who always dresses with style. Regulars in the series are Minerva Urecal as the owner of MOTHER'S jazz club, and Lola Albright. Albright plays Stevens' squeeze, Edie Hart, who is the club singer at, MOTHER'S.

P.I. Peter Gunn, (Craig Stevens) is called to the office of the local District Attorney, Frank Overton. Overton would like Stevens to handle a personal matter for him. It seems that Overton's son, Andrew Prine, is one of the lead suspects in a murder investigation. The other main suspect is mobster, Lewis Charles.

Stevens agrees to look into the matter, but tells Overton he will not be involved in a cover-up if Prine turns out to be guilty. Stevens has a few words with Prine about the dead woman. Prine admits that they had been having it off but the tryst had ended weeks before.

Stevens gets a less than friendly reception from Lewis Charles and his crew. The mobster tells Stevens to mind his own business etc. Stevens of course will not take no for an answer. Once the gangster sees Steven's is playing it straight, he coughs up the info.

Stevens hits the night-club where the dead woman worked and keeps digging. He soon finds some proof that Prine indeed did do the crime. Stevens informs the DA, Overton. Overton, true to his word, calls in the Police to arrest and charge his son.
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Doesn't Really Gel
dougdoepke23 April 2015
Average entry, at best. Catch the hand held subjective camera as the killer mounts the stairs. This was a time when such innovative photography was still rare for cautious commercial TV. Again, producer Blake helps pioneer TV with a different look. Anyhow Pete's hired by DA Lockwood (a good turn by Frank Overton) to investigate a murder that's likely to implicate his son (Prine). In the process, Pete gets roughed up by gangster DeSantis (Charles) who looks like the guilty party. Color is supplied by a fey fashion designer (Adams) who treats his models like cattle. The elements of a good Gunn episode are present, but in my view they never really gel into a suspenseful whole. Instead they just unfold in interesting fashion.

A "5" on the Series Scale

(In passing— Ironically, actor Prine was involved in a real life murder case at about this time. In 1963, budding actress Karyn Kupcinet was found dead in her Hollywood apartment, an apparent murder victim. Prine was a boyfriend and a suspect for a period. Whether or not he was ever fully cleared, I don't know, but the murder itself was never solved.)
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