S01/E05: THE FROG

A man wearing a hat with a long feather and working for the mob, known only as The Frog, is apparently in hiding from his mob boss and arrives at what appears to be a boat dock (at the end of 24th Street) seemingly late in the evening to meet with Peter Gunn. However, The Frog arrives first and, as it turns out, was followed by a hit man, Nestor, hired to track him down and kill him. The Frog sees Nestor appearing from the shadows with knife in hand. With nowhere to go except the river, The Frog attempts to run away and climbs to the top of some crates scattered on the dock. Nestor slings the knife and it goes into The Frog’s back. The Frog falls dead from the top of the crates into the river below. 

Peter Gunn arrives at the boat dock and looks around for The Frog, who had called to meet him there. Gunn looks at his watch and tosses his cigarette into the river, appearing about to leave. But he looks over to where he tossed the cigarette and spots a [green] hat with a feather floating on the water. As Gunn is leaving, a hood named Vernon Lilly appears behind him watching Gunn depart the dock, and then looks over and also sees the floating hat.

Gunn arrives at the tenement apartment building where The Frog lives (how Gunn obtained the address is unknown to viewers) and learns The Frog’s apartment number from the wall mailboxes. (Gunn must know The Frog’s real name; we viewers, however, do not and never will. Or does it say “The Frog” on his apartment mailbox?). Gunn knocks on the door and there’s no answer. He tries turning the doorknob and the door opens. He proceeds to let himself in. Once inside, he is attacked by Nestor with the knife, who was hiding on the other side of the door. It now seems apparent that Nestor was in there looking for something that The Frog was in possession of. (What if The Frog had it on him? Did Nestor jump into the river and search the body after he’d killed him before going to the apartment?) Gunn and Nestor get into a brutal fight as Gunn attempts to keep the knife-wielding attacker from stabbing him. (At one point Gunn is slammed against the wall and there appeared to be plenty of time for him to draw his gun, but he doesn’t. Also, in what appears to be a filming goof-up, when Gunn first walks into the room his jacket is buttoned; when he’s slammed to the wall seconds later it’s open—making it even easier to reach for his gun!). Finally, The Frog’s lady friend, Loretta Gymps, opens the apartment door, distracting Nestor. Gunn, on his back on the floor under Nestor, takes advantage of the moment, grabs his gun, and shoots Nestor dead. Loretta Gymps runs away down the hall.

Lt. Jacoby and Peter Gunn walk out of The Frog’s apartment as Nestor, covered by a sheet, is carried away on a gurney. Jacoby wonders what Nestor was looking for. Gunn tells Jacoby he was called by The Frog at 8 o’clock in the evening, sounding frightened and wanting to meet with him. Gunn asks Jacoby what kind of hat The Frog always wore. “Green with a feather in it,” Jacoby answers. Gunn tells Jacoby that it’s floating in the water. The same hood who had watched Gunn leave the dock, Vernon Lilly, appears in the building hallway as Gunn and Jacoby depart. (It seems he was standing only feet away from Gunn and Jacoby as they were talking, but neither saw him?)

At Mother’s, real-life jazz great Shorty Rogers is on stage playing a trumpet with a combo as Edie sings. Gunn arrives and takes a seat at a table beside Mother and Barney the bartender. It appears Mother’s is closed for the night or hasn’t opened yet, as most chairs are placed upside-down on the tables. (Why would a band be playing and Edie singing? Rehearsal? Just for fun?)

Outside Mother’s, mob boss Daniel Swink arrives in a car and speaks to Vernon Lilly, who had followed Gunn from the boat dock to The Frog’s apartment and then to Mother’s. (And the sharp-eyed private detective never realized it?) “He’s inside,” Lilly tells Swink. Daniel Swink is unhappy with Lilly for letting his man Nestor get killed. Lilly said he thought Nestor could handle Peter Gunn. Vernon Lilly leads Swink and the other mobsters around to the back, which is how he saw Peter Gunn go in because the front door is locked up. They go inside and remove chairs from the top of a table and Swink sits in one of them. The band stops playing. Mother yells at the mobsters. “We’re closed!” When Swink ignores her, Gunn walks over to the group. Swink tells him to sit down and says, “It’s been a long time, Mr. Gunn.” Gunn wants to know why he’s there. Swink asks, “Where is it?” and Gunn replies, “Where is what?” Sensing danger, Edie steps in and tells Gunn it’s getting late and he should take her home. (Then it appears Mother’s is in fact closed for the night). When Gunn feels he’s had enough, he attempts to fight the mobsters, but there are too many of them. Mother tries to intervene and Swink hits her with his walking cane. (Swink doesn’t appear to have any difficulty walking; it seems he just likes having a cane with him). When Swink gets tired of Gunn refusing to disclose the location of whatever he is looking for, he has his hoods put Gunn’s hands on the table and strikes them hard with his cane. (In actuality, the angle this was shot at clearly shows him striking the table and it was the sound of a wooden cane striking wood that’s heard; striking hands would have produced a different sound). As Swink and the mobsters leave, Gunn sinks to the ground in pain as Edie runs over to assist.

Back at Gunn’s apartment, Gunn stands from the couch to light a cigarette as Edie walks over carrying a wrap and ice pack and tells Gunn to get back on the couch and “stretch out.” Gunn becomes annoyed and says he’s alright, but Edie insists. When Gunn removes a hand from the wrap to handle the cigarette in his mouth, Edie scolds him and grabs it herself. There’s a knock at the door and Gunn goes to answer. It’s Jacoby. (Gunn uses his hands with no problem to unlock and open the door). Jacoby says he asked Mother if she wanted to press charges on Swink for assault, but Gunn says that will only put him in jail for a “short visit” and that he can get him “for keeps.” Jacoby says The Frog was found in the river. Jacoby also says there was an insurance policy on The Frog’s life with the beneficiary being Loretta Gymps, but she won’t talk to police. Gunn offers to go see her. (This puts Peter Gunn, a private detective, in the investigation of a murder. He is not being paid, since The Frog, who was possibly the potential client about to hire him, is no longer alive. At this point it is merely to assist Jacoby, and possibly to get back at Swink for assaulting him and Mother).

Peter Gunn and Lt. Jacoby ride over to Loretta Gymps’ place. Jacoby remains in the car (nearby, but out of view) and Gunn walks over to an old wooden shack-type house where Loretta Gymps lives. He knocks on the front door. Music can be heard coming from a record playing on an antique Victrola phonograph (old even by 1958 standards when this episode first aired). When Gunn’s knock isn’t immediately answered, he turns the knob on the door and lets himself in. Loretta is seated at the table looking disheartened and miserable, staring intently at Gunn who walks over to the record player and turns it off. She has also been drinking. Loretta says, “What do you want?” Gunn walks past some of Loretta’s cats (there are a bunch of them in her home) and asks about The Frog. Loretta becomes angry; surely Gunn knows he’s dead. She refers to Gunn as “Pete”, indicating that they are already well acquainted with each other. Gunn shows Loretta the insurance policy Jacoby gave him and tells her she is the beneficiary of $10,000. She tells Gunn that surely he doesn’t think she killed him. Loretta puts a gun on the table and tells Gunn to leave because she is “expecting someone.” Gunn guesses it’s Swink. When Gunn asks what Swink is looking for, Loretta hands him a notebook containing ten years of Swink’s corrupt business dealings. Gunn tells Loretta it’s not safe for her to stay there, but she refuses to leave, saying she’s got to feed the cats. As Gunn leaves, Loretta tells him to not come back unless he brings a jug (of booze).

Back outside, Jacoby, still in the car, looks at his watch as if becoming impatient. Gunn is confronted by several of Swink’s hoods. Vernon Lilly punches Gunn in the belly and he drops to the ground. Gunn’s gun is removed and he’s forced to stand back up. At gunpoint, he is taken back to a car where Swink gets out holding his cane. Gunn is searched and the notebook is removed and handed to Swink. Daniel Swink tells a hood named Max to go kill “the old lady” and tells Vernon Lilly to dispose of Gunn over at the river. Jacoby, even more impatient now, gets out of his car. (Seems unusual that everyone is in the same general vicinity, but Jacoby sees no one and no one sees him). Back inside Loretta’s home, she is petting a cat on the table when the cat suddenly arches it’s back and lets out an angry hiss, obviously sensing a stranger’s footsteps approaching. (Do cats alert like this when an outsider is near one’s home?) The cat’s reaction causes Loretta to quickly grab her gun. The mobster kicks the door in and Loretta shoots him dead. (Seems very careless for someone to bust in through the door of a house like that). The shots fired by Loretta are heard by Gunn (who can’t do anything as he is still held at gunpoint) and also by Jacoby. Vernon Lilly has taken Gunn over by the river and orders him to turn around and face him and put his hands behind his back. Vernon tells Gunn he’s going to give it to him “right in the gut” and pushes the weapon into Gunn’s belly. Nearby, Loretta yells out, “Where are you, Swink, you pig!” Loretta’s shouting distracted Vernon Lilly who turned his head to see where the shouts were coming from. Gunn takes advantage and punches Vernon who falls and becomes disarmed. Gunn and Lilly get into a fight rolling around on what appears to be the same dock at the start of the episode. When Gunn falls during the fight and Vernon Lilly quickly picks up his gun to shoot, Loretta shoots Lilly dead. Over by his car, Swink hears the shots and sends the last remaining hood to go have a look. Jacoby comes running along a pathway and the hood takes a shot at him, but Jacoby shoots back killing the final hood. Swink realizes there’s no one left from his gang and hurriedly gets in his car to drive off. Jacoby races toward the car as it speeds away and shoots out the tires. The car crashes into a pile of crates along the side of the road. Swink is removed from the car saying he’s hurt and Jacoby hands him his cane. He is led away by Jacoby and now does walk with a limp.

At Gunn’s apartment, Gunn enters and turns on the light. Edie was asleep on the couch. Gunn hands Edie a little kitten, obviously a gift from Loretta. Edie immediately falls in love with the kitten and gets it some milk. 

QUOTES:

Soon after Edie is confused as to why someone would be named “The Frog”, Jacoby mentions a life insurance policy for the victim…

Gunn: “Who’s the beneficiary”?

Jacoby: “Loretta Gymps.”

Edie: “Loretta who?”

Jacboy: “Gymps.”

Edie: “About these names.”

NOTES:

Lola Albright sings “How High the Moon”, music composed by Morgan Lewis and lyrics by Nancy Hamilton. It became a hit in 1940 when performed by Benny Goodman & His Orchestra. Various renditions of the song have been performed and recorded over the years by Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Duke Ellington, Gloria Gaynor (a Disco version!), Johnny Mathis, and countless others.

See Lola Albright sing “How High the Moon”

The trumpet playing by Shorty Rogers at Mother’s is spectacular! Not to mention the xylophone player as well.

It is not clear what Loretta Gymps relationship was to The Frog. They were very close in age (appearing about 60 each). Loretta only states that The Frog would show up with “a jug” and they would get drunk and laugh and talk, saying “we didn’t have nobody else.”

At Gunn’s apartment, Lt. Jacoby asks Edie for coffee. She serves it to him. Jacoby takes only one sip and says “thanks”, and sets it down on the coffee table before leaving. What is it with characters in this series getting served something to drink and then not consuming it?

Since Peter Gunn’s potential client was murdered before they had a chance to meet—yet Gunn worked the case anyway—this is the fifth episode in a row (the first 5 episodes of the series) that the detective for hire doesn't receive a payment!

Daniel Swink was played by actor Whit Bissell who died in 1996 at the age of 86 from the effects of Parkinson's disease.

DECEASED: Nestor slings knife, stabbing The Frog in back. Gunn shoots Nestor. Loretta Gymps shoots hood named Max. Loretta Gymps shoots hood Vernon Lilly. Lt. Jacoby shoots Daniel Swink's hood (no name). 

Total Gunn Kills: 1 - Series Total: 1

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