PETER GUNN – "The Missing Night Watchman – 1959"
Private Detective, Peter Gunn, (Craig Stevens) is called to the antique store of Harold McNear. It seems that his night watchman is missing and so is $50,000 in rare gemstones. Problem is that the stones were on consignment for a wealthy dealer. Could Gunn hunt down the watchman and recover the jewels? Gunn says he'll take a stab at the case. He heads to Police Headquarters for a word with buddy, Police Lt Herschel Bernardi. Bernardi tells Stevens that the man he is looking for, has just been fished out of the water. And there were no gems on him.
Stevens returns to McNear with the news. Just as he arrives, so does the owner, Murray Matheson, of the gems. Matheson tells the pair he will be calling in the morning to pick up his goods.
Stevens does not like the smell of this and decides to check up on Matheson. Another visit to Bernardi is in order. After a short back and forth, Stevens pays a visit to Matheson to ask him a few questions. Stevens meets a driver, Buddy Lewis, just leaving Matheson's home with some luggage. A 10 spot gets all the info Stevens needs from Lewis. It seems that Matheson is catching a flight to Europe in the morning. Did he bump off the guard and steal his own gems?
That of course would be too simple. Stevens returns to McNear's shop for a further talk. McNear however yanks a piece and starts blasting. The real villain in the play is McNear. He had bumped off the watchman and stole the jewels. He had dropped the man in the river hoping no one would find him. McNear could say that the watchman did the deed.
The fact that McNear hired Stevens gave McNear an alibi. He figured Stevens tumbled to his ploy and had come to pinch him and therefore started shooting. Needless to say who is the loser in the gun-play dept. Bernardi is called and a wounded McNear hauled off.
Case closed. (B/W)
Private Detective, Peter Gunn, (Craig Stevens) is called to the antique store of Harold McNear. It seems that his night watchman is missing and so is $50,000 in rare gemstones. Problem is that the stones were on consignment for a wealthy dealer. Could Gunn hunt down the watchman and recover the jewels? Gunn says he'll take a stab at the case. He heads to Police Headquarters for a word with buddy, Police Lt Herschel Bernardi. Bernardi tells Stevens that the man he is looking for, has just been fished out of the water. And there were no gems on him.
Stevens returns to McNear with the news. Just as he arrives, so does the owner, Murray Matheson, of the gems. Matheson tells the pair he will be calling in the morning to pick up his goods.
Stevens does not like the smell of this and decides to check up on Matheson. Another visit to Bernardi is in order. After a short back and forth, Stevens pays a visit to Matheson to ask him a few questions. Stevens meets a driver, Buddy Lewis, just leaving Matheson's home with some luggage. A 10 spot gets all the info Stevens needs from Lewis. It seems that Matheson is catching a flight to Europe in the morning. Did he bump off the guard and steal his own gems?
That of course would be too simple. Stevens returns to McNear's shop for a further talk. McNear however yanks a piece and starts blasting. The real villain in the play is McNear. He had bumped off the watchman and stole the jewels. He had dropped the man in the river hoping no one would find him. McNear could say that the watchman did the deed.
The fact that McNear hired Stevens gave McNear an alibi. He figured Stevens tumbled to his ploy and had come to pinch him and therefore started shooting. Needless to say who is the loser in the gun-play dept. Bernardi is called and a wounded McNear hauled off.
Case closed. (B/W)
