Magnum Mania!

MaiTaiMan wrote:
... I still agree with my original post above, that it could & should have been an hour long crime drama...and I think it could’ve gone longer. Amazing crime show, and I highly recommend this for any crime/mystery/cop drama lover and/or collector!

I'm not sure if there were any hour long violent shows in the late 50's/early 60's. From what I've read, Gunsmoke was TV #1 ranked show from '57-'61. Ratings declined when it went to an hour.
I think 30 minute shows would keep one's interest.

terryfromkerry wrote:Mother : " What's the matter, don't you have a home ? "
Peter Gunn : " Maid's night out. "

Aloha MaiTaiMan,

On reading your post I managed to find the pilot and loved it. It was like opening a time capsule retro gift. Made in 1958. Written and directed by Blake Edwards, music by Henry Mancini and Craig Stevens is so cool ( like Cary Grant does Sam Spade ) and then throw in a young Jack Weston. It was a real treat to watch. Thanks for the recommendation.

Yeah, Blake Edwards created and produced it...very well written and an amazing show! Edwards purposely “modeled” the character of Peter Gunn off of a Carry Grant-like persona. It should have been an hour!

Chris109 wrote:

MaiTaiMan wrote:
... I still agree with my original post above, that it could & should have been an hour long crime drama...and I think it could’ve gone longer. Amazing crime show, and I highly recommend this for any crime/mystery/cop drama lover and/or collector!

I'm not sure if there were any hour long violent shows in the late 50's/early 60's. From what I've read, Gunsmoke was TV #1 ranked show from '57-'61. Ratings declined when it went to an hour.
I think 30 minute shows would keep one's interest.

Perry Mason, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, Surfside 6, etc... were all popular hour long crime dramas in the late 50s thru mid 60s. Peter Gunn could have and should have definitely been one as well! Gunsmoke was on 20 years (1955-1975), and it & the original Law & Order tie as the longest lasting dramas in TV history. However, L&O: SVU has tied both this TV season. But, Gunsmoke had to have held halfway decent ratings past 61, if it went another 14 years beyond that.

Chris109 wrote:

MaiTaiMan wrote:
... I still agree with my original post above, that it could & should have been an hour long crime drama...and I think it could’ve gone longer. Amazing crime show, and I highly recommend this for any crime/mystery/cop drama lover and/or collector!

I'm not sure if there were any hour long violent shows in the late 50's/early 60's. From what I've read, Gunsmoke was TV #1 ranked show from '57-'61. Ratings declined when it went to an hour.
I think 30 minute shows would keep one's interest.

I think that most dramas, including those of earlier years and current dramas, have almost always been 1 hour whereas most sitcoms have always been 30 minutes. I know the Rifleman and the Lone Ranger were only 30 minutes but some like the Virginian went for 90 minutes if I remember correctly. If anyone can remember dramas that aired for 30 minutes, other than westerns, and sitcoms that lasted an hour, I would love to hear about them. My memory fails me sometimes.

Chris109 wrote:

MaiTaiMan wrote:
... I still agree with my original post above, that it could & should have been an hour long crime drama...and I think it could’ve gone longer. Amazing crime show, and I highly recommend this for any crime/mystery/cop drama lover and/or collector!

I'm not sure if there were any hour long violent shows in the late 50's/early 60's. From what I've read, Gunsmoke was TV #1 ranked show from '57-'61. Ratings declined when it went to an hour. I think 30 minute shows would keep one's interest.

THE example for late 50's/early 60's - or of any era - hour long violent tv series was and still is The Untouchables. It was practically banned from TV till all the new cable channels needing product arrived in the 1980's. Actually the violence was a legit part of the story of bootlegging in 1920's Chicago, how could you tell it otherwise.
It was a well written and produced show, then famous stars clamored to be on it. A hallmark of a well made series such as The Twilight Zone is the amount of then unknown actors who appeared, who later went on to become stars themselves. The Untouchables had them in droves. The Untouchables when shown is still banished to late night hours, for instance ME-TV runs it at 4 AM Sunday nights. Just an aside, many years after Al Capone went to prison and his organization was history, his brother ran a tavern next to a Chicago teaching hospital where my Mom learned to be a nurse. All the students hung out there, Mom always said Capone was a nice guy and a gent.

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The Tao of Luther Gillis:
Luther to Higgins - "Look, your Lady friend is in trouble, we're going to help her. But don't try to convince me she is some kind of saint.
She's a Broad, they're all the same."

If anyone can remember dramas that aired for 30 minutes, other than westerns, and sitcoms that lasted an hour, I would love to hear about them. My memory fails me sometimes.

The only hour long sitcom I can think of is The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour which was just a series of specials Lucy and Desi did after they ended I Love Lucy.

MagnumsLeftShoulder wrote:

If anyone can remember dramas that aired for 30 minutes, other than westerns, and sitcoms that lasted an hour, I would love to hear about them. My memory fails me sometimes.

The only hour long sitcom I can think of is The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour which was just a series of specials Lucy and Desi did after they ended I Love Lucy.

Hi MagnumsLeftShoulder,
By the end of the run of the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour Desi was an emotional wreck and in one of the last shows he is clearly drunk. 10 years later he was in The Virginian as a small town official in a Mexican border town, he looked drunk in most every scene, it was very sad, the producers should have replaced him, if only out of respect.
Not for his on camera doings on Lucy but because behind the scenes he was a innovative genius, way ahead of his time in all facets of tv production. He was THE creative force behind I Love Lucy, not Ball. Ball was a comedic actress, she acted funny, she was never funny outside a written role. Nothing witty or humorous ever came out of her mouth, she was always dreary on talk shows and often came off as bitter.
As for half hour dramas from the 50's, there was The Millionaire, Mr. Lucky, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Loretta Young Show, The Californians, The Clock, Hands of Mystery.


What happens in Vegas, er, Al's, stays in Al's:
Higgins and Luther enter Al's Country Bar and Billiard Den disguised as Texans Elmo Ziller and his sidekick Hubert. They invite two barflies to play pool.
Dexter: "Ain't got no quarters. You got any quarters Artie?"
Artie: "Nope, sure don't Dexter. I got no quarters since last Thursday when that feller and his monkey came through."
Dexter: "Yeah, the sucker sure could dance."

Peter Gunn is Pecos Pete