Time to Put on My "P.J."

Having been born in 1967, I'm really a child of the '70s & '80s. However, my favorite period for movies and TV tends to be 1965-1969. I just love the way they look, particularly the clothing and hairstyles on the ladies. Generally, I'm content to sit through almost anything from this period, knowing I may come upon a certain look on someone that wins my heart. Recently, I was on Amazon poking around for some things and discovered today's featured movie - P. J. (1968) - a film I had never even heard of! After looking into it a little further, I went ahead and got it. And while it certainly isn't a flawless motion picture, it did have its share of surprises and rewards. And as a fan of star-filled casts, I knew I would be interested to see this person and that pop up along the way. One reason I purchased it, apart from the potential for some late-'60s gloss, was that its director was one John Guillermin, who was at the helm of The Towering Inferno (1974), a top ten favorite movie of mine. Now let's see what we can find in P. J. (As usual, I deliberately avoid certain plot points that would unduly spoil it for new viewers.)

The first thing we see is the platinum blond head of a business executive, examining the margins of some of the company's correspondence.

It turns out to be Raymond Burr, not long out of the hit series Perry Mason and at the dawn of Ironside. He berates his secretary for the wide margins being used on company memos and insists that a new one that uses more of the page be instituted.

His wife Coleen Gray has come to see him, hoping to have her allowance reinstated, but he'll have none of it. In fact, he won't even allow her to enter his office!

He does allow, however, another unseen visitor to come in. He offers the person who's admitted by elevator $100,000 in exchange for killing someone.

Cut to the exterior of a shabby motel room where a man and a pair of his thugs is about to burst in and raise a ruckus.

Inside we find George Peppard in a compromising position with a curvy brunette. The pair are roughed up while one of the heavies snaps flash photographs of them together. 

It turns out that Peppard, a down-on-his-luck private detective, was hired to help stage the set-up by a husband seeking grounds for divorce. The husband slips Peppard a little extra cash for getting his ass kicked in the process, but Peppard is furious over that unexpected aspect of the deal.

He heads to his favorite watering hole where we find his bartender chum Herbert Edelman. Edelman serves as a sort of banker-secretary for the hard-up Peppard. As soon as Peppard gets his newly-earned money out, there are several men there to collect most of it!

Edelman takes a call requesting that Peppard head downtown to a grungy gym in order to seek a new, much-needed gig.

Severn Darden plays a dandy who informs Peppard that he'll have to "audition" for the job. His client needs a bodyguard and he has to see who among the men there can be the last one standing. That's the one he'll hire.

With that, Peppard doffs his shirt and prepares to head into battle.

The burly, muscled contenders begin beating the hell out of one another and hurling each other across the room, breaking no small about of furniture in the process.

After one brief skirmish, Peppard hits the floor and plays opossum until the number of "applicants" begins to dwindle. Also, the remaining brawlers will have been worn down some by the time he's ready to pounce.

Soon there's only one opponent left, played by H.B. Haggerty. Haggerty was a football player-turned-wrestler who went on to many character parts in films and TV. (You might recall him as a brawling pool player in Earthquake (1974), but he was in many TV shows of the '70s & '80s.

As the last man standing, Peppard is given his new employer's address by Darden.

The tony residence he reports to is certainly a step up from his usual haunts.

And the client is a major step up from the sort of people he typically associates with as well...! I just love movies in which the clothing coordinates with the flower arrangements!

His attention is duly captured.

Gayle Hunnicutt, in her film debut, plays the (well) kept mistress of Burr. She tells him about various attempts on her life from poisoning to arson.

She also shows him a threatening note she's recently received.

After turning on all her charms (and possibly turning him on as well), he accepts the job.

During a spin at taking her dog for a walk, they're caught in a pop-up shower, leading to even more coziness.

Next we catch up with Burr, over at a private hunting club, where he shoots live fowl in-between being pecked at by his wife Gray. She's desperate to have her allowance reinstated so that she can resume her posture lessons and return to the salon where she practically resides (in fruitless efforts to appeal to her wandering husband.)

Burr's right-hand man Jason Evers brings Peppard out to the club to meet Burr. Burr informs his wife (ever in a state of denial) that Peppard has been hired to protect Hunnicutt, though she insists she doesn't even know the girl.

Back at the townhouse, Peppard is enjoying a cigar and the newspaper when...

...suddenly he hears a shot ring out from upstairs. He bolts up there to investigate.

A petrified Hunnicutt has a bullet hole in the mirror just above her dressing table.

That is some en suite bathroom of hers...!

Suddenly we're confronted with this, though. What on earth could be happening?!

Just part of the decor at a local hot spot!

Champagne wishes and caviar dreams among the rich and famous.

Here, Burr delights in watching Hunnicutt frug around with Evers in a skimpy cocktail dress.

We also meet Burr's niece, Susan St. James, who dislikes both Burr and Hunnicutt, but wouldn't mind a stake in his money.

She does demonstrate an instant fondness for Peppard, however.

Burr and Evers have to stay behind to go over some contracts, so Peppard is charged with taking Hunnicutt back home alone.

Unfortunately, as they're racing through town, he discovers there are no brakes! He instructs her to get behind him on the seat as they swerve and smash around.

He finally crashes the car in order to stop it and they barely escape with their lives.

In the wake of this, Burr decides its time to get outta Dodge. Meaning, he packs up the whole family, including Hunnicutt and Peppard, and heads to Jamaica!

Wilfred Hyde-White enters the film at this point as the governor who welcomes the merry bunch.

Along for the ride are Burr's sister Jane Van Duser and nephew George Furth, who appeared earlier for a bit in the park and now continue expressing their disdain for Hunnicutt.

Peppard instantly attracts the attention of local law officer Brock Peters. He's received an anonymous letter that Peppard is an ex-con, which he denies.

Peters warns him that someone out there seems to have it in for him and that he'll be keeping and eye on him.

Burr's family is ensconced in a stately, picturesque mansion...

...while Hunnicutt (and Peppard) are situated in what was once slave quarters!

Peppard wonders how he's supposed to protect her when the very doorknobs come off in his hand.

She's more interested in flirting, even though Burr has just left the premises a few moments before, having had his way with her (off-camera, praise Jesus.)

Up at the estate, a huge gala is in full swing, with local musicians serenading Burr with a special song written just for him.

I wouldn't say he's particularly impressed...

Several folks are also enjoying a bit of limbo action.

To Hunnicutt and Peppard's bemusement...

...St. James gives it a go herself, with hips gyrating.

The relatives each take their turn coming up to insult Hunnicutt.

St. James even suggests that Hunnicutt may not be around for much longer. (Incidentally, the Grecian up-do, diamond earrings and goddessy chiffon wrap Hunnicutt wears in this segment of the film seemed to prefigure my beloved Faye Dunaway in Inferno several years later.)

Hunnicutt wants to leave the party, but she can't without one final insult...

Burr insists on stopping her before she can leave...

...so that he can be sure that she and Gray are put face-to-face. 

Gray, who keeps up appearances at all costs, can't hold back tears as she compliments her husband's mistress on her looks. (There were times during this in which Gray reminded me of Eleanor Parker, who also could have done this role if need be.)

The admittedly-stunning Hunnicutt can only manage a muffled "thank you" in what is a humiliating moment for both gals.

Back at her dingy quarters, Peppard wonders how she can stay with the ever-horrible Burr, even if she is in his will.

When the door swings ajar and their are footsteps overheard, they venture out to see who's lurking around. He instructs her to run as fast as she can while he distracts the potential assailant.

Instead, she comes face-to-face with someone, leading to her own Crawford-esque "Berserk/I Saw What You Did" moment.

Peppard manages to shoot the person dead before she can come to any harm.

Peters takes Peppard to jail, yet when all is said and done, he's set free. (Apparently Burr has paid off everyone involved in order to avoid a scandal.)

Back home, Hunnicutt is surprised to see Peppard again, Burr having swept her out of Jamaica without allowing her to have any contact.

After learning that the person Peppard has killed was carrying an empty gun, he and Hunnicutt begin trying to figure out who was really behind the whole scenario.

Seemingly turned on by his continued interest in her welfare, even after his job is done, she begins to kiss him in the bar as two other patrons look on with keen interest.

Peppard sneaks into Burr's office (with a key he received from Hunnicutt) and starts to look for anything that might sort out what's happening.

He's confronted by a menacing Burr who wants the items that Peppard has lifted, but Peppard leaves without turning at least one key item over.

Back at Edelman's, a call comes in for Peppard.

It's Darden, decked out in a mesh shirt and leather jacket, offering information and requesting Peppard's presence at another location.

Here, the movie takes quite an unexpected detour...!

"Mama, welcome to the sixties..!" This is one low-down, shabby gay bar. Note the whips on the wall...!

Apart from, oh, a half dozen other things, I was wondering why it was so brightly LIT! When you look like some of these folks do, you long for the cover of darkness. Ha ha! The biker guy has rhinestones on the back of his jacket that spell out "SUPER DUDE."

Peppard brazenly plays "The Halls of Montezuma" on the jukebox before heading over to the bar, which is kept by the instantly-creepy Anthony James.

There's a sense of menace about the place, even apart from the way he's been devoured by several gent's eyes.

Pretty soon, he looks down the bar and sees that trouble may very well be afoot.

I seriously wondered if this one could be an uncredited Royce D. Applegate.

Get a load of the jewelry (and manicures) of the patrons who've sidled up to the bar!

I honestly don't know if this was really a "thing" then or just the figment of filmmakers' imaginations.

In any case, Peppard soon realizes that he is in way over his head.

James takes a leather belt and wraps it around his wrist with his prong jutting out the front!

He's not going to be able to play opossum this time! Have a dozen gays are ready to scratch his eyes out. Or worse.

As in real life, some are content to merely watch the action rather than take part in it. Or maybe this was that famous band, The Dave Cock Five, just trying to grab a post-show drink?

Peppard hangs in there for quite a while, even pushing an upright piano over onto several of his foes.

Ultimately, though, he is overtaken and gets his ass kicked.

Lucky to have escaped with his dignity intact, he's nonetheless dumped into the trash and wakes up the next morning in the hospital. Police lieutenant Bert Freed tries to get to the bottom of what's happened, but Peppard prefers to avoid the topic.

Hunnicutt gets ahold of him during her bath, wanting to see him, but he opts to head to New York in order to follow a lead.

This film continually goes off in unexpected directions and Peppard really did go to NYC for the filming of some of this section.

Part of his investigation leads him to John Ford stock company actor John Qualen and his daughter.

Still another name actor enters the picture when Peppard has a rendezvous with mob courier Arte Johnson (already a member of the cast of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, but playing it serious here.)

This leads to one of the most striking events in the film, as Peppard tries to avoid being offed in the bowels of the subway station.

Having extracted himself from yet another dangerous encounter, he can now head back to the arms (and bed!) of Hunnicutt.

The two of them enjoy the feeling of mutual pleasure...

...along with the rewards of his excursion to NYC.

Our hero may not be out of the woods just yet, though... It seems the whole mystery has yet to be solved. Should you wish to view P.J. yourself, it can be seen in a good print right here.

The poster at the top of this post is different artwork than that of the DVD I bought. I thought the stars looked better in this rendition. For quite a few years, only a heavily-altered TV version of P. J. was ever seen (and even that hadn't aired in quite some time.) Whole sections had been either excised or redone, giving folks an untrue recollection of what the feature itself was like upon release. Mention must be made, though, of the music. The theme for P. J. is strangely, uncomfortably reminiscent of the music for The Odd Couple (1968) and, as it turns out, both were by the same man, Neal Hefti!

Austin Powers: Inter- national Man of Mystery (1997) successfully poked fun at this general time period, but there's just no beating the actual thing. It was fun to discover this rather unknown bit of late-'60s movie-making. P. J.'s gowns come courtesy of Jean Louis.

Peppard, who'd burst upon the scene to acclaim with 1960's Home from the Hill after working mostly on TV before, had starred in a string of films. His successes included Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), How the West Was Won (1962), The Carpetbaggers (1964) and The Blue Max (1966) among others. And there were more to come, though with diminishing commercial success. By 1972, he was back on TV as Banacek. There were occasional movies, but his later years were mostly remembered for '80s hit The A-Team. He had also developed a reputation for strong temperament on sets. A three-pack-a-day smoker for many years (he's hardly without one in this film), he eventually quit in 1992 during a bout with lung cancer, but was dead two years later of pneumonia at age 65. 

Even before he himself was heavy, Burr portrayed multiples heavies. He'd begun working in movies in the mid-1940s and played trouble-making characters with ease. In A Place in the Sun (1951), he portrayed an overzealous prosecutor, giving him a taste of the courtroom drama he'd later enjoy as defense attorney Perry Mason. He'd also been a memorable murder suspect in Rear Window (1954) for Alfred Hitchcock. After Ironside, he balanced the occasional movie with plenty of TV series and miniseries work, eventually turning up in a long string of Perry Mason telefilms. These he did right up to his deal in 1993 of liver cancer at age 76. He'd infamously punched up a colorful backstory of marriages, children and military service for himself in an effort to disguise his true orientation as a homosexual, long involved (since 1960) with a partner he'd met during Mason.

Having acted on-screen for only one year prior to this, Texas-born model Hunnicutt was given quite a boost here. She parlayed it into other costarring parts including Eye of the Cat and Marlowe (both 1969), but never quite became as famous as might have been anticipated. She was the wife of David Hemmings from 1968-1976. I always thought she and Linda Gray resembled one another and she in fact guest-starred multiple times on Dallas in the late-'80s/early-'90s. Still alive today at 79, she receded from the acting arena just prior to the year 2000.

Although in time he was noted more for his work as an actor, it was singing which first led to Peters appearing in the movies. First came Carmen Jones (1954) which was followed by Porgy and Bess (1959.) Serious fare such as To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and The Pawnbroker (1964) dot his resume. The year before this, he appeared in the stark The Incident (1967.) Later came Soylent Green (1973) and Two-Minute Warning (1976.) Always in demand as a character actor, Peters worked tirelessly in movies and on TV up until 2005 when he was claimed by pancreatic cancer at age 78.

 

English stage actor Hyde-White began appearing in movies in the mid-1930s and was always busy one way or another. His greatest level of fame, however, seemed to come later such as in My Fair Lady (1964), a role he turned down multiple times before accepting. It led to many further colorful old man roles in movies like Ten Little Indians (1965) and scads of television. Retiring in 1983 after over a half-century of performing, he passed away in 1991 of congestive heart failure at age 87 (though he looked that old a decade beforehand on his short-lived sitcom The Associates!)

Evers started out with bit movie roles in the 1940s and eventually became a highly prolific TV actor. He guest-starred on countless popular series such as Cheyenne, Laramie, Bonanza, Star Trek, The Big Valley and Mission: Impossible to name only a few. In between were movies like the hooty classic The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962) and The Illustrated Man (1969.) His prolific career on the tube continued through the '70s and '80s (including guest roles on shows starring people from P. J. such as Perry Mason, Banacek, The A-Team and McMillan & Wife!) Retiring in 1983, he passed away of heart failure in 2005 at the age of 83.

Gray began with supporting roles in movies like State Fair (1945), then graduated to love interests in Nightmare Alley (1947), Kiss of Death and Red River (1948.) Her 1950s output tended to be in films of either limited budget or importance or both and by the early 1960s she was featured in titles like The Leech Woman (1960) and The Phantom Planet (1961.) Just prior to P. J., she'd been working on Days of Our Lives. She popped up on TV during the '70s (including a recurring part on McCloud as J. D. Cannon's wife) and retired in the mid-'80s. She died of natural causes in 2015 at the age of 92.

 

St. James had landed a contract at Universal Studios and was successful in her very first endeavor - a snoopy amateur investigator in the TV-pilot Fame is the Name of the Game and its eventual series The Name of the Game. She won an Emmy the first year it was on and was nominated twice more for it. P. J. was but one of four movies she did in 1968, but TV remained her arena. She did the very popular McMillan & Wife with Rock Hudson (with Emmy noms continuing) and later found success with the sitcom Kate & Allie. Though she took a large hunk of time off in the 1990s and early-2000s, she still works today at age 76.

Darden was a founding member of The Second City improvisational comedy troupe and began working in television in the early 1960s. He lent offbeat support to a variety of projects including The President's Analyst (1967), The Mad Room, Justine (both 1969) and The Hired Hand (1971.) He also worked in both Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973.) Later movies include Real Genius (1985) and Back to School (1986.) His career encompassed Shakespeare on the stage, many TV parts and a variety of movies until he suffered a fatal heart attack in 1995 at age 65.

 

And that's all that's shakin' this time out. Take care and I'll be back soon!

:::EDITOR'S NOTE/UPDATE!:::

An eagle-eyed regular visitor to Poseidon's Underworld, Dan, has caught a (Set) Designer Double Dip! The champagne glass used in the nightclub sequence appears to be the very same one which previously showed up in Shirley MacLaine's 1964 film What a Way to Go! In that film, the saucer was used as a bed in which she and Robert Mitchum slept/made love.  Here is some visual evidence to illustrate. I do believe it's the same set piece.

That's all, folks! Till next time.